Yeah...Oceanside is very different than Ocean Beach...which is where we are. Having lunch at Pizza Port, no where near my parents, but ready to come home. We just had awesome pizza, and I had a 90 Minute in tap, and life is good. We are playing cribbage and hanging out until the plane leaves.
Wish for smooth skies for me and a quick flight home.
We loved San Diego!!!
Thursday, March 8, 2012
This morning's walk...
...was so great! Why we haven't been walking in the morning every day is beyond me. It is absolutely gorgeous today, and I think we have landed on going to Balboa Park for a walk, then to Pizza Port in Oceanside for lunch. Funny, my parents will be in Oceanside sometime today - they are driving to San Diego just as we are leaving. Maybe the fates will cooperate and we can see them before leaving.
Last Day in SD
Today is our last day in San Diego. We have had amazing beers, amazing food, got to see my friend CG for dinner, and have seen some pretty fabulous sites. We are heading out for a walk and then figuirng out what to do today until we leave.
Options are:
- USS Midway Museum
- Balboa Park
- San Diego Zoo
What will it be?
Options are:
- USS Midway Museum
- Balboa Park
- San Diego Zoo
What will it be?
Pliny denied...again...
So we went back to Toronado since they had Pliny on tap. And guess what? They were out! I guess I should be happy I got it once. Maybe the liquor store will get some in today. Start your prayers now.
Three Breweries: Ballast Point, Hess, and Green Flash
The three breweries we went to on Wednesday couldn't have been more different.
Ballast Point - in an office park, big tap room, quiet during the day. They had a number of good beers, and Chris really liked the Sculpin IPA. I liked the Wahoo Wheat. It was nice - quiet, nice people working there, low key.
Hess - in an industrial park, whole public area was the size of my living room, people everywhere since I think it was Food Truck Wednesday. They call it a nano brewery, and we had just a couple of samplers - they were good. We did not stay long. Ha!
Green Flash - enormous area, like a giant party, thirty-ish taps on the wall, served 12 different beers. We bought a few for home, I really like the saison. Marketing genius...also had a good truck outside.
We have some great ideas for JM and the new brewery - these places really know how to pull the public in and keep them there. For a Wednesday, it was like a Saturday night!
Ballast Point - in an office park, big tap room, quiet during the day. They had a number of good beers, and Chris really liked the Sculpin IPA. I liked the Wahoo Wheat. It was nice - quiet, nice people working there, low key.
Hess - in an industrial park, whole public area was the size of my living room, people everywhere since I think it was Food Truck Wednesday. They call it a nano brewery, and we had just a couple of samplers - they were good. We did not stay long. Ha!
Green Flash - enormous area, like a giant party, thirty-ish taps on the wall, served 12 different beers. We bought a few for home, I really like the saison. Marketing genius...also had a good truck outside.
We have some great ideas for JM and the new brewery - these places really know how to pull the public in and keep them there. For a Wednesday, it was like a Saturday night!
Lunch at Neighborhood
After we got back from La Jolla, we walked down to a restaurant called Neighborhood - heard they had good food and a great beer list. We went in, and my mouth was watering just thinking about another Pliny. I looked over, the tap handle was there...and then she said, "Oh, we are out of that."
Then. Take. The. Tap. Handle. Down.
In any event, we got salads and split a burger. All were actually fantastic. I had the beet salad and WOW, super good. I was pleasantly surprised - great food. Crabby about the beer.
Then. Take. The. Tap. Handle. Down.
In any event, we got salads and split a burger. All were actually fantastic. I had the beet salad and WOW, super good. I was pleasantly surprised - great food. Crabby about the beer.
Breakfast in La Jolla
We had breakfast in La Jolla on Wednesday at this cute little place called the Cottage. Great food, lovely little California bistro. We then went for a walk down to the beach. It was pretty windy yesterday, so not as warm as it had been, but the sun was shining and it was beautiful!
I wonder what it would be like to live somewhere like La Jolla, right on the ocean, weather beautiful all the time. Would you appreciate it? I'm not sure - but I could definitely spend time here just relaxing and looking at the view.
I wonder what it would be like to live somewhere like La Jolla, right on the ocean, weather beautiful all the time. Would you appreciate it? I'm not sure - but I could definitely spend time here just relaxing and looking at the view.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Off to La Jolla and More Breweries!
We are off to La Jolla this morning, and then to three more breweries - Green Flash, Ballast Point, and Hess. We already have one box of "souvenirs" to ship home...we may have another one after today. Looks like it is going to be a beautiful day!!
Dinner with CG and EG
Last night Chris and I had dinner with CG and EG - I worked with CG almost nine years ago on a software project, and he was a consultant. We had such a fantastic time!! It's good to connect with old friends that are not only wonderful, but make you laugh your ass off. So thanks to CG and EG for having dinner with us - it made our trip!!
A Day at the Breweries
On Tuesday, we dedicated most of the day to breweries - Stone and Lost Abbey/Port Brewing. Stone was pretty cool - got there at 11:00, signed up for the noon tour, had a sampler (the Ruination IPA on tap is to die for), went on the tour, and then had lunch there. So the food is good, but REALLY expensive. Glad we ate there, the grounds were beautiful, and the inside was pretty cool too.
We then went to Lost Abbey and had a couple of samples - good beer, bought a few bottles for home!!
We then went to Lost Abbey and had a couple of samples - good beer, bought a few bottles for home!!
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Toronado and The Linkery
Why don't we have a bar like Toronado at home? We went there for a beer before dinner.
I had not one, but TWO PLINY THE ELDER! Maybe it is just 'cuz you can get a crazy selection of really amazing IPAs, maybe it is just because you can get Pliny on tap, maybe it is just the cool ambiance, maybe it is because they are so nice and give you great suggestions and ask about where you are from. Whatever, it was fan-tastic.
Chris had a Pliny and the Red Barn Ale from Lost Abbey - wicked good Saison. We are going to Lost Abbey today (Tuesday) so maybe we can get some for home!!
We also ordered the Bar Nuts, and they came in a bowl that held about three cups of nuts. A bit much? Yes, but they were damn good.
We then went to The Linkery for dinner - sausage is their game. And what a game it is! I will let the picture speak for itself...
I had not one, but TWO PLINY THE ELDER! Maybe it is just 'cuz you can get a crazy selection of really amazing IPAs, maybe it is just because you can get Pliny on tap, maybe it is just the cool ambiance, maybe it is because they are so nice and give you great suggestions and ask about where you are from. Whatever, it was fan-tastic.
Chris had a Pliny and the Red Barn Ale from Lost Abbey - wicked good Saison. We are going to Lost Abbey today (Tuesday) so maybe we can get some for home!!
We also ordered the Bar Nuts, and they came in a bowl that held about three cups of nuts. A bit much? Yes, but they were damn good.
We then went to The Linkery for dinner - sausage is their game. And what a game it is! I will let the picture speak for itself...
Sidebar...Hummus
We had hummus at Coronado Brewing Company. It was awesome - green chili and jalapeno. So I thought, OK, I'm going to do this. Aunt J makes hummus all the time, so why can't I? I thought, I should add this to my list of foods I'm going to make from scratch this year (also on the list...pate and souffle).
Then I thought, well, it will be harder for me because I secretly think Aunt J has some kind of super power where she can do anything, but hummus I think I can handle.
And THEN on The Barefoot Contessa yesterday, she made hummus!!
That's it - I'm making it when I get home.
Then I thought, well, it will be harder for me because I secretly think Aunt J has some kind of super power where she can do anything, but hummus I think I can handle.
And THEN on The Barefoot Contessa yesterday, she made hummus!!
That's it - I'm making it when I get home.
A little taste of the midwest...right here on the coast.
Apparently you can take the girl out of the UP, but you can't take the UP out of the girl. A lot of things are in Spanish here, and I thought this was. But then I thought it said U.P. and took a second look.
Click on the picture to see the bumper sticker.
Click on the picture to see the bumper sticker.
Afternoon in Coronado
After breakfast we walked down to the pier and caught the ferry to Coronado. I briefly thought about taking the bridge but then thought the better of it. Many of you recall that I still have PTSD from the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and whatever the hell that other bridge was in Oregon we went over that made me cry.
The ferry drops you off on one side of the island. We walked the 1.5 miles to the other side to the Hotel Del Coronado to walk on the beach then turn around and walk back and maybe get a beer at Coronado Brewing Company. Things to note:
1) Why does the ability to judge distance and how long it will take to travel it elude me? What appears to be a half mile on a travel book map often turns into three times that.
2) 71 degrees and sunny in San Diego in March where it hasn't snowed since the ice age is most definitely not the same as 71 and sunny in Minneapolis in March. We have the bright red sun burn to prove it. (Sunscreen would have been futile - we were sweating too much - see #3.)
3) When I say, "You should bring one pair of shorts," why am I ignored? So someone found out just how hot jeans can be when you are walking more than 5 miles in the hot, partly sunny, San Diego weather.
4) Sand is kind of a pain in the ass. I'm probably around sand only three times a decade, but in my head, you should be able to walk in the surf, then walk back to the street and the sand will dry and wash off. Not so. Pain in the ass.
5) It was nice to walk in the ocean with Chris. (Notwithstanding the pain in the ass sand.)
After that walk on the beach we walked back the (3 times longer than I thought) distance to the ferry.
We did indeed stop at Coronado Brewing Company for a beer and lunch - and it was good. The Islander IPA was really tasty, and their food was good. OH! And I had a cupcake. I almost forgot. It was awesome - chocolate with custard inside. Kind of like a Bismarck donut and cupcake combined. Holy cow it was good.
More on drinks and dinner later!
The ferry drops you off on one side of the island. We walked the 1.5 miles to the other side to the Hotel Del Coronado to walk on the beach then turn around and walk back and maybe get a beer at Coronado Brewing Company. Things to note:
1) Why does the ability to judge distance and how long it will take to travel it elude me? What appears to be a half mile on a travel book map often turns into three times that.
2) 71 degrees and sunny in San Diego in March where it hasn't snowed since the ice age is most definitely not the same as 71 and sunny in Minneapolis in March. We have the bright red sun burn to prove it. (Sunscreen would have been futile - we were sweating too much - see #3.)
3) When I say, "You should bring one pair of shorts," why am I ignored? So someone found out just how hot jeans can be when you are walking more than 5 miles in the hot, partly sunny, San Diego weather.
4) Sand is kind of a pain in the ass. I'm probably around sand only three times a decade, but in my head, you should be able to walk in the surf, then walk back to the street and the sand will dry and wash off. Not so. Pain in the ass.
5) It was nice to walk in the ocean with Chris. (Notwithstanding the pain in the ass sand.)
After that walk on the beach we walked back the (3 times longer than I thought) distance to the ferry.
We did indeed stop at Coronado Brewing Company for a beer and lunch - and it was good. The Islander IPA was really tasty, and their food was good. OH! And I had a cupcake. I almost forgot. It was awesome - chocolate with custard inside. Kind of like a Bismarck donut and cupcake combined. Holy cow it was good.
More on drinks and dinner later!
Monday, March 5, 2012
Breakfast of Champions
Wow. We just went to breakfast at this little place called Cafe Chloe. Wow - is all I can say. Chocolate croissant, fresh orange juice, great French ambiance - see picture from inside. I had the poached eggs with wild mushrooms and buerre blanc, and Chris had a zucchini and chevre omelet. WOW. Formidable, as the French say. We were so happy we took our first San Diego self portrait here!
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Anchorman...
And in case you are wondering...I'm going to try to introduce all blog postings with a quote from Ron Burgundy. The next one will either be "San Diego means a whale's vagina," or "YOU LOOK LIKE A BLUEBERRY!!"
"I killed a guy with a trident!"
We are here! In San Diego. Went to the Yard House for grub and beer (confidential to TL, JT, and NJST - we didn't feel good without you being there...).
I had a Dogfish Head 90 minute and a Bear Republic IPA. Who says I'm gonna be sick of IPAs? Put 'em up, PUT 'EM UP!!! You layer those tasty treats onto 1 mg of Ativan, and you've got something special.
Went to a liquor store...no Pliny. But it did smell quite bad. And we did get some Green Flash West Coast IPA which is lovely. We also asked the hotel for a personal fridge. Yes. We did. YAY!!
I already have jet lag - it's 7:40 here and I'm going to bed. I'll be bright eyed and bushy tailed at 0-500. Can't wait!!
More to come tomorrow when I sober up. Couple of breweries, Baja fish tacos, and good food. What more can you ask?
I had a Dogfish Head 90 minute and a Bear Republic IPA. Who says I'm gonna be sick of IPAs? Put 'em up, PUT 'EM UP!!! You layer those tasty treats onto 1 mg of Ativan, and you've got something special.
Went to a liquor store...no Pliny. But it did smell quite bad. And we did get some Green Flash West Coast IPA which is lovely. We also asked the hotel for a personal fridge. Yes. We did. YAY!!
I already have jet lag - it's 7:40 here and I'm going to bed. I'll be bright eyed and bushy tailed at 0-500. Can't wait!!
More to come tomorrow when I sober up. Couple of breweries, Baja fish tacos, and good food. What more can you ask?
Saturday, March 3, 2012
You stay classy, San Diego.
All right - heading out tomorrow for FOUR DAYS in San Diego!! YEAH! Looking forward to (not necessarily in this order):
- Pliny the Elder on tap
- IPAs
- Hotel del Coronado
- Pliny the Elder on tap
- Seeing my friend CG after nine years
- Pliny the Elder on tap
- Double IPAs
- Baja fish tacos
- La Jolla
- 66 degree weather
- Pliny the Elder on tap
- Rest and relaxation
- IPAs
- Pliny the Elder on tap
Wish us safe travels!
- Pliny the Elder on tap
- IPAs
- Hotel del Coronado
- Pliny the Elder on tap
- Seeing my friend CG after nine years
- Pliny the Elder on tap
- Double IPAs
- Baja fish tacos
- La Jolla
- 66 degree weather
- Pliny the Elder on tap
- Rest and relaxation
- IPAs
- Pliny the Elder on tap
Wish us safe travels!
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