Our Last Days in San Diego

Every time we visit San Diego we come across the same problem .... we just don't have enough days to eat at all the places we want to.

For burgers (and malts for Jacob and the kids) we stop at Hodad's. They have a bigger location in downtown but I'm sure the vibe is just not the same so we always come to this one in Ocean Beach and stand in line.

We met up with my friend Brenda. She's a very busy woman but thankfully she was able to join us for lunch.
These two have become the best of friends.

Of all my years living in San Diego I have never been to any bookstores there .... can you believe it? I can't. I mean, I knew about Barnes & Noble but that was it. So it occurred to me this time around to google bookstores and I came across three that weren't too far.
After checking out novels and faith based books I walked towards the back and found my people sitting in the children's area.

I love bookstores that have permanent feline residents. When we visited Colorado we went to a bookstore where two cats lived at ... and now here in San Diego better yet, North Park they also had a couple of cats. I only came across this one though. Of all the bookstores I've been to in my area and the Seattle area I have yet come across a cat inside a bookstore. Lame! Everyone knows that cats and books go together!!

Here we are in Imperial Beach. It's nice here too. I like how they've updated this area. It's fun watching surfers do their thing. I can watch them for hours.

Later on this day we met up with my sister and Mom at Baja Lobster in Old Town. I'm not sure how long this restaurant has been in Old Town but I had never come across it before. It is kinda hidden so that could be the reason but there's no signs of the place that I remember seeing. Anyway, my sister treated me. Thanks Claudia. I sure do love crab, lobster and shrimp! It weirds me out seeing Jacob drinking an alcoholic drink because he rarely drinks. He doesn't like to drink beer or wine but he'll drink a pina colada or a slush margarita every now and then. I just hope he doesn't get tipsy because he's the one that drives us everywhere, mostly.

When I eat I usually finish my food a little bit on the fast side. I mean, I chew my food good and I don't rush through my meals but I always seem to be the one to finish first, lol. However, when it comes to crab or lobster I'm usually the last one to finish eating. I just love to take my time ... it is so delicious.

At my mom's ... taking time to relax. Claudia got Riley a coloring book. They also worked on some Christmas decorations. Riley does enjoy doing crafts ... plus, it keeps him engaged for a while.

Riley wanted to play at the beach one last time before we left so we went back to Imperial Beach on our last day there. When I was looking through all the pictures I began to laugh because Jacob and Riley are so pasty. Jacob's back blended in with the white of the waves, lol. I didn't post any of those pictures, Jacob wouldn't have been too happy about it.

Nathan also laid out for a while hoping he would get a tan. Then they rented a boogie board and hit the waves. Jacob said it was hard, lol. Amateurs!!! I read.
After the beach we went back to my mom's to wash up then we went to grab some Greek food and took it to Seaport Village. I like it there. I even brought wine with me. I love this meal especially their Greek salad and the chunks of feta cheese, oh and the pita bread is super soft and yummy!

Every time we visit in July the weather is just awful, humid and hot. I keep telling Jacob that we need to visit in February but the reason we keep visiting in the summer is because of the 4th of July. There's no other place we would rather be for the 4th because no other place has that same patriotic feel, vibe that we're used to at Coronado.

My sister has spoiled all of my kids but since Riley is the youngest she spoils him the most. She got him some ice cream. We walked around for a bit and bought more souvenirs.

Nathan's growing up way too fast lately.

White stucco buildings are so pretty!

The following day we had breakfast together.

Can't remember what was so funny.

Our last morning here. It sucks that we live far from each other. I love San Diego but it has changed from what I remember and I no longer wish to move back there ... maybe to Santa Cruz. I would totally move to Santa Cruz. I like living in WA even though it's another very liberal state. It's a beautiful state though, lots of fun things to do. The Oregon coast isn't really that liberal, you'd be surprised and not even central Oregon. We've seen TRUMP signs on the side of the freeway and signs that says, GOD LOVES YOU. It's just Portland that's liberal. Anyway, who knows what the future holds.
We said our goodbyes.

Riley cried.

Every time we say our goodbyes I realize this could be the last time we see each other but all I can do is hope that it isn't. This is the only way I refrain from shedding a few tears myself.

Back on the open road.

Made it to Northern Sacramento by 7:00 pm. It was hot there, even at night. We went out to dinner then went straight to the hotel. We couldn't wait to get back home. We missed Sophie.

Day 15 - Last Day & Heading Back to WA

Last day in San Diego. This road trip was a long one but a fun one at that. We had several rough days due to Riley getting sick but there was also new memories created in between.
We took pictures with my dad and said our goodbyes. Hopefully he'll get to visit in the future.

Our flight wasn't until the evening so we had time to go do a bit of sightseeing. We stopped by Seaport Village and enjoyed the view, taking this all in one last time.

He never stops from being silly. Sure runs in his blood.

Growing up I used to find this type of tree quite interesting. I don't know what they're called but the bark can be torn off like cardboard and it feels soft and cushiony. I remember doing that as a little girl. This type of tree has stuck in my memory since then. Just thought I'd share something random from my childhood.

One last selfie here right before leaving.

Then we drove to Ocean Beach in search for a pastry shop Jacob had looked up on Yelp claiming they have very delicious donuts. We got there after noon so most of their pastries were gone but I did see this one yummy glazed donut with crumble on it. It tasted as good as it looked. It was very yummy!

It was another muggy day in San Diego and we were so ready to head back to cloudy skies back home. We dropped off the rental and took the shuttle to the airport. The San Diego airport is a small one, good thing.

Here, Jacob was informing Riley on how he should behave once on the plane. It was a serious talk.

I really don't like flying and I dislike take-off even more. Good thing the flight from San Diego to Seattle is only about a 2.5 hour flight but it still feels long to me, lol.

Riley ended up falling asleep.

Couldn't tell ya if this is Mt. Hood or Mt. St. Helens. The dang pilot didn't say anything as we came upon it. Ugh! LOL! I hate not knowing.

The plane arrived at SeaTac at 8:20 pm. After getting off the plane {which takes forever!} and our luggage we were finally home around 11:00 pm. Thankful that everything went well. Felt so good to be back in my own home. Hugged everyone. I missed them all. And was looking forward to sleeping in my bed, at last!

The very best part of our road trip for me was the first three days. The Oregon coast is so beautiful ... dreary and cold even with visible patches of blue sky ... just perfect for someone like me. I really hope we get to revisit it many more times. Another favorite was the 17-mile drive through Pebble Beach, gorgeous ... AND Santa Cruz, that was fun!!

Unfortunately, we never did get to see not one whale during our road trip. Maybe we'll spot one around the Puget sometime. You never know.

Road Trip - Days 11 & 12

Oh San Diego. Why you gotta be so hot and humid! Anyone that tells me that summer's in San Diego are mild has got to have a loose screw in their head because the weather here has gotten very gross since we left back in 2003.
Anyway, we really try our best not to let the humidity and heat get the best of us or our plans so out we went to do a bit of sightseeing.

We first stopped by Balboa Park. The architecture here is so pretty. The cream color of the buildings against the blue overcast sky looks beautiful. Riley wasn't too fond in observing the detail of the architecture, lol. He kept saying how boring it was. Maybe for him but us grown ups sure enjoyed ourselves.

This picture perfect spot is very popular, naturally.

It was sooo humid. Sure makes one feel all yucky. This is why I don't understand people that love the humid summer weather.

We stopped by our favorite Greek restaurant, got it to go and then stopped at Seaport Village and had a picnic. Seriously! This is how authentic Greek food should look like especially the salad dressing. It should be creamy and NOT a vinaigrette. We have yet to find a Greek restaurant in Seattle that sells Greek food like this one in San Diego. Really, if their salad dressing is not a creamy one we don't eat there.
This is my favorite combo. Chicken kabobs with rice, Greek salad and a pita. Superbly delicious!!!! I get this every single time we visit.

After we ate we did some shopping and took in the views. Just looking around made me feel like I never left. Some things have changed but for the most part Seaport Village looks the same. So pretty here although they have plans to make improvements in the near future.
Riley wouldn't part from his Raphael balloon he got at the fair. He carried it everywhere we went, lol.

We got some ice cream to cool off and found a table under a large shady tree. We finally found a spot where the wind blew and kept us cool. It was so fresh here I didn't want to leave. There was also a lady singing oldies and Sinatra songs which made this experience a lovely one.

We left Seaport Village and headed back to my parents. We hung out with my dad for a bit  then around 5:00 pm we headed back out and met up at Hodad's with another one of my good friends Brenda, which I've known since the 7th grade.

There's 4 restaurants that we MUST eat at whenever we're here in San Diego and this is one of them.

Their milkshakes {or malts if you like that kind of thing, not me} are soooo darn good and also their onion rings. Their burgers are decent.

This is Brenda.

We always end up taking the milkshake to go. They serve you so much. I love old fashioned vanilla, sure beats vanilla bean. Can't stand that one.

It was nice seeing Brenda {and Moira the day before}. Two great friends. Seems like I've known them forever. Sure miss them.
Me and Brenda said our goodbyes then Jacob, me and Riley headed towards the beach to breathe in some fresh ocean air ... plus we gotta keep this kid of ours happy and he wanted to run around for a bit.

We headed back to mom's and watched Frozen to end the day. Went to bed a bit early and mentally prepared myself for the following day.



Day 12
We met up with my brother and family in Old Town. There's like a million Mexican restaurants here which makes it extremely difficult where to eat. This place HAS changed a lot since we've been gone. Most restaurants serve Mexican American style food and I hate it!!! My brother picked a restaurant that we had never eaten at before. He claimed it was delicious. We took his word for it. First of all service was extremely slow. It shouldn't matter that they were super busy, they should be used to this by now. It took our waiter about 25 minutes just to get our drinks. We ordered our food and there was a lot of fat on the carne asada, another negative. I ate what I could. Wasn't satisfied ... but it was sure nice talking with my brother and his two boys and my dad. His sons are very outgoing and talkative. I sure miss my brother a lot too.
Here I am with my dad and brother, oh and it was Father's Day. So it was extra special that I got to spend time with both of them because it had been years that we hadn't celebrated this special day together.

After eating my brother, dad and his family went their own way and we went to the Whaley House. The Ghost Adventures investigated this place. Cool right? But I don't think that episode was scary at all. Another show I also watch is The Haunting Of and the host Kim Russo who's a medium also did an investigation with Regis Philbin. Now, her show was a lot more interesting than Ghost Adventures since she's a medium and finds out a lot more information. Oh, I wish I could meet Kim. I would love for her to read my aura.

Of course we didn't see or sense anything paranormal. I guess it's good because we would have freaked out. Still fun though.

Next was the San Diego Zoo.

A little nervous about riding the skyfari but we had to because there was no way I was gonna walk this huge zoo on such a hot and HUMID day. Riley's face was so red I began to worry. Whenever I would see a restroom I would go in and get wet paper towels to put on his face and head.

So we took the Skyfari because we mainly wanted to see the polar bears. Well we had to walk down the steep hill a bit in the hot sun then as soon as we got to the polar bear exhibit there was a sign that said it was closed. That's great. They should have a sign next to the skyfari so people can see it and not have to walk down that steep hill. So there we are walking back up the steep hill which is a hundred times more of an inconvenience because of how hot it was.
This picture cracked me up because of the look of exhaustion on Riley's face.

We visited with the elephants which if I remember correctly are the ones from the Woodland Park Zoo here in Seattle. There's no elephants there anymore {not sure if the Point Defiance Zoo has any, that zoo is kinda lame if I'm being honest.}

After we were done here we took the guided tour bus back to the zoo entrance. The humidity was so uncomfortable that our clothes was sticking to our bodies and no amount of water was keeping us hydrated. Even Jacob complained about how awful it felt and he's rarely sensitive about the hot and humid weather like I am.

As soon as we got in the car and turned on the a/c Riley passed out. He was just DONE!

We went back to my mom's place and took a much needed shower. Then we watched the Warriors game with my dad.
For dinner we went to Victoria's {a taco shop} and I totally pigged out on rolled tacos with lots of salsa and an ice cold horchata. SO freaking good!
I've told Jacob that if I ever become overweight it'll be because of tortillas and pasta dishes. Those are my downfall. I can live without sweets but when it comes to indulging on my favorite foods it's gotta be Italian and Mexican food. Need to constantly practice self-control, lol.