I now present a short recap from our family vacation in San Diego! Because I ever so brilliantly packed my camera, and then forgot where I packed it, these photos are courtesy of my phone. They also mainly feature food, as that was generally the highlight of our days!
Upon arriving on Sunday, we grabbed lunch at the Broken Yolk Cafe in Paradise Beach before heading to our hotel, the
Paradise Point. I selected this hotel because it reminded me a bit of Hawaii - it was on its own island, had numerous pools, activities, dining spots, and a gym. While it was a bit spendy, it was worth it due to the aforementioned amenities. That evening my dad and I ventured out in search of seafood, and after attempting to go to the Pacific Beach Fish House, we ended up at Fat Fish.
Monday was spent exploring San Diego. We started with brunch at my favorite, Hash House A Go Go. I dream of this place, so it was fitting that we started things off here. Luckily I knew enough to split two breakfasts between the three of us, but it was still food overload. Glorious, glorious overload.
Next we headed to Balboa Park. We walked around the rose gardens before making our way to Spanish Village.
My parents picked out a beautiful painting at one of the studios, and then we headed downtown. My dad, in his unbeknownst to him quest to see every ballpark in the US, was quite happy to stop at Petco Park.
After this stop, we headed to Coronado Island for a while and then back to the hotel to swim with Rachel and Elie before heading to Enoteca Adriano for a delicious Italian dinner. Who loves no-corkage fees? We do, we do!
On Tuesday we headed to Solana Beach and did some shopping in the Cedros Design District. We spent another afternoon by the pool, and then my dad and I braved the crowds at Pacific Beach Fish Shop to have some of the most delicious fish tacos ever. We had to energize for our following day at the San Diego Zoo!
We started early on Thursday and headed to La Jolla. The highlight was the infamous "Coast Toast" at Brockton Villa. I will definitely be attempting to recreate this masterpiece at home! Think my dad liked it? "Best french toast ever!" he proclaimed!
As for me, I tried to steer a bit to the "healthier" side with an egg white/soy chorizo scramble.
We spent the morning walking around the beach, admiring the famous seals, and exploring art galleries. I would love to come back here and go kayaking with the seals! Or live in a house here. Either would be fine. I'm not picky.
Guess what we did that afternoon? Pool time!!! I was happy we had a room by the adults-only pool.
That evening, Rachel picked me up for a wine-tasting event at a hotel in La Jolla. We stayed for a while before venturing to Roppongi and sharing appetizers, including these diver scallops on potato latkes. We followed it up with dessert nearby. All efforts at eating well stopped at this point of the trip!
Friday morning included brunch at Mission Cafe, and unfortunately I forgot to take pictures of the delicious strawberry banana pancake stack we shared. Next we visited Rachel's house and admired her amazing design skills and fantastic children's book collection. It was so fun to see the actual house after seeing so many pictures of it.
Our last big adventure of the week was a visit to Stone Brewing Company. Although it was a bit of a drive for us, we figured it was worth it to visit the most famous of San Diego's breweries. (Selfishly, I also had decided that Joe needed an "Arrogant Bastard" t-shirt. Because nothing says irony like calling Joe an arrogant bastard.)
My dad and I headed to dinner at Tractor House, a sister restaurant of Hash House A Go Go. After stuffing ourselves with beer, burgers/fries, salmon, green beans, and corn bread... we decided that we were over our food adventure. This night created a giant food coma for us both.
Saturday was a pretty lazy day. However, a highlight was getting to walk the bay with Dorine in the morning! She had seen my zoo post on Facebook and checked to see if I would still be in town. It was great to catch up with her, especially with San Diego as the backdrop. Later my dad and I tried to utilize the resort's entertainment, including croquet and basketball. For all the times I've won at Scrabble, my dad showed me who was boss at physical sports.
That evening we went to the Prado in Balboa Park. We had enough time to wander around the lily ponds and snap some pictures before enjoying a terrific meal and dessert. My dad and I had apparently forgotten that we were over our food adventures. And thus begun "food coma part two."
My mom wanted a fancy brunch to celebrate our last day of vacation. We tried to eat at Snooze, but were thwarted with a two hour (!!!) wait. We ended up at Babycakes instead and then spent some time driving through Little Italy and along the harbor.
That evening, I went with the Wellands to Dante Enoteca for dinner part one. Rachel surprised me by bringing the babies from Jenna's baby shower to dinner.
Before my parents ventured back to Little Italy for dinner part two, I relaxed for a while and spent time reflecting on the trip. I had a wonderful time with my parents! Our last family vacation (a Paris/Rome combo in 2000) was not exactly a smooth one, even though it was a great trip. (Put a 20 year old and her mom together for two weeks... recipe for one stressed out dad!) But this one went swimmingly. Because of all of our pool time? He he. Good to see I've grown up over the last 13 years, huh?
It was also wonderful to hang out with Rachel and her family, and I can't wait to visit again! San Diego Family Vacation was a great success!
