weekend getaway to . . .

Saturday morning . . .

Saturday morning started just like most other Saturday mornings, M&I got out of bed around 8:00 a.m., and drank our coffee.

As we sat on the couch we discussed what each of us planned to do with our Saturday, and then a weekend getaway plan was hatched - M said "what if we went to San Diego . . . I really want that seared tuna I had at that one restaurant we went to 5 years ago."  And so, without further discussion, I said, "Yes, lets do it, lets get of the city for awhile."

So what do you pack when you are going to San Diego with no particular plans?  Well - a dress that doesn't wrinkle, boots (so you are warm at night if you go out), light sweater, jeans, a top that is versatile, (cute enough to go out in at night, but comfortable enough to wear all day), flip flops, cute flats and a scarf.

Next, on the way down, I used M's iPhone to book a hotel room.  We decided to stay at a Double Tree Hotel downtown.  This was the view of downtown from the hotel.

Along the way we stopped to snap this picture along the 5 freeway.

Saturday afternoon . . .

On Saturday afternoon (after we checked into our hotel) we trotted off to Coronado Island which is right across the bay from San Diego.  I really don't like heights so the bridge is always difficult for me.

On the Island - the main attraction is the historic, Hotel Del Coronado.  The Hotel Del Coronado is a 120-year-old hotel, and it may look familiar to you if you have seen the screwball comedy, "Some Like It Hot", with the very lovely Marilyn Monroe, and the talented Tony Curtis and Jack Lemon.  I totally recommend this movie if you haven't seen it.

The Hotel Del, is quite expensive to actually stay for the night, but it is a place you can enjoy without being a guest of the hotel.

I love the layout of this quaint hotel.  The main building is several levels, and is surrounded by little private bungalows which guests can rent for a pretty penny.  On the back side of the hotel there is a green lawn, a sun deck with an outdoor bar and lawn chairs and a pool, all facing the ocean.  These are some of the pictures I took on Saturday.

M&I had a great view of the beach (a) from the lawn chairs we snagged on the sun deck (c).  For an afternoon of people watching, we enjoyed some chili cheese fries (my weakness) (b), a Coronado Margarita (my drink) and a pina colada (M's drink).  Both drinks were great, but the Coronado Margarita was particularly good and unusual.  It had tequila, sweet and sour, cranberry juice, triple sec, Grand Marnier liquor, and, of course, a salted rim.

At Magic Hour (sunset), M&I headed for the ocean and watched as a man proposed to his sweetie.  So romantic.  We also spotted some wonderful sand castles, and I snapped some pictures to share with all of you.

And then of course I had to snap a picture of the sunset.

Later that night, we went to a great little Thai restaurant, "Taste of Thai."  I chose the yellow curry with sea scallops, and M chose the duck with peanut satay -- both were super yummy

the hotel . . .

Our hotel room was nice enough, but it was unfortunate that our TV didn't work right and the maintenance man had to come twice so that we could order a movie.

Saturday night we watched, "How Do You Know",  with Jack Nicholson, Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd, and Owen Wilson (the ultimate cast in my opinion).  Although the reviews were quite bad, I have really wanted to watch it.  Both M&I would recommend it.  It is not a masterpiece, but definitely a fun romantic comedy to watch.  The movie ended at 1:00 a.m., and both M&I drifted off to sleep.

At about 3:30 a.m. that morning, I abruptly awoke to a screaming match that was taking place in the hallway.  A man was yelling obscenities ("obscenity man") at a woman who was balling and screaming ("screaming woman") at the top of her lungs.  It took me about 5 seconds to fling myself out of bed and run to the door, I was about halfway out the door in my t-shirt and underwear, when I realized maybe me going out there would not be the best thing to do.  And then I thought well, what would my mom do?

That is when I said "M!" (who was then fast asleep-once he is asleep he is dead to the world)  "M!!!" "Get up - there is something going on in the hall - could be a domestic violence situation!!"  He was of course dazed and confused, I am not sure he was fully awake, but he sat up in bed ready to pounce.  At that moment I regretted waking him up, because I didn't want him going out in the hall either.  So . . .  I grabbed the phone and got the front desk - who said they would send security. I then ran back to the door and slammed it very hard so that if he was hitting the woman or the woman was hitting the man -they would know they were caught.

Needless to say, I could not sleep then.  I laid in bed, my mind contemplating the worst.

I was convinced that if this fight was as bad as I thought it was, it would start again, if the woman wasn't already knocked unconscious or something (or at this point maybe the man was being beaten?).  I laid in bed, listening for any sound that would indicate that obscenity man and screaming woman were still around.  Then at 4:30 a.m. the yelling began again -  obscenities and crying.  I promptly, turned on the light and called the front desk again.  They said, "Ma'am we went up there last time and it was quiet."  To which, I replied, "I don't care!! there is something seriously wrong here."

Security came up again, and this time they caught the man in our hall (I don't know what happened to the woman).  I peered out of the peep whole and saw the security guards take obscenity man away, and one security guard asked, "Sir, are you staying here?"  Here is the kicker,  obscenity man wasn't even a guest at the hotel.  I could hear obscenity man say as they ushered him away - - "baby, baby, I love you . . ."  Yay - I'm sure he loves you screaming lady.

At 4:45 a.m., I fell asleep, happy that no one had been killed.

Sunday . . . 

The next morning, after the yelling match, we woke up and ordered room service.  I had a delightful waffle, with honey granola, strawberries, and mango puree on top (if I were to make this myself I would add some whip cream with a little bit of lemon zest).

After breakfast, we packed up and headed to Del Mar, which is about 20 miles North of San Diego.  There we walked along the beach, visited, and watched the whales, dolphins, and surfers.  Also, a few passenger trains came by (next time we are definitely take the train down from L.A. - the tracks follow the coast most of the way down I hear).

Our last stop in Del Mar was at the Fish Market for lunch.

M of course ordered the seared Ahi Tuna and a shrimp/crab cocktail.  The Ahi Tuna was AMAZING.  Slightly seared, when you put it in your mouth it melted like butter.  M paired his selection with a Fat Tire.

I had the clam chowder (which was great) and the East Coast clam bake (which was stellar) - it had lobster, shrimp, clams, mussels, corn and potatoes.  Very yummy.  I paired my selection with a Corona.

After we were thoroughly stuffed, we started our two hour trip back to L.A. With good traffic - we were home by 3:00 p.m.

All in all - a great weekend.