San Diego – December 31, 2017 – January 2, 2018
San Diego – December 31, 2017 – January 2, 2018
Welcomed in the New Year in San Diego with a recommended
meal at La Puerto in the Gaslamp Quarter of San Diego. Yummy happy hour “Bark at the Moon” margaritas
(2 since they were half price) and Surf and turf tacos. Met a nice young couple from New York who
were sightseeing here – he works on setting up ropes courses, she is consultant
in the financial industry and we geeked out over Gallup Strengths stuff. My first experience with Uber – loved sharing
rides and meeting people and drivers along the way!
Full day of sightseeing in San Diego on the Old Town Trolley,
a narrated tour with hop on, hop off service.
The morning fog burned off in time for a stroll through
Coronado, a lovely town across the bay.
It boasts one of the nicest beaches in the US with white sand.
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Got to put my toes in the Pacific.
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Did a comparison sampling of a margarita while enjoying the beautiful view of the ocean
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From the bar/restaurant at the back of the stately Coronado Inn.
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Continued on to Balboa Park, home of the San Diego zoo – a
place I have always wanted to visit. It
was a wonderful, balmy 60 degree New Year’s Day (sorry East coasters who are in
the midst of 10 degree weather) to meander through the park, although many of
the prime museums and the Japanese Gardens were closed. Fortunately the zoo was open!!
With just a few hours to get a taste of this 100 acre home
to 4,000 plus animals, I opted for a bus tour and skyway ride for an overview,
then wandered through a few of the trails to see the hippos (they have windows so you can view what’s below the
surface of these huge animals), gorillas, and of significance to my upcoming
trip….tigers.
On the ship, I will be with the “Arabian Sea,” the name
given my “floor” of about 85 students. I’ve
been told our designated color is orange and am prepared to introduce our
mascot as Tigger, with respectful reference to Arabian tigers.
Caught the very last trolley to Old Town San Diego, some of
which has been made into a State Historic Park.
It was interesting to imagine the origins of this remarkable city as I
wandered through stalls of crafts, listened to some live Mexican music, and
topped off the day with Mexican food with homemade tacos.
Have to add that traveling alone offers opportunities to strike up unusual conversations. I struck up a conversation with the couple sitting next to me at dinner only to learn they were meeting up for the first time face-to-face after communicating on Match.com. A bit awkward and very funny to be part of their first meeting.
Have to add that traveling alone offers opportunities to strike up unusual conversations. I struck up a conversation with the couple sitting next to me at dinner only to learn they were meeting up for the first time face-to-face after communicating on Match.com. A bit awkward and very funny to be part of their first meeting.
Look at you, posting already! Thank you for the sharing your warm day with us. I love the thought of you wandering all over the city, chatting up strangers and sampling margaritas.
ReplyDeleteOops, this is Monette
Deletethis is Barb P. Sounds like fun times have begun. I like picturing all that sun and warmth. Thanks for keeping us updated whenever you have time; guessing you will be quite busy as the semester begins.
ReplyDeleteand here's the weather headline you're missing haha: " 'Bomb cyclone’ to blast East Coast before polar vortex uncorks tremendous cold late this week". Turns out bomb cyclone is an actual weather term, go figure.
DeleteHey Martha, it's Dani. I'm going to opt to get a margarita soon so I can pretend I'm enjoying it with you :) So glad to see you already making the most of your trip.
ReplyDelete