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Old 7 Mar 20, 09:22 PM  
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Stewboy
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Wonder on the West Coast: Day 6 - San Diego & La Jolla

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Saturday 26th October 2019

Today’s plan was to drive half an hour north of Downtown San Diego up the I-5 to visit the La Jolla seaside community and its resident seals and sea lions.

When I woke up at 7am Jo had already been up for an hour and a half. Once up, I immediately set about making coffee in the room - which turned out to be surprisingly good for hotel room coffee.

We let Isabella sleep until about 9am and then we all headed downstairs to the restaurant next door for the buffet breakfast which was included in the room rate. On the way down we let Kimberly know what we were up to.


Ready for breakfast

After we’d been seated we headed for the buffet. It wasn’t as good as Homewood Suites but it would keep us going till lunchtime.

Kimberly eventually joined us and we made our plans for the day: eat breakfast, return to our rooms to get ready, and meet back downstairs at 10:30am.






The buffet

Back at the room, Jo and Isabella rang Jo’s dad. It makes his day when he gets to talk to Isabella; she calls him Big G(randad).

Once we were ready we headed downstairs to meet Kimberly, then made our way through into the parking garage to the Jeep.




The streets of San Diego

We navigated our way to the I-5 and made the drive to La Jolla. When we arrived we drove to the center-downtown area known as the Village. Parking is hard to come by in this part of La Jolla and we were very lucky to find a great parking space close to La Jolla Cove.




La Jolla parking




Beautiful day...


...for cartwheels!

The weather was lovely today and as we strolled along we got our very first look at the Pacific Ocean. A short walk took us to rocky beaches where the sea lions congregate. Loudly!

Jo, Isabella and I ventured down onto the rocks for a closer look but Kimberly was content to relax on a bench overlooking the ocean. Getting pretty close, you appreciate just how big some of those sea lions are - one in particular was throwing his not inconsiderable weight around and making an awful lot of noise while he did it!


Pacific Ocean




















Heading down to see the sea lions

Back up on the front, Jo and Isabella found out some information about sea lions and seals from the parks and recreation desk set up on the front; they even had skulls of each to compare for reference.

As it was a beautiful Saturday morning there were a lot of other people out and about looking at the wildlife, so after we reached the overlook of La Jolla Cove we decided to head away from the front to explore the shops and restaurants of the Village.




Finding out about the seals and sea lions






La Jolla Cove




Ladies of La Jolla


Refelective sunglasses!

Just before we headed up a flight of stairs away from the front we stopped at the Cave Store for a look around. This store also serves as the entrance to the Sunny Jim Sea Cave - so called because the shape of the cave is similar to a character called ‘Sunny Jim’ that was used to promote an old American cereal brand - we decided not to venture down!

The shop is rather unique, and after spending some time browsing, Isabella bought herself a San Diego pin and then we decided we should find somewhere to get lunch.










The Cave Store

We headed up onto Prospect Street, which is full of restaurants and shops, and decided on a Hawaiian-inspired restaurant called Duke’s for lunch.

It was nice and bright inside with a great view of the La Jolla cliffs and coastline. The menu was really interesting too and ordered the following:
  • Me: Grilled fish sandwich - Thai basil rubbed, greens, maui onions, meyer lemon remoulade, brioche bun, mixed green salad
  • Jo: Seared ahi bowl - seared rare, furikake chili crust, seaweed salad, edamame, kimchi, wasabi avocado puree, coconut bamboo rice, yuzu ponzu
  • Kimberly: Black bean nachos - corn tortilla chips from el nopalito, cheddar, pepper jack & queso fresco, chipotle cream, pico de gallo, guacamole
  • Isabella: Chicken tenders with rice


After a delicious and relaxing lunch - Jo said it was the best thing she ate all holiday - we headed back out into the California sunshine and took a slow walk back to the car, stopping on the way for an iced caramel macchiato from Starbucks.








Duke's


Grilled fish sandwich


Seared ahi bowl


Black bean nachos


Chicken tenders with rice


Starbucks

Before the drive back to Downtown San Diego we needed to get a few supplies so we took a slight detour to Trader Joe’s at La Jolla Village Square - confusing the Village of La Jolla is not the same as La Jolla Village!

Despite Jo’s love of Trader Joe’s it was only a flying visit and then we were back on the road.








Trader Joe's
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Old 7 Mar 20, 09:23 PM  
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As we arrived back in the city we decided to take a drive over to Coronado Island, taking the I-5 all the way down to South San Diego before turning right and heading along Imperial Beach, up SR 75 along Silver Strand Boulevard and onto Coronado Island itself.

We drove round the island, taking in the sights, including the famous Hotel del Coronado - inspiration for Disney’s Grand Floridian - and the Mexican border!
















Coronado Island


Mexican border

After a short driving tour of the island - we decided not to get out and explore on foot - we headed across the rather impressive Coronado Bridge back into Downtown San Diego.






Coronado Bridge
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Old 7 Mar 20, 09:23 PM  
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On the return drive to the hotel we needed some gas. Now, if you’ve read my previous trip reports, driven in America yourself, or even read about other Dibbers who’ve driven in America, you’ll know that getting gas is never straightforward and can in some cases lead to ‘hilarious’ incidents! Whilst not on the same level as some, this particular gas filling adventure was somewhat of a palaver.

It started off well enough; I knew where the petrol cap was for a start, and I’d worked out how to open it. I went in and pre-authorised $50 on the credit card…. $50?! I’m sure you’ll agree that was excessive and there was no way it would get anywhere near that.

However, after only $8 worth of gas had gone in, the handle clicked. Now, I’ve had this happen before and I should’ve known it wasn’t full, but for some reason I put the nozzle back. Obviously that wasn’t enough, and I was due to return the car later today, so it needed to be full.

Back I went into the gas station, explained what was going on to the cashier, and gave him $30 in cash.

Back to the pump, and this time a further $20 went in. Fortunately, it was full now and headed back into the gas station one last time to get my change.

Now I was finished, and we could take the short drive back to the hotel - the gas station was literally a five minute drive away.

We arrived back at the hotel at about 3:30pm, said goodbye to Kimberly (we’d be meeting up again at about 5:30pm for dinner), and then headed back to the room.

After a quick cup of tea and a sit down, it was time for me to go and drop the rental car off at the rental garage at the airport. As it was a straightforward drive I left Jo and Isabella to relax in the room and headed out on a solo mission!

The drive took less than 10 minutes and there were no detours or incidents. Drop off was easy, and once done I headed outside to find the pick up/drop off point. I ordered a Lyft back to the hotel and the whole round trip took about half an hour.






Bye bye Jeep

It was now getting on for 5:30pm - time to head out for dinner. I got ready quickly then we met Kimberly downstairs and took a leisurely 20 minute walk through Downtown San Diego to the Seaport Village area where we had a reservation at a Mexican restaurant called Puesto.






Heading out for dinner

The Seaport Village is a waterfront shopping and dining complex adjacent to San Diego Bay, and as such was pretty lively. Puesto is housed in the old San Diego Police Department headquarters called “The Headquarters” and boasts award winning tacos and margaritas - which is why Jo had booked it!

After being seated we all decided on the three taco deal, except Isabella who went for the quesadillas.

  • Me: Carnitas, Smoked Tuna, Chicken Al Pastor
  • Jo: Taco of the Month (Fish), Chicken Al Pastor, Mushroom
  • Kimberly: Carnitas, Grilled Shrimp, Filet Mignon
  • Isabella: Kids Quesadillas



Tacos


Quesadillas

To drink Jo went for a Margarita (obviously!) and I had a local craft beer (San Diego is full of them!), while Kimberly and Isabella stuck with water.








Puesto

The tacos were really good, as was Isabella’s quesadilla. We decided to skip dessert and head to the nearby Gaslamp Quarter to get something from Ghirardelli instead.

Ghirardelli was about a 15 minute walk away and as you would expect on a Saturday night the Gaslamp Quarter was pretty lively!




We got an Ocean Beach - Sea Salt Caramel Sundae and a Crissy Field - Cookie Bits Sundae to share between me, Jo and Isabella; Kimberly had one all to herself!

Once dessert was done, we bought ourselves some Ghirardelli chocolate squares to take home, and then ordered a Lyft back to the hotel.










Ghirardelli

The drive back took about ten minutes and by 8:30pm we were saying goodnight to Kimberly and putting Isabella straight to bed. Jo and I enjoyed a decaf coffee and were in bed by about 9:30pm.

So that’s day six done. Tomorrow we bid farewell to Kimberly and San Diego as we head on board the Disney Wonder to start our Disney Cruise!

As always, thanks for reading!
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Old 7 Mar 20, 11:12 PM  
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What a great day. Those tacos look amazing (a great pick by Jo!)and the ghiradelli desserts look fantastic too. Thanks for sharing
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Old 8 Mar 20, 07:56 AM  
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Sounds like a lovely relaxed day. It seems like a really great place to stay.

The tacos looked fab & of course Jo got a marg had to be done.

Can’t wait to read about the cruise!
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Old 8 Mar 20, 10:04 AM  
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Another fab day, Jo and I must shop at the same places for kids clothes
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Old 8 Mar 20, 11:19 AM  
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Nice chilled day - all the food today looked lovely especially those desserts 🍨
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Old 8 Mar 20, 03:56 PM  
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What a lovely day 😊
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Old 8 Mar 20, 03:56 PM  
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What a lovely day and those ice creams look amazing.
I went to San Diego years ago and definitely looks like somewhere to go back to.
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Old 31 Mar 20, 06:15 PM  
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Originally Posted by Sparksy72 View Post
What a great day. Those tacos look amazing (a great pick by Jo!)and the ghiradelli desserts look fantastic too. Thanks for sharing
Ah, it was such a great day TFR

Originally Posted by sheluk View Post
Sounds like a lovely relaxed day. It seems like a really great place to stay.

The tacos looked fab & of course Jo got a marg had to be done.

Can’t wait to read about the cruise!
Wonderful day; great memories

Originally Posted by ziggyzag View Post
Another fab day, Jo and I must shop at the same places for kids clothes
TFR

Originally Posted by mrsdjh View Post
Nice chilled day - all the food today looked lovely especially those desserts 🍨
Wonderful!

Originally Posted by Tinkermom View Post
What a lovely day 😊
It was

Originally Posted by SuziQz View Post
What a lovely day and those ice creams look amazing.
I went to San Diego years ago and definitely looks like somewhere to go back to.
We definitely would. Loved it
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