Tag: California

San Diego Holiday Cheer!

On By Travels with MelindaIn California, San Diego, Travel, travel hacks, travel tips, travelling, Uncategorized, vacationLeave a comment

We were in San Diego the first weekend in December when it seemed like everywhere you looked there were holiday events taking place-on Coronado, in Balboa Park, at Seaport Village, and the streets of Little Italy. Definitely a beautiful time to enjoy warm weather and experience holiday cheer while walking along the beach!

We are thinking of bringing one or both of the grandkids with us on future trips here, so everywhere we went, we were on the lookout for experiences and places that they would enjoy. San Diego is an awesome place for kids of all ages. Here are some of the places we’ll go with the grandkids when the time is right:

CORONADO

We would definitely stay at the Hotel del Coronado with the grandkids. This historic property dating back to the 1800’s is a resort filled with everything you would want-pools, onsite gelato and candy store, many restaurants, etc. At the holidays, there is a real ice-skating rink and gorgeous decorations to enjoy as well.

After walking through the property several times and sitting in the rocking chairs on the veranda, we made a vow to stay here next time we come to San Diego, hopefully with the grandkids in tow. They seem to offer a variety of rooms/suites though we were definitely eyeing the ground floor with a patio that included nice seating around a fire pit and ocean view. How much could it cost?? Hotel del Coronado | San Diego’s Legendary Beach Resort.

What else is there to do in Coronado by the resort? Take a stroll down the beachfront and watch the surfers. While we were there, they had posted a warning not to get into the water due to issues with pollution in the water but while that warning deterred swimmers, the surfers were still out there. We even saw a pod of dolphins having fun in the surf too. I hope the polluted waters didn’t hurt any of them.

When you are hungry or ready to shop, walk Orange Avenue on Coronado which is lined with boutiques, cafes and even a large grocery store and Walgreen’s. Everything you could need is located on this one main boulevard. They even have a small movie theater showing the latest flicks and a theater with live performances.

BALBOA PARK AREA Home – Balboa Park

The 18 museums in/near Balboa Park are great for any rainy days or when you need to get out of the sun for a while. The park is free, but the museums do charge admissions. If you want to go to several, consider buying a pass that is good for 7 days-details on museum pass here: Explore | Balboa Park Explorer; About | Balboa Park Explorer

Our grandkids would definitely enjoy:

Comic-Con Museum – The Magic of Comic-Con, All Year Round (not included in the Balboa Park Museum pass)

San Diego Air & Space Museum – Historical Balboa Park, San Diego (sandiegoairandspace.org)

The San Diego Zoo is considered part of Balboa Park. We plan to spend an entire day at the zoo with the grandkids-first, it is expensive, and you want to get your money’s worth, but it is so massive and there is so much to see that it deserves a whole day and not just a few hours. Get on your walking shoes, wear your sunscreen, and get ready to see the animals. Plan Your Visit | San Diego Zoo

If we are able to visit San Diego in December, we will take the kids to see the annual theater performance of The Grinch Who Stole Christmas at the Old Globe Theater in Balboa Park Home | The Old Globe  This is a favorite movie for both of them!

EMBARCADERO

Embarcadero is a Spanish word for “landing place” and San Diego’s Embarcadero is a scenic waterfront area with a rich maritime history and culture that runs next to San Diego Bay. We stayed at the Marriott Marquis Marina, which is right on the Embarcadero, so we were able to walk this area quite a bit. We even got on a two-seater bike courtesy of our hotel and biked the waterfront. So. Fun. Here are the highlights of the Embarcadero area:

I think our grandkids might enjoy taking a tour of this enormous aircraft carrier and hearing about its history. This experience would definitely take several hours at least. After visiting the USS Midway, it’s a quick walk over to the Seaport Village which is a great place for lunch.

Worth an afternoon to shop and enjoy the various restaurants by the water at Seaport Village. We dined with relatives at the Edgewater Grill that has indoor and outdoor seating with direct water views but there are also casual taco and pizza places. Very nice!

The San Diego Symphony’s home stage, the Rady Bandshell also have a variety of other programs so check out their event schedule online before your trip. It is outside seating so even though the weather is usually perfect in San Diego, check for rain first before buying tickets and in the winter, it gets cold at night so bring a blanket. San Diego Symphony – The Official Travel Resource for the San Diego Region

DOWNTOWN SAN DIEGO

There are lots of historic sites, shopping, restaurants, and museums in downtown San Diego to check out. Got kids and you need to get out of the sun/rain? The New Children’s Museum | Think, Play, Create (thinkplaycreate.org) is a few blocks away from the Marriott Marquis Marina where we stayed this trip and also next to a great children’s outdoor playground.

I would recommend you take the Trolley Tour and hop on, hop off downtown if you see spots you want to visit. I would NOT recommend you randomly stroll around downtown on your own like we did. Even veteran urban dwellers like us who love to do this should not if they are not familiar with the area. On this trip, we decided to walk from our hotel to Little Italy on a Saturday to check out the farmer’s market there. We randomly chose a path that unknowingly took us right by the downtown jail and through a deserted section of town since it was Saturday, and no workers were around. Confronted by a person masked and dealing with obvious mental health issues in an underpass, we were able to get away and stay calm but even my New Yorker husband was rattled by the close call that could have gotten ugly quickly. So, take the trolley and enjoy the city but always be checking your surroundings and have a plan in case you get into a situation.

Our trolley driver told us that the Gaslamp Quarter is THE place to party into the wee hours in San Diego. They close off Fifth Avenue to traffic from 11 am to 3 am so everyone can just parade down the street going from bar to bar. We were so tired from walking during the day that even our best laid plans to try out a Speakeasy on Fifth Avenue did not happen. Next time if we don’t have the grandkids!

The Little Italy neighborhood is a great place to enjoy their Saturday farmer’s market (come hungry-there are lots of enticing food stalls!) and also many restaurants to savor. We got real Italian cookies (think buttery, chocolate and tasty) at the Italian grocery. Just like I remember from New York Italian bakeries!

On a previous trip to San Diego, we met relatives here and enjoyed awesome Mexican food at a café and walked around the historic buildings. The trolley stops here so you can hope off and probably eat and spend hours just wondering around. Lots of souvenir shops!

San Diego Padres play at a rare downtown field, Petco Park. Years ago, we stayed at a downtown hotel and our room looked out over the field-so close we could see the players and scoreboard. So, if you are a baseball fan, check out their schedule, get a hotel close by and enjoy! Official San Diego Padres Website | MLB.com

SEAWORLD Visit with Purpose: SeaWorld Orlando, San Diego & San Antonio – Park to Planet | SeaWorld

We didn’t make it to SeaWorld on this trip, but we will definitely include a visit if we bring the grandkids here. Plan to spend the whole day here and bring your $$$ because it is not cheap. Check around for deals and coupons but with amusement rides, animal experiences and more, it is very much like a trip to Disney World and costs just as much.

WHERE TO STAY

 We stayed at the San Diego CA Lodging | San Diego Marriott Marquis on the Embarcadero and close enough to walk into downtown San Diego. The Marriott is a huge hotel next to the convention center, where you can easily walk along the Embarcadero promenade to the USS Midway, Seaport Village, the Rady Bandshell and get the ferry to Coronado across San Diego Bay. They have multiple pools, outdoor bars by the pools and multiple on property restaurants. They have a M Club for status members, but it was disappointing in that the food selection was very limited compared to other clubs I’ve visited at Marriott properties all over the world. But we still we got free coffee, beverages and some limited snacks which are nice to have around. The huge win for us was that they honored my status suite awards and we got upgraded to the Luxury Suite on the 23rd floor with a kitchen, dining room, and balcony overlooking the water. So lovely and appreciated so much!

I don’t think you could ask for a better location unless you wanted to be on the ocean in Coronado, in which case the Hotel del Coronado is the best choice! Hotel del Coronado | San Diego’s Legendary Beach Resort.

GETTING AROUND

Arriving in San Diego at the airport, I am always surprised at how close it is to the beach and downtown area. It is smack dab in the center of it all, making it easy to get to your hotel. Our Uber was a quick 10-minute hop to the Marriott and cost about $20. We don’t rent cars as a rule when we travel, opting for public transportation, walking ALOT and Uber. San Diego has a light rail, buses, and is very walkable. We also took the ferry from the marina over to Coronado which I would highly recommend. Only $8 each way and running every 20 minutes, it is a great way to get out on the water and super convenient to the many hotels on the Embarcadero. https://www.flagshipsd.com/cruises/flagship-ferry

OLD TOWN TROLLEY TOURS San Diego Tours Voted #1 | Save Up To 20% On San Diego Tours (trolleytours.com)

Instead of the hop on, hop off buses you see in many cities, the cute trollies in San Diego take you to all the top sites. They offer one- and two-day tours of San Diego so check it out, look online for any coupons and use this as your transportation between all the sights for a reasonable $50 per person. I know our grandkids will love riding around in the open-air trolley cars. We took the one-day option and had several different drivers on the segments as we hopped on and off several times. They were all friendly and informative in explaining about the various areas as we drove through them. Time efficient AND entertaining! Enjoy the journey!

Me-Host with the Least

On By Travels with MelindaIn adventure, Family vacation, Uncategorized, vacation1 Comment

I realized this weekend that I am most definitely NOT the perfect host.  Actually, far from it.  As our hosts in LA anticipated and provided everything we could want and more, it became clear to me that, as I judged myself by comparison, I have been the host with the least in the past.  So here is my public apology to all our past guests.  Positive intent but bad execution.  I’m a sort of “take care of yourself” person.  I don’t expect anyone to take care of me, being fiercely independent and all.  When we have guests visit us, I have always told them to make themselves at home and just assume they will.  Who am I to hover when I’ve told them that what I have is theirs?

WP_20160317_15_53_30_Pro
The Endeavor-an awesome sight and story to experience in person at California Science Center in LA

 

This self-revelation came when we visited Thom’s brother Jimmy and his wife, Shari, to attend a Bruce Springsteen concert at LA Sports Arena.  Worried about that pesky LA traffic, I suggested we take public transportation vs. driving, even though we didn’t expect the concert to be over until very late.  WHAT WAS I THINKING??  Finally, after much conversation and  hearing Shari’s concerns about the walking involved and train service limitations, I accepted that we should drive and, boy, was I glad that we did.  Not only do I need to be a better host but I need to be a better guest too.  First lesson-listen to your hosts!  With Bruce playing his heart out for nearly 4 hours, we were able to quickly exit and jump in the car to hit the highway and get home by midnight.  Arriving earlier in the day we got to check out the space shuttle Endeavor prior to the concert.  So fun!  Thom declared it a perfect day-experiencing the space shuttle simulator and dancing to Bruce and the E Street Band.  I may not be a good hostess but I do good at birthday presents for my hubby!

LA
Four crazy kids at a rock conert

 

But back to being spoiled rotten.  Not wanting to put anyone out, I think I was rude in denying Jimmy and Shari the right to take care of us at the level they wanted to.  I don’t really eat breakfast so no need to cook, right?  But here came a lovely fruit plate and breakfast wrap our first morning.  Instead of being nice and eating it, I declined and that was probably rude.  Shari is from Hong Kong and embodies the Chinese culture that we saw when we lived there.  Food is important and when family comes together, sharing a meal is significant.  Shame on me!  Lesson learned.

I’m the one, who in the past for work events, did not order enough food when in charge of picking the menu because I didn’t want to waste food and liked to save money.  I learned quickly from my boss in China that he expected that to never happen and I had better forget the budget and order the damn food and lots of it.  To the point that I knew to also order takeaway boxes so everyone at the meeting could take home leftovers.  Okay.  Good reminder for family gatherings as well.

As we drove to dinner Friday night in LA traffic, I was thinking to myself, aren’t there restaurants closer to home?  But no, on we went until we reached an adorably charming town where an old lemon factory had been converted into shops and restaurants and I bought some handmade jewelry from a friendly artist.  We ended up eating outside under the stars and, with Jimmy ordering LOTS of delicious food, we had a night to remember.  Had I been in charge, we would have schlepped to the closest place and probably gone home hungry.

LA 2
Dinner under the stars with an old fashioned to sip and awesome family time.

 

Today, we had barely gotten back from a huge dim sum feast today after our foot massages (heaven!) when Jimmy was pre-ordering pizzas for dinner and concerned that he get everyone their favorite toppings.  This morning when the power was out at the house, he was up early to run to Starbucks because he knew we loved our caffeine fix.  By the time he got back with venti Americanos for all, the power was already back on but, just in case it wasn’t, his guests were prepared to start the day right.  Jimmy and Shari ARE the perfect hosts.  Me, not so much. The first step is admitting it.