San Diego

The day after Thanksgiving Natalie and I took our 8 year anniversary trip. The original plan was to go to Catalina's Two Harbors but when I tried to get a hotel a couple months ago they were already booked. I didn't want to do Avalon again so I decided to go to San Diego instead and enjoy all the amazing food and drinks the city has to offer. It turned out to be a really good decision because the weather went to hell that weekend and Catalina would have sucked; not to mention puking the whole boat ride back in a boat.

So Friday we headed down to San Diego. Our first stop was Lolita's where I had one of the best burritos ever. I asked the girl what is her favorite burrito and she said most people like the California but she likes the 2 in 1. Two rolled tacos in a burrito. I decided to go with that and it was amazing. I had a single Modelo Negro with lunch which left me slightly buzzed. I only mention that because, well you'll see if you keep reading. So after lunch we decided to rent some bikes and take a ride. The weather was still amazingly good at this point so we had to get in all the outdoor action before it went to hell. It was a little over 3 miles to the Spruce Street Suspension Bridge so I thought a bike ride would be the best way to get there. The bridge was built in 1912 and crosses a dry wash. It was a nice quick stop followed by a downhill ride back to the car.

After that we checked into the hotel and crashed for a couple hours. We woke up as the sun was setting and went back to the gas lamp district for some food and beer. We spent the next couple hours at Quad Ale House then headed to the hotel and crashed out by 9. We had to save all our energy for the next day.

The next day was a busy one. After breakfast we headed over to the USS Midway Museum for what was supposed to be a 3 hour tour. The weather started getting rough, wait this is sounding like Gilligan's Island. But really, the weather turned to poo just as we got to the boat. The three hour tour turned into four and we had to bail out before trying the flight simulator. 

So next we took the trolley over to Little Italy and had to run through the rain with cheap ponchos from 7 Eleven that were pretty much useless. I heard Buon Appetito is good so I wanted to check it out. In my entire life I have had lasagna at exactly two restaurants that was good. This was one of them. Our stop there didn't start out good. We got seated and were ignored for 10 minutes while people were ordering around us. Once the waitress realized it she quickly fixed the situation and even threw in free dessert. I have to say I was very impressed with the food. I had the best beer of the entire weekend there, Eel River Blonde Ale. 

After dinner we went to Half Door Brewery and had some more beer. I wasn't too impressed so we went out looking for some better beer. However it was cold and I was wearing shorts like an idiot so we had to stop at the mall and get some warmer clothes. I bought my first scarf that night and learned one scarf is like wearing two sweaters. So now that I was warm we could hit the street again. When we got to the gas lamp we walked in a square around the same area for a half hour looking for some place that didn't look lame but wasn't full of nasty drunks and ass sweat. So we eventually stopped at Union something where I had a mediocre mojito, a really good Coco Lopez, and a shot of whiskey. Remember when I mentioned that one beer the previous day had me buzzed? Well here I was 5 drinks in and feeling nothing. That lasagna coated my stomach real good. 

So after a quick stop at the hotel we went over to the Kilt Lifter but they were closed except the bar. So we both had a Stella and left. Eventually we ended up at this house converted into a bar. Don't ask me what it was called, I have no freakin clue. All I know is we had 2 more beers while we played scrabble. Natalie talked a lot of crap about how good she is but had to quit mid game because she could no longer formulate a word with more than three letters. So us old folks who crashed out at 9 the night before made it to midnight thirty that morning. When I got back I took a shower and I crashed out and had the best sleep in a long time. 

The next morning before leaving we stopped at Rei De Gado for some steak. I wouldn't be me if I didn't eat so much steak that I was in pain that night. I regret nothing.

At the Spruce Street Suspension Bridge. There was a house for sale on the other side for 1.5 million. I'm kinda surprised that those people live in such a nice location but they don't cleanup the hill behind them.

We had a corner room on the 25th floor of the Hilton.

At Quad Ale House

Such a nice area except for the fact that the homeless were everywhere and on drugs. This lady kept doing some funny dance. One guy was actually in the middle of the street with his arms in the air yelling at God.

The Midway

The last action the Midway had was desert storm. The maps behind me are from Iraq.

I remember seeing tubes like this in a museum in San Jose when I was a kid.

Don't get the wrong knob.

On our way up to the bridge.

The captains seat. The funny thing is the captain doesn't actually steer the boat or control the speed.

Looking at the Carl Vinson and Theodore Roosevelt.

My favorite WWII plane. The F-4U Corsair. It's a sexy beast with an 11:1 kill ratio over the Japanese.

The engine that won the war. Pratt and Whitney Double Wasp, twin row, 18-cylinder radial engine. This beast was in the Corsair, Hellcat, and Bearcat. I already felt like I was in Disneyland when they had an F-4U on a carrier and adding the engine on display made it all that much better.

Last morning at the hotel.