“Make new friends but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold.”
origins unclear
Today I greatly enjoyed bringing old friends to some of our favorite places around the greater San Diego coast.
Started with lunch at the Cliff Hanger Cafe- the best sandwich in town where you can watch hang gliders and para sailors jump off a cliff for fun and profit… with stunning ocean cliff views, to boot!
Italian Roast Beef sandwich with sun dried tomatoes. Loved it. Cliff Hanger Cafe is the best.Debbie, quit taking photos of the nude beach down below!
We then stopped by the World famous Torrey Pines Golf Course where we may or may not have picked up a gift for someone… I may have to pick up golfing, this is such a beautiful place!
Torrey Pines Golf CourseTorrey Pines Golf Course
Next place on the list was a short walking tour of the village of La Jolla and the water front from Shell Beach to The Cove…
At the rocks over Shell Beach in La Jolla, a new photographer has caught the bug.Gelateria Frizzante on Prospect Ave. for a sweet break!
We finished the day at Pizza Port in Solana Beach, stopping to admire the view at Fletcher Cove, first.
A new beer from Pizza Port for me- the Sea Side Stout on nitro. this was smooth and creamy, but not too heavy- under a 4% alcohol. I’d get it again.
Introducing old friends to one’s favorite places to visit make for a great day.
Sea Side Stout
“Remember back when we were goof-balls in preschool?”Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold.
Friends visiting us from out of town? A visit to Torrey Pines is mandatory.
Torrey Pines State Preserve this Friday… so lovely:
Stunning blue sky, green pines, and red cliffs, two days ago…
Southern California is experiencing a severe drought right now. So, when the friends from Indiana are visiting, what do we get for the weather? Two days of steady rain thanks to Hurricane Dolores. I didn’t snap any pictures of the ominous grey and black clouds as they rushed up on us, but did find this lovely photo online. Imagine the fog like this… just coming down in buckets:
This is the closest photo I could come up with- Torrey Pines in the fog… (photo credit to andrewharper.com)
Our hike today started with clear skies, but by mid-morning, the hurricane bands started coming up from the south. And fast. By the time we started the return hike, the skies opened up and we enjoyed (!?!) the rest of the walk along the water’s edge and the base of the cliffs in the pouring rain. At least we had the warm rain and beach to walk along!
Very VERY wet hikers make it to the car…
By the time we made it back to the car we were soaked to the skin. I amazed that we managed to keep the cameras and phones dry. The hair dryers and styling products were a waste of time this morning. We looked (and felt) like we had jumped in a pool.
We finished the evening at a favorite fish restaurant, Bay Park Fish Company, where we talked two of the most unlikely of diners to try ahi poke- they didn’t die nor did they hate it! I had to try something new to eat since hiking in a total downpour wasn’t good enough for my New Thing o’ the Day. Kung Pao Calamari- yum. It is on the appetizer list, but with a side of rice, voilà- dinner.
Here you go, Scott, proof of your wife trying the ahi poke:
OHMYGOSH DEBBIE IS EATING RAW FISH!!!Kung Pao Calamari with a side of rice- delish.
Want to try a craft brew from San Diego but don’t care for the double, triple, or quadruple hopped varieties that this area is known for? I’m not crazy about hoppy beers, but I wanted something other than wine to go with the pan fried dorado we had for dinner tonight- yea for my freezer and The Husband’s catch o’ the day from several months ago!
Mike Hess Brewing Jucundus is an Orange Honey Wheat beer that I cannot pronounce. So what If I can’t? What I can do is drink this brew. There’s not a lot of hops, it’s not overly bitter, it is just a nice, summer brew.
The beer snobs of San Diego can sacrifice me to the High Hops Goddess for saying this, but I think that this beer tastes like a better version of the basic supermarket beers. Now, excuse me while I duck and run for cover before an angry mob forms to pelt me with local, line caught fish tacos.
A couple months ago, I took The Boy to an R rated movie that I thought would be all right… That was kind of not a smart thing to do.
Clearly, I have not learned my lesson- we took The Girl to see a bunch of comedians downtown since the headliner is a friend of The Husband. This is a first for us… The Mad House Comedy Club downtown in Horton Plaza is an 18 and up and some of the comedy can be pretty crass and off-colored.
What saved us was missing a few of the acts since one of us forgot her ID and we had to drive all the heck the way back home to get it (insert epic eye roll and long suffering parental sigh here). We missed a couple of the more outrageously raunchy acts this way. Am I a good parent, or what?!?
Fortunately, Johnny Cardinale does a show that isn’t cringe-worthy at all for a parent to see with their (college-aged) kid. The music set he does complete with guitar is fabulous and particularly why we wanted The Girl to see his act.
Ever catch yourself before you make a mistake? The way you bring your hand up to your chest or head and say “Wow, I’m glad we didn’t do that, what a mess that could have been!”
Every year we almost go downtown to one of our favorite restaurants- The Fish Market or Dublin Square, for example, during the second or third weekend of July. Almost. We always smack our foreheads and realize that we have narrowly avoided the utter chaos of Comic Con.
This year, however, we finally braved… The Con.
Saturday we trollyed on down to the Seaport Village stop and for the first time, walked around to see the outstanding activities going on for the official pass-less masses.
What a hoot! Be warned: this is NOT an event for the claustrophobic…
Like “Outlander?” Here’s a hoard of Scots and such, hired by Starz Network to make a lot of noise for the series-
Here’s a couple of views of the waterfront and hotels near the San Diego Convention Center. People are lined up to get into the Hall H panels for Sunday already, there is some big dance party going on aboard a yacht, more cosplayers than you can shake a light saber at, and a plethora of goofiness to see all the way to Seaport Village.
This El Cajon cosplayer won. Hands down, she and her husband made the best costume I saw. She rocked her Steam Punk tricked-out mobility device, don’t you think?
Lots of other cool sights to see-
Groot!!!These guys were a bit pumped up… Starz hired a bunch of fun, rowdy guys to promote Outlander
This is a pretty cool shirt associated with Stephen Amell’s (of “Arrow” fame on CW) Sinceriously fundraiser. We saw a lot of these shirts. Click on the picture to be linked to information about “Stand for the Silent” and “Paws and Stripes.” Anti-bullying messages and pets for the troops are the main focus there.
Fashionable lady supporting Arrow’s Stephen Amell’s fundraisers
I’m totally bummed that I didn’t get in to see the Lego Dimensions exhibit. Check out the video- The Doctor in the Delorean and Darth Vader- how fun! But we did get to see the premier of the Doctor Who Lego Dimensions trailer on Thursday in Hall H.
Sunday is Family Day down by the Convention Center. Get down there for what I’m told is the best of the best costumes worn by the tens of thousands of fanboys and fangirls. Take the trolly for the easiest commute!
branching out... on a limb 