April 11, 2011
We are in San Diego spending a few days with Bonnie’s brother, John, sister-in-law, Joann, nephew, Ben, and niece, Lydia, who are visiting there on a vacation. We left this morning at about 9:45, hoping to miss most of the traffic. I guess we did except around the 101/405 interchange. Luckily there is a carpool lane going all the way to the I5 and then again on the I5 shortly before reaching San Diego. We had a very easy trip and, even though we stopped once, we got here by 12:10.
We are at the Surfer Hotel. It is directly on the beach which is nice but it is really a very ordinary motel type place which is way overpriced for what is offered. But it is on the ocean. They did upgrade us to an ocean view room at no extra charge and, because I have a handicap placard, we aren’t being charged for parking. The hotel has no lobby to speak of but it does have a nice kidney shaped pool. Our room has a king bed but no chair or table to sit at. However, we do have a balcony overlooking the ocean which has a table and two chairs. That is where I am sitting right now. Our ocean view room does have an ocean view but from inside the room, we can only view the roof of another building. I was still excited because I could listen to the roar of the ocean. I can but it is rather faint because of the roar of the motors on the adjacent roof which are going constantly. However, I am enjoying sitting here this afternoon in the sun, blocking out the roar of the motors and listening to the bird and the waves which are a rather good size but not enormous.
Everyone except Ben went out to lunch at a very nice restaurant that is attached to our hotel. I think that is what is under the roof of this adjacent building and that is why the motors are continuously going. I had very good crab cake sliders. They looked a bit different because I think they were deep fried, as was Bonnie’s fish and chips, but they were very good. We sat on the patio which was very nice as it was overlooking the ocean. Then everyone except me went to the beach. I went for a walk and so far today I have walked 23 aerobic minutes. I walked all along the promenade next to the ocean and then back to the street and then back to the hotel. The kids and John were going boogie boarding. Bonnie had no intention of going in the water so she didn’t wear her suit. It is a bit chilly for us wimps. Bonnie wore shorts to the beach and has informed me that it is a bit chilly there. I am sitting on our balcony in the sun wearing jeans, a long sleeve shirt and a fleece shirt and I am very comfy. I love feeling the sun on my body. Bonnie has the Flip and so I hope we are going to see some videos of the boogie boarding.
As I sit here, I just imagine how much I will love Turks and Caicos. I think I have reached the stage in my life when sitting around is just fine with me.
April 12, 2011
We slept very well last night. Either our pot-smoking neighbors didn’t come back to their room or they were very quiet. Nothing disturbed us last night or this morning. I looked out at the ocean and the marine layer is very thick. We are waiting to find out what John has planned for the day. Last night we had a lot of fun at dinner at Tony Roma’s. They decided they wanted to do something other than boogie board today. There are many possibilities. The world is open to us. Right now breakfast is on my mind.
April 13, 2011
We did have a great breakfast at the Eggery – we being Bonnie, Lydia and me. We enjoyed it so much that we are meeting there for breakfast this morning, unless plans change. We would like to have breakfast at around 10:00 – 10:30 and then leave for our drive home around noon. Anyway, after breakfast yesterday we sort of laid around for a while and then we all drove to Balboa Park, eventually finding a place that we felt would be good for walking around and seeing things. The kids were hungry but we went into the Veteran’s Museum which was OK, having some interesting displays. Then off to find a place to eat. We decided to go to the Gaslight area because there are plenty of restaurants there. The group picked the Hard Rock and did we eat – and drink. I had a margarita that was the best I ever had and it was only 230 calories. It was delicious. Everyone also had dessert. Ben and I had chocolate peanut butter mousse shooter which is a smaller dessert but certainly much more than 230 calories. It was then decided that we should go back to the hotel. I laid around and watched TV. The weather was rather dreary, heavy marine layer that lasted all day and very cool.
Later John sent a text asking us if we wanted to meet at the bar at 9:00 and that is what we did. We wanted to go to the bar attached to the hotel but it was crowded and noisy so we went to Tony Roma’s and it was very quiet since we were the only people in the bar. My Pellegrino was delicious.
I slept well last night but I look forward to being in my own comfy bed with my own comfy pillow. Since I was up at 7:00 AM, I decided to go for a walk and that was a great choice. I walked on the boardwalk along the ocean for 20 minutes. The waves are large this morning but I saw nobody in the water. Many people were out walking their dogs. I decided that was the only reason to get a dog – to force one to walk. Oh, yes, I know. There is also unconditional love. But I think about all the rest – walking because the dog does his stuff and the owner needs to get rid of it. Not for me. In fact, I know many people who wouldn’t be without a pet. Not me. Enjoy your pets. Somedays I will write a blog about animals but this is my travel blog.
We are packed and ready to go right after breakfast. We are meeting the entire family for breakfast at the Eggery again, an excellent choice for breakfast. It was a short trip but very nice to spend time with Bonnie’s family. The weather could have been better. The room could have been better. But the company was perfect and that is what makes a trip worthwhile.
