We all woke up around 9:00am today. I listened to hear the girls up and around before I went out, because I didn’t want to wake them.
I was happy that my knee wasn’t swollen anymore and didn’t hurt to walk. My hand is a little swollen and discolored, and it hurts when I move it, but it’s not really bad and Eric’s pretty sure I didn’t break anything. At least I can type comfortably!
My cousin Ilene had given me a page from the November/December LIFESTYLE magazine (which is distributed by AAA), because they had an article about SOUTH PARK, a great area of San Diego located just east of Balboa Park. It’s a “charming, historic neighborhood noted for its craftsman-style homes (which we LOVED) and unique small businesses.” Eric and I had never been there and it looked like a great place for me to take the girls.
Eric still had a headache and the football games were on, so we went out without him. There was a restaurant noted in the article that was mentioned as being “the best breakfast in San Diego,” so we decided to go there. BIG KITCHEN CAFÉ (Judy the Beauty on Duty) on Grape Street in South Park is a quaint, tiny café with lots of fun memorabilia and photos of celebrities who have visited.
This is a copper sculpture that was on the wall at BIG KITCHEN CAFE, which spoke about borders and value of land. It was beautiful and insightful!
Their menu is large and varied. After studying it, Jessica and April decided to share two dishes (such smart girls). They chose a dish from the “Favorites of our Regulars” and had Damian’s Breakfast Burrito (2 eggs scrambled with salsa, avocado and cheese rolled in a tortilla topped with sour cream and served with potatoes. They also shared one big buttermilk pancake. It was SO delicious.
I got Nova’s Favorite, which was spinach, eggs (I got just egg whites) and cheese scumptiously scrambled and serve with fruit, tortillas, small fresh squeezed O.J. and lots of salsa. It was so delicious and I learned that I don’t need the yolks to enjoy my eggs. The tortillas weren’t that tasty, so I didn’t even eat them. There was watermelon, cantaloupe and orange slices, too. I finished everything on my plate (except the tortillas!).
After our hearty breakfast we decided to walk around the neighborhood and see the other shops talked about in the article.
We went into MAGPIE, where they have revolving art exhibits and new and vintage clothing and accessories for sale. We had a lot of fun there and I asked the girl working there about having my decoupage and jewelry mosaics displayed there. She said she’d have to see my work and I gave her my card and told her to check out my website. She promised she would and I will follow up. I think it would be great to show my work there!
We shopped at THE GROVE, which features clothing, jewelry, home furnishings, writing workshops and craft classes. It was a huge store with different sections, each of which was eye-catching, colorful and fun.
We went to CLARITY SOAP AND CANDLES, where everything is hand made by them and smells fantastic. The girls bought a beautiful, delicious smelling candle for their Mom.
We investigated MAEVE RILEY, a cool little boutique featuring the latest fashions and accessories. The girl working there (Megan) was adorable and showed us jewelry she makes herself using silver solder. They weren’t my taste, since I like delicate and vintage, but they were pretty fabulous. I told her about my pin and earring frames and she was very interested. Since I had them in the car, we brought them back after we were done shopping. She loved them, but had no cash to buy. She took my business card and said she was very interested in buying some for herself and her mom. She thought they were beautiful and useful. I hope I hear from her!
After a few hours, we were ready for something sweet and delicious, so we stopped into DAILY SCOOP, a cute spot where they make all-natural ice cream and desserts. The place is decorated SO beautifully with black and white toile curtains, white shabby chic furniture displaying jewelry and children’s clothing, and a fleur-de-lis stencil at chair rail height all around the shop. I had a single scoop of Chocolate Peanut Butter and Jessica got a scoop of Lemon Mousse, and the three of us shared. It was more than enough, because it’s SO good!
Krista Lunetto, one of the owners, was there and she was telling us about all the great restaurants in the area and how wonderful it was to live in that neighborhood. I think it must be, because there were so many adorable shops. I’d LOVE to have a shop there and I think I’d do very well in that neighborhood! If only!
Krista also told us that CORONADO, where the famous HOTEL DEL CORONADO is located, was very close to where we were. I have wanted to visit there since the day we set foot in San Diego, because it’s such a fabulous hotel and is famous for many reasons, the best of which is that they filmed SOME LIKE IT HOT there. I’m a HUGE Marilyn Monroe fan, and I wanted to see the place where one of my favorite MM movies was filmed!
She told us how to go and then we programmed Betty, so she would take us to ORANGE AVENUE, where the hotel (and lots of great shopping) is located. We were there in ten minutes, after crossing the bridge, and we found the hotel right away. It’s easy to spot with it’s gorgeous red roof. It is huge and magnificent. We found a parking spot right away and walked to the hotel.
Jessica and April in the lobby of the Hotel Del Coronado. Aren't they beautiful?
We found the lobby, which was as majestic as I had dreamed. There was a huge chandelier over an enormous arrangement of flowers. There was wood everywhere – the walls, the ceiling, the banisters, the counters. Dark, ornate, shiny, beautiful wood.
We walked through a hallway that had the history of the hotel, which was built in 1888. It was saved from destruction at one point, and they actually filmed SOME LIKE IT HOT there, because it was inexpensive, due to the fact that the hotel was not very popular at the time.
We walked through the hotel, looked at the grand ballroom (which was fantastic with a semi-circle wall of windows that had an unbelievable view of the ocean), and shopped at a lot of the hotel stores. We really enjoyed our visit and decided we all wanted to come back to actually stay at the hotel! We didn’t really have a chance to investigate the rest of the town, because it was getting dark and we wanted to head back to Clairemont to get Eric and go out to dinner.
We got back around 6:00pm and relaxed while Eric worked on his bicycle and watched the end of the football game. Then he jumped in the shower and we went to GRINGO’S COCINA Y CANTINA in Pacific Beach. Eric and I had not had Mexican food in a while, and we love it, so it was great.
It was our first time at GRINGO’S. Jessica had seen it while we were driving around and really wanted to check it out.
It is a big, beautiful restaurant with indoor and outdoor dining, huge wood rough-hewn tables and chairs and giant leather booths. The four of us sat at a booth and we were all on one side of the table, so I said we looked like we were eating on a sit com, because you may have noticed that they always sit on one side of the table, so everyone can face the camera.
We definitely cheated on our diet, but it was a special night – our last night with the girls!
We started with a lobster margarita (which is NOT a drink, as Eric thought). It’s a half lobster tail resting over hydroponic baby mache, mango-papaya relish and vanilla bean butter sauce. We all thought “mache” was some kind of lettuce, but it was like mashed potatoes. It was a little weird and it’s kind of dark in the restaurant so we really weren’t sure what we were eating, although it was good.
We also had guacamole, salsa, and cheese dip with chips (NOT good for the diet) and Quesadilla Machos, which are Oaxacan cheese, macho squash blossoms, mushrooms, zucchini and fresh epazote in a quesadilla. We each had a quarter and that was truly scrumptious!
For the main course, I had The Cancun, which is a lobster enchilada and shrimp burrito with rice and beans. I was only able to eat the lobster enchilada, which was small and brought home my entire shrimp burrito (which was enormous) with most of my rice and beans.
Eric had Pollo Placero, which is half a roasted chicken with orange chipotle glaze, roasted fingerling potatoes and enchilada de calabasa con suizas. He loved it, but brought home half his dinner, too. They really give you a lot of food.
Jessica and April shared The Cancun and some kind of salad (I can’t remember what kind). They also brought home a lot of their dish.
We were too full for dessert, but we dropped Eric off at home and went to KEILS, so we could get the girls some snacks for the flight home tomorrow and went to STARBUCKS for skinny decaf lattes and frappaccinos.
Then we headed home. We were all really exhausted and were in bed before midnight. We set the alarm for 5:00am, so it was good that we weren’t out too late. I am so sorry that the girls have to leave tomorrow. It has been such a pleasure seeing them and getting to spend some quality time with them, even if it was only 2 days. We really packed a LOT into those two days and I know they had a wonderful time.
The next time I see them will probably be at Jessica’s wedding, which is the Friday of Thanksgiving Weekend. The girls showed me the gowns they will be wearing and they are so glamorous and elegant. They will look truly beautiful. I can’t wait!