I'm going to start this blog with the photos from yesterday's trip to Coronado Island and the Hotel Del Coronado. My adventures today will follow!
Here's Scott, looking as handsome as ever!
Here's a picture you won't see often -- Peppy on the beach! I think the last time I stepped foot on sand (and I DID, because I took my sandals off) was about 10 years ago in Delray Beach with my parents!
You can see it was a perfect day at the beach, and many people were taking advantage of the glorious weather!
A view of one side of the hotel. It's huge and really spectacular -- inside and out!
The tower, which is visible from miles away, is the most notable feature.
Scott and I walked through an interior garden with beautiful flowers, each of which were identified. I immediately recognized a gorgeous tree as being the same as the one that was in the parking lot of our apartment complex. I had photographed it and put pictures on the blog, saying I loved it, but wasn't sure what it was. My cousin, Ilene, identified it as a Bougainvillea, and of course she was right, as this one had the same identification!
A closer view of the gorgeous blooms that cover the entire tree (or is it a giant bush?).
What I really love about these blooms is that, when you look close, there is a tiny white bloom in the center of each flower -- it's really like a flower within a flower!
I'll bet you a lot of marriages have taken place in that gazebo, which is in the center of this interior garden. They have a few fabulous ballrooms in the hotel, and I can assure you that getting married there would be quite the event!
Many of the rooms look out on this garden. Each has it's own small private balcony. You can't believe how romantic, picturesque and beautiful it is. My dream is to someday stay there.
Sunday, June 1, 2008 – A Day At The Zoo!
This is the 10-month-old baby panda, who was relaxing in a tree!
I woke up at 9:00am. Scott had told me that his friend, Rory, was coming down from L.A. and would arrive here around 10:00am. They wanted to go out for breakfast and then go to the zoo. I took a shower, got dressed and then worked on the computer until I heard from Scott (putting yesterday’s pictures of Coronado on the blog).
I met them at Scott’s Hotel at around 11:00am and we went to a diner called WAFFLE SPOT right next door. As you can see, the “mascot” was adorable – with a butter pat on his nose!
What could be cuter than elephant tushie?
Rory and I each had El Vegetariano Casserole, which had eggs, potatoes, onions, peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and mushrooms cooked together in a cast iron pan that was brought right to the table. They also give you two mini waffles with it ( think 99% of the menu included waffles. After all, this WAS the WAFFLE STOP!).
Scott got Waffle Rancheros, which sounded bad to me, because I always associate waffles with sweet, but his was eggs, cheese and rancheros sauces on a waffle. After he ate it, he agreed – waffles are best for dessert! I gave him one of my mini waffles so he could appreciate how fabulous they were. It was hard to appreciate with all that stuff on it!
Mother and baby giraffe!
I drove us to the zoo, which is just about 10 minutes away. It was a perfect day – warm, sunny, breezy – not too hot; not too cold. They used the map of the zoo to navigate and I just followed along.
We walked, and walked, and walked and I think we saw every inch of that zoo and, since we didn’t do it all in order, we retraced our steps a lot. We stopped after a few hours for a snack and a little rest. Scott had a beer and a hot pretzel. Rory and I each had a soft serve ice cream in a cup. Refreshed, we continued to exploration.
Mother, father and baby!
We saw pandas, giraffes, elephants, tapirs (Eric and I fell in love with these unusual animals at other zoo visits), polar bears, zebras, gorillas, koalas, monkeys, hippos, flamingoes and other exotic birds.
My absolute favorite was the pandas and the giraffes. The pandas are must SO cute. They've got the cutest faces. The giraffes are just such amazing animals – so graceful, so sweet, so elegant and so unbelievable. You just can’t believe they’re real!
After more than four hours we finally saw it all and we headed back to the car. I was ready for a nap, but instead I dropped them off at the hotel and raced home. Eric had gone out for a ride and just finished working out when I got home. I jumped in the shower and then he was right behind me. We left the house at 5:00pm and went back to the hotel to pick them up.
We went to OLD TOWN for Mexican food. Rory’s cousin Melissa, who lives about 3 miles away from us on Clairemont Drive, met us there and we had a delicious (and stuffing) meal at FRED’S Mexican Café. I had a Cajun shrimp quesadilla and Eric had a dish called El Ray, which had a combination of fish and chicken dishes. I also had a GIANT blended margarita that definitely gave me a buzz!
A mother helps her baby down, so they can go for a walk. She was SO cute with her baby!
We had a great time talking about life back in NY (since that’s where we were all born and raised). Melissa is a photographer and is actually moving to the Netherlands in November! I thought WE made a big move!
The two hippos were canoodling head to head and looked so cool and comfy!
When dinner was done said goodbye to Melissa, dropped Scott and Rory back at the hotel, and came home. It was about 7:30pm and I was totally exhausted (and a little drunk), so I took a nap. Eric woke me at 8:45pm and I felt much better. I think the combination of sun and drink really took its toll.
It's hard to tell from this picture, but the other polar bear was in the water, floating on his back, with the ball on his stomach. He kept playing with the ball and we all got such a kick out of it!
I had such a great weekend with Scott. Eric and I really enjoyed our nights out with him last night and tonight and I really enjoyed Coronado Island and the zoo today with him and Rory. This is the most exciting weekend I’ve had in a long time!
Scott and his new best friend!
