The Hotel del Coronado

Last weekend was not one for day tripping. So let`s talk about one of the best (if not the best) single destination in San Diego County. The Hotel del Coronado or simply `The Del` ( www.hoteldel.com )   is probably that place. The hotel was completed in 1888 and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1977. It has been visited by 11 United States Presidents and countless other dignitaries and celebrities. Although this has nothing to do with why we love the Del, it is of interest. The hotel is located on one of the widest beaches in San Diego County. The view from the poolside deck is great at any time of day throughout the year. We tend to enjoy the Del at Christmas because it is decorated so spectacularly inside and out. The tree in the lobby is decorated differently each year and the outside ice skating rink is fun for everyone. You do not need to stay at the hotel to enjoy a visit. So do yourself a favor and take a drive to The Del anytime of year. Have a drink, a sandwich or a great meal at one of their fine restaurants. You will thank yourself later. Merry Christmas!

Bernardo Winery

Sunday was an exceptionally great day for weather. The temperature was in the 80s, the sky was clear and the sun was bright. We get these days here and there each winter, but they still amaze me. Especially when you see a football game in New England or Chicago with snow and 20 degrees.
We decided to take a short drive to the Bernardo Winery and take a walk. This family owned winery is located in northeast Rancho Bernardo. There are about a dozen various shops and of course wine tasting. This is a very pretty place to visit throughout the year. The buildings are old but clean and there are lots of interesting antique tools and gadgets displayed. This is also a great place to experience an arts and crafts show or a concert. It is not really much of a winery anymore, but you will enjoy the unique shops and landscaping.

Old Town and Sunset Cliffs

We had not been to Old Town for some time and decided to have lunch there on Saturday. Old Town is a great place to have Mexican food and walk around. For those who do not know, Old Town is considered by some to be the birthplace of California. This is where Father Junipero Serra built the first of 21 missions in California. The site of the mission is on a hill overlooking Old Town. It was built in 1769. Old Town is a California State Park and has plenty of restaurant choices and even more shops and museums to explore.
After lunch we decided that it would be a good day to head to the beach. The sun was out and there was a low tide that afternoon. The beaches along Sunset Cliffs in Point Loma seemed like a great idea. We were right. We were lucky enough to be two of only a few beach goers to enjoy the beach at low tide. This is a great place to see tide pools and stroll a nearly deserted beach. If you are lucky you may even find some sea glass. I hope we get another chance to go there soon.

Little Italy and San Diego Bay

San Diego is a great place to live. I am always amazed at the fun options that we have. Last weekend was a bit cool. Cool in San Diego means long pants and a sweat shirt. Anyway, Saturday was sunny so we decided to take a walk around the Little Italy Mercato www.littleitalysd.com/mercato .This is, in my opinion, the best farmer`s market in San Diego County. It seems to have that neighborhood feel to it. Not to mention the excellent assortment of produce and other goods for sale. They always have music by more than one musician and lots of great people and dog watching. The market is open from 9:00 am to 1:30 pm on Saturdays.
 After the market we split a meatball sandwich at Filippi`s on India. If you go, make sure you add the bell peppers. This makes for an amazing sandwich. Little Italy has great shopping at unique mom and pop stores.
After eating it was still early and I remembered that Hornblower Yachts had sent me two free cruise tickets that were due to expire soon. We took a short one hour cruise around San Diego Bay. I have cruised the bay many times but always seem to learn and see something new each time. Did you know that Harbor Island and Shelter Island were built with soil from dredging the bay back in the 1940`s and again in the 1960`s? Imagine the bay was made deeper to allow large ships and we gained two great pieces of land for recreation and tourism. Enjoy!

Sike`s Adobe House

Last weekend was as rainy and cool as they predicted. One of those weekends to stay indoors. Thank goodness that we only have a few days of bad weather each year. Anyway, after doing some needed cleaning around the house (indoors), we decided to take a short drive to the mall on Sunday morning. We walked around North County Fair for an hour buying a few early Christmas presents and decided to leave for some lunch. On a whim I took Sunset Dr. south towards Lake Hodges. It was just before one o`clock and there was a small farmers market setting up in a dirt parking lot. More than likely, due to the rain, mainy of the potential vendors decided to stay home. I understand that this market will be there every Sunday from 1:00 to 5:00. We decided to check out Sike`s Adobe House just past the farmers market. Sike`s Adobe House is part of the San Dieguito River Park. This is a park in progress. They are still working on purchasing land to create a park from the ocean in Del Mar to Volcan Mountain near Julian. Anyway the Sike`s was recently reopened in April of 2010 after the fires of October 2007 destroyed most of the home. They have done a great job of restoring the house to it`s original construction which started in 1870. This is a very interesting stop with some great trails to hike nearby. The home and history of the old town of Bernardo is worth a short day trip. Enjoy!

Rainy Weekend before Thanksgiving 2010

According to all reports, it is going to be a cool rainy weekend in San Diego. Looks like my wife and her friend have the right idea. They are going to the antique show at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. This is a huge indoor three day event. I am told it is one of the largest antique shows anywhere. Radio station KPRI is giving away free passes for the show. They always seem to have free passes for these types of events. Anyway, I will not be attending. Never have been much for old stuff. In fact I may take some time on Saturday to clean out the garage and get rid of some old stuff. It is amazing how much you can accumulate. I tend to get rid of anything that I have not used in the past year. I have not been buying as much this past year with the recession and all. However, there will probably be plenty of things to donate and trash. Maybe my junk can be someone elses treasure. Hopefully Sunday will be a better day for a day trip.

Drive-a-Hike

I was out of town last weekend so no San Diego day trips. However, I hooked up with a long time friend and he reminded me of a pastime we had many years ago. We called it a `drive-a-hike`. This is when you get in the car and start driving. We would usually end up driving somewhere that we had never been and could get out and hike for a few hours. We lived in the Los Angeles area and normally would leave for a rural setting. Maybe the mountains, beach or desert. It didn`t really matter as we only wanted a change of scenery. Somewhere that we could get away from people. I guess `drive-a-hike` is just another name for `day trip`, but we sure thought that it  was something special. I wonder how many of us still take `drive-a-hikes` ? Maybe next weekend?

Solana Beach Day Trip

Sunday was supposed to be cool and wet. But it wasn`t. It was one of those great secret summer November days. My nephew and his girl friend were visiting and needed to return home on Sunday afternoon. Before they left we decided to have some fish tacos and check out the beach. We ended up at Fidels in Solana. We had planned to go to Tony`s Jacal but it does not open until 3:00 on Sunday. Anyway, the fish tacos and margaritas were great at Fidels and it was nice enough to sit on the patio. After lunch, we decided to take a walk on the beach at Fletcher Cove. I explained that I had read that they used water to carve out the access at Lomas Santa Fe Blvd sometime back in the early 1900`s. We were happy that there happened to be a low tide that afternoon so the beach was wide and surprisingly uncrowded for such a great day. We walked the beach for about 45 minutes then parted ways with my nephew and his girl friend. Being that it was such a great day we decided to take a walk along Cedros and check out the shops and the farmers market. What a wonderful way to spend a few hours enjoying what San Diego has to offer. What will next weekend offer?

Day Trips

When I was young I remember my parents taking the family on day trips. My parents did not have tons of money so these trips were normally inexpensive and probably short. They were certainly shorter than I would have remembered as a 12 year old. How long could parents handle four kids in an automobile? This would be especially true with the ages being 1, 4, 10 and 12. Maybe that`s why they seemed longer to me! All I know is that I have had a lifelong love for day trips and have had the pleasure of introducing them to my wife and sons.
We are so lucky to live in San Diego. We can take day trips all year long and we have such a wide variety of options. There are awesome beaches, mountains and deserts all within a short drive. Not to mention the various cities and neighborhoods with their unique aspects.
Let`s take a day trip each week and talk about it.