With both of our birthdays in January, Kyle and I decided to do a birthday celebration extravaganza in San Diego last weekend. Did I mention that Kyle turned 30 this year? Happy Birthday!
Instead of spending 3 hours in a car driving, we chose to take the 5-hour train ride. Five hours of quietly reading a book or relaxing far outweighs the extra two hours it took to get there, plus, we were both relaxed, non-stressed, and still married when we arrived in San Diego.
We picked the train up in Oxnard. There is a stop in Ventura as well, but they were working on the track, so Oxnard it was. The ride could not have been easier. Mental note for anyone who takes the train - when you get to Union Station in Los Angeles, the caboose of the train becomes the front. This means if you were sitting forwards on your way from Oxnard to L.A., you are now sitting backwards for the rest of your ride to San Diego. We were warned of this ahead of time and chose to sit backwards from the beginning. We're crazy kids like that. Above is a picture of the Gaslamp district. Our hotel was smack in the middle, between the Gaslamp district and the convention center, well within walking distance of just about anything.
I had to put in this picture of Kyle. I took this picture within minutes of arriving in San Diego. It's his birthday, and his wife is taking pictures of him. How miserable. I love how annoyed his face looks. Love you punkin!
On Friday, we spent the afternoon walking around the Gaslamp district and convention center, checking things out and getting acquainted with the area. That night, we had the best steak dinner at Lou & Mickey's, right by our hotel. Afterwards, we walked over to the Marriott and had cocktails on the roof overlooking Petco Park (where the Padres play) and the rest of local nightlife.
Saturday morning we set out to walk the town. We grabbed some fish and chips from Tin Fish, and set off walking to the San Diego harbor. On our way, we passed by the Kansas City BBQ, the same one shown in Top Gun. Poor Kyle had to then listen to me sing "You've lost that loving feeling" by the Righteous Brothers for the next 3 blocks.
"You never close your eyes anymore when I kiss your lips. (Ba-dum, ba-dum, da-dum dum dum)
And there's no tenderness like before in your fingertips. (Ba-dum, ba-dum, da-dum dum dum)"
Thankfully, I'm still alive today to talk about it.
In the harbor, for all to enjoy, is the USS Midway aircraft carrier. It was absolutely amazing! We paid our money and went aboard. They have it set up so you can stop in each designated area, and listen to the little walkman you carry around, and learn about each part of the ship and its history. Kyle somehow was thrown in the brig half-way through the tour.
While we were touring the deck, two pirates ships had a battle right next to us. The cannon fire rocked the deck. We could hear them shouting pirate insults across the way to each other. Very entertaining when you're standing on the deck with million dollar aircraft next to you. Apparently, the pirates show up to fight every now and then throughout the year, and you can join their crew. We'll have to keep that on our list for next time.
On the carrier, there were multiple plane cockpits to explore and climb in. We decided that we were both a little too big to be pilots. I don't know how you're supposed to fit in there and function, but if my life depended on it, I'm sure I'd figure it out.
Saturday night, we took a water taxi over to Coronado island and had dinner at Peohe's, right on the water. It was one of those wonderful adult dinners that takes 3 hours, where we just sat, ate, enjoyed each other's company, and looked out over the water to see the lights of San Diego across the bay. We've seem to set up a pattern in our vacations of walking all day, and then making up for it by eating back all our calories at night. This evening was no exception. We split a spicy tuny sushi with albacore roll, a walnut and mandarine orange salad, and lobster bisque. Kyle had a wonderful ahi steak and grilled veggies platter, while I stuck to my favorite of filet mignon, shrimp, and garlic mashed potatoes. It was absolutely wonderful, and somehow eating slowly without a timeline or schedule makes all food taste better. When it was time to leave, we took a taxi back the long way across the bridge, and headed over to the fancy 40th floor of the Hyatt (enclosed this time, not on the roof) for some cocktails overlooking the city. Kyle surprised me by ordering the scrumptous chocolate cake. We snuggled up on the couch in the bar, sipped our drinks, and shared our chocolate cake. It was the perfect way to end our fun in the city.
Baby (baby), baby (baby),
I beg of you please...please,
I need your love (I need your love),
I need your love (I need your love),
So bring it on back (So bring it on back),
Bring it on back (so bring it on back).
Bring back that lovin' feeling,
Whoa, that lovin' feeling
Bring back that lovin' feeling,
'Cause it's gone...gone...gone,
and I can't go on,noooo...
Bring back that lovin' feeling,
Whoa, that lovin' feeling
Bring back that lovin' feeling,
'Cause it's gone...gone...gone, wooooaaaoooooo..ba dum, ba dum, ba dum dum dum.
