Cali Continued

Friday afternoon we lounged by the hotel pool and napped, read, and soaked in the hot tub.  That evening we ate dinner at a little Italian dive downtown and then went to see a show called Mixtape.  It was all about the 80’s, and even though I was only 1 when the 80’s began, I was still able to enjoy so many of the songs and jokes of this decade.  It was really entertaining!  Chris had bought the tickets as a Christmas gift.  He got us seats front and center.  I have never been so close to the action before!  I was afraid of being spit on! Loved it!  I caught myself chair dancing a couple times.  Especially for “Jessie’s Girl”, “Faithfully”, and “Thriller”!  One guy even came out singing “Old Time Rock and Roll” in his tighty whities, just like Tom Cruise in Risky Business.  Front row really was something for that!  Yikes!

This was taken on our hike at Torrey Pines

Saturday we woke up early and went to Coronado.  Truly one of my favorite places on Earth so far I think.  There was just something so magical and serene about it.  It almost just seemed too perfect.  The streets so clean.  The sunshine so warm.  The lawns so perfectly manicured.  The homes so beautiful.  It was amazing.  Breathtaking.   I think I’ll just take this or this I suppose.   The beach was so nice.  We hung out there for awhile and then just strolled along the coast with our toes (just the tips) in the water.  It was pretty cold!  We had lunch at a place there called the Night and Day Café.  A little hole in the wall.  Amazing food.  Completely horrible for you, but oh so good.  I had an omelet and Chris had a burger. 

Chris at La Jolla

That evening we met up with Chris’s coworker Roger, his wife Jess, and their baby girl Lila.  We went to The Fish Market for dinner.  It’s located right downtown San Diego along the harbor.  We didn’t have any trouble getting filled up that night!

Sunday morning Chris and I woke up early (Every morning we were up by 7.  For some reason we just couldn’t, or wouldn’t, sleep in!  Sad isn’t it?)  We went walking near our hotel along the water and then had some breakfast out together.  After breakfast we came back and decided that we just had to lay out by the pool one more time before check out.    We checked out of there and checked in to the next hotel where the conference was held, which was the Manchester Grand Hyatt, downtown. 

The view from our room.

After check in we got cleaned up, and then were able to use another Christmas present, two tickets to the San Diego symphony.  I had never been to a live symphony before and we both really enjoyed the experience.  It was family day, so there were many children around, which was hard (not because of their noise, but because of how it made me miss mine all that much more!).  One of the songs that they played was composed by a man sitting directly in front of us.  After they finished playing the house lights came on and the man stood up.  That was pretty neat!

We grabbed some sushi that night, and that was about it for Sunday!

Monday was my alone day.   Chris had to get back to the grind.  I took it in stride and actually stayed in bed a bit later that morning.  After I woke up I went to the gym and worked out, showered, took a LONG time getting ready (because I usually never get the chance!), and then went shopping for souvenirs at some shops behind the hotel in an area called Seaport Village.  That afternoon an old friend, Liz, came and picked me up and we went to lunch.  We met through theater back in high school and were fellow dancers in The Music Man production when I was a freshman.  We stayed close throughout the rest of high school and even in to college.  For a period of time when I lived home and worked when I was 19 we were the best of friends.  We were together nearly every day and really enjoyed each other's company.    Anyhow – throughout these past years we have somewhat lost contact between me getting married and having three children, and her still living the free, single life!  She just recently moved from MN to California and it was so much fun to spend time with her on CA soil!  We had a great time and I really enjoyed catching up again.  That evening Chris and I walked around the Gaslamp District downtown and struggled deciding where to eat our final meal.  We finally decided on some Indian food and it did not disappoint.  The walk back to the hotel was a bit sad for me.  Knowing that I had to get up early the next morning and head back home, away from Chris, was hard for me.  After spending all of those days together, selfishly soaking him up all to myself, it was hard to go back to the hectic schedules of life where I don’t have abundant one on one time with him!

The next morning I woke at 4, caught a taxi at 4:30, and headed to the airport.  My taxi driver was waaaay too talkative for that time of the morning, and spent the entire ten minute ride to the airport trying to convince me to move to another country “for just a few years” to save enough money to retire by the time I was forty.  When I told him that I had three children to raise and couldn’t just jet off to another country he laughed, snorted, and then said, “Well it’s your life, not mine.   Have fun working til you’re 90!”  And on that high note, I left his cab.

I bought myself  a coffee, a piece of banana bread, and I boarded the plane.  Ready to return to my kiddos again…