Our trip was Sunday July 25th to Thursday July 29th. Since our Honeymoon we have gone to San Diego nearly every year in the summer. Most trips have been about the same. Find a hotel, go to Sea World, the San Diego Zoo, maybe head over to Coronado Island. We kind of get stuck in the rut of doing the same things. This trip was very different. Yes we went to Sea World. And the Zoo.
Even drove around Coronado one day as the kids slept. But what was so different about this trip you ask? The FOOD! Yep, food defined this vacation. Before leaving on our trip I began researching good places to eat in the area. I learned about Yelp for the first time and it was very helpful. We had recommendations from friends and I made a list of places to try and eat at. These were places that had been highly rated, been on the food network and other television shows. I was excited to try this out! And those that know me well know that I typically like to stick with the familiar. I usually gravitate towards a chain because I know what to expect and that they don't serve cat there!;0) But I have been becoming more adventurous and was truly excited!
We started our trip by eating at Souplantation. Not exactly new as it is one of our favorite places to eat but new in that we ate there for breakfast for the first time.
We got to our Hotel,the Westin, which was in the Gaslamp district of downtown San Diego. Afterwards we set out to spend the evening at the Zoo.
The next morning I started to get bummed because the weather was so unusually cold for this time of year. While on our vacation we had planned to go to the beach, Soak City and swim in the hotel pool...and it was barely in the 60's! So we decided to go to Sea World.
It was a fun day doing different things then the norm. We saw the new Dolphin show for the first time, and all 3 boys went on Shipwreck Rapids for the first time. They loved it! That afternoon the kids napped in the car while we drove the length of Coronado. We tried going to a famous BBQ for dinner that night only to find it closed on Mondays. So we headed back towards the hotel and ate at Bucca Di Peppo's. The next morning we were finally able to start in on our list of great places to eat! And a great way to start it was! We ate at the little Cafe 222, which was just a few blocks from where we were staying. We have heard the wait can be long but we were seated on the little outdoor patio fairly quickly. Their peanut butter banana stuffed french toast is their famous item. We ordered that, pumpkin waffles and pancakes. Everything was delicious! From there we went back to the zoo for a few hours and then attempted the beach for about a half hour. The kids loved it even though it was freezing! We wanted to try Phils BBQ again since it had been closed the day before. We knew we had to get there early since every review had stated "lines around the building". We got there right at 5, waited in line, and in about 20 minutes had ordered, found a table and got our food. I am not usually a ribs kind of person but wow...that was some good food! Super tender and tasty! Craig really loved it and has already talked about going back more then a few times!;0) Oh and when we left...lines around the building!
That night we went back to our room and then walked to the Ghiradelli chocolate shop. oh my goodness....the sundaes and malt we ordered were wonderful! Good thing that shop is not closer to home!Wednesday we walked to another yummy restaurant for brunch, The Broken Yoke. Great French Toast, Breakfast Burrito, Blueberry Pancakes and Eggs Benedict. We then decided to brave Soak City since it was our last full day and the sun had started to peak out.
It was our first time at this location and there were no crowds so we hardly had to wait for the slides. We had a great few hours there!
On our way to Sea World for the night shows we stopped for dinner at El Indio. I looovvve Mexican food so was particularly excited to try this place out. It had been recommended by friends and has been featured on television shows. It did not disappoint and was so yummy! We had tacos, taquitos, chips and quesadillas. Mmmm Mmmm good! With full bellies we headed to Sea World and enjoyed "Sea Lions Tonight" and "Shamu Rocks"! We were able to watch fireworks as we were walking out. Another great day!
Thursday morning we packed up, swam a little and then left the "home-tell" as Jacob calls it. The kids are always sad when we leave...they love staying in hotels! For lunch we stopped at a pizza place called Giovanni's. We found it on our own just driving around last time we were in San Diego. They have some of the best pizza and breadsticks I have ever had. So, so good! And the perfect way to end a great vacation!
So even with the cool weather we had a great trip. New memories were made and lot's of new favorite restaurants found! We can't wait to go back!
3 comments:
What a great way to make your usual vacation special! I'm heading to Portland in a few weeks and have been doing the same thing-asking for recommendations and doing some research on great bars and restaurants. I'm excited!
It looks like you guys had a blast! Why are you such a ridiculously cute family??! Love the pics!
Ok, so it’s obviously been awhile since I’ve checked out your blog. Yikes! Reading this made me hungry. All of that sounds so good and it looks like you guys had a blast, as usual. I especially love Zachary’s face in the pic of him and Craig with that sundae. Priceless. :)
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