CMB couldn't get the weekend of the 4th off so we took off to sunny San Diego last Friday for a four day food and booze trip. Okay, not really- but pretty darn tootin' close. Here is a recount and some pictures to share with all of you.
Friday:We got into town about 8PM. Called the bro-in-law up to see who was down to meet at
Callahan's. We've been going to Callahan's since it was a tiny, hole-in-a-wall restaurant in the Mira Mesa Mall. It's all grown up now, with a stand alone building outside of the Mecca Mall. Our friends and relatives meet up there religiously every Monday night for $2 pint night and an occasional Sunday for
breakfast (more about that later!) Brother Josh, Adam and Dale all met us for some Callahan's Red. Maybe I should say,
a lot of Red. As in the Big Boy 32 oz sized. You can tell that CMB and Brother Josh are brothers- not because of their dashing good looks or their share in height...but because they could both drink beer like it's water!! I think they both drank 3- (or was it 4??) big boy glasses. I took it easy and had a jack and coke and an oatmeal cookie shot. Oh, and a bowl of the best Beer and Jalapeno Cheese soup EVER! and three packets of the oyster crackers. Yum! I wanted to make sure I was sober enough so that Dale would let me play with his
shiny new SLR camera. Yes. I'm jealous!!
Saturday:This was "family" day...we pretty much spent the whole day with my family. We first went to
Balboa Park to check out the Fossils Mystery exhibit at the
Natural History Museum. Why we left San Diego, I don't remember. How could we leave such a gorgeous place? Here's a picture of the Botanical Building:
I hold Balboa near and dear to my heart. Lots of memories there. Like the old tree that my brother and I use to climb when we were kids:
This picture doesn't do this tree justice. It's HUGE! Now, its all fenced off so no one can climb on it. :( Would have loved to get a pic of AJB climbing on one of the limbs. But I suppose it's fenced off for the tree's own good...
Here's where CMB and I took our first round of engagement pictures (yes, first round. We took them on Mother's Day back in 2002 and it was drizzley):
I'll be ghetto and post a picture of a picture.
The day at the museum was awesome. The exhibit was amazing- much more interactive than the one in Phoenix. On the trolley ride back to the car, AJB got to be the guest conductor and pulled on the bell. This was the only good picture I got of it.
You can see
more pictures from Balboa on my Flickr page.
After the museum, we drove up to a family party in Temecula. Then back to another party in Mira Mesa, where we watched
Manny Pacquiao beat David Diaz.
Later on that night, CMB and I hung out with my bro and his gf for some late night ramen at
Tajima's. This is my new favorite place on Convoy St. Its traditional Japanese food- not sushi, but ramen and curry and these pancake omelet things. I had the Tajima Ramen with stewed pork and it was SO tasty! I also had a salmon ball...kinda like a hand roll but bigger. It was sticky rice with cooked salmon in the middle, wrapped in seaweed. Its the place where all the cool Asian kids go to after a night out at the clubs. If my bro's gf wasn't there, I'm sure he would have flirted with the waitresses in Japanese. Cuz as Go (our waiter) would say "Pimpin' ain't easy." We each had our own big bottle of Asahi and shared a bottle or two of sake...good times. You could have lite up Downtown San Diego with all the Asian glowing from within.
Sunday:We woke up to a text that said "Callahan's for breakfast??" from my sis-in-law. CMB and I jumped out of bed to get ready for some grubbin'. We met up with my bro and CMBs sibs at Callahan's for some brunch.
Cap'n Crunch French Toast, anyone?? Callahan's makes a tasty breakfast! CMB ordered the Cap'n Crunch FT, I had the Spanish Frittata with bacon, mushrooms, potatoes, onions, tomatoes, and cheddar cheese, Bro had the Country Fried Steak, Sis-in-Law had the Egg and Cheese Quesadilla (which I plan on getting next time- it looked GOOD!) and it seemed like everyone enjoyed the good food and company. Just don't order the pancakes. Josh said that he had them once and they were the worst pancakes ever. Oh, and apparently, Guinness goes down well with breakfast...
After breakfast, we went to Brother Josh's for some geekin', I mean, rockin' out. Yes, I rocked the mike once...not too badly- I got a 95%. I'm better on the guitar but horrible on the drums. Too many things going on with the drums!! While we rocked out, Uncle Josh was throwing AJB around in the pool. We were there for a good long time but had to leave for dinner at the Chateau de Ibarra's...my mom and dad's. :)
It was a long day so we decided to relax at home.
Monday:CMB had to work up in Oceanside so I dropped my mom off at
Fashion Valley, where she works so that AJB and I had wheels. We ended up at La Jolla Shores for some fun in the sun. I couldn't believe how busy it was on a Monday!! Luckily, we found parking in the first aisle we pulled into. We had a great time...weather was gorgeous and the water wasn't too cold.
To the south of us, is La Jolla Cove and Prospect Ave.:
Here, you can see the pier for Scripps Pier- which isn't open to the public:
AJB was so excited, she couldn't stop jumping up and down:
And doing spins all around the beach:
Maybe she was just cold??
It was a beautiful day.
I was afraid to tell AJB that it was time to go. But, with a tired look on her face, she was ready to go.
Later that night, we went to Callahan's with everyone for $2 pint night. More good times. If you ever make it out to Callahan's, have their Blueberry Wheat- it smells and tastes like a blueberry muffin! You'll be amazed.
Tuesday:Our last day and we still hadn't gone for breakfast burritos from
Jalapeno's. This will be our 4th year in Phoenix and we still haven't found a Mexican place as good as Jalapeno's. Everything they have is tasty. You can't go wrong with this place. And their salsa?? I would move back to San Diego just for their salsa!
We had a few hours to kill before meeting my mom for lunch. So? Back to the beach! This time, we went to Torrey Pines beach. Another one of our regulars. CMB and I use to hike around here.
To the South of us, is La Jolla, its behind the marine layer. On the left, you can see the hill where you can hike on. Tons of trails. Our favorite one is the trail that leads to the beach:
And to the North of us, is Del Mar- where you can find more beaches and rich swankiness:
AJB got a taste of the yucky ocean water:
After the beach, we went to have lunch with my mom and dad. Can you believe they're in their 60's?? I sure can't!
We headed back home that afternoon. We miss San Diego but it was good to be back home.
Here's more pictures from our trip!
