Hey all!! I am so excited to finallllly share our time in San Diego with you 🙂 It’s my favorite city in the US- I just LOVE it. The school load has been pretty intense this week, so I am just now getting out this recap. If you are curious to see our previous San Diego adventures I will link them here: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three. January 17th right before we left I received this beautiful delivery of flowers for my bday! It was so special, and they are stilll in full beautiful bloom today 🙂
We booked a late evening flight out (around 9:30). The flights to SD are generally pretty cheap & short since it’s within the same state- and this time the best deal was through Alaskan airlines. We love when the cheapest price is through Alaska- it’s one of our favorite airlines (and it’s the best terminal in SF’s airport!). We arrived to the airport obnoxiously early per usual, so Deej and I decided to have a little popcorn shrimp snack & wine and chit-chat about our week since we had been in our own little work/school worlds since Sunday.
While waiting our gate I was able to catch up on some blogs, my favorite way to pass the time!
We had a bit of a delay getting to the airport & then getting off the tarmac, but the short flight was great- this plane was massive and even had the free movies to choose from. I watched Game Night, but the flight was soo short that it cut off before the movie was over. It was SUCH a good movie, and I’ve got to finish those last ten minutes one of these days haha. Finally around 1 am, we arrived at our Hotel- The Kimpton Palomar. We got a great deal on a room with our Orbitz bucks!
Our check in concierge was extremely chipper for it being so late, lol. I loved her energy though! She informed us that there was coffee in the lobby in the morning, but if we wanted we could have a Keurig brought to the room. I jumped on the Keurig option, naturally. I love having a warm cup of coffee to accompany me in getting ready in the morning.
The hotel has a Mexican restaurant right downstairs too called Curardero. We never ventured to it- but it seemed like a fun option!
The rooms were simple, pretty & clean!
Okay, it seems silly to take a picture of the soap- but that hand soap was some of the most wonderfully scented doggone soap… the sandalwood particularly came through!
I took a nice 2 am shower (I always feel the need to shower after being on a plane) & then snooooozeeed.
In the morning after a big cup of steamin’ jo (or two), we walked down the road to Cafe twenty-fun, I mean…. Cafe twenty-yum.. okay okay it’s really called Cafe 21. 😉
I heard about this gem from Kate at LiveintheNautical when she visited SD. Alsoo, when I went to their website I saw you get a free entree if it is your birthday month, so trying it out was a no brainer!
cah-uuuute.
The decor! The menu! The food! The ambiance! Even the way they serve the water is too cool. Let’s call it what it is: A millennial/hipster/blogger’s paradise. My mom and Pete texted us that they’d landed, and met us right on time to get some good eats! My mom hasn’t missed a marathon yet, and she was not about to ruin her streak. I say she’s my good luck charm 🙂 You may remember the last Big Sur Marathon (that was such a great weekend!). I was excited Pete was able to join- also it was his bday month too- so we got two free entrees with our meal, what a steal!
We had to try their Bloody Mary’s which people rave about over YELP. We ordered three off the menu, and decided we would just decide who wanted what once we tried them. We first tried one that had a whole real prawn in it. (it was a bit too cocktail saucey tasting for my liking). But this was Pete’s favorite of the three so he claimed it!
Next up we tried the “California Greenin'”. Now THIS was my cup of tea. Those grilled cheeses were insanely good too. I could have ate a plate of those alone as my breakfast- mmmmm! Not your traditional bloody, but pretty darn refreshing! It reminded me of those Naked juices, I think the one called the Green Machine?
My mom opted for the “Ol’ Yello’ Mary with fresh yellow heirloom tomato, horseradish pickled veggies, & the yummy grilled cheese. This was a very close second (in my opinion) to the California Greenin’. It was pretty tasty! I will say though- if you are craving a traditional bloody, this is probably not your place. These are pretty nuanced in flavor & doesn’t give that great hearty tomatoey kick. Kate said that Breakfast Republic had the best bloodies of the ones she tried, and I would totally take her word for it! We tried Breakfast Republic last time we were there, and it was a fantastic breakfast (I need to try a bloody next time though!).
Food time! Deej had their wonderful pancakes with maple syrup, raspberry and kiwi purees, fresh fruit and seasonal house-made compotes. The mix of jams and the syrup was beyond satiable (I had a bite of course 😉 ). All our meals basically end up as family style- lol.
Pete ordered this GORGEOUS bananas foster. I mean… can you take it?! MMmmmm!
My mom and I split their shrimp corn cakes which was probably the most frequently mentioned item on the menu per Yelp reviewers. This had poached eggs, kennebec potato, wild shrimp, sweet corn, mozzarella, cilantro cream sauce, & fried basil. I think this was actually my favorite of all three dishes. I’d say if you come here, this is a must.
After our scrumptious brunch we headed back to the hotel to change into some beach-easy clothes.
Before hitting the sand, we all decided to take a peak at the rooftop pool. It was such a fun little set up! If it was warmer out we would have taken advantage of it, but it was a bit too chilly for that.
Time to drive over the bridge to Coronado! It’s always pretty exciting to see all the massive ships & fleets of boats.
Ah I just love Coronado <3 It has so much character and such a peaceful vibe.
We found the same place we parked last time and walked to Hotel Coronado to hang out at the beach there.
Even if you aren’t staying at the hotel, you can still enjoy much of what it has to offer for free.
We walked around the grounds a bit, enjoying the historical odes at every turn.
Inside we spotted this old elevator that is still operational- I don’t know how we missed it last time!
I’ll never forget our INSANE brunch we had here last time! We walked around the shops attached to the perimeter of the hotel, and of course, had to stop at the ice cream shop.
Their flavors are too fun!!!
Time to soak up some San Diego rays! My mom and Pete took a long walk on the beach & I read some articles for school. DJ listened to his podcast and lounged next to me too.
We even had a little visitor. Linda, I felt like you getting these shots! 🙂
It started getting a bit chilly in the afternoon, so we went to the restaurants outside the hotel to have a glass of red wine to warm us up & enjoyed a vibrant quintessential Californian sunset <3
While we were sitting outside we noticed a man at the table next to us that was sporting my school of nursing’s shirt from 2018. I had to say something! I hopped over, introduced myself, and turns out he and one of the women at the table were professors. They were there for a nursing conference with the rest of the school of nursing. They were super friendly & we chatted for a few minutes- turns out I may even have them as profs near the end of my program! I wrote their names down in my notepad, so I won’t forget haha. Small world. Too fun!
On the way back we stopped at a CVS to stock up on carby breakfast items for before the race. I grabbed some mini wheats & DJ got a box of cereal too (Can’t remember what). Once back to the hotel, we got ready to hit the town! I’m excited to share our evening, but I’ll save that for next post 🙂
Questions for you:
- Are you watching the Bachelor tonight? Let’s discuss.
- Favorite cereal? I’m alll about them mini wheats- I love the chocolate & regular. Mmmmmmm!
xo <3
