Surprised? Blessed?
Have you ever won or been treated to a free vacation?
My phone lit up with a text from Calie.
“Hey, Mom and Dad. I want to send you to San Diego for a week.”
Wait! What? Whoa!
Such exhilarating news!
“Yes, I want you to come watch me in the high-intensity tactical training (HITT) competition.”
Most every year we look forward to an excursion to Colorful Colorado.
But this year I had determined we needed to fund a vacation budget first, so no trip for us!
(fingers drumming on table) (with a sad/mad face)
“Of course, we will! Thank you!”
Oh, wow! 😀
A trip after all. One to a place we’ve never been. Flying. Gratis.
(This would just be my 4th plane trip.)
We arrived at the airport right on time–4:30 a.m.
So we did something we are good at.
Got up early ~ 2 a.m.
Remember this time.
It plays a role later in the day.
We boarded the plane ready for a fantastic adventure.
(In the past I haven’t liked flying, mostly because I felt sick. But on this trip, I tried Dramamine and it worked!) 😉
Wing in flight
What Rick saw…
The mighty Rockies
Sunlight playing on the clouds
Spectacular views
…What I saw!
Yep, the whole time
He looked away long enough for a quick “us-ie”
People’s sleeping positions cracked me up!
Ok, so we landed. Everything’s good.
Calie won’t arrive from Hawaii until midnight so we have the whole day to explore before we’re due back at the airport.
What to do first? Here we are downtown in a large city we’ve never been to.
We’re hungry.
Literally, we couldn’t find/get to a quick, fast food restaurant.
(We finally ate hours later.)
I’m glad I didn’t have to drive. It took us 2 or 3 tries to get anywhere we wanted to go!
But all which transpired proved a fun adventure. 😉
Our home for the night was the LaQuinta in Oceanside, an hour north of San Diego.
So we raced up the I-5 and checked into our room.
A glass etching of a pier caught my eye in the hotel lobby.
Boy, am I glad it did! I loved that spot. We frequented the Oceanside Pier on 3 different days. 🙂
Look who I met on the way to the pier!!
Our first glimpse of a fun place
There were always seagulls and lots of people on the pier
Still going strong at 3:30 pm
Fishing from the pier is a popular activity
Being built in 1925 makes this old wooden pier kind of spooky and romantic at the same time
Delightfully clear turquoise water
I got a kick out of this!
Even though the skies were cloudy, it was a thrill to be there
Strolling on the pier was mesmerizing
I allowed Rick to tear me away from the pier. We had other sights to see.
We started back toward San Diego, via the famous Highway 101, driving along the coast.
Upon arrival in San Diego, we drove through a unique place named Balboa Park. Lots of green. Many unique trees and plants.
But the architecture of the buildings is what stood out!
The famous Highway 101
The trees invited us down their path
Blue skies and warm palm trees beckoned us on
Vibrant Balboa Park
Amazingly beautiful buildings
The overpowering buildings makes one feel very small
I don’t believe it, but we ventured to downtown San Diego at dinner time on a Saturday night!
It seemed brazen.
But it wasn’t bad. 🙂
We found an affordable authentic Mexican restaurant.
Time: 7:30 pm
We had an authentically delicious time at Valentine’s
After filling our tummies and even with night falling, I really wanted to go to Coronado Island to see Hotel del Coronado.
If we went it would be dark when we arrived, but we might not have time later in the week.
(Remember, we were there to watch Calie compete in the HITT competition, which would take place Mon-Thurs on Camp Pendleton.)
On our way to Coronado 🙂 , we briefly drove down Harbor Drive near the waterfront.
Did my eyes deceive me?
I thought I glimpsed sailing ships…
…moving eerily in the deep dusk of the night.
The whole scene dripped with the ambiance of anticipation!
Now there’s another place we really wanted to check out! But would we have time?
Beautiful, exciting downtown at night
So intriguing, especially at dusk! Do you see the sails?!
Okay. This next location definitely ties with the pier for the best part of the day!
We crossed the high-up, amazing Coronado Bridge over to Coronado Island and made our way down Orange Avenue to the Hotel del Coronado.
⇒ Put yourself in my shoes. Picture this… ⇐
Been up now for 20.5 hours with the time difference, so we may have been more easily dazzled.
I doubt it though, I’m always easily dazzled. 🙂
It’s dark, but the enchanting hotel’s trees and grounds are charmingly lit.
I know this structure is old, wooden, and massive. It reeks of history, majesty, and mystery.
Mostly hidden by darkness, the long-established hotel evokes a captivating and compelling aura.
Besides all that, the immense, nighttime-black ocean prowls in the murkiness nearby!
Can you get a sense of the romance (idyllic, picturesque, fairy-tale quality) and mystique surrounding this edifice?
Stunning bridge from San Diego to Coronado
After the lighted sign and trees, we first noticed the Crown Room.
We only viewed it from the outside looking in but beheld its splendor. In the left side of the picture below, there’s one chandelier unlit and you can plainly see the crown shape.
We went inside. The lobby was magnificent.
Wedding reception participants paraded past as we sat a while. (Needing to kill time.) We scoped out most of the main floor and the outside lounge/grill areas. So much activity!
We came upon an unusual sight.
A Dragon Tree, which had been transplanted on the grounds from the Canary Islands before the turn of the century.
Being slightly loopy from lack of sleep made everything seem more surreal and alluring.
Charming and inviting
The lighted grounds were compelling
The Crown Room, aptly named for its crown-shaped chandeliers
The captivating Hotel del Coronado as seen at night
This place is full of enchantment and being deprived of sleep somehow made it seem more so
The Dragon Tree, planted here before the turn of the 20th century.
In the lobby at 9:30 pm
Hotel del Coronado in the daylight, circa 1900
We went to the car and waited for the appointed time to leave for the airport.
We were so tired now. Rick slept.
I tried to rest, but the multiple memories made over the past 24+ hours occupied my mind.
We made it to the airport, got the “package,” and drove the hour back to Oceanside.
When we got to bed, we had been up for 26.5 hours!
🙄
Hence, my same pink shirt in so many pictures.
A pooped Rick waiting for Calie to arrive around midnight
Whew! What a long, but fun, day! I’ll be sharing this trip day by day, so be on alert for the latest installment. Perhaps it’ll include a visit to those sailing ships!
The next day was crammed full of events also, but we got to share them with Calie. 🙂
Pam here, signing off. Click on any of the purple buttons below to easily share this post.
Until next time,
Blessings and blooms
Perfect Bird of Paradise seen in Oceanside
Author: Pam
Glad you’re here!
Great pictures! Great post! I love the pic of the dragon tree! So cool! Thanks for sharing your trip with your readers!
Hey, Jana. Thank you! The dragon tree was really cool, especially at night with the lights. Thanks for reading my post. 🙂
Hi Pam, I feel like I just had a quick trip to San Diego via your post. It’s been a few years since I was in San Diego and it brought back good memories! I enjoyed your photos and commentary!
I’m happy I could give you a quick trip 😉 We certainly had a good time there.
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