San Diego - last night

Friday October 2, 2009

It was too late by this time to go Old Town. We went back to our hotel in La Jolla for our last night in San Diego.

I had wanted to have dinner at George's Ocean Terrace but Glenn was too tired and didn't want to eat anywhere fancy. We ordered up to our room instead. We might as well have eaten out. The bill from the hotel's Nine-Ten Restaurant was $35.41 for - get this - ONE cheddar cheese burger and tea for two!! Yes, that did include the gratuity. Maybe it cost so much because they included two unusually tiny bottles of ketchup, one shown below with a 4½" pepper shaker for scale.

We had to get up at 4:00 the next morning to catch a 6:10 am train to Los Angeles.

La Valencia Hotel

Friday October 2, 2009

We were a little tired and got up later than usual. We ambled a block or two over to La Valencia hotel for breakfast.

It was very foggy that morning but soon it began to lift.

We chose to sit outside on a terrace overlooking the picturesque lawn and pool. Because of the fog, the seats were wet and the occasional drop of water plopped onto our table from above. I thought it was amusing that we were sitting at the famed La Valencia getting wet behinds. A waitress then gave us napkins to sit on and later a fellow turned over all the chair cushions. The service and food were good though.

I had ginger pancakes and bacon. I liked the pots of jam. Ha, did they give us enough butter?

View from the terrace. Who allowed that ugly block of a building in La Jolla? It really doesn't fit.

Supposedly, Charlie Chaplin, Groucho Marx and Greta Garbo vacationed at this hotel, and Gregory Peck had get-togethers with the casts of the La Jolla Playhouse productions.

La Valencia's Whaling Bar and Grill was and is a main gathering place in La Jolla. Unfortunately, most of the indoor shots of restaurant, lobby and bar were nearly pitch black. At this point I wasn't able to figure out why, even with the flash on, I often wasn't able to get a picture.

The Parisi Hotel across the street is another hotel I had considered.

Last part of our drive on day 3

Thursday October 1, 2009

Leaving Torrey Pines Park we headed south toward La Jolla.

The sun seemed to set fast in San Diego so there wasn't a lot of daylight left. There were two things I had hoped to see while we had the car: 1) the San Diego Mission, number one of a string of twenty-one missions up the state, and an important part of California's history, and 2) the Cabrillo Monument. These two sites were roughly in opposite directions.

Hopes were high when I spotted a landmark that made me think we were not far from the mission. It could have been nice to photograph the exterior in late afternoon light... but we didn't find out because we got stuck in a horrible traffic jam. California traffic! After inching along for some time, I finally abandoned the idea and turned west to return to our hotel. The sun was low and it was blinding my eyes so driving was hairy. We somehow wound up in the parking lot of the Birch Aquarium, which I wouldn't have minded visiting, but it was after hours and a private function was in progress.

By the time we got back near our hotel in La Jolla, my nerves were frapped and I didn't feel like driving in San Diego any more! We dropped the car back at Avis and walked back to our hotel, stopping at the grocery store and the cookie/coffee shop on the way. I suppose Avis could have charged us for the 2nd day we didn't use, but they didn't. Avis was good when we rented from them in Guelph earlier this year, so I'm becoming a fan.

I'd never tried Newman's Own raisins before but they were so fresh I might be a convert. They are available in Canada.

One thing I never find in Canada though is Rice Chex cereal so we picked up a couple of boxes. Would have looked for Weinhard's root beer too if we'd been closer to home.

The plan for Day 4 had been to drive to Old Town and take the trolley from there to the aircraft carrier and Coronado. Unfortunately, with no car the next day, we would not be driving out to the mission or Cabrillo Monument but we could still taxi to Old Town.

La Jolla - a temple

Thursday October 1, 2009

Also from Mt. Soledad we spotted this church. Little did we know that when we went to the vitamin shop we'd be right down by it.

At ground level it was the strangest sight. I had to shake my head to make sure my eyes were seeing right because the building appeared to be in a white haze. There was no haze around anything else. It was just the effect of an all-white, glowing building. We've never seen anything like it.

There was a freeway in front of it... although I'm not sure which side is the front, so we drove around the back. It really was the most extraordinary sight, the way the light hit the different planes. There was something eerie about it, while at the same time it reminded me of the Emerald City in the Wizard of Oz. Since author L. Frank Baum spent time in San Diego I wondered if he had something to do with it, but probably not.

I thought it was incredibly interesting to use virtually no variation of colour. The photos can't capture the fascinating 'glowiness' of this structure, which was created by using marble chips in stucco. The pale windows look like gemstones to me.

What I thought was a church is actually a Mormon temple, the San Diego Mormon Temple to be exact. It must be quite a sight lit up at night too.

La Jolla - Mount Soledad

Thursday October 1, 2009

Getting lost in La Jolla

Before driving up the coast we went in search of a vitamin shop in another shopping area of La Jolla. Sometimes getting lost is fun because you never know what you'll find. In this case we found ourselves driving up Mount Soledad, which I'd hoped to visit anyway.

Soledad, a Spanish word for solitude or loneliness, is pronounced in three syllables. So-le-dad.

At the top of this 823 foot hill (by comparison, our Mt. Doug is about 700 feet) situated mostly in La Jolla, is the Soledad Mountain Veterans War Memorial, erected in 1954 originally to honour Korean veterans. There is a 43 foot cross. The six walls below it hold 1400 plaques. Apparently on clear days you can see Mexico from here.

Warm and dry. Note the cactus in the foreground. A friend had told us not to expect the tropics in San Diego.

A view up the coast where we'll be going. Theodor Seuss Geisel "Dr. Seuss" lived on this hill and probably had such views. His widow still lives there.

The traffic is not bad at all.

A group of bikers arrived, then disappeared over the edge of the hill.

La Jolla - morning of Day 3

Thursday October 1, 2009

This was the day we'd rest our feet by going for a relaxing drive up the coast.

We began with breakfast in La Jolla. I would guess that Harry's Coffee Shop ("Breakfast served all day") is not a popular tourist destination. It's an old-time cafe with a huge menu and it was a fair hike from our hotel.

I tried pancakes at three different restaurants and these were the best. They were also the cheapest.

Harry's was conveniently close to the Avis car rental office. A larger car than we'd booked was ready to go so away we went. I like these smaller car rental offices. This was our second good experience with Avis this year - the first was in Guelph.

Girard Gourmet in La Jolla

Wednesday September 30, 2009

We found a little bakery / coffee shop just down the street from our hotel. It stayed open until 7:00 pm. You never knew what cookie designs would show up in their window.

La Jolla - morning of Day 2

Wednesday September 30, 2009

It looks like a fine day for visiting the zoo and Balboa Park today.

First we stroll down to the Children's Pool to see what the seals and pelicans are doing. Sometimes the seals just lie there until a wave washes them into the water. No pelicans, but a little ground squirrel popped up.

A La Jolla bench.

Heading away from the beach, the streets are empty at this time of morning. We probably passed a few people walking their little dogs though. Imagine, Gregory Peck walked around here. In fact, his father worked as a pharmacist in our hotel when it had a drugstore / ice-cream parlour.

We had breakfast at this place, The Cottage. Pancakes with bananas and a pumpkin muffin.

A church we passed on the way back to the hotel.

La Jolla - Children's Pool

Tuesday September 29, 2009

After checking into our hotel and shopping at Warwick's book and stationery store, we went to visit the Children's Pool (Casa Beach, I think). It was intended to be a children's beach but then the seals moved in.

We round the corner of our hotel and head down the hill. Those tall, tall trees are quite stately in person.

I believe this is the Little Hotel By The Sea and Garden Terraces, which belongs to the Grande Colonial.

There are lots of bird of paradise flowers growing here.

Buildings on the hillside and road at the bottom of the hill.

The Children's Pool, which is in that little cove inside the breakwater, was much close to our hotel than I expected. We're starting to lose our light and it's getting cloudy, but it's still warm.

On the rocks are many pelicans.

And they're in flight too.

That's not just seaweed on the beach. Harbour seals are in there.

A closer view.

Frisky waves. Looking to left.

And down below.

Farther along the beach to the right. We walked along a path and by a park. Lots of (skinny) people were out walking, jogging, cycling and a small group was exercising in the park.

The posts along the way had different designs but with an ocean theme.

A California sunset.

End of Tuesday.

La Jolla! The Grande Colonial Hotel

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

We arrived at our hotel much later than I'd hoped but delays are to be expected.

Some think the name La Jolla (la hoya) means 'the jewel.' Although it's part of San Diego, it feels removed. It has its own zip code, and mail is addressed to La Jolla rather than San Diego. According to Coldwell Banker, it is the nation's most expensive housing market for the 2nd straight year.

The Grande Colonial hotel

The Grande Colonial is where we'll be staying for four nights.

Cute pot plantings. We noticed that much of San Diego's pavement was in disrepair. Maybe it's because they often don't charge for parking. Parking is free even at the zoo.

I like the room. We have three windows! I'd asked for a quiet room and got one at the end of the hall, top floor.

There was a walk-in closet with bathrobes (yay), a safe and iron & ironing board. The bathroom walls were actually a soft green with huge white mouldings up near the ceiling. Everything was spotless.

The hotel faces Prospect St. We spent a fair bit of time on Girard. My first stop would be a stationery/book store called Warwick's a couple of blocks up Girard. Go the other way and you'd be at the beach.

Looking to the right, the small side street off Prospect is probably Drury Lane.

But never mind that. Not only are we on the top floor, we have an ocean view! The hotel must have been not very busy for this upgrade. Or maybe it helped to book with someone who had my first name. We were paying for a room with just a street view, so this was a delightful surprise.

We got chocolates too. And a newspaper at the door each morning, which I never had time to read.

I'd worried that this hotel might feel too European instead of Spanish/ Californian, but the colonial feel and the view out this hallway door reminded us of Lahaina (Maui). Palm trees and hisbiscus flowers added to the effect. I half expected to hear mynah birds. There were historic photos in the hallways too.

A couple of shots out back.

I would definitely stay at this hotel again.