sunset at the San Diego Harbor

We started the day with a drive north from our Mission Beach condo.  Then we thought it would be fun to just drive and see where we ended up.  Did we end up anywhere exciting?  No.  For two reasons.  One, because we had to find a bathroom and two, because we were getting crabby from lack of breakfast.

We ended up at a shopping mall, before it officially opened.  We walked around looking for the bathroom (love the outdoor malls!) and ended up back in the parking lot.  We saw people leaving the Crate and Barrel across the parking lot so we headed over there.  The doors opened by two salespeople with a smile.  They told us to grab a scanner and have a good time.

Chuck didn’t think anything of it, but by looking around at all the happy, young couples and stations of food, I knew we had stumbled across something.  First order of business though was to find the bathroom.  Up the escalator, just as we were getting off someone offered us a mimosa.  Yes! A Mimosa!   Whatever it was, it was awesome.

Trying not to make eye contact with the staff we made it safely to the restrooms and afterward we grabbed a mimosa.   I told Chuck he should take off his wedding ring because by this time it had dawned on me that this was an event for newly engaged couples.  He thought I was crazy and wouldn’t follow suit  when I slipped my wedding band off.

Boy did that change when two salespeople cornered us and started asking us questions about our engagement.  I scared Chuck silly with my skill to lie about things that don’t matter.  And while asking questions about this decoration piece he kept his had firmly in his pocket.

We scored some free food along with our mimosas.  They had waffles, pancakes, fondue, strawberries, cupcakes, etc.  It was good enough to hold us over until we made it lunch.

It was fun to pretend for a little while.  We spent the rest of the day at the San Diego Harbor checking out the USS Midway and Star of India.  We wrapped the night up with a carryout pizza and making each other laugh at the condo.

We are easily entertained…

We are early vacation risers so the days started at 7am, a few mornings were 6:30.  We enjoyed the sunshine, tried food we couldn’t get at home and absorbed as much of California’s beauty as possible.

Mission Beach

We did get a little taste of Seaport Village, San Diego Harbor, Pacific Beach Shopping, Mission Bay (we rented bikes and explored), as well as, a tiny peak at Coronado Island.

We really enjoyed La Jolla Cove and the seals with their pups.  It was fascinating, with the exception of trying to find parking among all the others there to enjoy the views.  We could have spent all day there.   We drove further north near Scripp’s Institute of Oceanography* and hung out on the beach.  We got sandwiches from the cutest deli and just relaxed.

Besides that I’d have to say that Chuck’s other favorite thing we did was the USS Midway.  He even saw a plane that had been on the navy carrier his dad served on during the Vietnam war.

On our extra night in San Diego we stayed downtown.  We walked around looking for a place to get something little to eat and stumbled upon a hockey bar, Stout Public House.  The bar was filled with hockey memorabilia mostly of the Vancouver Canucks.

Stay tuned for my Delta Airlines rant and the mischief we got into on Valentine’s Day.
You can also view a  gallery of photographs I took.  More to come as I upload them.

*sidenote – Many people don’t know that  I wanted to be an oceanographer when I was in high school.  A part of me wishes I would have looked into it more seriously.

We’ve been talking about going to California for a long time now, it just seemed out of reach for our “budget”. I use that term loosely because, really, I’m horrid at actually setting a budget. The best I can do is estimate that either yes we can make it work or no we can’t.

I used to plan vacations months in advance. Now? I don’t want to wait more than a month, two, tops. So San Diego, here we come!

via peasap

Would you believe me if I told you I found a studio apartment to rent in Ocean Beach for $75/night? I did. They didn’t have any vacancy but there were others. Boy were there others. I have a whole list of places I’ve emailed and called. All for under $100/night.

Chuck and I aren’t picky about the size of the place we stay at. Mostly, it’s just a place to crash after a fun day. We’d much rather stay in a condo, studio or apartment than a hotel. That is just us. We like to be able to cook our own food so we aren’t eating out 3 meals a day. I like that a lot of rentals come with extras like boogie boards and bikes. It’s like borrowing someone’s home.

The first time we did it was on our honeymoon in Hawaii and we vowed never to stay in a hotel again, unless it was some place like Chicago or New York. For fun we’ve looked at villas in Tuscany. There are vacation rentals everywhere! Even in northern Michigan.

If you are planning a vacation and are thinking about looking into a vacation rental I use VRBO,  Home Away and Vacation Rentals.

Oh and in case you are wondering, I wasn’t asked to write this post, I’m just amazed that more people don’t know about these websites and what they have to offer.