When Charlie was born, he was only home from the hospital for a few short weeks when Bryan had to leave for a week long conference in San Diego. When he returned home he raved and raved about how wonderful it was so when he was rescheduled for a second session this August I decided to book a flight and tag along with him. I did a lot of himmmming and hahhhhhing about leaving the kids and ultimately decided that Bryan and I really needed some time to spend together. I got a lot of advice from our friends about how to go about leaving the kids....keep our kids together, keep them in their own home, have some one they are familiar with stay with them...and it was the best advice I ever got!
While I did my fair share of missing the kids I have to say that it was
so nice to spend some quality time with Bryan. He spent most of his day at training so I kept myself busy running, walking, touring, shopping, reading, reading and reading some more. Each evening he would come home and then we would venture out with the rest of the crew to tour new areas of San Diego.
The first night we stayed close to the hotel and found a local restaurant to feast at. On the way back the sun was just setting and I quickly got a shot of it before it hit beneath the waves for the night...
I spent all day Monday at the beach devouring my book. I was so wrapped up in it that I ended up spending a little too much time in the sun and paid for it the rest of the trip.
That evening we headed into Old Town San Diego and ate at one of Guy Fiere's favorite spots from
Restaurants, Diners and Dives. I just have to say that these were the BEST chiliquiles I have ever had in the United States...
The next morning I was hurting...like my body felt like I was literally on fire. Soooo I laid in bed until about 9am, casually walked to Starbucks to get some breakfast and then found myself leisurely reading on my balcony the rest of the day. Our hotel was right across from the ocean so the salty, moist air and screams of laughter helped remind me all day that I was still at the beach even though I was in complete shade...
Thank you books for reminding me how much I miss reading for pure pleasure...
That evening we made our way to The Gas Lamp District area of San Diego and found ourselves at the notorious Piano Bar. All I have to say is that my cheeks ached the whole next day from laughing so hard.
On Wednesday we ended up having a little beach time and Bryan did some serious body surfing while I wrapped myself in towels on the beach to protect my sweltering skin from the sun. Then we made our way to the farmers market around dinner time. Most of the group ate at a very popular burger place but Bryan and I felt like being a little more adventuresome. I have always wanted to try sea urchin and I couldn't pass up the opportunity. The vendor was a little silly....I think he was yelling "sea urchin chi chis" or something like that. They had just been caught that day and were still alive. He literally split them open, scooped out the guts, added some ceviche components and I added a few splashes of hot sauce...
The verdict from both of us....DELISH! It was not something I would eat every day but I would definitely not let another opportunity like this pass me up!
Our time together in San Diego was absolutely worth the few achy tears (on my part). I know it is going to be a llllooooonnnnngggg time before we get to do anything like this again and I am glad we took advantage of the opportunity. For a few seconds I felt as if we were twenty-five again, touring Europe without a care in the world. But seconds like that were few as the reminders of my precious blessings at home flashed through my mind. We both knew that we were more than ready to get home.
