We went to LA and San Diego to meet up with Mandi’s parents and nephew, go to a wedding, do some work, and whatever else we could fit in. In LA we stayed in Santa Monica so I wandered around there a bit. There’s a nice path along the beach that I walked south to Venice Beach and back. We had beer and other things I don’t remember for dinner at a place on the Third Street Promenade and then more beer and sausage at the Fifth Amendment Alehouse.
We expected traffic on the way down to San Diego, but it wasn’t bad. Somewhere along the way we got thirsty and stopped at a place called Cafe del Sol that’s right off of I-5. I just got iced tea, but the bubbling vats of mystery meat caught my eye.
After getting settled at our hotel in San Diego we hopped in the car to see if we could tour the aircraft carrier USS Midway and find dinner. The Midway was already closed for the day, so we caught the ferry to Coronado Island instead. The wind made the ferry ride pretty chilly, but it was worth it to see the harbor at sunset. We had dinner at a seafood place on the island with Stone Pale Ale and a great view of downtown San Diego.
Our main mission in San Diego was a visit to Sea World with Mandi’s nephew. I can’t say I’m a fan of Sea World, but it was fun to follow an excited kid around there. The out-of-place Clydesdales reminded us that Sea Word is part of Anheuser-Busch Inbev (maybe not for long though). Sadly, Inbev’s purchase hasn’t brought Hoegaarden to Sea World yet – it would have been perfect with our barbecue lunch.
After dinner and drinks with our friend Volodiya I wasn’t sure I was capable of going anywhere, but Mandi hauled me out of the hotel to the Midway the next morning. I was amazed how cramped the quarters were for such a huge ship. After wandering through a claustrophobic maze of hatches and corridors it was liberating to get up on the spacious deck – it felt like the roof of a parking garage.
We left Mandi’s parents and nephew in San Diego and drove back up to LA, stopping at Cafe del Sol for some of their delicious tacos and salad. The wedding we attended was at the Bel-Air Bay Club, with a great ocean view but a freezing cold (for southern California) ocean breeze.
We had the whole day after the wedding free so we went to the Getty after finding breakfast in Santa Monica at the Interim Cafe. The view and grounds of the Getty were at least as interesting as the art inside. Like most big museums we visit we didn’t come close to seeing everything.
