San Diego Weekend

Recently we headed to San Diego for a weekend to hang out with some friends.  We decided to make it a road trip so we could stop off to pick up Holly's wine package at Cougar Winery in Temecula.  We like their wine enough to keep our wine club membership with them just so we have an excuse to head down south from time to time.  So we hopped in the Escape and headed south down the 99 (which I'll never do again because it is sooooo slow) and made our way to Temecula.

Cougar ended up being our 1st and last stop in the Temecula Wine Country.  Normally when we're in the area we manage to visit 2 or 3 other wineries before making Cougar the finale.  This time we decided to make it our 1st stop and we ended up staying for a few hours tasting everything they had to offer. Joe (our pourer) gave us some extra off the menu samples and after our long ride down there we felt like we probably shouldn't be boozing it up any longer.  Especially since we still had to drive to SD.  So we called it quits with the vino and headed for SD. 

We arrived at Jeff and Jenna's house in SD around 5:30 PM.  Jeff was working the night shift (he is a narcotics detective for the SDPD), so Jenna took us to Old Town San Diego where we had dinner at Casa Guadalajara which is a pretty lively place for Margaritas and good Mexican food!  After dinner we walked around the Historic part of Old Town where we stopped and got some of the best Salt Water Taffy that you can find anywhere at Cousin's Candy.  They make it there fresh and it is sooooo good!

Saturday we got a little beach time at Point Loma.  On the drive there Jeff found out that I like IPAs and this made him extremely happy.  He has recently gotten into Micro Brews and was happy to introduce me to the  IPAs and brews that the SD area has to offer.  On the way back from the beach he took me to the local liqueur store that offers an awesome selection of unique beers from all over the world.  We stocked up on his favorites and headed back to their house to have some samples.

We sampled 3 of the IPAs before getting ready for Jenna's B-day celebration which we were celebrating on the Horn Blower Sights and Sips cruise around the SD Bay.  The dudes got all spruced up in our finest sports coats while the ladies got all dolled up and looking nice in their sun dresses.  We loaded up in the soccer mom van and headed out to pick up our other friends Tyler and Monique along with Monique's sister before heading to the harbor for the cruise.

Prior to hopping on the Horn Blower I thought it was an ample time to take a few Boy Band pictures of the guys. Notice Tyler sporting the tank top under the sports coat!

We then headed for the Horn Blower to stuff our pie holes with nachos, crab sandwiches, and more beer as we cruised around the SD Bay taking in the sights.  The cruise took us under the Coronado Bridge, past a few Navy Ships, and gave us great views of SD.  We even got to see some Search and Rescue training over the bay which was pretty cool to watch.

After the cruise we headed to Extraordinary Deserts for some desert, although I had another IPA and a salmon sandwich =) We capped the night off at Tyler and Monique's place where I got to sample some of Tyler's beer that he had brewed at home.

The next day we headed to Coronado to have lunch at Miguel's Cocina, then some ice cream at Moo Time Creamery, before doing some walking around Coronado Beach and the famous Hotel Del Coronado.

I have always loved San Diego and I'd probably move there in a heartbeat if I had a good paying job lined up.  I think SD is awesome!