Surfers, Sand, and Sun?

Well it took a myriad of freeways, an army of tailgaters, and Carinn's white knuckles, but we finally made it to San Diego. On our first morning in town, we headed out to La Jolla for coffee at Bird Rock Coffee Roasters. The wait was long but totally worth it. We shared a sun-dried tomato quiche and "The Sugar Daddy," a decadent latte made with Mexican chocolate.

From there we met Charlotte at Solana Beach for a run along the foggy cliffside and a victory lunch at In-N-Out. We'd never had In-N-Out Burgers before and had been drooling over them ever since hearing about "Animal Style" on our camping trip.

For the uninitiated, "Animal Style" is an option from the chain's secret menu. You can add it to the burgers or fries and it's a gooey, delicious mess of American cheese, 1000 Island dressing, and grilled onions. We still haven't decided if it's good news or bad news that we don't have one in Seattle.

After lunch we headed to the famous Hotel Del Coronado. The beach had probably the softest sand we'd ever felt and the hotel had the largest variety of events we'd seen in one place: three weddings, an Air Force ball, and a witch's convention all happening simultaneously.

Here is a shot of us playing it cool in the part of the hotel reserved for guests only. Even though the hotel has a lot of history and a great location, the creepy carpeted hallways reminded us faintly of the ones featured in "The Shining." Considering the hotel can only claim one ghost, I guess it's not that creepy.

After a festive Mexican dinner in Old Town, we grabbed some gelato at Bubby's Gelato in Encinitas. We found this place on Yelp, which can definitely be a gamble - one such post said a certain cafe was her "favorite cafe in the entire world." Apart from the funky record covers and generous portions, we both agreed that the reviewer wasn't very well traveled. Bubby's, on the other hand, was spot on. The range of flavors were original and highly guarded. We'd show you a photo of the gelato but when Charlotte asked for her 2nd sample, the owner said in her Italian accent: "Only two samples and you keep your spoon!" We found the Gelato Nazi! No picture-taking or fun to be had here, but the gelato was delicious and authentic. Even though we had to find a heat-lamp to eat it under, our cups were polished off in seconds. What a great way to end our trip!