Back from San Diego

Darlene and I are just back from our first visit to San Diego. So here's the story.

We really wanted to go to Mexico, but Darlene has some very specific bed needs and Mexican hotels don't quite meet those needs. Tempurpedic's site to the rescue! They list all hotels that feature memory foam mattresses. This is how we found Tower 23 in Pacific Beach, north of downtown San Diego. San Diego is also known for having the most perfect weather in the US. Perfect weather, comfortable beds, modern hotel, on the beach..... who am I to argue?

So we escaped the blizzard in Calgary on Monday and 3 hours later were greeted by sun and warmth. A quick shuttle ride to the hotel and what a pleasant sight awaited us at Tower 23. Check the Facebook pictures, the view was spectacular. Beach for many miles in each direction, a walking path along the water for miles in each direction and plenty of eateries and shops within walking distance.

We rented a car, which wasn't absolutely necessary, as there is public transit, but it doesn't run very often or get you where you're going very quickly. Car was the best way to get around. We never encountered traffic jams, all parking was free (except downtown, but we stayed away from there by car). Seriously - free parking! With the freedom of having the car, we were able to cruise up to Escondido, tour around La Jolla (the Beverly Hills of San Diego) and head to Old Town, where we hopped a tourist trolley to check out the sights nearer to downtown. Although we had planned to disembark the trolley to check out a few sights, we realized that the places we wanted to see deserved a proper, longer visit to do them justice. So we promised on our next trip back here to check out Balboa Park and the Zoo, Coronado and a few other places. But we did get out to Point Loma where the cliff-side ocean and city views were out of this world.

The culinary highlight for me was a visit to the often Yelp'ed about Filippi's Pizza Grotto. Their pizza was superb. Funny how real Italians know how to make great pizza. They could teach some pizza chains a thing or two. Like - don't be afraid to use some tomato sauce! Damn that pizza was saucy.

The weather did end up being perfect (for February). Only Tuesday was cool and we used that day to shop. Every other day was sunny, warm (about 19C), dry, with cool clear evenings. If you know me, you are aware of my love for the sound of the surf, and I got to hear it a lot.

The week went by too fast, but hear me now, we'll be back.