March 22: After renting a car at the San Diego airport, we checked into the Westin a few blocks away. A pleasant late afternoon walk along the sunny waterfront, beer and mussels on the sunny deck of the Fish Market restaurant, bread and cheese and wine in our room for dinner, after which I walked up through lively Little Italy, smoking a cigar, while the wonderful wife relaxed at the hotel.
Next morning, we both walked up to Little Italy for a lovely little breakfast of crepes at a bakery on India St. (not sure of the name; maybe Panificio E Ristorante Solunto), after which a long walk through the gaslamp district and along the water (again) back to the hotel. Not a lot of time in San Diego, but we very much enjoyed the little time we had.
We drove up to Santa Ana, arriving at Pat and Elaine and Katie's around 3:30. After catching our breath, we all headed to Karen and Kevin's for a terrific dinner with almost the entire California clan (plus Kevin's lovely parents from New Mexico), which gave us a chance to meet (or re-meet) members of the newest generation of the family: Allie and Emma and Ryan and Matthew. (Too bad Jacqueline couldn't join us, but at least we saw her earlier in the day at Pat and Elaine's.)
On Saturday, the 24th, Katie was kind enough to take her old uncle for a walk around her block so I could smoke a cigar, after which I let Pat beat me at 8-ball (by one stinking ball!). In the afternoon, we all crowded into our tiny rented Chevy Cobalt and drove down to Colin and Megan's wedding. We were -- or at least I, the driver, was -- confused about the logistics of the wedding. The wonderful wife and I had reserved a room at the Pala Mesa Resort and I assumed that's where the wedding and reception were to be, so that's the address I plugged into our GPS. In fact, the wedding and reception were 20 minutes away at something called . . . what, Grand Tradition Mansion? Regardless, we got there in plenty of time, the wedding went off without a hitch, the stars of the event were beautiful and handsome, and the reception was a chance to talk a bit with my wonderful nieces and nephews, take a horse and carriage ride with Katie, and have a scotch or three.
At the reception, my table mate gave me a funny look when I asked if there was anything to see between Fallbrook and Las Vegas. Next morning, I found out why. There is nothing at all between Fallbrook and Las Vegas. Think that might be why they call it desert?
There's lots and lots of stuff (and people) in Las Vegas, we learned Sunday evening, none of which holds any attraction for us. Since our visit, we've been told a dozen times that people either love Las Vegas or hate it. Put us in the "hate it" camp. About the only reason we can see for going to Las Vegas is to be close to places that really are worth going to, places like the Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam.
We had been to the Grand Canyon in 2005, so this time we spent the better part of a day visiting the dam, which was pretty terrific even if the tour fell short of what it should have been. The tour guides spoke too quickly, didn't explain things clearly enough for this visitor to grasp, and the film shown at the beginning of the tour was poor quality -- I know the photos are old, but hell, run the damn things through Photoshop! -- and it should have included animations and schematics.
On returning from the dam and after supper (which I can't remember right now*) we opened a bottle of wine, bundled up (it was pretty chilly), started a fire in the courtyard of our house, and sat talking for a couple hours -- a far, far, far more enjoyable way to spend an evening than a return to the strip.
"Did you say 'a fire in the courtyard of our house' "? Yep, we were staying at Eric Dunbar's guest house, our first booking with airbnb.com. It was excellent, but I'm not going to go into any detail about it, because all you need to know about it, including lots of pictures is available here.
--------------
*I can't remember the restaurant, but the wonderful wife can: Ali Baba Lebanese Restaurant. And now I remember that, instead of an entree, I ordered two appetizers, neither of which was very good. I also ordered a glass of Lebanese wine ("Massaya"), which I liked a lot. After our meal, I asked the waiter if refills are free. He laughed and said no and then said he would bring me another little bit. I demurred: "No, no, no, I was just kidding." Darned if he didn't come back with more wine -- an entire glass! I'll have to try that all the time from now on.
--------------
*I can't remember the restaurant, but the wonderful wife can: Ali Baba Lebanese Restaurant. And now I remember that, instead of an entree, I ordered two appetizers, neither of which was very good. I also ordered a glass of Lebanese wine ("Massaya"), which I liked a lot. After our meal, I asked the waiter if refills are free. He laughed and said no and then said he would bring me another little bit. I demurred: "No, no, no, I was just kidding." Darned if he didn't come back with more wine -- an entire glass! I'll have to try that all the time from now on.
No comments:
Post a Comment