We stayed right on the bay and had an amazing view of the marina below, all of the boats sailing in and out of the bay, and Coronado Island. We decided that since we had driven all the way to San Diego and gas prices are ridiculously high, we were going to use the car as infrequently as possible. And that's exactly what we did. We walked everywhere! Talk about blisters! :)
The first night, we decided to go to Little Italy. Yes, San Diego has a Little Italy, too. Here's the proof! :)
Adam was really excited to see if they had authentic food. We chose a pizza joint that our hotel recommended. We had about an hour wait, but it was fun to chat while we waited and do one of our favorite past times - people watching. People were coming out of there with satisfied looks on their faces so we gave it a go. Sunny's pizza was quite tasty and Adam's food was decent. It wasn't quite like they do it in the Old World but it was still a fun night out. Later, we walked around the Gaslamp district of downtown San Diego, which is where all the hip people hang out. We sure felt out of place (and under dressed). :)
The next morning, we woke up and went to see the Dark Knight. The theater was completely full, except for the seat next to Adam. The guy one seat over from Adam actually acted like he was reserving the seat between him and Adam until the lights went down so he'd have extra space. The movie was good, but tense. Both Adam and Sunny thought it was worth seeing but liked Batman Begins better. Later, Adam and Sunny walked from the gaslamp district to Balboa Park, a good 3-mile jaunt. Neither Adam nor Sunny knew it was so far away but it gave us a good chance to see more of the city than we had planned to see. :) We saw some interesting characters, including some partially naked people, some people who didn't know that there is indoor plumbing, and lots of joggers.
Balboa Park is amazing! Not only is there significant greenery located right in the heart of the city, but it is also close to the San Diego Zoo, has beautiful Spanish-influenced architecture, has myriads of museums and fountains, and attracts thousands of people from all walks of life. We both commented how much we enjoyed all the diversity in the park and how interesting it would have been to talk to some of the people. After we walked around for a few hours we headed back towards the hotel. Three miles later (and several blisters later), we settled on a dinner spot in Seaport village, which was near to our hotel. Seaport Village is a collection of shops selling everything from kites to Christmas ornaments to Nordic wear. In other words, it is a tourist trap haven! We ate dinner at a burger restaurant that overlooked the Marina. It was fun to look at the fancy yachts and boats we'd never buy, even if we won the lottery. Plus, the ocean breeze felt very refreshing. By the time we finished dinner, we were actually getting cold. Unlike Arizona summer nights, it actually cools down at night in San Diego.
The next day was Sunday. We got up early and went to church. We were surprised that it was only about 8 miles from our hotel but there were 5 different freeway changes to get there. The ward was nice but about half the size of our ward back home. We were disappointed to hear that Elder Ballard had visited that same ward the week before but it was cool to hear that one of the apostles had been where we were and reassuring to know that Heavenly Father sends His servants "far and wide" to testify of Him.
After church, we walked around downtown some more and ate at a Mexican cafe. The food was good and the helpings were generous. Neither of us finished our meal so we had plenty of leftovers. We took them, even though we knew they'd spoil by the time we wanted to eat them. Later that night we again walked along the marina. It was such a pleasant evening! As we were walking, Adam noticed a guy who had brought his collection of exotic birds down to the boardwalk. Sunny thought it was gross but Adam wanted to give it a closer look. Sunny followed. Soon enough, Sunny had two large parrots perched on her arm. :) See her look of disgust at this development here. :)
Adam got a taste of his own medicine when a street performer juggling torches and knives asked him to be a part of his act. Reluctantly, Adam participated and is glad that he still has all his fingers and toes. See the video of this moment here.
On to Carlsbad!
