The San Diego Experience: part III

All good things must come to an end, my friends...

SATURDAY, May 24 

We started the day with a bang and our favorite meal of the day: brunch! We found this cozy little place in downtown La Jolla called Cody's and then discovered it's well-known for it's brunch menu. It was pouring down rain [of course!] and we had to drown away our sorrows in some fabulous food. It was not my first round of pancakes on our trip but this picture is worth showing because they were quite possibly in the Top Five Buttermilk Pancakes category. And you know I love me some pancakes--especially the blueberry variety.

Next we traveled over the Coronado Bridge to see the island and hotel. Pretty cool but it would've been prettier with some sunshine. Here is the famous hotel:

And here we are on the beach yet again. I felt like taking this exact picture over and over by the beach would surely lead to sunny weather, and ironically I was correct [more to come].

Oh, and another 'starter home' just our price on Coronado Island. Guarantee this one is over 6 million. SIX MILLION DOLLARS!!!! My midwestern mind can't take the insanity. 
And on the topic of expenses, San Diego [or maybe La Jolla] opened my eyes to expensive cars that I never knew existed. Not that I really noticed, but Nate pointed them out to me as we passed. For instance, we saw several Mercedes that Nate later Googled to see a $150,000 price tag. A few Bentleys [aren't they over 100k, too?], and some kind of car called an Aston Martin[ probably a ridiculous amount, too]. Apparently the people of La Jolla have money coming out their ears with their million dollar homes and hundred-thousand dollar cars. Sickening, isn't it?

Moving on, this picture summarizes how I felt about the weather at this point in our trip. I was shivering and cold and wearing the same stupid fleece every day. You try not to pull up your hood in dismay! 
But then, something miraculous happened. We drove back to the hotel and the clouds parted. The sun shone down on our heads as to say, "Here I am, you big Wisconsin babies. Wanna come out and play now?" And we did. It was only 63 degrees but finally sunny and by God, I was going to wear the bikini I brought on our trip. So we went to the hotel pool and 'laid out.' I use the term loosely because normally I don't shiver while lounging at the pool and my normal minimum temp for donning a bikini is 80 degrees. So  yeah, I lowered my standards in the name of a tan---some kind of physical evidence proving we did visit California.

And you can guess what happened next: laying out in the 63 degree sun for two hours burnt us. We were red as the Wisconsin badgers. And it served us right. Who did we think we were exposing our albino northern skin to the California sun? I swear I used to tolerate basking in the sun for hours upon hours, only to emerge with a bronze glow. And now I'm apparently doomed to a life of white versus red skin, no option for bronze.

Anywho, for our last night out [and it was still a little sunny!] we splurged and went to George's in La Jolla. It's an award winning restaurant and well deserving of the hype. Here I am drinking my California Lemonade, another profile pic in the making:

San Diego is known for their fish tacos and I convinced my anti-pescado husband to try some of the best. And George's did not disappoint:
Did I mention that this restaurant overlooks the ocean? Because it does, and this is what I call a REAL sunset:

And here we are, the happy couple....all fried and smiling. Notice our faces were not so bad [gotta love SPF in our moisturizers] but our poor chests and arms leave something to be desired:
This is probably my new favorite picture of all times. In fact, it's the new background for our computer. I like how there are still some dark clouds lingering around to remind us of what our trip was really like:
You've all seen the typical 'bridal party stick their shoes together for a shot" picture, right? I thought this particular parking spot warranted such a pose. Nate did not get it but he lived, and now our wedding date was fully represented:)
And to end this madness, I leave you with a shocker: my sunburn. This image cannot fully encompass the magnitude of redness. But if you look closely at my [disgustingly long] arms you'll see the fabulous line between white and red. I apologize for the muscle-y neck in this picture but you get the idea. 

I decided to forgo the matching picture of Nate's sunburn. I have to draw the line somewhere and showing my husband half naked is it. But trust me, his was just as bad.

And for those of you worried about my health in general [come on, you were worried, right?] I'm feeling much better now. The sunburn has faded into a pseudo-tan and my sinuses are recovering. Now I just sound like a hoarse frog with a smokers cough but I'll manage.

Sunday we woke up, returned our car, and flew home. Note to self: never finish reading Marley and Me on a plane, in public. I was freaking balling like a baby but I played it off because my nose was already running anyway. That book is breathtakingly good and painful all at the same time. If you are a dog lover you must read it now but don't I say I didn't warn you. 

So that was it: our one year anniversary trip. Full of good memories and many pictures. I would recommend San Diego to anyone but if we were to return, we'd plan a July trip instead:)