Skip to main content

Fun in San Diego

Kelly attended the annual DAC conference in San Diego this week and I tagged along to keep him company in between working. We had my sweet friend (and card camp regular) Danielle, stay with the kids while we went to California. I left my camera (this happened the LAST time I went to California in February!), so Lindsey listened to my telephone instructions on how to ship the camera to me via my PC FedEx account. Unfortunately, I didn't get pictures of half of the trip, but I was happy when my camera was eventually delivered to our hotel room, and snapped some images to remember the remainder of our exciting getaway trip. On Tuesday night, there was a huge celebration party put on by one of the big companies sponsoring the Design Automation Conference and we took a pedicab to the event, where we had a great time watching a live Saturday Night Fever type of band, and watched a very entertaining American Idol type of event, with employees from some of the other companies. Each company was doing its part to try to wine and dine everyone. The night before, we were invited to a wine tasting party at another club called Candella's by another company. I thought it would be strange, but Kelly reminded me that the wine tasting was just an excuse for the networking. The host was happy to see Kelly and supplied us with Diet Cokes and plenty of mouthwatering hors d'oeuvres. Our friendly Turkish pedicab driver, Ali, looked very well toned from my perspective.
We stayed at the San Diego Marriott Hotel and Marina, which was luxurious and comfortable.
Here is one of the lobby seating areas near the South Tower where we stayed. I wish I had gotten a picture of the lime green chairs on the North Tower side. They were so cool looking.
We stayed in this same hotel a couple of years ago with the kids, so I looked forward to a trip back, knowing how much I would enjoy the accommodations.
This view of the downtown area was taken from our room on the 22nd floor.
This view was taken from the hallway, just outside our door, looking on the other side of the hotel from the previous picture posted.
Kelly popped in to see me when I was dining in one of the restaurants for lunch, after he had just given a presentation during lunch. It was nice that he checked in with me. I headed to the pool shortly afterwards.
This was on our 22nd floor right in front of the elevators. I have a cute picture of the kids while waiting for an elevator from our previous visit here. I will look for the picture and post it later. This is why I posed for a pic here so I could show the same carpet, etc., from our last stay.
I had some time the day I flew home to take our quirky rental car, an HHR, to sightsee a bit, and took my Tom Tom to lead me to the lovely San Diego temple. What a beautiful structure.
After quickly snapping some close-up photos of the temple, I drove to the other side of the interstate to enjoy lunch at California Pizza Kitchen, and thought this angle from the restaurant parking lot with the temple nearby was worth snapping a shot of too.
This was a bit blurry, but I enjoyed seeing the address and entrance and wanted to remember it, even though the address was posted in the main lobby at the Marriott on a plaque that said "churches."
On the way out from my brief drive-by viewing, there were two young teenagers strolling nearby, so I asked one of them to take a shot with me standing in front of the temple.
I had a great view from my seat at the bar at California Pizza Kitchen during the busy lunch hour. My friend, Adele, and I have eaten at one of these in Austin, but I didn't like what I had ordered that well. I gave it a second chance and had an incredible new item on the menu called a Greek Salad that had a thin layer of hummus beneath the lettuce and other toppings. It was superb. A guy named Peter came up and sat by me and ordered a pizza and talked to me about how he had signed up to meet his soul mate on eHarmony.com. He was a crack-up. He told me of a scenic drive I could take, and drew a map for me to the beach.
Well, I found the beach. But I'm positive that this is not the beach that he intended for me to find.
Here's what I hiked down! It was a long way down to the beach, and I enjoyed the workout. But it turned out that this beach was filled with naked men, very tanned, and very proud of themselves. Needless to say, I only stayed down on the beach for a few minutes, then hiked back up. It was some place called Black's Beach or something near Torrey Pines gliding port. It was absolutely beautiful, but I felt very awkward and couldn't wait to get back into my car at the top of the cliff.
Ahh...back to the hotel, where clothing isn't optional. It was a bit too chilly to hang out at the pool every day, but it warmed up to the upper sixties on Wednesday and I lounged out in my swimsuit in a recliner, poolside, for a couple of hours, but was too cold to take the plunge into the water. I was content to just be there, relaxing and soaking in the surroundings. Kelly and I had a fantastic time, and wish we'd stayed longer. We certainly plan to go there again.

Comments

Heidi said…
I have not been to San Diego since high school- such a fun town. Looks like you had a lot of fun, that temple is beautiful, so are the beaches.
Julie V. said…
Hi there, great photos. The temple is breathtaking. Tom said it was incredible inside. I stayed with the kids the day he went.
California is so lush and green.
Maybe that guy will meet his soul mate at the beach he recommended!! The pictures look great. It looks like a very fun and relaxing trip. I love san diego. Glad you had fun.
Gabrielle said…
Kelly, that is toooo funny about the nude gay beach!! I thought those were only in South Florida...
I learned pretty quick which beaches NOT to take my boys to.
Beautiful pictures of the temple. That temple was the first one I ever toured, just before the dedication.
Too bad you were in CA during June gloom, it's so funny that June is one of the colder months in Southern Cal! Sounds like a fab trip without the kids.
Conni said…
Kelly, now you know why my girls want to get married in the castle temple. Who wouldn't...I used to take them there to walk the grounds. It was OUR temple!
RuthAnn said…
Those photos make me want to visit San Diego again. I have such fond memories of the times I have visited there. Love the Hotel! I can see why you wanted to revisit it. The Temple looks Heavenly :)
Julie said…
What amazing pictures! I love San Diego! The last time I was there was for a wedding and I was about 7 months pregnant...my last trip before I couldn't travel. I would love to go back soon and I think the hotel you stayed at has my name written all over it! ;)
Anonymous said…
Kelly - Great pictures! I'm so glad you let me stay with the kids. THe pictures of the temple are gorgoeus. My dad always says the San Diego temple at night is stunning. (OK, maybe he didn't say stunning. But he said the guy equivalent of the word stunning! LOL) Looks like you and Kelly had a great time! ~ Danielle
Bobbi said…
What a fun trip! Your pics are great, and I am glad to know the SD Marriott is a good one. If you go in the temple, they will give you a tour. It is truly stunning inside, too. (Yes, you have to be in Church clothes, but worth it, even if you don't have time for a session). Ummm, what a shock to find that beach! I grew up in So Cal, things have sure changed since then. Still, a beautiful city. Thanks for the trip log, I loved reading all about it.

Popular posts from this blog

Book of Mormon Stories Pool Party!

Hopefully this title, Book of Mormon Stories Pool Party , does not sound irreverent, because as an Activity Days leader, I felt compelled to come up with a fun end-of-the-summer event that is also uplifting, and after all, who doesn't love a splash in the pool on a hot day in August?  My current church calling, or official role that I volunteer for, allows me to plan two activities each month for girls ages 8 to 11, that will encourage them to learn and live the gospel, serve others, and use the talents Heavenly Father has given them, to learn to do many good things.  This year's seminary course of study for high school students is The Book of Mormon, and since I am a huge fan of this inspired book of scripture, I came up with this idea to have each girl show up to my house with a written summary of one of her favorite stories from within its many pages, and share it with the rest of the girls, while outside in our swimsuits near our backyard swimming pool!  As each girl shares

Our new daughter!

This picture was taken at church a few days ago while Kelly was on his way to the US for work this week. We have some wonderful news to share.  We are adopting 7-year-old Yeh Min Yu, who has been in our home off and on the last couple of months.  There's a lot that goes into making this official, dealing with US Homeland Security to arrange for her immigration visa, Taiwan courts and Chinese documents, getting a home study done by a licensed, qualified person, applying for a passport.  You have no idea.  I'll be glad when it's all done, but I couldn't wait to share this bit of joy with everyone.  We will name her Hannah to go on her new US birth certificate.  She's excited and nervous to go to America with us.  She can say more than 100 words in English so far.  Some of her favorite things to say are "small dog, butterfly, apple, pig."  She says it more like pig-uh.  We love her and feel this is one of the reasons we came to Taiwan.  Who would have thoug

Elder Larson to return from Thailand soon

Soon is relative, I suppose. Our son has been away from home more than a year and a half as he has been volunteering as a full-time missionary in the Thailand Bangkok Mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since September 14, 2016. He will be home in four months and is working so hard, knowing his time there is winding down. He has been assigned to train Elder Ben Meyer, from Sydney, Australia, as they serve in Ubon, Thailand. Christopher has been there since November. We are very proud of his dedication and hard work. This week in Thailand, the new prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, with his wife, Wendy Nelson, along with one of the Twelve Apostles, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, and his wife, Patricia Holland, will be on their world ministering tour and be where our son is. The Church members and missionaries in Thailand are very excited and happy for this special visit! I can't wait to hear how it goes, and I look forward to pictures and stories to come.