Don’t you just love a “To be continued…” episode?  So, obviously you’ve been dying to read how the rest of our San Diego trip went.  So, I shall cut the suspense and tell you now.

Thursday morning we woke up and went back to the beach on Coronado Island.  Lea went for a long run and I went for a short one.  We stopped for breakfast at a small cafe on Orange Ave, Rhinoceros Cafe & Grill, and loaded up on a breakfast burrito – the Mexican tour continues!  Fully satiated, and with coffee and books in hand, we headed back to the beach via Hotel del Coronado for some R&R.  We dillied and we dallied and shopped about town, and some how managed to spend a day without a plan of any kind.  It was quite nice.

It was, however, New Year’s Eve, so we were a little behind the eight ball, as it were.  We cornered the concierge for a while and had him track down what restaurants weren’t charging admission, and he came up with a great choice – Rama, a Thai restaurant in the Gaslamp.

The drinks were unusually large, even despite the trick photography.  We were so miserably full from eating and drinking for the past straight week and a half, that we hardly made a dent in our dinners.  But we had a good time, and called it a day just past the stroke of midnight.

Our early retirement on Thursday night, while lame, afforded us a chipper Friday morning to explore Balboa Park.  It’s the equivalent of Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, or Central Park in New York, and is home to the world famous San Diego Zoo.  It was a tough decision, but we decided we would be back another time to see the zoo, so we took in some of the architecture of the other museums of the park before heading up the coast.

We drove up Hwy 5 to about Carlsbad before hooking over to the coast and taking the scenic way home.  When we stopped for this lookout spot, Lea spotted a funny squirrel-like creature that, for some reason, she did not agree with.  So she tormented it.  The poor animal was trying to burrow a hole while she threw taunts and sticks.  I thought it was rather hilarious.

Later, we came to Del Mar.  Quite possibly the most picturesque town I’ve seen along the coast, so far.  Not bad for January 1…

For lunch, we found a rooftop cafe.  I don’t remember what we had, but it wasn’t Mexican.  We were savings ourselves for later that night.

Since we knew we only had a few hours left before our 8pm flight back to SFO, we drove back to Coronado for one last Pacific sunset.  I took a lot of pictures and it was hard to choose, so here you go.

For dinner, we had our Grand Mexican Finale!  Down in Old Town San Diego, the streets are lined with Mexican restaurants, and one is rumored to be the best…Old Town Mexican Cafe.  You can watch the ladies through the window as they make fresh corn and flour tortillas from scratch.

And they are crazy good.

Our waitress didn’t give us much choice other than to order the Molcajete.  Have you ever heard of that?  I hadn’t.  She swore up and down that it was the best thing on the menu, so we obliged.

O – M – G.  I still tear up when I think about it.  Words cannot describe this wonderful dish.  The menu above says it all, the picture below is the real thing.  I don’t know why I’ve never had this before, but I’m going to find it and spread it’s good name to the world!

Oh, and if you’re picky about your tequilas, check out this list!

I have to throw this out there, too.  As much fun as we had in San Diego, we were really looking forward to our first flight on Virgin America to take us home.  Check out this spaceship-looking cabin.

Ah, what a lovely trip.  It was Lea and my first vacation as husband and wife that didn’t fall under the premise of a wedding, funeral or national holiday. We’re already looking forward to the next one!

Cheers!