Catching up. Part 3.

So where was I?

• 2nd January was my brother's birthday, we ended up going right down to the border of Mexico to Las Americas Premium Outlets but didnt go over the border to Mexico, we have been told it is not safe at this time. Also the hire car my parents had wouldnt have covered travel within Mexico. We then headed onto the Plaza Bonita Mall for a bit where we ate and shopped. There was a really good deal on in Bath and Bodyworks where if you purchased one of the small Christmas/winter scented candles you got a free glass for burning it in so of course I got some of those!
• 3rd January we had a day out in which we explored Point Loma, Ocean Beach and Old Town. In Ocean Beach we went to a place called Hodad's where we had the most enormous burgers! Here is a selection of pictures from the day which were stolen borrowed from my mum and brother.

• I didnt head out on 4th January with them as I decided to have a quiet day around the house getting caught up with laundry etc so that they could go back and not need to do any laundry. They went home on 5th January, we had such a lovely but busy time while there were here! I wonder when we will have our next visitors here.
• 6th January hubby and I met up with our friends- it was a belated new years celebration. We headed to a place called Urban Solace which is in the North Park area of San Diego. The building was absolutely beautiful as was the decor. The prices however were quite high. Additionally we found the food to be a bit of a disappointment. Everything we ate tasted sweet! Still the evening was great, good conversations with friends is what we had gone for. It does seem however that everytime we all meet up and go out for dinner it is a slight disappointment.
• It was another friend of our's birthday on 13th January so quite a few of us headed with a BBQ to Mission Bay Park on 14th January. It was lovely to catch up with everyone. I still cant quite get used to the being able to BBQ in January! Hubby and I are used to being layered up and staying in!
• I had received my work permit on Christmas Eve so the job search started on 15th January, many of the jobs require a driving license so at present the job search is limited to retail and other places which I can get to by bus. As of today- 2nd February I have applied for 16 different retail places, not one has come back to me. The unemployment figures here are as high as in the UK so I am not going to panic, additionally there is the fact that my retail experience may be too old, that they may not recognise my experience and qualifications so far and that in some cases whilst you can apply for jobs there isnt actually anything available at that time. Will keep on plodding along.
• I met with my friend from Scotland on 18th January, we met at the Fashion Valley Transit center which is right next to the mall then got a bus down to Downtown. After a walk around the Gaslamp district we walked down to Seaport village, around the Embarcadero park, along the harbour past USS Midway and the Maritime Museum before taking a walk down to Little Italy, a place with many different Italian restaurants. We ended up having Pizza at Landini's Pizzeria where they had a fantastic deal of 2 slices of pizza and a drink for $6, the pizza was really good too. The day out made me realise the following: 1) I need to take my camera out more. 2) there is still a lot of San Diego that we need to explore!

I had hoped to finish off my update on this blog entry but there is still so much more to write, so another will follow shortly.

  

Catching up. Part 2.

I still have so much more to write about. So more bullet points! I know I wont get the whole of the time between 22nd December and now in this entry either!

• 22nd December I met up with the two ladies who moved over here around the same time as us. We met at Champagne for a coffee (well hot chocolate for me!) and cake and swapped presents. Well actually they were just decorations for the tree- we all had decided to try and find each other tacky Christmas decorations for the tree and we had to hang them on the tree.
• The rest of 22nd was spent in preparation for my family arriving- housework and cooking a delicious slow cooked chili with jacket (baked) potatoes. My mum, dad and brother arrived around half 8 and the evening was spent eating said meal, chatting and a few drinks.
• Mum and I headed out on 23rd to Costco, Walmart, Cupcake shop, Michaels, Ralphs, Trader Joes and Bishers Butchers to pick up all the bits for Christmas whilst my brother dad and hubby headed out to look at a mall and go to a few other places. We had a relaxing evening with Pizza. My brother and I also put together a Gingerbread house- which promptly fell apart.

• Christmas eve we headed out to Coronado, had a wander around the parts we had been to before but also discovered a completely different part which was near the ferry landing, I have posted pictures before of Coronado but here are a few of the bits which we found which we hadnt seen before.

•  On the way back from Coronado we headed to the San Diego Chargers Stadium, known as the Qualcomm stadium. This is were the American football team play. The reason for the visit was my brother needed to get some bits for his friend who supports them. My brother however is a Detroit fan and Detroit had beaten them just a couple of days before. Oops! 

•  The evening of the 24th my mum and I were baking sausage rolls (using the pork mince we had picked up from the butchers), Cheese and onion rolls, Cheese straws and cookies.
• Christmas day we had a lovely breakfast and then packed up the car with the BBQ and foods to cook. We first had a wander along Mission beach, then walked back up Mission Bay before having a BBQ right next to the beach.

• On the way home from Mission Beach we headed to La Jolla where we saw Seals, Sealions, squirrels and hummingbirds.

•  As Christmas day fell on a Sunday everyone had the Monday off in lieu- in the UK this would have been a bank holiday anyway. Most people were out at the sales, we however decied to head to Ramona and Julian.
• The following day was our mall day, we went out to Fashion Valley Mall and to Mission Valley, I cant recall whether I purchased anything though!
• My brother and dad went to Flying Leathernecks Aviation Museum whilst my mum and I went to Costco on 28th- or should I say we tried to go to the Costco that the sat nav was telling us to go to but this didnt exist so it was then looking for another one instead! Once we were finished we picked up my brother and dad and headed to North County Mall.
• 29th we headed to the Plaza Camino Real Mall then drove through Oceanside, Carlsbad, Encinitas, Solana and Del Mar. That evening we all went for a meal (including hubby of course) to On the Border, the food was pretty good! We saw our first black widow spider outside! EEK!
• We headed to Balboa Park on the 30th, my mum and I went round the zoo whilst my brother and dad had a wander round the park! It was so busy in there though that by about 3 we headed out, we had seen all of the more endangered animals during that time.

• New Years eve we all headed down to Downtown. We managed to find parking at $1 an hour which was much cheaper than the car parking we normally use- I believe that one is about $10 or $15 a day, we had a wander around the Gaslamp district, headed to Horton Plaza Mall, and walked down to Seaport village where they were setting up for the evening where some guys were jumping across from the North to South parts of the harbour, or it may have been the other way! It was getting a bit chilly- whilst it is warm during the day we find that the evenings are cooler so we headed back to the apartment and chilled for the evening with nice food and some alcohol!

OK, I think I will end here as I have concluded December, another entry will follow soon!

Super Saturday & a Sunny Sunday

So. This is about LAST Saturday and Sunday not yesterday and today. SEE I am way behind.

Super Saturday is another day of shopping deals. Though we didnt really go deal shopping.

We had planned to go to the farmer's market in Poway, which was on early until 11.30, we didnt wake up until 10. I am guessing the mad busy Friday had caused us to be extremely tired! Still somehow, not quite sure really how we were able to get to the farmer's market for 11.

The main reason we had gone to the farmer's market was to try and see the BBC Pasty Heaven stall, however, this stall was not there. No big issues, just fancied a pasty, sausage roll or scotch egg. None of which I have had for three months.

We didnt really need anything from the Farmer's market and wanted to get on to sightseeing a little more so off we went to Oceanside. Usually when we go to Oceanside we park behind the main street however, this time we chose to park a little way along the beach and take a decent walk along the boardwalk (promenade).

We decided whilst in Oceanside to have some lunch. We decided on a place called Davina's Cabo Grill, I would link to it but it seems they don't have a website currently. There is a roof terrace which you can sit up on which has beautiful views and has a great atmosphere. Great place for drinks and some tortilla chips with dips.

On the way back to the car we went along the road which is directly behind the beach and is actually higher up.

We walked past the house which they used in Top Gun, the balcony scene. I didnt realise it was 25 years since that film had been released! The house is beautiful, currently there is metal railings around it. Having read more it would seem that the house is on land which has been approved for a 4 star resort and they are going to incorporate the house into this resort.

Yes this is the Top Gun House! SEE pic above and the one below...

Next stop was Carlsbad, yes this is where Paranormal Activity 1, 2 and 3 is supposed to be set but then all you ever see in those films is the houses! In fact looking on IMDB it would seem that Paranormal Activity 1 was filmed in Rancho Penasquitos which is literally just a minutes drive from where we are (it is the neighbourhood next to us!!). It looks like the other two were filmed in that area too though IMDB has not said this!

Carlsbad is home to the Carlsbad Premium Outlets and Legoland. We have yet to go to Legoland! We had never actually take a walk round the small town there so this was our chance. We liked it, it is really small but there is a lot of places to eat so we must return.

Our next planned stop was to be the Carlsbad Premium Outlets and perhaps to look at the flower fields. However, the premium outlets were rammed and there was nothing in the flower fields so we moved on.

The Flower Fields are it seems only open in the spring time. That is definitely something we need to go back for.

Our next stop was the North County Mall. I needed a few gifts for some friends who had sent me some stuff so went to the Sanrio store. As well as getting those gifts I got a new purse, as in a wallet not a handbag. They had their decorations up and we saw this little dude in the Sears store:

I wish I had a garden!

Here are pictures of the decorations:

My new purse/wallet (depending on where you are living):

After that we did boring stuff (read that as food shopping)!

Sunday we had a much less hectic day. Well, it depends on what you call hectic. Less hectic for us anyway.

We were up late so it was about midday before we ventured anywhere. We had a walk around the Gaslamp district and Horton Plaza (I have previously posted pictures so there wont be many on this one) and had lunch at a place in the Gaslamp. The food was quite a letdown but it was fantastic to be able to sit outside in the sunshine and drink a beer in November!

This was where we were sat in the sunshine

A tree made up of tons of Poinsetta plants in pots

We went and bought our dining table and chairs in the afternoon around 3pm, popped to Costco (gotta love buying in bulk!) and did some chores then at 7pm our table and chairs were delivered! Amazing!

So that concludes the long and hectic thanksgiving weekend!