West Family: San Diego!

Jon had a conference in San Diego last week and I was able to go with him. We unwillingly left the children behind. ;) It was SO nice to have time just to ourselves and relax a little. Usually I am ready to get home after a trip, but I could have stayed a least a few more days. It was really nice to be able to spend time together without having to worry about anything/anyone else. It helps me to remember that we are a couple, a couple in love, not just parents, homeowners, etc.

I'm hoping this conference takes place in San Diego every year. :)

These pictures are out of order, but I will try to explain them. On our last day in San Diego we took a 2 hour harbor cruise. It was a lot of fun to see everything from the boat. I was starting to get really cold up on the deck so we went down and got a drink. It was unlimited refills and the guys at the counter kept trying to convince me to add a little rum to our soft drink.

We stayed at the Marriott Marquis right on the bay. It was really nice and the pool area was awesome. We passed the hotel on the harbor cruise. Its the two shiny blue towers to Jon's right.

The bridge to Coronado Island behind us. We never made it to Coronado and I will explain why in a minute.

Thursday morning I went out on my own to tour Balboa Park and Old Town San Diego. It was so hot and I walked countless miles. I got back to the hotel feeling pretty gross so I decided to take a shower and get ready for that evening when we were supposed to go out to a fancy dinner with Jon's co-workers on Coronado island. I was blow-drying my hair when the power went out. I waited a few minutes for it to flicker back on, but it never did. I texted Jon to see if they had power down where his conference was in the hotel. I got no response. All of a sudden I heard tons of sirens outside which made me start to panic a little with the idea that this might not be simple power outage. I grabbed my things and started heading down the stairs from the 15th floor (elevators weren't working). Right when I started down the stairs they made an announcement that all of San Diego was in a blackout and not to worry. I went back to my room, put on makeup, pulled my hair into a bun and then Jon came in the room. He had walked up the 15 flights to get me. We went down to the lobby to meet his co-workers who decided not to go to Coronado. I was a little disappointed but it was a good decision because all the restaurants and stores closed down. Only a few bars stayed open accepting cash for drinks. Here are some pictures.

We walked around downtown trying to figure out what to do for food since everything was closed. The streets were a stand-still with all the red lights out.

We found one little shady store open with a man who barely spoke English charging at least double for his supplies. We bought a few things that weren't made in his store.

We took our purchases and headed back to the hotel to hang out by the pool. There wasn't much else do.

The Marriott ended up bringing out giant grills and cooked hamburgers and things for everyone. We got in this line when there were about 100 people and it took about an hour. It quickly grew to at least 200 people. We stayed down by the pool area for about 3 hours and never saw the line get shorter.

Finally, hamburgers! Not quit the fancy dinner on Coronado, but at least it wasn't just chips and candy bars. :)

A picture I took while shopping at Old Town San Diego. It was a fun place, but the train to get there was a little interesting. I felt VERY blessed that I got back to the hotel before the power went out and wasn't stuck on the train with all those....hmmmm......unique people.