Annette and John are here!

Above: Surfing by the Oceanside Pier
Below: Dinner in Cardiff By The Sea at The Beach House Restaurant

Here's a run-down of our visit with Rick's sister Annette and her husband John!
Mostly they have been enjoying just hanging out by the pool in the sunshine! We had great weather and it was fun to relax and enjoy our own backyard! We went in the pool every day!

We did take a drive today to the Wine Country in Temecula. Annette, we went to Mount Palomar Winery where we had our yummy deli lunch, a stop to view the tasting room and gift shop at South Coast Winery Resort & Spa, then to the Wilson Creek Winery & Vineyards where we are members. Lastly we went around to Leonesse Cellars where the views are so awesome.

Their son Jeff drove here for the weekend. He insisted we head over to Cessey's for those tacos! No argument from Rick!

Saturday: We spent Saturday morning at the WaveCrest Woodie Fest in Encinitas at Moonlight Beach (see Jeff in picture). weblink: Woodies It was a beautiful blue-sky, California day! Surf guitar music (think "Wipeout") blasted near the souvenir booth selling t-shirts, posters, and even vintage surfboards. The Fest claims to be the world's largest gathering of wood bodied automobiles. They sure are beautiful!










On the way back we stopped a little while at Tamarack Surfing Beach, followed by a great burger, fries, and Coors, dinner at Mr. Peabody's in Carlsbad. (Jeff's other favorite place, although the service is getting worse all the time)





Sunday: Jeff had to leave after breakfast at Curbside Cafe. Kinda' sad. They didn't get much time together. Seems to be what us parents have to live with.

Later Sunday afternoon we enjoyed a BBQ here with Rick and Annette's cousin John and his wife Marie. John's Dad worked with Annette and Rick's in the tile business in Detroit for many years.

Monday: Torrey Pines State Reserve hike:
The jagged cliffs edging right up the othe ocean offers spectacular scenery. From there we then drove to the other end of the park and the famous Torrey Pines Golf Course (awesome). The US OPEN was here in June (Tiger and Rocco had that 19 hole play-off). Just a bit further south is the cliff where they parasail from. Rick and I had never been there so it was pretty cool for all of us to see!

We continued driving down the beautiful coastline into "downtown" La Jolla. We shared a viewing of the seals in La Jolla Cove. The best part of the day may have been our fantastic surfside dinner at "The Beach House" right on the water's edge! The food and the view was awesome!

Tuesday: Wild Animal Park! We drove out to Escondido and toured the park. Followed by just another boring afternoon by the pool here!

Wednesday: A little drive to the beach, and drive around Oceanside. We passed the "Top Gun" house (about to be torn down, partially incorporated into a new hotel somehow), the took a stroll down the Oceanside Pier. It's the longest wooden pier on the West Coast: 1,942 feet. We stuffed ourselves (again!) at Ruby's Diner on the end of the pier. Rick, John, and I, feasted on the Ruby burger, but Annette chose the special Kobe (massaged beef) sliders with carmelized onions and hasn't stopped talking or thinking about them! They DID look great, and I'll have to try them next time we go. Hey, I joined some Ruby's club, Jitterbug Club, or something like that for 55+ and now I'll get 20% off there! Too bad that doesn't apply to the calories too! see link Ruby's Diner

Thursday: We took a free Boat tour of San Diego Bay, which was pretty cool (especially the "free" part!) Before hand we took a brief look around Balboa Park and a couple of gardens. Above: Balboa Park

Then we went to the Gaslamp District and ate at Dick's Last Resort. While down the City of San Diego we had to go to dinner in Little Italy! (at Buon Appetite) (The Little Italy Festa is Oct 12th. I wish we had guests to go with!)

Dick's Last Resort

Friday: We just hung around "Villa di Simioni"

Saturday: Gilbergs flew home; Evolas arrived!

Twelve days went fast! There is so much more to show you! Come back soon!!!!

Here's a slideshow of all our photos:



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Super Mom?

So, last night I thought I'd be a good Mom and make my son something to snack on at college. Good ol' Rice Krispie Treats! Yummy! Haven't made them for awhile.

This morning I sent them to Michigan State. Geez, $8.25 to mail them Priority Mail! (OK, I did include a big cycling magazine in the box.)

I was feeling pretty good about it -- I know he'll enjoy them especially since he's been complaining about big (negative) changes to the food at the MSU cafeterias this semester.

Then I watched our favorite Food Network Show: Every Day Italian with Giada DiLaurentiis. Her whole show was on a bunch of goodies she was making for her niece away at college. She was, as you might expect, making all kinds of homemade goodies.

Everyday Italian
Episode EI1018

AIR TIMES: Sep 13, 2008 1:00 PM ET/PT

Care Packages
Giada shows you how to whip up love in a box for those far-flung college.

Recipes

	Balsamic Chocolate Truffles
	Lemon Ricotta Cookies with Lemon Glaze
	Pancetta Balsamic Vinaigrette
	Sweet Potato and Beet Chips with Garlic Rosemary Salt

I didn't see a Rice Krispie Treat anywhere. Dang.

That's OK. He will eat MY food! I don't think he'd touch that other stuff!

---------------------------------

36 Hours in San Diego -- New York Times 9/7/08

36 Hours in San Diego

Sandy Huffaker for The New York Times

Casa del Prado in Balboa Park.

By BROOKS BARNES

Published: September 7, 2008

IF San Diego feels half empty, that's because it is. At any given time, swarms of residents have decamped a few miles south to Mexico or a few miles north to upscale resort towns. Also, the Navy is the area's largest employer, so a sizable chunk is presumably floating around on aircraft carriers somewhere. Is it any wonder, then, that the town leans so heavily on big tourist attractions (Shamu, the zoo)? A deeper look, however, will reveal more personality than you think. A necklace of quirky, sun-kissed neighborhoods rings downtown, from surfer hangouts like Pacific Beach to gentrifying neighborhoods like University Heights. Restaurants are flourishing, too. There is even an emphasis on preserving history, which, for Southern California, is a headline in itself.

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A Weekend in San Diego

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San Diego

Friday

5 p.m.
1) EASE ON DOWN

There's no better indoctrination to San Diego's laid-back style than a stroll along the Embarcadero, a two-mile stretch of downtown waterfront where a gentle sea breeze will lull you into a zombie-like state in no time. The decommissioned aircraft carrier Midway sits nearby and can be admired from Tuna Harbor Park, a shady nook next to the touristy but tasty Fish Market (750 North Harbor Drive; 619-232-3474; www.thefishmarket.com). Warning: Skip Seaport Village, a shopping plaza on the boardwalk, unless you're into pushy pedicab drivers and shops that sell obnoxious T-shirts.

7:30 p.m.
2) GASLAMP GLAMOUR

Much energy and money have been spent gussying up the Gaslamp Quarter, a 16-block downtown neighborhood that was once an archetype of urban blight. The jumble of frat bars is still rather depressing, but several boutique hotels have opened attractive lounges and restaurants. Avoid the W with its hipper-than-thou staff and head to the sleek but comfy Ivy (600 F Street; 619-814-1000; www.ivyhotel.com). Hollywood bigwigs roost there when attending Comic-Con, the annual comic-book convention and movie marketing extravaganza in July. The Ivy's restaurant, Quarter Kitchen, tries a little hard — the hostesses are hilariously outfitted in full-length shimmery gowns — but the menu (by Damon Gordon, formerly head chef for Ian Schrager's constellation of hotels) and modern décor have A-list locals practically moving in. The caviar tacos with horseradish cream ($26) are a favorite but don't overlook the Code 7 ($10), a trio of chocolate glazed, jelly and cinnamon-sugared doughnuts.

10 p.m.
3) CULTURE CLASH

How adventurous are you feeling? If the answer is not very, then perhaps top off the night with a sashay through the Ivy's multilevel nightclub, Envy. For the stronger at heart, there is the Casbah, as in “Rock the ...” Conjuring the 1982 hit from the English punk rockers Clash, the Casbah (2501 Kettner Boulevard; 619-232-4355; www.casbahmusic.com) is a venerable, if a tad dingy, music club where Nirvana, the Smashing Pumpkins and the Lemonheads cultivated an audience. Don't be frightened by the scull-and-cross-guitars logo; the club also features more mainstream acts à la Alanis Morissette.

Saturday

8:30 a.m.
4) GREENSWARD GIANT

No visit to San Diego is complete without taking in Balboa Park (1549 El Prado; 619-239-0512; www.balboapark.org), the 1,200-acre public park that is home to the Old Globe theater, a gargantuan outdoor pipe organ and a half-dozen major museums. A morning walk or jog along the park's central thoroughfare is a perfect way to experience it. If some of those Spanish Baroque Revival buildings look familiar, it's because they starred as Xanadu, the over-the-top estate in “Citizen Kane.”

10 a.m.
5) CALIFORNIA PAST

Tucked in an easy-to-miss enclave just north of downtown, Old Town (www.oldtownsandiego.org) offers a peek into what life was like in San Diego when agave plants still outnumbered people. Start at the Old Town Mexican Café (2489 San Diego Avenue; 619-297-4330; www.oldtownmexcafe.com), where the “tortilla ladies,” visible through giant windows, can be seen frantically hand-rolling corn and flour tortillas, some 7,000 on a busy day, the restaurant says. Don't stop to eat: those tortillas are better seen than tasted. Rather, wander into the Old Town San Diego State Historic Park (www.parks.ca.gov/?page_ID=663) to explore exhibitions like the 143-year-old Mason Street School, a one-room shack decorated with pictures of schoolmarms past. Shops scattered around the Old Town grounds sell the wares of local crafts makers. Large glazed ceramic tiles ($120 to $200) are big sellers.

Noon
6) TACO TREAT

This is a desert, after all, and the sun can be exhausting. Recharge at Casa de Reyes, a traditional Mexican restaurant at the Plaza del Pasado (2754 Calhoun Street; 619-220-5040; www.plazadelpasado.com). Tucked behind a luscious flower garden, the open-air but breezy restaurant provides a festive atmosphere with folkloric dancers and a mariachi band. Sit by the burbling fountain and try the tacos, preferably stuffed with crispy-edged carnitas ($9.95.).

1:30 p.m.
7) BEACH BOUND

There are dozens of beaches, but none are more authentic than Ocean Beach, a funky surfers' haven that has stayed frozen in time because of strict zoning rules from the 1970s. Wander through the stuffed-to-the-rafters Ocean Beach Antique Mall (4926 Newport Avenue; 619-223-6170; www.obantiquedistrict.com). The sidewalk along Newport Avenue, the main drag, is an attraction in itself. As part of a business district improvement effort, the community sells inscribed sidewalk tiles to anybody with $125 and a printable message. The results are oddly touching. (“Jeff Loves Rosie.”) O.B. is a locals' favorite, so you might feel conspicuous without a surfboard or bare feet. Just call everyone dude and you'll be fine.

4 p.m.
8) SALTY SEA AIR

Just to the south of the Ocean Beach Pier is a newly constructed concrete path that leads to one of Southern California's most spectacular stretches of shoreline. Sunset Cliffs (www.sandiego.gov/park-and-recreation/parks/shoreline/sunset.shtml) spans 68 acres. Stretch out on the grass, fly a kite (as many locals do) or explore the bluffs and tidal pools.

6:30 p.m.
9) DINNER AT A DINER

You've sampled one of San Diego's new haute restaurants, now go the other way and check out one of the diners that locals gush over. Hash House a Go Go (3628 Fifth Avenue; 619-298-4646; www.hashhouseagogo.com), promises “twisted farm food.” It's mobbed at breakfast and lunch but more manageable at dinner. Try the griddled chili crusted Indiana maple duck breasts ($24). Little ones in tow? Then the ticket is the tricked-out Corvette (3946 Fifth Avenue; 619-542-1476; www.cohnrestaurants.com), where beehive-coiffed waitresses hand out square pieces of Bazooka Bubble Gum to ease the wait for a table.

9 p.m.
10) THE FOX ROCKS

If the Regal Beagle, the pub from the 1970s TV sitcom “Three's Company” ever had a twin, this would be it. Except that the Red Fox Steak House (2223 El Cajon Boulevard; 619-297-1313) is also a piano bar. Dimly lighted with red Naugahyde booths, the lounge at the Red Fox attracts a diverse crowd from hipsters to elderly couples. Everybody sings along after a couple of drinks. Give the adjacent dining room a peek; the room was originally built in 1642 in England but was dismantled and shipped to California in 1926 by the actress Marion Davies, who used it as part of a summer home.

Sunday

10 a.m.
11) IF THEY BUILD IT

Tour the hot and dusty San Diego Zoo if you must. The preferable option, especially for families with younger children, is Legoland (1 Legoland Drive; Carlsbad; 760-918-5346; www.legoland.com). No lines, immaculate grounds and a surprising lack of pressure to buy souvenirs. This is an amusement park? Come before the masses discover it (annual attendance is about a million compared with nearly four million for the zoo). The 128-acre park focuses on interactive, educational attractions like the new Lost Kingdom Adventure, a ride themed around recovering hidden treasure in 1920s Egypt. For Lego fans — admit it, they're not just for kids — the park features a cavernous store that sells hard-to-find sets as well as little colored bricks in bulk ($7.99 for a quarter pound).

THE BASICS

Numerous airlines fly between San Diego and the New York-area airports, including JetBlue, Delta, Continental and American. A recent online search found round-trip flights on Continental from Newark Liberty International Airport starting at $339 for travel in September.

The Westin Gaslamp Quarter (910 Broadway Circle; 619-239-2200; www.westingaslamp.com) is centrally situated and sports a recent $50 million renovation. Large rooms with king-size beds start at $279 a night.

Also downtown is the Ivy (600 F Street; 619-814-1000; www.ivyhotel.com), a boutique hotel that opened in June 2007 with 159 rooms, starting at $279.

The Hotel del Coronado (1500 Orange Avenue; 619-435-6611; www.hoteldel.com) is a beachside grande dame famous for its Victorian architecture. Full ocean views start at $480, but less expensive rooms are available. Book well in advance.