Exploring Beautiful San Diego

Beautiful San Diego at night

Once we arrived at John Carl and Allie's lovely new home in San Diego, we explored the city with them for several days. We had a blast seeing the sights together. Although both Keith and I had been to San Diego before, it had been well over 40 years. Keith spent a summer there in the 1970s working on a beach project with Campus Crusade, but San Diego has changed and grown dramatically in 50 years!

Fabulous Food

One of the blessings of Navy life is having friends who have gone before you. Some of their closest friends moved there a couple of months ago, so they already had a great sense of where to go. On our first night we went to La Puerta, a fun, delicious Mexican restaurant with pretty authentic food. It was a enjoyable reconnecting with their friends.

A must-see in San Diego for anybody who loves Naval aviation is Kansas City Barbecue, the site of the memorable bar scene from Top Gun. We sat by the jukebox where Tom Cruise deposited his coins to play "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling." We also saw the piano where Goose played "Great Balls of Fire." Not only was the history engaging, but the food was also delicious!

Gorgeous plants are everywhere!

They had heard about In-N-Out Burgers, so they were eager to try it one evening. The burger was fabulous, but I thought the french fries left a lot to be desired, Keith had fond memories of Jack-in-the-Box (not to be confused with Jacks), so we also had a meal there.

One of our most enjoyable meals was John Carl's birthday dinner. They both love Hawaiian food, so they found a restaurant called Big Kahuna's that serves up an authentic taste of the islands. I had never tried Hawaiian food before, but I am hooked now!

Beautiful San Diego

From gorgeous flowers blooming in the neighbors' gardens to the exquisite Balboa Park, San Diego is truly a beautiful city.

Each morning as we walked Captain, our grandpuppy we loved seeing the incredible variety of flowers, succulents, and unique plants. Both Keith and I had fun taking pictures to capture the beautiful memories. We drove to Coronado Island one day, then down the Silver Strand. We also spent some time at the beach. We were lucky to visit one beach just as they were beginning a sand-sculpture festival. Several skilled artists were hard at work creating unbelievable masterpieces in the sand.

One afternoon we decided to visit Balboa Park. We hopped on the free shuttle and got a private tour of the park complete with its history. With over 12,000 acres and multiple museums, Balboa Park is a must-see if you're ever in San Diego. Many parts were constructed for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition which celebrated the opening of the Panama Canal and touted San Diego as the first port for travelers passing through the canal. We wandered through the International Village where cottages for countries throughout the world offer a taste of their native cultures. Unfortunately, they are only open on the weekends, so we just peeked in the windows as we strolled past.

Keith stands by the Tony Gwynn wall at Petco Park

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

As soon as we learned that John Carl would be stationed in San Diego, my husband became a Padres fan. A long-time Braves fan, he didn't desert his team, but he did find a slightly better team to follow this year! We were blessed to find tickets for a Wednesday afternoon game at a terrific price, so off we went to lovely Petco Park. I have to admit that I was kind of dreading it because our tickets were in the nosebleed section, and I worried it would be miserable in the hot sun. I couldn't have been more mistaken! The stadium is built so that even in the afternoon, many of the sections are well-shaded. A nice breeze kept us comfortable as we enjoyed cheering our new team on to victory.

John and Allie with Captain enjoying the beach

All Good Things Must Come to an End

Friday came, and it was time to head back to Huntsville. Since we had a night flight, we took the opportunity to do a little more sightseeing. We drove almost down to the Mexican border where we found the Las Americas Premium Outlets. We could see the border wall from where we were. We could also see the houses on the Mexican hillside - a completely different world.

We boarded our plane a little before 9:00 pm. As we taxied down the runway, the twinkling lights of San Diego bade us goodbye. It's safe to say that this taste of San Diego has left us looking forward to planning another visit to see John Carl and Allie next year. There are so many more things to do and see, and we can't wait to return!