Memorial Day Weekend?

[Claire]

It's coming up....do you have any plans??

We usually go to my dad's on the coast and watch him get drunk and pick on my step-mom, my kids and me, until he suggests we all don our suits and get in the hot tub where he then calls me fat and tells me I shouldn't have had so many damn kids. :rolleyes:

I know, I know. You're all jealous and wish you could join us......believe me, the prospect of doing it again was a little overwhelming, so I decided NOT to do it (ever again, I hope) and we planned a No Kids weekend instead.

Friday night, I'm going to an Australian red wine tasting ($10 for a flight of 5, and $6 for 2 premium pours...I'm going straight to the pours) during happy hour with my best friends from high school....one just moved back into town, so we're celebrating his arrival. Cannot wait to see everyone. We're doing the tasting, then staggering four blocks to this yummy place for tapas and to sober up.

Then Kelly and I are dropping the kids early Saturday morning with my in-laws who live smack DAB in the middle of the Willamette Valley Wine territory (about 45 minutes from us) in McMinnville.

Then Kelly and I are spending the day driving from winery to winery to taste and buy and taste and buy. At the end of the day, we're heading back to McMinnville to stay at the Hotel Oregon. http://www.mcmenamins.com/index.php?loc=7&category=Location%20Homepage I juuuuust found out on Monday that one of my favorite local bands Dirty Martini (4 women songwriters who occasionally get together and perform--I've followed 2 of them for eons!) is going to be playing there that night....free!! I'm so excited!! What luck! Kelly likes them too.....but only because two of them are extremely hot and fun to look at. ;)

We have Sunday brunch plans with Kelly's brother and his wife, then it's a few more wineries, dinner with the in-laws, and then we'll stay at their house and go home on Monday.

What about you???

[SusieP.]

Well I'm for sure not hanging out at your dad's house, that's for certain!

We are driving to Colorado and seeing the Grand Canyon, and all that good road trip kind of stuff. Then we are attending the Air Force Academy graduation on Wednesday and driving home, via Vegas on the way back.

[Not Afraid]

We start on Thursday with me picking Chris up at the airport and going to UCLA to see Christopher O'Riley play Radiohead and Elliott Smith.

Friday is a haircut (I think I'm going short) and BBQ.

The rest of the weekend will be spend reaquainting myself with my husband, getting ready for Tokyo and, Sunday, playing hide and seek with Nephy. :evil:

We leave next Friday, so there's a lot to be accomplished.

[LSPoorEeyorick]

It's a Meet the Parents weekend. Tom and I are flying out to Michigan tomorrow night, to arrive in Detroit around 6:00 AM. Whee! Sleep deprivation!

My pal Stephanie is picking us up and driving us to Ann Arbor, where the significant other will meet my college roommates. We'll dine at Zingerman's (http://www.zingerman's.com) , touted as the best deli west of New York. My older brother worked there while he was at college, and I did the same ten years later. So it'll be a reunion of sorts, as he'll be meeting us there to drive us to Midland, where we grew up.

We'll spend most of a quiet Friday with my parents, introducing them to Indian food and getting to know each other. Well, not me. I know everybody. That evening, my brother and SIL will bring their sweet twins and my godson over for dinner. Tom has had our favorite tamales (http://www.cornmaidenfoods.com/) delivered to them as a gift, and we'll cook them for everyone. Late that night, my sister, BIL and their brood of five chillun will arrive and there will be no quiet left. (Unless we depart to explore Midland, which I suspect will be necessary now and then.)

Saturday will involve small children tackling us. Playing board games. Possible trip to Midland's botanical gardens. And he and I will be making dinner for everyone that evening. Burgers and portobello sandwiches, mediterranean tomato and cucumber salad, grilled corn, beans, garlic mashed potatoes, and raspberry pie. All men should learn to cook; it's very impressive.

My goddaughter turns nine on Sunday, so we'll celebrate her and generally carouse. Monday will involve witnessing a cheesy hometown parade (the kids like the handfulls of candy that are thrown to them) and eeking out the most of our last few hours with Mom and Dad after the rest of the family departs. I think there won't be any conflicts. They're good people, he's good people. I'm more than a bit excited.

[Prudence]

Homework. Hopefully drafting my entry for the law review write-on competition. The first week's assignment for torts. Maybe some actual household chores, like gardening. Or vacuuming. Or figuring out how to make all my clothes fit in my closet.

[Ghoulish Delight]

We're in the planning process. Friday is set with a party at a friend's to kick off the weekend. After that, we're working on it. We had nothing planned, but last night nirvanaman got it into his head that us, him and Babette should go somewhere. So we're putting together last minute plans to go down to San Diego Saturday morning and spend the weekend. Whee! Who knows what we'll do while there. A spin on the Big Dipper is tempting, a day at the zoo. We've got some good friends we haven't seen in ages in Santee, so we'll have to see them at some point. It should be nice...assuming we can get a room.

[blueerica]

Oh! Everyone sounds like they're going to be having a lot of fun! Mine seems boring in comparison...

Friday at a party,

Saturday, lord knows (but I bet it'll involve the situation I mentioned last weekend), and...

Sunday, I'll be at the park with Nephy, AND my grandma's going to come see the parade and fireworks with us, so that should be interesting. Hehehe... Monday, I think there's something going on, but I'm not sure what...

[mousepod]

Haircut on Saturday.
ummmm....

[Name]

24 hours of free music festival this saturday baby...all local bands and musicians, put on by one of my clients....should be a good time.....dunno what I am doing the rest of the weekend yet.

[MickeyD]

Well, I wanted to have my self esteem lowered by going to see Claire's dad, but as that would be too far a drive for me, I'll have to have my self esteem lowered by going to see my own grandmother. I'll probably drive up Thursday night (yay for four day weekends) spend Friday with a friend who's moving to New Zealand in a couple weeks, go up to Santa Maria on Saturday to hang out with some friends, then Sunday and Monday I'll spend with my family....A very lowkey weekend, but I hate Memorial Day weekend with a fiery passion, so it's all good.

[Kels]

Friday I'm taking off work early to drive my sister and her family to the airport. They're going to Disneyland. I'm jealous. As soon as I drop them off I'm headed to Les Schwab for some new tires and then over to Jiffy Lube for an oil change. When that's done it's home again home again jiggity jig to pack my suitecase (dontcha just love procrastination?). I'm sure there'll be a quick trip to Target in there somewhere for those last minute purchases.

Bright and early Saturday morning my friends and I are loading up the car and heading north. Vancouver, BC is our destination and with a quick pit stop in Seattle we'll be there in no time. The great thing is that we have no plans. It's gonna be a fly by the seat of our pants weekend.

[BarTopDancer]

My weekend in O'side was put on hiatus due to [not my] work. So I'll most likely be at the park to see Nepy. Other than that I'll be painting and house hunting.

[Baileykat]

It hasn't even occurred to me that Memorial Day is this weekend! Since the kids are allready out of school, my sense of time is all out of whack! I've had to remind myself several times today it is Wednesday NOT Sunday!

I'm not sure what we'll be doing...Since John makes his own schedule and his restaraunts stay open, I'm not sure if he'll even be off. Who knows? I'm sure he hasn't even thought of it himself.

We'll probably just continue to enjoy the lull we've got right now before camps and lessons and travel kick in.

[€uroMeinke]

I'm holding out for Breasts and Debauchery - I will leave the firearms alone though...

[MouseWife]

I'm with Baileykat, I hadn't even thought much about the holiday weekend.

But, while all of your plans sound great {even yours,MickeyD, at least you won't be at home} {Claire, I LOVE that Oregon Hotel! Must favorite that site....might even get a gift cert for the sis in law for her anniversary, such a cool place!} alas, according to the Hubster, I have had my quota of fun for the time being. {funny, I don't feel like I've had my quota :( }

So, I will have to live vicariously through your weekend fun so please post back what you did.

GD and CP, San Diego should be really nice this weekend. The Boardwalk is an interesting place to people watch. Do you plan on doing the Dipper during the day or night? Cool at night. Anywho, good luck getting a room. I've never tried so I don't know your odds.....

I was thinking about that, no matter how crowded the weekend is, you can always find a room somewhere close to Disneyland. I somehow found comfort in that. Strangely...

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Heh, here we are, Thursday, and still no reservations. :rolleyes: Our Coachella stuff was planned 2 (or was it 3?) months out....

I'm up for something different, whatever we do. Never done the Dipper!

I'm kinda bummed there won't be a big anniversary bash but eh, what can you do...can't relive past glories....been there, done that, I guess.

My MousePad avatar should be gone by now, but it isn't, oddly enough. I guess they have a grace period. :D

[Ponine]

I have no idea why the rooms would be solidly booked down here this weekend, we have no erally big things going on.
Come down, play with us San Diegans.
Personally, i think I'm on the start of a massive cold, but I'm hoping it goes away.

And drat it, I forgot about my MP thing... thanks for the reminder CP

[Ghoulish Delight]

Well, procrastination and work have conspired to bite us in the ass.

The place we were looking to book, which had several rooms just a few hours ago, is now out of rooms. Grrr. We couldn't book this morning because nirvanaman and I were alternating meetings, so we couldn't get a decission made.

But, right now, he's looking into a connection he's got at the Westin and we might get a deal there. We'll see. If not, we've got other options, but they are probably running short as rooms get snatched up.

It's a little annoying, we're usually people to plan way ahead. But considering that we had previously planned to do nothing at all, I'm okay with squeezing whatever plans out we can. Last minute isn't my forte, but I can deal with it.

[Baileykat]

You know GD, some of our best trips have been last minute! I'm a big plan in advance person....but hubby is more fly by the seat of your pants!

Looks like we'll have an enjoyable family weekend...not doing much..maybe some time at the pool..but I hate being at the pool when there's tons of people there...I'm just SURE everyone is looking at me and my "not so tan yet" body! :rolleyes: :p

[MerryPrankster]

Hmmmm...I'm so tired right now (I've been working some late night catering events, getting home at 2 AM and waking up at 6 AM just because I do) but I have to get with the program here. I was too tired to head up to Tahoe this morning for one last day of snowboarding/skiing with my husband. He's coming back tomorrow. He called a little while ago said it was an absolutely gorgeous day on the mountain. He was done snowboarding and is now going for a bike ride. Damnit, I wish I was up there!

Anyway -- for the rest of the weekend. Maybe we'll go to dinner at Gordon Biersch (the original) in Palo Alto tomorrow night. Barbecuing at the swim club this weekend with family (husband, sister's family and parents). A's game on Monday with sis' family and friends, including tailgate party and fireworks. They put on an awesome fireworks show! :) I know the A's aren't doing so well this year, but I'll always be loyal to my team. Waaaaaa...I miss "my" Mark Mulder! OMG...I just checked his record -- 7 W and 1 L for the Cardinals. Drat, drat and double drat!!!

[Cadaverous Pallor]

I'm holding out for Breasts and Debauchery - I will leave the firearms alone though...The way this SD plan is going, your wish seems more and more possible, oh tenacious one. :evil:

[Not Afraid]

Oh, no. He's gonna get breasts and dabauchery. No ifs, ands or butts about that.

[Prudence]

Oh, no. He's gonna get breasts and dabauchery. No ifs, ands or butts about that.

Did he ask for butts, too? Or are you throwing in a freebie?

[Not Afraid]

The butt is his special treat.

[blueerica]

:eek:

:evil:

[€uroMeinke]

I'm home for the weekend - I think that's pretty cool

[Motorboat Cruiser]

We may head to the park over the weekend to see Neph. Other than that, just going to relax. A couple of days of relaxation sound very nice right now. I envision grilling something and having some nice cold beverages. The simple things in life... :)

[Claire]

http://www.portlandparks.org/Planning/images/jamisonfountainstartuptest.gif

Today, Chloe and I spent the day playing in the fountains at Jamieson Square in the Pearl District.....you can see the Fremont Bridge in the background, and you could see Mt. Hood, Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Jefferson crystal clear. Gorgeous Day......90 degrees and hot and dry. I stayed in the shade the majority of the day, but I'm lobsterish. After we got the girls from school, we went back until it was time for Cass's softball game.

They just updated the weekend forecast.....90's all weekend! Gah! We never have nice Memorial Day weekends!

Last week at this time, it was 50 degrees and raining harder than I've ever seen it rain. Ah, Oregon.

Anyway......Chloe and I (okay, so just my butt) ended up on Channel 8 news. :D And so it begins......every summer we end up on the news....eating Krispy Kremes, or ice cream, or something stupid. Today wasn't as bad as usual, but WHY my butt? Ugh!!!

[libraryvixen]

Because the cameraman liked your butt. Go with it Claire... you're a star!! ;)

[CoasterMatt]

My monkey and I are gonna be screaming around Disneyland on Sunday...

[dsnylndmom]

Today is Kyler's award ceremony this morning, trip to the vet's for shots for the cats, hopefully a mani & pedi and then dinner and cocktail's for my mom's birthday.

Tomorrow is loading the moving truck and then having my last ever memorial day weekend party at this house, a tradition almost 5 years strong.

Sunday is recovering from said party and then a bday at a bowling alley that I have to take the boys too, how's that for timing :rolleyes:

Monday is nothing day, nothing planned at all. Maybe I'll take the boys to Sac to the mall since I have some stuff to take back to Sephora, who knows.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Ok, we're definitely going to SD. I think. Right? :p

[mistyisjafo]

I'm just going clubbing every single night. Tonight I'm staying home because I have a little head cold but Saturday, Sunday & Monday it's party till I pass out!

[MerryPrankster]

I'm just going clubbing every single night. Tonight I'm staying home because I have a little head cold but Saturday, Sunday & Monday it's party till I pass out!

Cue up Misty's theme song -- Eddie Murphy's 'Party All The Time'. (Sorry, I've got it playing in by head now.)

Bloody Marys for breakfast, I presume? :snap: :cheers:

[Claire]

I love bloody mary breakfasts...those are the best. A little hair of the dog to set you on your way.

Well, I kicked off the big weekend by chaperoning the 4th graders at the ballet....which was wonderful (except for the whole 4th graders part, of course ;) ). They definitely have spring fever, plus all the boys are liking the girls and the girls are pretending they're disgusted, but really, they're over the moon with happiness.....ack!

**Um, a little brag moment please? The most popular boy in the 4th grade openly adores my Courtney and she grudgingly thinks he's pretty cute (he's one of those kids who is going to be super flipping hot). :blush: :snap: God, I love this boy.....he's the one that Cassidy has crushed on since last year, and he's so patient and kind and good to Cass, never teases her. He's the school treasure and he likes Courtney! Attagirl!!!**

[Not Afraid]

Well, my hair is short - chin length in front until the curl kicks in and then it's earlobe lenght. In the back, it's even shorter and layered. I also have a few bits of short curls as bangs on the left side. Oh, and I lightened the color back to a color that we can't put a name on - sort of a lighter mahonany, but still a really rich red. Who knows. I like it and it will be easy for Tokyo.

We have a relaxing party to go to this evening then we're going to relax all weekend. About time!

[MouseWife]

Lisa, your hair sounds cute! I have been thinking of cutting mine. Going to try and salvage it, first. So dry. And crazy. I wonder if people think I am nuts because I don't tame my hair? Hmm. If I could get a mahogony color, or a rich auburn, I would.


Anywho...

Tokyo?! Yep, I've been gone! It sounds like a great relaxing weekend and a fabulous adventure await you!!

CP & GD~ So, your SD weekend is on? Or is it? ;) Do tell what a young childless couple does in this town...lost my touch with that...

Oo, word up about your butt, Claire!! Can I Google it? :cool:

[Prudence]

The weekend has just barely started and we've already managed to plant things! Two floral planters and a whole hurking lot of herbs. Still have to plant the sweet peas, but there's always tomorrow for that. Two kinds of sage (one already flowering purple and in one of the floral planters with red and orange coxcombs, white begonia, and white snap dragons), cat mint, lemon thyme, lemon balm, rosemary, english lavender, oregano, stevia, jalapeno..I think that's all. And the other floral planter has lots of snap dragons in various colors, orange marigolds, red coxcomb, and something blue that was already in there.

We'll see if anything survives the weekend.

[blueerica]

LOL, Prudence, LOL.

I'm wondering if I'll sojourn to Armstrong's or Home Depot to pick up some more space to work with my current garden. I need to "split off" some existing growth, and give pups a place to grow on their own, so I guess we'll see what we come up with. Maybe I'll buy a few new plants. :D

[MickeyD]

I feel like I'm back in college, cuz I went to see The Atomic Punks (http://www.theatomicpunks.com/) tonight.

Running With the Devil.....

[SacTown Chronic]

I'd go see an early Van Halen tribute band. The album Van Halen changed my life...and I was only about nine when I first heard it.

[MickeyD]

The first "tape" I ever owned was Van Halen.....one of my brothers gave it to me for my birthday when i was about seven....imagine my mom's horror when I started singing Running with the Devil at that age....

[blueerica]

Where'd you see Atomic Punks? I love them! They're a really good tribute band...

I think I saw them a few years back at the Coachhouse down in San Juan Cap ? Also, at the same venue I saw Dread Zeppelin (http://www.dreadzeppelin.com/) -- good schtuff, man!

[Kevy Baby]

Oh lordy, we have a busy weekend...

I have put my schedule in spoiler text format for those who don't want to read the entire lengthy list:



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[CoasterMatt]

WOW! Kevy, how'd you manage to squeeze all that into so few days?!?

[MerryPrankster]

Sheesh, Kevy! Do you think you'll be able to make it to work on Tuesday? You're gonna' be exhausted! :evil: Good for you!!

[MouseWife]

GD and CP~ did you end up coming down to San Diego? I was downtown this morning, at the Convention Center. I looked across at the buildings and saw The Westin. I was like, 'Oh, that's where it is.' Then, when we drove into downtown I saw where it is and wow, that is a great location! I never realized. :snap:

Hope if you did you had a great time. I kept my eyes open for you as we were walking in the Gaslamp, the little market they had on whatever street that was.

And, I made sure it wasn't you guys that I saw the firetruck and ambulances come to take care of across the street from the hotel....

[wendybeth]

Oh lordy, we have a busy weekend...

I have put my schedule in spoiler text format for those who don't want to read the entire lengthy list:




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Way to go and steal my plans for the weekend, Kevy. :rolleyes:

[Motorboat Cruiser]

I didn't realize that my plans today included watching videos of old Van Halen tunes for an hour or so by the Atomic Punks, who I had never heard of. Great band! Definitely brought back some memories. :)

Ok, back to dinner prep...

[Not Afraid]

I almost had a day as busy as Kevy's.

I got up, drank coffee, read the boards, drank more coffee, ate cheese/caramel popcorn for breakfast (Did a load of laundry) took a nap, ate salt water taffy, took a shower, went to the park. Now I'm tired again - but it is almost 2am.

[Kevy Baby]

Okay, I had a change of plans yesterday. Went out to the Koroneburg Rennaissance Faire (fka Crossroads Faire) in Corona. But I think I should be able to get back on schedule today.

[Prudence]

I went out. To the old club. On fetish night. It's been 3 years and I still got comped at the door. Damn! Maybe I do still have it after all....

[Kevy Baby]

Damn! Maybe I do still have it after all....Might I suggest penicillin?

[Claire]

I was supposed to be seeing Def Leppard and Bryan Adams on Wednesday night, but then Courtney's drama teacher changed their play from Thur to Wed, so I had to sell my tix. :( I hate this time of year! So much to do......only a few nights to do it all in.

Our weekend was awesome. It was weird to feel the rush of blood back into my alcohol system......

So much wine. I think between Fri, Sat, and Sun, I probably tried over 130 bottles of wine, and only loved about 7 of them, and purchased only one. It's this incredible Syrah....oh. my. god. Won't be able to drink just any crap anymore. Only $35+ bottles from here on out. :evil:

We had a blast!! On Saturday, another couple joined us for lunch and then the mid-afternoon tastings, then Kelly and I spent the evening on our own. Dirty Martini (the band we love) did a three hour set and we got there and ordered dinner about a half hour before they went on, we had a front table that was almost uncomfortably close (these chicks are cute, a fact that hasn't gone un-noticed by my husband), but DAMN I think I'm crushing on them. www.dirtymartinimusic.com (http://www.dirtymartinimusic.com) I'm going to see them on Thursday night.....they'e playing where my sister's doing her weekend wedding party at the end of July (not really a reception, as it's a month after they're getting married).

On Sunday, my sister called.....she and her fiance wanted to join us, so we did two looooong tastings at two of the bigger wineries, which were both serving food and had music all day. That was fun. But we didn't really get any time to ourselves....which had kind of been our plan. Oh well.

Now we have just 160 or so more wineries to try.....:D Gotta love living near wine country.....and having in-laws IN wine country. ;)

[Claire]

I forgot to mention today. We took the kids out to lunch at the Kennedy school and ordered a pizza, then watched Robots, all cuddled up on couches. Kelly and I laughed harder than the kids. Cute movie!

Then we went to Oaks Park. Holy crap. We've decided that cows roam in herds, sheep in flocks, crows in murders, but white trash travel in messes. Like, "look at that mess of white trash near the Tilt-a-Whirl." Good lord. We saw this Captain and Tennille couple, a chick in pink/orange/white/yellow camoulflage pants (if she was trying to blend in with the white trash, she was QUITE successful), so many scrunchies, lots of wife beaters, tightjeansortightcapriswithdenimsjacketsyuck, huge bangs, spiral perms, message t-shirts ("I heart boy trouble," "I'm not with stupid anymore," "Don't laugh, it's your girlfriend's t-shirt") and cheap tattoos. Horrid.

I felt dirty, so we went home.....where I'm supposed to be cooking stroganoff while Kelly goes to our friend's to pick up new (used) Precor recumbent exercise bike. I'll have NO excuse to not work out while reading or watching TV now. :evil: Daaaamn.

[MickeyD]

Where'd you see Atomic Punks? I love them! They're a really good tribute band...

I think I saw them a few years back at the Coachhouse down in San Juan Cap ? Also, at the same venue I saw Dread Zeppelin (http://www.dreadzeppelin.com/) -- good schtuff, man!


They play frequently at a bar in Santa Barbara called Velvet Jones. I also saw them play when I lived in San Diego called but a lot of tribute bands used to play there....I loved it there.

The rest of my weekend was pretty low key.... I saw a lot of movies, [i]The Interpreter in the theater, and Shall We Dance; The Aviator; Spanglishand Ladder 49 on DVD. That's my movie quota for the summer. I hung out downtown with a friend then had drinks & dinner at my favorite has been place, Rocks; I went to a friend's son's 3rd birthday party. (He got a fire truck....that he can sit in....and actually drive....) and today I went shopping with my mom. She bought me a pair of Luckys and a really pretty purple lace top. I <3 my mommy. ;) We just finished our "gringo food" (my dad's Chinese pharmacist is here....he kept calling it gringo food (hamburgers, hot dogs, corn on the cob, etc.) and I soon I'll be going home....I can't believe how quick this weekend went!

[Not Afraid]

We were happily low key today....until we decided we needed to go shopping. Target was decimated but we still found a way to spend lots of money. Trader Joes was much better and we got our supplies for the next 3 days. After than it's Tokyo. I'm getting both very excited and VERY nervous. I can't even READ the language! Oh well. It will be an adventure. Luckily, our friends have been there before. I hope you know we're looking to you, guys. No pressure. None at all. ;)

[Tref]

Well, I didn't do too much this weekend, but to-night I will raise a glass to my grandfather, Sgt. Robert Trefcer. Here's to you, Old Bob (clink) Happy Memorial day.

[Matterhorn Fan]

I had some flaming cheese on Saturday.

Then I stood in the Gulf for a while.

Then I had some more flaming cheese.

It was a very good day.

[Baileykat]

Low key weekend for us...We pretty much did nothing~ It was lovely! The upstairs neighbors had a party Saturday night...and one of their attendees PUKED on my front porch this time! :rolleyes:
We were awake...and hubby was none too pleased! There was lots of not so nice words used...followed by drunken boys trying to clean vomit off the sidewalk in the middle of the night! :evil:
I secretly enjoyed watching them trying not to vomit while cleaning it up! :evil:


Today, they came to say they were sorry and brought the kids fresh baked cookies...I'm still debating if I should let them eat them or not! :rolleyes:

[wendybeth]

Well, I didn't do too much this weekend, but to-night I will raise a glass to my grandfather, Sgt. Robert Trefcer. Here's to you, Old Bob (clink) Happy Memorial day.

To Bob, and all the many others out there. Here's to you all. :cheers:

[MerryPrankster]

Well, I didn't do too much this weekend, but to-night I will raise a glass to my grandfather, Sgt. Robert Trefcer. Here's to you, Old Bob (clink) Happy Memorial day.


Hear, hear! Thank you to Sgt. Robert and to the many, many others. We could never be the same without you. You are not forgotten. Thank you.

[Not Afraid]

Oh Jeez! The long weekend is over and not I have to go have a root canal. No, two! Ugh.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Hello! http://www.loungeoftomorrow.com/LoT/images/smilies/smile_lot.gif

We DID make it to SD, and we did stay at the Westin, an excellent location. And considering that complete lack of plans going in, we kept ourselves quite busy.

[okay, I didn't start this expecting to write a full trip report...but oh well]

Drove down Saturday morning and, after stopping at the SD visitor information center, went straight to the zoo. Gotta love the zoo. We got there at about 11, stayed until it closed at 6, and saw just about everything we wanted to. The polar bears were asleep by the time we saw them, and we never did find lions or bears, but we still saw some great stuff. Including lots of baby animals (great time of year to go!). Moment of the day: We were watching a monkey exhitibit with 2 adult monkeys and 2 adolescents. The adults were busy cleaning each other, picking bugs and stuff off with their ands and teeth, with one of them paying particular attention to the other's, um, hindquarters. There was a family with a few young kids who were giggling and snickering at the site. But the dad stole they show as he turns the corner, sees what the kids are laughing at, and proclaims loudly, "Hey look, tossing monkey salad!"

After that we headed to the hotel, checked in, got some jacuzzi time in, then went to a late dinner in Gaslamp. We ate at George's, a steak house. Food was quite good, but it ended up being the worst meal we had all weekend. Not to bad mouth the place, the food was good, but we did real good with our food choices. Gaslamp was crowded, it being Saturday night on a holiday weekend. We walked up and down a couple times and settled on Lime, a little tequila bar. Nice time, good drinks. The, to sleep.

Sunday started with wandering around Gaslamp looking for breakfast/brunch. We were thinking cafe type food, but ended up finding a Chinese buffet. The variety was low, but the quality was high. Excellent meal (nothing like good vacation food). Back to he hotel for a quick rest, then we headed out to Belmont Park at Mission Beach. It's amazing how easy it is to find free parking in San Diego, even at the beach on Memorial Day weekend. It was a gorgeous day, perfect for the nice long walk along the beach we took, cheking out the houses. Gotta say, for beach front property, there were a lot of ugly houses. I guess we're spoiled by Newport, but I can't say I saw a single house along there that I liked.

We got to ride the Bid Dipper. I haven't ridden it in at least 11 years, CP and nirvanaman had never (Babette's unfortunately been having neck problems that even Big Thunder aggrivates, so a real deal woody would not have been a good idea). What a great coaster that is. Short and rough as hell, but a great ride with some impressive turns. Nice to ride a different coaster now and again.

After the coaster, it was time for late afternoon drinks. Whoo boy, I wish I could remember the name of the place, but they had a roof-top bar with a great view..and something called the Category-5 hurricane. Mmmmmm. I believe, along with the hurrican mixer, it was rum, dark rum, spiced rum, coconut rum, and a floater of 151. Best $8 (well, $16 for the two I had http://www.loungeoftomorrow.com/LoT/images/smilies/wink2.gif ) I ever spent on alcohol at a bar.

From Belmont we went to Shelter Island to take a quick peek at the hotel we were trying to reserve to see if we maybe wanted to come back another time. It wasn't quite as nice as the website made it seem, so that kinda made us happy about how things turned out. So from there, up to Point Loma for sunset, with a fitting stop at the military cemetary on the way. It's absolutely gorgeous up there, and we got to see a lovely sunset, once the sun emerged from the really thick cloud cover.

Back to the hotel for a quick change and off to Gaslamp for dinner. We had our sights set on a Spanish place on 4th we had seen the night before. It was after 9, but we got there and they said it was a 30 minute wait. Sucky, but the places around it were empty, so we figured that meant it must be good. So, to kill some time, we got a couple glasses of wine at a wine bar on 5th we had seen, then came back. Well, the manager sees us, starts screeming at his wait-staff to grab an extra chair or something, and then has a hostess lead us to our seat...at the bar/counter, right next to 2 open tables. We didn't particularly want to sit at a counter because it was loud and we wouldn't be able to talk. So we asked the waitress if we could have a table. She looked scared for her life as she told us that that's where the manager told her to seat us and we'd have to ask him. So Babette went and asked and he basically said, "Screw you, you didn't have resrevations." This guy was clearly an ass so we decided we didn't want to give him our money and left. That was annoying. It was almost 10PM, not many places were open. The only places that looked like they were still seating were a handful of overpriced Italian places. We can get Italian anywhere, so we weren't too thrilled, but bit the bullet and went in anyway...and boy were we glad we did. The place we ended up at was called La Strada, and we had a fantastic meal. It really turned a lousy night into a good one. So we leisurely ate, then went back to 4th for one last drink at an Irish pub, then back to the hotel for a late night jacuzzi soak. Slept really well after that.

Monday morning, woke up and headed back to the jacuzzi. Then to lunch. Indian buffet, this time. And fantastic again. Just delicious. Not even "good food for a buffet." Just downright good food. But, it quickly wiped us out, so we dragged ourselves back to the room and took a nap while watching Shrek 2 before we checked out. We then went down to the Embarcadero and spent the next 4 hours at the Maritime Museum, which is a collection of 5 ships docked there including a Russian foxtrot class sub and the Secret, which is the ship from Master and Command. Fascinating stuff all around, and with the tour of the bay for $1 on a 1914 pilot boat, made for a great afternoon/early evening.

Our last stop was dinner at Kansas City BBQ, the location where the bar scene in Top Gun was shot. The place is a dive, the service sucked, and thanks to movie magic it's far smaller than it looks in the film...but the food was pretty damned good. A good way to end the trip. We were on the road home late enough that there was no traffic, which was nice and got us home at a reasonable hour, even.

So there ya have it, not bad for a spur of the moment trip. I know I'm missing a trip to the jacuzzi in there somewhere, but I can't remember when it was. Otherwise, that's the whole story. http://www.loungeoftomorrow.com/LoT/images/smilies/smile_lot.gif

[Claire]

After the coaster, it was time for late afternoon drinks. Whoo boy, I wish I could remember the name of the place, but they had a roof-top bar with a great view..and something called the Category-5 hurricane. Mmmmmm. I believe, along with the hurrican mixer, it was rum, dark rum, spiced rum, coconut rum, and a floater of 151. Best $8 (well, $16 for the two I had http://www.loungeoftomorrow.com/LoT/images/smilies/wink2.gif ) I ever spent on alcohol at a bar.


Was the place under the rooftop kind of a big cavernous weird dive inside and near The Big Dipper (we went in and peeked around, because we were told it was a cool club for dancing, but we never went back later)? If so, I've been there twice and they do have excellent drinks up on the rooftop. And quite a diverse crowd. I've only been there during happy hour, but I remember having to take a break between happy hour and dinner....the wind, sun, and alcohol took it's toll!

Sounds like a great weekend. I really enjoy San Diego. It's one of those cities that you can really enjoy....all the way around. Love it there. I've also been to Kansas City BBQ. I went on a week-long date to San Diego when I was 18 and the guy I went with thought it would impress me. :rolleyes:

[Ghoulish Delight]

Yup, that's the place. The interior definitely was weird.

San Diego is great. And one of its best features...you can drink alcohol at the beach! Only until 8pm or something, but still. I mean, we saw two guys dragging a keg onto the beach. How awesome is that?! And, there are apparantly publicly provided horseshoes to play with. They just leave them there, and aparantly they don't get stolen. Crazy.

[MouseWife]

Hey GD~ Sounds like you had a great time. Wow. I bet I passed by you guys. But, yeah, you were quite lucky, from traffic reports, to have found parking. And, yep, we park downtown for free most of the time.

Was the Spanish restaurant Casa Sevilla? Oh man, there are sooo many places to eat. The Hubster and I want to try them all but we normally have our meals planned out. That is why I love travelling, you just do as you please and eat where you want, whatever grabs you. :cool:

The hotel at Shelter Island, ugh, I think I know the one. My niece had stayed there many years ago and looked forward to again staying there about a year or two ago. Was she disappointed. Big time.

Anywho...perhaps next time we should plan a meet or something? Aren't ther other people around who either live here in S.D. or want to visit? :D

Oooh! The view you spoke of from Point Loma, that is awesome. Were you looking out at the ocean or towards Coronado? While you were you at PL we were at the Silver Strand. We left about 7 ish but the sky was absolutely awesome. The suns rays beaming through the clouds.

I have to say this, we are being faced with the possibility of having to leave San Diego. Oh my gosh. We really enjoy those sunsets, the cruises over the bridge, the sound of the trolley. Trying to enjoy it all with the eyes of a tourist. When we travel, we always say how we have those things at home and we need to enjoy them.

Okay, other than that blah blah blah, we had a normal weekend. Went to Kobeys, ate tons of carne asada and guacamole. Took the kids to play at the Strand, they went to see Madagascar. Visited with my sis and watched a ton of Bonanza.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Yup, Casa Sevilla it was. My recommendation, make a reservation. Better yet, avoid it because the asshole who runs the place doesn't deserve your money. That poor waitress literally looked scared for her life at the possibility of having to quesiton his orders. It was really creepy.

For the sunset from Loma, it being in the west and all, we were watching over the ocean. But we took the time to check out the view from all angles up there.

I'd considered a meet before we left, but knew we'd probably just be playing things by ear, not really planning anything. We didn't even end up having time to see my best man who lives in Santee, despite our best efforts to do some last minute coordination. Too busy enjoying our time rather than watching a clock. Something I rarely do as I prefer to have a plan and some semblance of a schedule. But being passengers along for the ride was a nice change for once.

[MouseWife]

I've only been to Casa Sevilla one time, for a Mother's Day dinner and we did have reservations. LOL A dozen women, bottles of wine, dancing, eh, we didn't know what else was going on. But, I will forget about going back. I don't appreciate assholes like that.

Oh, I completely understand about your weekend and not meeting up. That is why I didn't ask before. I've been up to L.A. quite a few times recently and unable to meet up with people. Time flies and it is nice to be with your honey and just enjoy one another. :blush:

Anywho...

Just wanted to toss out that idea for the locals...I think years back there was a Starlight Bowl meet? And dinner up in Mira Mesa? I didn't make it...might not make one now but I am willing to start trouble...I mean start something.... :D

Glad you guys had fun. :)

[MouseWife]

For the sunset from Loma, it being in the west and all, we were watching over the ocean. But we took the time to check out the view from all angles up there.

LOL Well...I meant if you were on the west or east side of Point Loma. The cemetary is on both sides of the road so {by my calculations...}on one side you see the ocean and the other side you see Coronado {the ocean, too}. But, that would be the way I look at it. :D