I met two of the nicest bloggers last week while I was in San Diego, Cori of
Gingerbread Crumbs & Company, and Joanne of
My Cottage In The Making. They had both contacted me by e-mail when they read I was going to be in Southern California, and offered to drive down from Orange County, CA to meet me!
Joanne of
My Little Cottage In The Making is on the left, and Cori of
Gingerbread Crumbs and Company is on the right in the photo above.
Both Cori and Joanne live within 15 minutes of each other, but never met before or even read each other’s blogs, so this was a three way introduction of bloggers meeting for the first time!
We met on Wednesday, as I knew my husband was going to be in meetings all day from breakfast until dinner, and I would be alone, so it was a wonderful way to spend the day instead, by being with friends.
We met outside The Marriott and Cori offered to drive Joanne and I around to see some sights, as she once lived in San Diego and knew it well.
First stop was “Old Town.”
Old Town San Diego is considered the "birthplace" of California. San Diego is the site of the first permanent Spanish settlement in California. It was here in 1769, that Father Junipero Serra came to establish the very first mission in a chain of 21 missions that were to be the cornerstone of California’s colonization. Father Serra’s mission and Presidio were built on a hillside overlooking what is currently known as Old Town San Diego.
In 1968, the State of California Department of Parks and Recreation established Old Town State Historic Park to preserve the rich heritage that characterized San Diego during the 1821 to 1872 period. The park includes a main plaza, exhibits, museums and living history demonstrations.
We saw just a small part of the town that morning, as we were there early, and so much was not opened as yet and we were having too much fun chatting about ourselves, our blog, people we knew in common, and just generally getting to know each other!
We browsed around as many of the stores as we could and saw many beautiful things, many with a Mexican folkloric flavor. I think I’d love a chance to go back someday to really explore this section of San Diego more as there was a lot to do and see
We stopped for an al fresco lunch at
Casa de Reyes which had a lovely garden courtyard with lively cantina ambiance.
I asked the waitress to take our photo together. That is Cori and myself on the left, Joanne on the right.
We strolled along the courtyard and visited fascinating shops one called "Design in Shell" had exquisitely decorated bird eggs, many made into Christmas ornaments.
Another shop called Casa de Serrano had delightful Mexican folkloric figurines.
After lunch and shopping we had a short car ride to
Heritage Park . “This 7.8-acre county park is dedicated to the preservation of San Diego's Victorian architecture. Expansion downtown after WWII threatened these structures with demolition on their original sites. Public and private funds paid for the acquisition, relocation, and restoration of these buildings. Now owned by the county, the structures are leased to private and commercial entities responsible for interior renovation and operation in keeping with the park's Victorian theme.”
Temple Beth Israel, below, is San Diego's first synagogue, constructed by the Congregation Beth Israel, also became temporary quarters for many religious sects before they established churches of their own. This was a very sentimental place for Cori as she was married in a Christian ceremony here 14 years ago.
The McConaughy House, below, is named after it’s original owner who founded the first scheduled passenger and freight service in San Diego County. We stopped to take photos on the pretty autumn decorated porch and especially because the stone rabbit in the middle of all the flowers reminded us all of Dana of
The Stone Rabbit blog!
Dana, did you know your stone rabbit took a trip to San Diego to meet us?
We also went into the Burton House, a Classic Revival home decorated with pediments and dentil cornices where the absolutely darling
Mrs Burton's Tea Room is located! We spent a lot of time taking photos and looking at all the wonderful rooms and decorations and objects for sale. It looks like the most enchanted place to have tea!
Their are many different teas available, from Friendship Teas, to Red Hat Teas, and bridal and baby shower teas.
The view from the front porch:
Because Cori knew I loved lighthouses, from reading a “six things about myself” tag I once did, she drove Joanne and I up to see
The Old Point Loma Lighthouse. This lighthouse was only functioning for 36 years, as there was a flaw in it’s location as it’s position was prone to low lying fog and clouds which covered the light, and a new lighthouse was constructed in in 1892.
The view was spectacular at 422 feet above sea level, overlooking the bay and the ocean and I was so amazed by the very blue San Diego water – very reminiscent of the Mediterranean sea.
We could see the skyline of downtown San Diego framed by the Cuyamaca mountains in the background. To the south, we could see Mexico across the shimmering waters of the bay and, to the west, the Pacific ocean extending to the horizon and beyond.
Can you see the three amigas in the photo below?
The interior of the lighthouse was refurbished by The National Park Service to its historic 1880’s appearance.
The
Cabrillo National Monument, established in 1913, commemorates Juan RodrÃguez Cabrillo's voyage of discovery, as he led the first European expedition to explore what is now the west coast of the United States. A heroic statue of Cabrillo looks out over the bay that he first sailed into on September 28, 1542.
Finally, as the day wound down we all drove over the long Coronado Bay Bridge to the city of
Coronado, CA
. where we parked and went inside the beautiful the
Hotel del Coronado. Del was built in 1888 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1977. The beautiful wooden Victorian structure faces the pacific Ocean.
We entered the elegant lobby and perused the gift ships and boutiques. The hotel was originally designed to cater to the well-to-do, and attracted quite a notable legacy of guests. L. Frank Baum was said to have written “The Wizard of Oz” during his stays, and the Hotel Del was the setting for Marilyn Monroe’s comedy “Some Like It Hot”.
Look at these delicious pastries in the hotel coffee shop:
We decided to have coffee and sit under a table umbrella on the long porch outside where we spent an hour relaxing, enjoying the sounds of the surf, and each other’s company. The time flew by!
This was the view we had of the magnificent Pacific Ocean! It was a perfect day.
A last look at The Hotel Del in Coronado as we drove away to go back to The Marriott Hotel in San Diego, so I would be able to join my husband for a dinner we were both invited to by one of the companies at the convention.
It was sad to say goodbye. I felt as if Cori and Joanne were old friends that I've known for a long time! We had so much fun together!
I really appreciated that they both took the time to drive down for the day and that Cori drove us all over to show us the special sights in the area.
I hope to be able to return the favor and show you some sights in New York City someday, ladies.
There is nothing like having bloggers as friends, and sisters at heart!
This month's Daring Bakers Challenge was to make Lavash Crackers from Peter Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering The Art of Extraordinary Bread cookbook, and also to create a dip/spread/salsa/relish to accompany it as long as they were vegan and gluten free!
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