Throwback Thursday: San Diego

This seemed appropriate to share, as Ed and I are heading out to San Diego in the not so distant future for another work trip!

Way back in August, when I had "been pregnant" (i.e. aware I was pregnant) for all of a week, Ed and I headed out to San Diego for a work weekend for one of his grants. 

We got some crazy weather on the way out, including huge thunderstorms, but also a beautiful sunset. The drive out isn't bad, about 6 hours, and features driving through some pretty interesting mountains/rocks and sand dunes. You also parallel the Mexico border for a while! I think I still prefer the northern route to CA, but this certainly makes sense when you're headed for San Diego. 

Having left behind blistering heat, Ed and I couldn't have been more thrilled to be experiencing 70s weather, and had a lovely (if a little chilly!) breakfast outside the morning after we arrived. Our hotel was on Shelter Island, a small, narrow strip of land barely connected to the mainland. This made it fun, as, depending on where you stood, you could see the water on both sides of the "island." It's fun to think back on this time, because we were both still in that shock and glow of really, truly, finally being pregnant, and being the only ones who knew. 

The hotel we stayed in was quite nice, the "Casa Del Mar" part of the Best Western, which made the whole thing feel much more like a vacation than just work. I took full advantage of hanging out in the comfy hotel bed and reading while Ed was meeting with colleagues, just being supremely lazy. 

We did manage to sneak away for a lunch date on one of the days to Tender Greens, a chain that my family had introduced me to full of yummy salads and other great foods. Of course, I made my first pregnant mistake ordering, choosing a salad covered with potentially unpasteurized cheese. I now know that most restaurants use the pasteurized stuff, and I should have just asked, but instead ended up ordering a completely different salad and just taking this one home for Ed to enjoy later. Again (notice a theme?) sitting outside and not being ridiculously hot felt like a miracle. 

We *may* have been a little tired on this trip, and were thankful that Ed's day wasn't packed as fully as one might imagine, allowing us some time to just rest. 

While we never actually made it into the main city, we did enjoy a very nice view of the skyline from our room, which reminded me of a work trip I took with Ed many years ago where we stayed in downtown. I definitely much preferred being away from the hustle and bustle. 

Our second morning we sought out a lovely little breakfast place in Point Loma. We were both very happy with it, and found the area in general to be super cute. While I always have said I'd never want to live in Southern California (again), I could probably be pretty happy here - it definitely have a bit of a Northern California vibe. 

No surprises, we were outside again!

This was our day of wonderful eating, so we headed up the coast a bit to La Jolla to have lunch with my parents :). I've already shared about this happy meal, but suffice to say, the views and food plus the company and topic of conversation made this a big highlight of the trip. 

As far as I can remember, I spent the rest of the afternoon lounging about while Ed worked (probably taking a nap, too), and then it was time to top off our day with one more excellent meal. 

I honestly can't remember the name of this place, but it was exceptional. It was an all seafood restaurant and was a fish market as well as a sit down eatery. The quality was exceptional. 

I had this fantastic scallop dish that made me beyond happy. It was also our first fancy date after finding out we were going to become parents, so much of our conversation got to center around that happy fact. 

Our last morning was very relaxing (at least for me!). I went for a walk around the grounds, soaking in those water views that I wouldn't see again for a while (in fact, I haven't been back to the ocean since). 

Then, I headed out to explore a bit, finding a bookstore in an old Theater and amusing myself checking out baby books and buying a blank journal so I could start writing letters to the baby. 

Once I got home, I finally hit up the fantastic pool. Ed joined me while waiting for his next meeting to start, and we had a great time playing around in the water and basking in the sun. 

A few hours later, it was finally time to head back to the heat and the real world. We were on a time crunch to beat a big desert storm that was supposed to be heading our way, and thankfully made it home just as a few raindrops began to fall. 

It will be so much fun to head back to the same place in a new weather season and a new phase of this pregnancy - a little over halfway versus just starting out. 

If only all work trips could be this relaxing!