A Perfect Plan B

Wednesday required us to get up the earliest all week to make our plans. We were going on a whale watch, leaving at 9:45, needing to be boarded by 9:15, wanting to be at the train station by 7:30, and I was stressing to leave the hotel by 7:20 (isn’t fun to travel on Salmon time?). We thought that would be a good day to take the double-decker Coaster train down to the Santa Fe station, but without a car we did lose some of our flexibility. Unfortunately, a storm had just passed through and left us with 20 mph winds and 14 foot swells so they cancelled our trip while we were heading downtown. So we came up with a Plan B, something that Jenn wanted to do that we all could enjoy.

So we fought the breeze and walked the harbor past the Midway museum (didn't open until 10AM), down to Seaport Village, a nice set of shops down on the waterfront. I took advantage of the sunshine and the view to do a bit of blogging, chatting with Jacob and imbibing a spot of espresso. We hung out for a while, and headed over to the Gaslight Quarter to find a place to eat.

 

We decided to try the Broken Yolk cafe (http://thebrokenyolkcafe.com/), home of the 12 omelet challenge seen on Man vs. Food, and I got the CA breakfast burrito (eggs, cheese, bacon and avocado with Hot Licks Serrano sauce served in a tortilla and with beans and rice) that may have been my favorite meal of the week. Jenn got street tacos (mini-tacos?), Jess feasted on a BLT on sourdough (she'll never go back to white bread again), and Jacob liked his chicken sandwich. And since we were now well fed, we headed off to continue exploring.

Jenn and Jess decided to shop, so Jacob and I stopped at the Barleymash Tavern (http://www.barleymash.com/) to take in the street life. So I ordered an Alesmith X Pale Ale on draft and sat at the open window, soaking in the fresh air while watching the people of San Diego stroll by. Next we got some free chocolate samples from the Ghirardelli store, on our way to the Hopping Pig Gastropub (http://www.thehoppingpig.com/site/), with 32 drafts and food that looked great. I ordered a sampler (receiving kudos from my waiter for the choices) and was able to try Lost Abbey's Deliverance (was that a banjo playing) on draft, as well as a Ballast Point Victory at Sea Imperial Porter. Great local beer with good food and a great staff, this was a nice surprise.

 

We took the trolley up to Old Town, sort of a Mexican themed Mystic Village, and again soaked up the sun while the ladies went shopping. The day and the architecture around Old Town were beautifu, with my favorite store featured jerky and root beer, even offering brews from FX Matt in Utica. It was getting late, so we took the Coaster back to our hotel for dinner.

The night was still young, and Jacob didn't care for the fajitas that the hotel had to offer, so we made a Subway run, and stopped by the Green Flash tasting room (http://www.greenflashbrew.com/). This facility was over 4000 sq. ft. and had a neon sign that could be seen from over a mile away. The staff was great, allowing kids in with their folks and having a food truck parked outside for patrons with the munchies. I took the opportunity to try ALL of their Anniversary beers, since they were all here on draft. I think my favorite was their 7th Anniversary Belgian Red Rye Ale which weighed in at 5.7% ABV. I inquired about their Silva Stout, a blend of their regular stout and double stout that had been aged in bourbon barrels (it was also on Beer Advocate's top 100 beer list), but they were out. Oh well, it doesn't hurt to check things out.

For a day that started off with a bit of a disappointment, we had a really great time. Tomorrow we were back on a schedule, so I hope we would have just as much fun. – 6311/13597

“It takes beer to make thirst worthwhile.” – German Saying