Adios California!

Friday, our last day of vacation.  I had debated on what to do for our final day on the coast, and Jenn and I both agreed that hitting the beach and enjoying the sun was just what the doctor ordered.  And even though the water was too cold to be “swimmable” (think coast of Maine in May), it sure was gorgeous.  So we drove down to Coronado via the Coronado Bridge to check out the Hotel Del Coronado and the spectacular views of Point Loma. 

The Hotel Del Coronado is a national landmark, and has been in operation for 125 years.  It is located right on the beach, and it is apparently where the rich and famous go to vacation in the area.  We could see why, walking past the villas you could imagine renting one for your family to relax, and then have all the tourists staring at you through the fences.  We walked down to the beach and climbed out on the rocks.  The sky was crystal clear, and each of the kids soaked it up in their own way.  Jess went straight to the tidal pool, looking for the sea life.  Jacob stared at the water, I think reflecting on the week.  Both of the kids asked if I could find a job out there (sorry kids, not in the plans).  Jenn and I spent time sharing tales about the wonderful week, and while staring at the surf we even saw a sea lion (no dolphins or whales) swimming ten yards from us.  But we were getting hungry, so we headed to the other side of the island to Coronado Brewing (http://coronadobrewingcompany.com/).

The Coronado Brewpub has been a favorite of locals and service men (there were quite a few here for lunch today) for over 15 years.  We recently started to get their beers on the east coast (Pinocchio’s, Fat Head’s and the Grey Lodge Pub all have had their brews), and a quick review of their lunch menu convinced me this was a good place to visit.  I got their grilled Wahoo tacos with slices of avocado (did I mention that I liked avocado) to go along with a flight of beer.  My favorites were the Idiot IPA, an Imperial IPA that packed a punch at 8.5% ABV, and the Stupid Stout, an Imperial Stout that hit even harder at 10% ABV.  The waiter joked that he could make a Black and Tan called a Stupid Idiot with the two beers.  They also offered a Hibiscus IPA with a definite floral hint that was a collaboration with Maui brewing that was impressive.  It was a nice stop, but we had decided to head up to Oceanside and end our trip by taking South Coastal Route 101 back down to our hotel, catching the sights along the way.

We drove out to Ruby's pier in Oceanside, a beautiful pier that went out into the ocean and reminded Jenn and I of our trip to Wales last year.  It was nice to take a stroll out to the diner at the end, people (and pelican) watching.  We watched the surfers for a while, all wearing their wet suits, and enjoying when they caught their waves.  The waves were about 8 feet and curling, blowing doors off the waves we see on the east coast.  If I lived out here, I’d get a wet suit of my own.

We headed south to the village of Carlsbad, and Jenn and Jess wanted to do a little shopping.  Fine by me since there was a Pizza Port in town and I was looking forward to sitting outside and relaxing (that was a long pier in Oceanside).  The place was great (a lot more space than in Solana Beach), and I loved the way they did their samplers.  They gave you a sheet, and you marked off the beers that you wanted to try (again, 4oz beers for $1 a piece).  My favorites were a series of Imperial Stouts called Night Rider.  I started with my baseline, the basic version that was 10.5% ABV and had a great chocolaty mouth feel.  Next I tried the bourbon barrel aged version, which was tasty, but a little light on the bourbon flavor (could have been aged for a lot longer).  Finally was my favorite, the Night Rider on cask brewed with habanero and cocoa nibs that had a mouth burn that was delightful (bet it would have really cured, or caused, a sore throat).  I met up with Jenn and we headed down the coast to the Encinitas Alehouse (http://www.encinitasalehouse.com/) for a bite to eat.

The Encinitas Alehouse was recommended by Draft magazine, and is located right on the coastal highway, just blocks from the beach, and we thought it was as good of a spot as any to end our journey.  The place was packed (and loud), but we squeezed into a spot in the back and took advantage of the half price appetizers, crab cakes and bruschetta (with avocado!).  The bottle selection was extra special, but we needed to eat and run if we were going to catch the sunset.  So I got a sampler of their own line of beer, Acoustic Brewing.  I tried the civet coffee oatmeal Belgian milk chocolate stout and the Mad Dub Dubbel.  Both were decent, but not up to par with the other Southern California craft brews that we had been sampling all week.  On second thought, maybe I should have taken advantage of their bottle list.  We looked at our watches, and we knew we were cutting it close, so I paid the bill and we raced to the car.  We had to drive a bit south to get a clear view of the ocean.  We made it and it was beautiful.  As we watched the sunset, we reflected on our week together.

The next morning we had our last breakfast at the hotel (Jacob was sure going to miss those waffles), returned the rental car (thanks for the upgrade), and made it to the terminal in plenty of time (and nothing to do there) for our flight.  And even though our flight was delayed into Boston, we were thankful that the snow held off and we made it home safe and sound at 2:30 in the morning.  It was a great trip, an opportunity to explore together, and I can hardly wait for our next family adventure. - 6311/13620

“I’m off for a quiet pint – followed by 15 noisy ones.” – Gareth Chilcott