san diego in 6 hours

by Stacy

Before we get to the multitude of posts prancing around in my tired brain (currently located on top of a very tired body), I wanted to show you some photos from last week.

My parents took a cruise starting in Seattle that ends in Florida through the Panama Canal. Their first port of call? San Diego. They had 6 hours from the time they disembarked until they had to reboard. It was conveniently my only day off for the week and the day after my birthday. What to do, what to do?

the fam

Because of the time constraints we stuck close to the harbor.

First stop: the USS Midway Museum, an aircraft carrier docked in San Diego Harbor. The hubby and I had been a few months ago so we tried to see the things we missed last time. The carrier is pretty substantial. We started with a tour of the bridge then headed down below.

dad on the midway

Here is Dad in one of the hallways below decks. There is a lot of climbing up and down ladders involved. One of my favorite facts from the visit was that the most common cause of sick bay visits was head lacerations from men hitting their heads on things.

In addition to ladders, we also climbed on various aircraft parked on the carrier.

dad in pilot mode

Dad flew.

yep, i'm related to her

I can’t take Mom anywhere.

It was also the hottest day in San Diego in 75 years, so after we’d had enough sun, we went to grab lunch. Since it was my birthday (observed), we got cake!

birthday cake #1

We split it four ways because we had to save room for dessert at our final destination. After a stroll down to Seaport Village to buy my parents new traveling hats, we walked to the edge of Little Italy for serious cake at our true destination for the day.

at extraordinary desserts

Nice hats, huh? Mom’s matches her dress from our trip to Sicily!

San Diego generally tends to favor longevity over innovation on the restaurant front, and Extraordinary Desserts has been a sweet institution since the late 1980s. They do some over-the-top plating (flowers, edible gold) of some decadent desserts and offer daily house ice creams and an ever-changing case of sweets. Yum. We now live fairly close to their smaller original location, but the Little Italy outpost is bigger and has more choices.

We had a three-layer berry torte and a lemon meringue cheesecake to share. Despite valiant efforts, we could not finish everything.

let them eat cake!

It was lovely to have my parents in town — albeit briefly — and gave us a good excuse to have fun before we spent the rest of the week moving. It was also my mom’s first visit to San Diego and I think she enjoyed it. Not bad for such a brief time!

What are your favorite places to take out-of-town visitors?


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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }

shawn October 6, 2010 at 4:51 pm

Stacy – your posts are always fun. Love the pic of your mom & the engine. Moms… can’t take ’em to the tarmac, can’t leave ’em on the tarmac. :-)

Happy to be doing “Season of Reflection” with you through Two Frog Home.

S

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Stacy October 7, 2010 at 9:06 am

Thank you, Shawn!

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olivia October 7, 2010 at 7:37 am

god i love extraordinary desserts. we take our out of towners to 3 main places, top of mt. soledad to catch the view, old town to take in some history/culture, and a beach bar for the view and fish tacos (ok specifically south beach in OB)…if i had to name 3. i tend to try to take them everywhere.

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Stacy October 7, 2010 at 9:07 am

We haven’t been to Mt. Soledad yet, but we have taken several people to South Beach Bar for fish tacos for sure!

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Bridget October 7, 2010 at 10:10 am

Wow, those are some huge and beautiful desserts!

Also, your parents are adorable.

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Stacy October 7, 2010 at 3:05 pm

Someday I will be brave enough to take more photos of the giant display case. It’s incredible.

They crack me up, really.

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Naomi October 8, 2010 at 4:30 am

Love this posting! When I was about Anderson’s age, my folks traveled from MN to FL by boat via the Missisippi and Gulf of Mexico, with another couple, a dog and a rifle (pirates). My kids and I were there for the first departure attempt. You opened my memory’s floodgate.

I know a Nurse Practitioner that would love a framed pic of your Mom on the Tarmac! Great pics, great story, cool family! Those desserts both symbolize and celebrate a very precious memory.

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Penny October 11, 2010 at 1:15 pm

Everyone looks as though they were having a wonderful time. Those desserts look amazing!

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