Food: Gaslamp Strip Club, San Diego, Day 15

July 2, 2012 -- Today, Rocco arrived.  With AP heading back to RI a few days ago, Enrique and I needed reinforcements.  After a tumultuous 22-hour travel extravaganza, Rocco landed in San Diego exhausted.  Severe storms on the East Coast had wreaked havoc with the airlines and poor Rocco spent more time in a North Carolina airport than flying to sunny California.  So, knowing that he would be tired and hungry I knew the perfect thing to cheer him up: The Gaslamp Strip Club.  Now don't get the wrong idea, this is a steak place, and an awesome one at that!

First and foremost, you need to know that you will be cooking your own steaks.  They have grills placed about the restaurant, loaded with spices and cooking utensils.  You simply choose the steak you want, side dishes, and anything else and the waitress (in fishnets, nice touch) will bring everything to you.

We both picked our steaks and headed to the grill.  That's Rocco seasoning their signature Gaslamp Strip Steak.

I also had the strip steak and helped myself to the grill, too.

Yeah, the food is as good as it looks!  I highly recommend the Gaslmap Strip Club for those who want to have fun cooking steaks without the high prices of traditional steak joints (Donovan's or Fleming's)  

After dinner, I brought Rocco to the Barley Mash for a beer and to let him check out the completed product (he was with us in April when the establishment was nearly finished.)  The beers were cold, but poor Rocco was dead tired.  Until another day ...

Food: Wang's, North Park San Diego, Day 14

July 1, 2012 -- Being a Sunday and still recovering from the day at the Safari Park, I figured a day poolside at my hotel, the Manchester Grand Hyatt, was in order.  Enrique was exhausted and he had things to do, so my day was set.  I took a nice, long stroll along the waterfront and Seaport Village before grabbing some food supplies from the local Ralph's super market.  After that, I finished reading the book I had brought with me to San Diego, The Last Templar.  A pretty good read if you like the mystique of the Templar Knights and the coveted treasures and secrets they have been hiding for a thousand years.

Later that day I had to take care of a good week's supply of laundry -- hey, even I need to be domestic from time to time!  Enrique pointed me to a laundromat in North Park called Get It Clean.

If you have to do laundry while on travel, and if you don't have services in your hotel, this is a fine place to go.  It took me a little over an hour to wash and dry my clothes.  But, I'm not here to blog about life's necessities!

Of course when I mentioned to Enrique that I was in the North Park area he had a restaurant in mind.  He said he heard about a great Chinese Food buffet called Wang's.  Well, they didn't have a buffet, but the food was by far some of the best Chinese Food I ever had.  And take a look at the size of this place ...

There were plenty of tables and seating, and the restaurant was suprisingly packed for a Sunday night.  There was even a function room that was under construction upstairs.  Very impressive and I'll be sure to go back there again some time.  Our hostess was gracious enough to pose for a picture, especially after we told her that she would be in my blog!

And no night would be complete if Enrique didn't have dessert.  I wasn't surprised when he said we had to stop in at Heaven Sent Desserts.  There was more chocolate there than meets the eye!  Believe it or not, I didn't get any snacks, but rest assured, Enrique took a doggy bag home!

Though nothing Earth shattering happened today, we both knew that Rocco was arriving tomorrow ...

Food: Bencotto, Little Italy, San Diego, Day 13

June 30, 2012 -- After a long afternoon at the Safari Park, Enrique and I figured a nice relaxing dinner in Little Italy would do the trick.  Since we had visited to Little Italy before, we remembered a chic restaurant called Bencotto that we knew we needed to try.  Bencotto specializes in home made pasta that they cook on the premises.  Let me tell you, that was the freshest pasta I ever had!  I had the traditional pasta and meatballs, and the meatballs were to die for!  Even the salads were made with hand-picked tomatoes and vegetables.  A must see place if you're ever in the Little Italy section of San Diego.  However, be prepared to wait a long time if you don't call for reservations.  Me and Enrique ate at the bar instead of waiting two hours for a table!!!

With full bellies and a stop for some chocolate gelato, we called it a night by 9:30 PM.  On a Saturday.  In San Diego.  I know, lame, but when you're tired, you're tired!

Travel: San Diego Zoo Safari Park, San Diego, Day 13

June 30, 2012 -- With AP gone, Enrique and I decided to spend the day at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.

Having gone to the San Diego Zoo on my last trip, I figured the Safari Park would be a nice change of pace.  I wasn't disappointed!  The trip to the Safari Park is a good 30 to 40 minutes north and east of San Diego, but it has plenty of room for the animals to roam.  That's Eric the rhino pictured below (yes, Eric!)

The giraffes were out and about ...

Elephants were happy ...

And I was very intrigued with the okapi, discovered in the Congo only 100 years ago!

We had fun with the gorillas as well, and I'm happy to say that I'm nowhere near as large as a full grown ape!

We strolled about the park for a good 4 to 5 hours, so if you decide to go be sure to wear comfortable walking shoes.  The tram ride around the safari last for about 30 minutes and is well worth the wait.  I wished we could have seen the cheetah run, but it was already a long day and that event wouldn't start until 5 PM.  As with anything that deals with animals heed this sign's advice:

Bars: The Whiskey Girl, San Diego, Day 12

June 29, 2012 -- Being on the West Coast has its advantages, especially when it comes to catching my Red Sox while they're playing teams on the West Coast!  Enrique and I made the walk up 5th Avenue in the Gaslamp District until we reached the Whiskey Girl.

TVs broadcast a multitude of baseball games, including the Sox, and 80s music blared from the speakers.  Around 10 PM, the high top tables we sat at were cleared away, the music switched to today's pop, and our viewing area became a dance floor.  They even took off the baseball games and throw up videos!  The nerve.  But then again, the place filled up and was hopping.  Just another night in the Gaslamp District! 

Food: Restaurants and Bars, San Diego, Day 12

June 29, 2012 -- Enter Enrique!  And where else would we be, along the Pacific Beach boardwalk and Crystal Pier?  The Pacific Beach Shore Club of course!  Pacificos and appetizers at happy hour while watching the sun sink into the ocean can't be a bad thing, right?

Well, how does sushi sound?  Since they don't serve that at the PB Shore Club, me and Enrique made the short drive to La Jolla.

One of my favorite places on Prospect St. is Sushi on the Rock, and what better dish than a Rainbow Roll.

Sadly, Enrique needed more excitement ...

Travel: Crystal Pier, San Diego, Day 12

June 29, 2012 -- After my glorious run, me and Enrique embarked on a San Diego tour of restaurants and bars throughout the remainder of the day and night.  Lunch, as usual, was at Rockin' Baja Coastal Cantina.  Again, nothing but good things to say about my Jumbo shrimp fajitas and friendly wait staff.  Love those guys!

With lunch behind me, I headed to Pacific Beach where I took a walk on the Crystal Pier.  I had seen it many times before, but this time I took the walk all the way out to the end of the pier.

Here's a beautiful view of the Pacific Ocean from the end of the pier.

Can't forget the California surfers!

Time for a walk on the Pacific Beach boardwalk ... lots of girls and bikinis!

By this time Enrique has called and said he was ten minutes away ... you know what that means!

Fitness: Seaport Village Route, San Diego, Day 12

June 29, 2012 -- AP is gone!  He's flying back to RI, just when I was rewarded with a three day weekend.  With the whole day ahead of me, the first thing I needed to do was get in a workout.  Behind the Manchester Grand Hyatt is the Seaport Village and along with that is a long walkway that goes on for miles.  However, on this morning I felt more like the Millennium Falcon avoiding asteroids!  This place is loaded with tourists, who I've dubbed "meanderthals" since they walk aimlessly around, oblivious to my jogging.

Tourists aside, the running route is full of sites, being right on San Diego Bay.  There are shops and restaurants all along Seaport Village, the USS Midway -- a retired air craft carrier, Embarcadero Park -- a beautiful area that juts out into the Bay, and much more.  Depending on your skill level, you can easily run for an hour without straying from the walkway.  Of course if you wanted to brave the city streets you can do that as well.  So, as you can see there's no reason for you to miss your running workout when staying in downtown San Diego.

Bars: Altitude Sky Lounge, Marriott Hotel, San Diego, Day 11

June 28, 2012 -- Up on the 22nd floor of the Marriott Hotel in the Gaslamp District is the Altitude Sky Lounge.  The lounge has a breathtaking view of San Diego Bay, Coronado, and Petco Park.  Take a look at some of the shots I took the last time I was here.

A great place to watch a game when the Padres are in town, watch a sunset from up high, or to just have a beer and enjoy the skyline.  By 9 PM, AP sounded the bell and we all left.  Goodbye AP, it was real.  But, as one co-worker leaves, another arrives ... in a few days.

Food: Barley Mash, San Diego, Day 11

June 28, 2012 -- It's AP's last day!  Being fearful that he would not wake up to make his flight, we decided to head back to the Barley Mash for dinner.

Me, AP, and Enrique had only appetizers, which we only OK.  The mussels and shrimp skillet were pretty average, nothing like the prime rib potato pie we had last time.

Enrique on the other hand thoroughly enjoyed his ribs!  Fortunately, we had great view of the street and were able to do a lot of people watching.  After dinner, AP wanted to get a better view of the sky ...

Travel: Seaport Village, San Diego, Day 10

June 27, 2012 -- After settling in to the Manchester Grand Hyatt, me and AP ventured along the Seaport Village that extends along the boardwalk and San Diego Bay.  The Village reminds me of Brick Market Place in Newport, RI -- touristy shops, bars, and restaurants all along a beautiful body of water (yeah, that's my shadow in the photo below!)

AP, hungry as usual, led us to Joe's Crab Shack where we had pots of steamed crabs, clams, mussels, and shrimp, all layered in Old Bay seasoning.  We were so hungry that we forgot to take a picture of the food for the blog, but trust me it was delicious!

Lodging: Manchester Grand Hyatt, San Diego, Day 10

June 27, 2012 -- After nine wonderful days at the Residence Inn in La Jolla, I switched hotels to be closer to the Gaslamp District during the 4th of July celebration.  My hotel of choice downtown is the Manchester Grand Hyatt.  The place is absolutely huge, having two, 40-story towers with a 4th floor pool deck that includes a pool, hot tubs, rows and rows of deck chairs, and attendants to get you everything from towels to food and drinks.

Their fitness center is top notch, having plenty of cardio machines, Life Fitness circuit machines, and free weights, all overlooking Seaport Village, Coronado, and San Diego Bay.  This is the view from my hotel room -- spectacular!

Definitely stay here if you can -- I'll be here for the next twelve days!!!