Lodging: Residence Inn, La Jolla, San Diego, Day 22

July 9, 2012 -- The end is near!  I checked out of the Manchester Grand Hyatt for the last time this morning and after work I checked in to my home-away-from-home, the Residence Inn in La Jolla.  I really do enjoy staying here; it's quiet, central to everything in the San Diego area, next to the La Jolla YMCA, and not as noisy as being downtown.  Don't get me wrong, being in the Gaslamp District has its advantages, but when you realize that most people at the hotel are on vacation and you need to get up at 5:15 AM to get ready for work, it makes for a difficult combination.

Sadly, this is my last week in San Diego, so I need to see my spots one last time before I go.  I called Enrique, who lives in La Jolla, and we went to the Rock Bottom restaurant to catch the Home Run Derby at the 2012 MLB All-Star game.  I frequented this place many times since it's walking distance from my hotel.  They serve a great spicy shrimp and chicken jambalaya, which I had to have, and washed it down with some local brews.  The Home Run Derby was entertaining, but we made it an early evening; 5:15 AM comes pretty quick!!!

Food: KC BBQ, San Diego, Day 21

July 8, 2012 -- After spending almost three hours at Point Loma, I was starving!  Right across the street from the Manchester Grand Hyatt is the Kansas City Barbecue.  This place serves the best barbecue ribs and pull pork sandwiches in the city.  However, the establishment's claim to fame is that the dive bar scene filled in Top Gun was shot here!  The decor hasn't changed since the '80's and it's a quaint place to visit.

With lunch taken care of, I needed to hit the laundromat again.  Get It Clean was the spot once again, and I was able to reach Enrique for a drink afterwards.  With my belly still full of pulled pork, Enrique and I found a local watering hole called True North.  Not a bad place if I do say so myself!  Alas, it was a Sunday and I needed to pack since I would be leaving downtown San Diego for La Jolla once again ...

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 ...

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.

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!!!