Event: Big Bay Boom Fireworks, San Diego, Day 17

July 4, 2012 -- After a successful sail on Mission Bay, we all went to the Tilted Kilt for wings, beer, and kilt viewing!  To be honest, we just needed some solid food and the Kilt did the trick.  We then said goodbye to Raul and Natasha, and after a few hours we found ourselves back at the Rockin' Baja for beers and Brooke! Our favorite bartender kept pouring the beers, which is what we love about her!  Alas, nighttime had come and it was time to head to the Seaport Village to see the Big Bay Boom fireworks.

OK, the Big Bay Boom was supposed to be a simultaneous firework display from five barges strategically placed in San Diego Bay.  It was hyped to be an unbelievable fireworks display, costing over $400,000 to put on.  Did you hear about this?  Five minutes before the show was supposed to begin, a software glitch triggered ALL the fireworks to go off at the SAME time!  The "show" lasted 14 seconds, leaving us all to wonder what the heck just happened!  After twenty minutes of waiting for the real show to begin, we and the rest of the crowd were told that the show was over!  What a bummer.  This looked like it was going to be a really good fireworks display, but nada, zippo, zilch!  Better luck next year!

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.