We are staying at the Marriott in the Gas Light section of San Diego, a very nice hotel in a very nice section of the city. For those of you who know us, the deal is the most important thing. We want to be comfortable, but, at the lowest possible price. We would like to thank the Marriott boys for offering a very nice senior discount so that we can stay in comfort at a reasonable cost.
We had breakfast at the “Broken Yolk Cafe”. The portions here rival those at Margie’s Diner, a chain in the central coast area where we live. There are mounds of food that only a Sumo wrestler could possibly finish. However, between the four of us, we were able to finish every crumb. This is also about the deal and not wanting to waste money on uneaten food. All of us declared that we would not need to eat again until breakfast tomorrow morning!
Carrie, whose metabolism is high due to her current training for a half-marathon, was the first to admit to being hungry around 1:00 pm and snacked on a fancy cupcake as we walked along. I was, of course next, then Gene. Mike, who is with food like a camel with water, says he is still not hungry as we head out for dinner. I’m guessing he will be able to eat.
After some discussion, we decided that we would spend our only day in San Diego visiting Coronado Island to see the Del Coronado Hotel. So, around 12:30 we boarded a ferry to the island. The ferry left us off on the opposite side of the island from the hotel, which presented us with our next decision. For those of you who know Mike, you know that he is not a fan of walking long distances. So, when faced with this option, there is always a negotiation on whether to walk, take public transportation or just break down and take a taxi. This time, the walkers won out. And, so, we started out down First Street and across Orange on our 30 minute trek to the hotel, with Mike bringing up the rear and muttering some very uncomplimentary thoughts about having been tricked!
We walked past some fun shops and a very upscale residential area. Gene is a real estate aficionado and all of us, except for Carrie who is still in college, own at least one property. So, we were interested in the price of property on Coronado Island. Maybe we could purchase a vacation home! The first property we came across was a small plot of land without a dwelling that was sandwiched between two houses. This gem was going for $1.9 million dollars. After paying that, you can add a house. The best deal we found was a 2 bedroom 2 bath condo for $714,000. We decided against making a purchase, as this goes against our policy of getting the best deal. No senior discounts here. We all decided that if a vacation was needed, those on the east coast would come to the Cramer/Whitaker Bed and Breakfast in California and those of us on the west coast would come to Gene’s beach property. YIKES!!
The Del Coronado is the oldest and largest wooden hotel in the United States. It sits right on the beach and is quite something to see. It has been around for a long time and has survived through several wars and economic downturn including the crash of Wall Street in 1929. It’s stayng power is really remarkable. It has hosted some very famous celebrities including Frank Sinatra, John Wayne and Marilyn Monroe. There is a very interesting display as you walk through the maze of shops that gives much detail about the history of the hotel. Today, it is a very busy resort that offers everything one could possibly need or want….food, pools, drinks, and shopping. One could stay forever and never need to go off campus. I’m pretty sure there is no senior discount at this resort. However, we did enjoy looking at it.
The lobby was still decorated for Christmas and had a beautiful tree in the middle. Next to the tree was a twinkling-eyed Santa Claus greeting all of the guests. It was striking. As we were walking through the lobby, Gene pointed out a lovely menorah. Next to the menorah was a sign encouraging people to sign up to enter a drawing to win the Santa and take it home. We thought that was an odd mixture of traditional holiday symbols. We are all still thinking about that one.
We ended our day at the “Altitude Bar” on the 22nd floor of the Marriott. The views of the city were spectacular. I took a picture of this, and when I figure out how to download it to the blog, I’ll show you what I mean. We watched the sun go down and create a sky streaked with shades of red. As we sipped our drinks, we discussed our travel plans with some fellow travelers from Arizona. What a great way to end the day.
Travel With Betsy 
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