Take Me Out To the Ball Game

Recently Eric and I got to go to our first Padres game for a company outing. It was a beautiful day!

The stadium has a great view of the Coronado bridge.


We had pretty decent seats and had a great time hanging with Eric's co-workers while watching the game.


Halfway through we went down to meet up with our brother-in-law, as his company was there for a work event as well (funny enough, my previous company also was planning an outing to this same baseball game).

So it turned into a family fun day - we were just missing Alison!

We had a great time, we hope to go again soon!

Farmers Market and Old Friends

Downtown, Little Italy is known for their farmers market every week. We had a free morning and decided to check it out. We were thankful we decided to take the trolley last minute because we completely forgot it was Comic-Con weekend. Downtown was much busier than usual and parking was impossible. We actually had to let one trolley go and wait for the next one because of how packed it was.


We made it, and it was an impressive farmers market. But it was also so crowded!

We walked the whole main strip, picked up a few things and started making our way back out.

There was a beautiful view of the water though when walking back down the street.

Eric's good friend from college, Matt, also happened to be in town from Colorado for work for only one night. After work we all hit the beach and were there pretty much until the sun set!

He's a long time friend of Benny's who also was in our wedding. Everyone is so spread out around the country these days, it was great to get to spend some time with him.

His travel buddy from work even came to meet us at the beach and get dinner.

Later that night we walked over to Belmont Park (a historic oceanfront amusement park). It was such a blast, we need to take advantage of coming here again. They just have a ton of old fair games and rides.


The guys won a couple little basketballs, we all went on the wooden roller coaster together, and then Benny wished the rest of us luck as we ended the night with this ride that basically swings you back and forth, upside down, and around in circles.


We stayed up well past our normal bedtime, and I think Eric was pretty exhausted at work the next day, but we both agreed it was well worth it. We had a great time with great friends!

Exploring San Diego - Maritime Museum

This past weekend Eric's dad came out to visit us for a few days. On Saturday we got a chance to visit the Soviet submarine B-39, something he's been wanting to see for years (and I know was of great interest to Benny as well). We actually got to visit and tour multiple submarines and ships through the Maritime Museum.

A picture of Eric and I in front of the USS Midway, even though it was not one of the boats we toured that day.

The first submarine we saw was the USS Dolphin, which was a Navy deep-diving research and development submarine. It was in use for 38 years which was the longest career in history for a US Navy submarine. It was decommissioned fairly recently in 2007.






Next we spent some time in the actual museum which was pretty impressive.





The one the guys were most eager to see was the Russian submarine. It was one of the Soviet Navy's largest non-nuclear submarines.





It definitely felt much larger inside than the USS Dolphin.



Finally before we left we decided to check out the Star of India, a merchant sailing ship. It is the oldest ship still sailing regularly and the oldest iron-hulled merchant ship still floating.



It made me grateful that I've never had to live on any of them - I don't think that would be the life for me. We had a lot of fun exploring though, it was definitely worth the visit!

Exploring San Diego - Santee Drive-In

Eric and I have discovered one of our new favorite Saturday night activities - the drive-in theater!

We took the seats out of the back of the Tahoe, put an air mattress back there, and packed up all kinds of snacks, drinks, pillows, and blankets.

They actually have humps that you park your car on and it angles your window perfectly for the big screen.

It's a popular place too - families, teenagers, and couples of all ages filled the lot.

They play movies back to back until close to 3 AM so you can stay as long as you want, but you don't have to pay per movie which is great. We saw A Quiet Place and Rampage. It was a hard choice since the theater across from us was playing the new Avengers movie.

We both fell asleep during the second movie and woke up when the credits were rolling. We decided to head home before the next one started.

It was a new experience for both of us and we loved it! We can't wait to go back again soon!

Exploring San Diego - Trolley and Ferry

The weather is warming up in Southern California. It's not often that we get a hot day on the coast. It's usually about 10-15 degrees cooler and windier at the beaches than it is even 10 miles inland.

One particular Saturday was calling for temperatures in the 80s and sunny on the coast which meant we had to take advantage of our first beach day this season. Truthfully, I think it was the hottest day I have experienced on the beach in the last 10 months that we've lived here.

We also decided it would be fun to finally try out the trolley that comes right next to our apartment.

We took the trolley downtown then walked about two blocks to the harbor. It was really fun exploring our area on foot! We felt like complete tourists.


Apparently there was a march going on - the March for Science. I didn't even know there was such a thing. But I guess when you live in Southern California where the weather is so nice, you'll find any reason to get out and take a walk together.


Once we got to the harbor, we hopped on the ferry to take us over to Coronado. Another new experience for both of us which was so fun!

We boarded right next to the USS Midway.


Eric will be taking a little field trip to the submarine base in the picture below soon. After 10 years supporting the Navy, he is finally getting a chance to tour a sub!



When we arrived on Coronado there was an entire pedestrian zone with shops and places to eat, people having picnics, little beach areas, and so much to see. We already want to plan another trip just to grab ice cream or dinner and spend some time in this area.


We were running a little late though so we grabbed a quick Lyft to get across the island faster. We met up with Alison's family at the beach, they know how to do it right!

We brought our own towels, food, and sunscreen but we pack pretty light. With them having two young kids, they come extra prepared. They had a giant tent, chairs, food, grill, toys, and anything you could ever need.


The water was still cold, but it was so nice to finally have a beach day where it was hot enough to make you want to go in the water. Normally I'm bundled in a sweater, a very different experience than what we're used to on the East coast.


We had a great day grilling with them, digging in the sand, and enjoying the sun. It was the perfect beach day.


After we left we didn't have a schedule so we decided to walk the 1.5 miles back to the harbor on the other side of the island.

Along the way we saw some beautiful, charming houses. The houses were small but they had some of the most creative yards. Above, the picture doesn't even capture how elaborate the gardens were at this particular house.

And I fell in love with the little tree house at another place we passed by. Another house had roses that were the size of Eric's hand. And there were so many of them!

We also randomly passed by Coronado Brewing Co. and thought of Chris so I had to take a picture. Wish you guys were here and we could all stop in!


Needless to say, the walk across Coronado was beautiful and I'm so glad we decided to do it on foot. There are so many things we miss when we just jump in a car and take the quickest route.

The ferry runs every hour. We caught the one for that hour just in time.

When we got off, there were people with little rickshaws attached to the back of their bikes just waiting to give someone a ride wherever they needed to go. We didn't take them up on their offer, but it was crazy to me how easy it was to find different ways to get around.

Although our purpose of the day was to get to the beach, I think we had more fun just getting there! There are so many types of public transportation that are all so accessible to us here. I don't think I truly realized or appreciated it until now.
There are bikes all over San Diego to pick up/drop off anywhere you want. There are places to rent segways or motorized scooters at every corner. Even living in the Washington D.C. area (right next to a metro station) I haven't experienced this abundance and ease of public transportation. We're already coming up with different ways we want to try and get around next time.