A Taste of the Upper Crust

La Jolla is a true gem it is no wonder that it is known as the jewel of San Diego. We've visited a number of times, but we recently had our first taste of rubbing elbows with the upper crust. Travelzoo ran a deal on Estancia La Jolla Hotel & Spa that I couldn't resist. We booked two nights and got away from it all. We had a fabulous stay, but it's doubtful we'll return to the Estancia. Customer service was top notch and the grounds are lovely, but the accomodations failed to wow us. I guess living in Vegas with some of the best resorts in the world at rock bottom prices has spoiled us a bit.

Photos from this trip aren't up to standards, my new camera hadn't arrived before the trip, and while I had my Nikon along; I was a dimwit and forgot to charge it beforehand. Of course, I didn't pack the charger either. So, most photos are from our camera phones.







We spent time at all our favorite places and stuffed ourselves silly with our favorite eats. We also parked in the cove the morning we tried Cody's for brunch. We watched the sea lions and we went down into the La Jolla Cove Cave. We've been dozens of times before, but never knew it existed. I love that we continue to find new stuff to explore despite our many visits to the area. I can't say the Cave was anything spectacular it's small and you can experience it in 15 minutes or less - walking the stairs takes up much of the time - it's just one of those things to do once. The moisture that collects on the spider webs in the cave was particularly neat.











We caught one sunset. Usually the marine layer prevents us from doing so, but we had gorgeous weather and no marine layer, just beautiful sunshine!! Temps were in the 70's. It's what California dreams are made of.



When we weren't seeing the sights we were feeding our bellies. And they were WELL fed. We tried two new places: Carnitas Snack Shack in North Park and Cody's in La Jolla. Delicious. Plus all of our old favorites: Con Pane, El Indio, and Whisknladle. La Puerta, though, has slipped. I don't see us making it a must do in the future.

Check out these eats! We ate at the Carnitas Shack twice. On our first visit we came for lunch; we had the carnitas tacos and the pork belly banh mì which was on special. We took the order to go because we weren't properly parked. We dug in while in the car, such wonderful porkiness! The pork belly was nicely tender and bursting with flavor. The pork pate was likely the best I've tasted. Fresh veggies and bread made this one great sandwich. The carnitas were awesome! Melt in your mouth goodness. I wasn't in love with the tortillas so I'll try the torta next time.





Our second visit was for dinner. This time parking was a far easier find. We ordered the pork and steak sandwiches, side of fries and a couple local brews. We grabbed a table on the patio. Both sandwiches looked delicious when they arrived. We were eager to dig in. The pork sandwich sounds positively sinful with schnitzel, pulled pork, bacon, pepperoncini relish and shack aoli. Unfortunately, it fell a little flat. It was very dry, the bun crumbled into a dozen pieces. The bacon was undercooked, the schnitzel was overcooked and the pulled pork seemed like it sat out too long. The relish lacked crunch and heat. The aoli seemed not existent. I wanted to love this sandwich, but I did not. It has such high praises... Perhaps, I got a bad one? It seemed odd to order steak in a shack of pork, but it was wonderful. The ribeye was juicy, the jalapeno cheddar bread was tender but strong enough to hold all the goodies and the kick from the serrano chile relish was awesome. This was an outstanding sandwich. The seasoned fries come crisp and very WELL seasoned. We gobbled those up.





I can't wait for our next jaunt to SD to sample more pork goodness.



Cody's was another winner! When we checked in with the host we were asked "shade or sun?" That's the kind of welcome I enjoy. First available was shade, but it was a quick three minute wait and it had a lovely view of the cove.

We wanted to try everything. We narrowed down a real breakfast of champions: the crab cakes, biscuits and gravy, the bacon and cheddar omelet and the awesome french toast.









The crab cakes were a bit small, but what they lacked in size they made up for in flavor. The were very crabby which I highly enjoy.

I was skeptical over the Awesome French Toast. How awesome could it be? Well, truth be told, it is indeed awesome. I cannot recall devouring a better version. The marscapone butter left me on cloud nine.

The bacon and cheese omelet was prepared nicely, but it lacked any spark. We'll skip it in the future.

The biscuits and gravy, however, were absolutely dreamy. You must understand, I don't often like B & G. But these biscuits were tender and fluffy. Even on the third day I doubt they'd be dry. The gravy was smooth as silk. I don't know if it was the chopped onion that wooed me, but woo me, it did.



Needless to say, the weekend was wonderfully relaxing!

Le Burger Brasserie

Frank loves the lamb burger at Le Burger Brasserie. He enjoys it often. It was time I saw what the fuss was about. We met for for a late lunch on a Saturday. The restaurant wasn't too busy, I'd say it was a lull in the day. Service was quick. I enjoyed the l'americain with American cheese, onion rings and mushrooms. The lamb burger did not disappoint either. He likes his medium rare served on the ovendried tomato bun. I chose this bun too and while it's not something I traditionally order it was quite good; I recommend it. Don't miss the waffle fries. They are crisp, nicely seasoned and simply delicious!

Dulce Vida: II

Towards the end of our trip we sought adventure. We tried to snorkel at our hotel but the waves made it impossible. It's still a beautiful sight.



I knew Akumal Bay has calm water much of the time so we drove over to snorkel. We borrowed gear from our hotel, but rented life jackets at the dive shop at the urging of the conservationists (heavily suggested to protect the coral). I never thought much about it previously, but we loved that there was no need to tread water. It made the day leisurely rather than exhausting. It was a lengthy swim out to the coral, but it was worth the effort. The sealife was beautiful and plentiful. I wish I had photos to share, but this next photo was the only one taken that day.



It was the photo that killed my Canon Powershot D10. I've taken the camera in the water hundreds of times without issue, but it seems this time the door to the battery compartment hadn't sealed tight. Moisture quickly filled the camera. I managed to get one shot before it fried. I was completely bummed that I wouldn't be able to capture any of the amazing fish we saw.

The following day we went back to Akumal but this time we snorkeled in Yal-Ku Lagoon. This place is a real gem. It is a spring fed by Cenotes (freshwater underground rivers), the freshwater mixes with sea water from Yal-ku's inlet to the sea and it has the most amazing display of tropical fish. The freshwater is crystal clear and the seawater is a bit murky, the inlet currents are incredibly strong and the cenote waters are quite cool. It's quite the experience. We snorkeled for hours. It was the most amazing excursion we've done to date.

I learned schools of fish are fun to watch in fish tanks, but I don't like being surrounded by them. Those little buggers freaked me out. They would nibble on you too, if given the chance. It was wild seeing needle nose gars in their natural habitat. We kept them as pets a few years back. I also learned I'll never dive. You see, just snorkeling into large rocks made me claustophobic. Panic set in immediately. Fortunately, I was able to get my head above water in a hurry (diving wouldn't allow that - so, it is completely out of the question). I'm happy to report, I didn't let it get the best of me. I calmed down and tried again. I was able to see there was no reason to be concerned. I snorkeled the tighest of spots without issue. Kellee 1, Claustophobia 0.

The next day, we went to the Cristalino cenote. By now, I was sunkissed sunscorched so I knew there would be no snorkeling for me - my butt was badly burned. Frank wanted to check it out. He was second guessing when he felt the cool water, but he took the plunge and eventually got used to the chill. This cenote is surrounded by jungle and mangroves. The fish are mainly small. They're known for giving a nice pedicure. The underwater caves are the sight to see. I understand divers can actually get to cenote Azul from here. Wild.











Puerto Aventuras is nearest to our hotel. We travel here often for trips to the Chedraui. We'd stock up on cigars, cerveza and pastries. It was quite a bit cheaper than Walmart and the Soriana at the Centro Maya. We decided to see what was behind the gates and it's lovely community catering to tourists. It reminded me of Summerlin. This area is probably most popular for swimming with the dolphins. The were a sight to see.





Back at the hotel we enjoyed our encounters with inhabitants. There was Estaban our guard iguana. He loved to sunbathe outside our door.



There was crabby and herman the hermit crab





The birds dining at sunrise were a trip to watch





All in all, Al Cielo in Xpu-ha is our slice of heaven. I cannot wait to return.

Dulce Vida: I

While visiting Xpu-ha, Mexico our goal was to unwind. Our only plans were to relax on the beach and enjoy local eats. It was a great success. We spent a great deal of time in our palapa reading, listening to music and drinking cerveza while the ocean breeze kept us cool.





When we felt adventurous we'd run into the warm caribbean sea and play in the waves for hours.





We'd work up a hunger and we'd drive to Playa Del Carmen or Puerto Aventuras for dinner. We enjoyed meals at our favorites like La Cueva Del Chango and El Fogon. We also found delicious Italian at Massimo. It was quite odd to order Italian dishes in Spanish. I never thought I'd enjoy Italian in Mexico, but we did. So much so we ate there twice. Once to enjoy pasta and again to sample their pizza. Both were excellent! And One lazy night we stayed at the hotel and enjoyed a wonderful meal.

La Cueva del Chango: Bean Soup, Chicken Chilaquiles and Sopes









El Fogon: Tacos Al Pastor & Margarita, and us perched above the streets of PDC.









Massimo: Mexican Pizza, Caprese and Ravioli









Al Cielo: Goat cheese stuffed peppers, tuna sashimi, catch of the day baked in salt









We enjoyed Sunrise and sunset!





... and walks on the beach













There is more to come.

Spring Restaurant Week!

We're only two weeks away from the Spring Restaurant Week! Eight days of gluttony begins on March 8 and runs thru March 15. We'll be limited to five dinners since we'll be out of town over the weekend. Three Square revealed the participating restaurant menus today. There are several new additions and quite a few favorites missing. Perhaps, they'll be added as the event nears?

So far the following restaurants have piqued my interest:

Aquaknox

Joe’s Stone Crab

Poppy Den

Table 34

Tommy Bahama

We dined at Aquaknox and Joe's before, the others would be new to us. Poppy Den is just new in general, I've been anxious to get over to Tivoli Village to give it a try. This is the perfect excuse. I'll be counting down the days.

I'm Alive

I have no idea how there could be only eight days left in the month. Furthermore, I cannot believe it's been 3 weeks since I've posted. It seems this month will clip by at record pace. Even January flew by and I didn't travel at all. Frank did enough for both of us. He was in Cleveland for work for two weeks and Chicago for a week visiting his family. When February rolled around I was very happy to have him home and it was a comfort to know travels this month would be done together. We just had to get past Superbowl. He worked around the clock finally coming home around ten o'clock Superbowl Sunday. Then, finally, it was sweet vacation. We had a 6AM flight to Cancun with a connection in Houston. We stayed a week at Al Cielo hotel. We love the hotel and Xpu-ha beach so we return again and again. This time did not disappoint. In fact, I'd say it was the best yet. We were reluctant (me more, than Frank) to return home, but we knew there was more fun to be had. Getting back to the grind would be worthwhile.



This past weekend I had three days off, thanks to President's Day. I kicked off the weekend with girlfriends, we went to Firefly for dinner before seeing P!nk at Mandalay Bay for the Truth About Love Tour. I've never seen a show quite like it. I was totally blown away! If you ever considered going to one of her shows - Do it!

Then, Saturday we went down to Laughlin for two nights. Laughlin is always good fun. This time was no different. We drove down to Needles, CA on Sunday to meetup with co-workers that were camping at Pirate Cove. We brought the RZR down to go off-roading. It's a great set up for camping. The trails are better for quads and dirtbikes so I don't see us returning... but now, we know. Before leaving Laughlin Frank and I played Keno. I was feeling our numbers so we bought 21 games @ 1.75 each. We kept hitting 2 or 3 of our numbers, but after the 17th game we won our four spot, 4 1 9 7 came in! Cashed the ticket for $386 when the games were through. I was pleased.

This weekend were staying at Estancia La Jolla Hotel & Spa. We love La Jolla, but this is our first time staying there. The hotel looks really nice. We got a great deal booking a Travelzoo deal. I'm very excited to head back to San Diego. It's my favorite home away from home.

We'll catch a slight breather before going to Phoenix the second week of March for White Sox Spring Training and offroading. Then, Frank will work around the clock for March Madness. We'll have a visit from my sister and Nicky just after my birthday. I'm very much looking forward to spending time with them. Mid-April we're off to San Francisco, the last weekend we have friends visiting and I am taking my mom to see Tim & Faith for her birthday. Then, in May, we are heading to LA to see the White Sox and then to San Antonio to see the sights. I suspect it'll be June before I know it. I'll work to find time to resume a normal schedule around here.