La Jolla, California: DT was scheduled to be out of town on my birthday for his annual golf trip, but the boondoggle needed to be postponed this year. With a week with no appointments on our calendar, I decided this would be the perfect opportunity to go to Honolulu. We've been to several of the Hawaiian Islands, but never to Honolulu. I wanted to see the Arizona Memorial, Waikiki Beach, and all the other sites on Oahu. I wanted to dine at Duke's Waikiki, where Jimmy Buffett sang/ate/drank. (Side note: Dave has been to Honolulu with his family. He was 5 and doesn't recall much... plus I assume it has changed since 1960.) So the planning began. But flights were at odd hours and very expensive. Hotel rooms (I wanted to stay where my parents stayed over their 25th wedding anniversary trip - the Royal Hawaiian, aka The Pink Palace) - were ridiculous. It was going to cost a fortune just so I could have a fruity cocktail on my birthday.
Plan B! There is a beautiful fancy pink hotel in La Jolla, just steps from a Duke's restaurant. 150 miles from our house meant no flight was involved at all. Booked!
Sunday
We had our usual lazy Sunday, with brunch at our club, before putting our luggage in the Traverse and headed to the beach. DT decided to go over Highway 74/79. Twisty, steep, and winding, but a very beautiful drive. At the top of the road, there is a vista east to the Coachella Valley, and there are boulders the size of a dump truck jutting out of the desert landscape. We continued to the interstate, but veered off to follow the coastline all the way to La Jolla. Beautiful sunny day!
We pulled up to the La Valencia - the Pink Lady - Once an Icon, Always an Icon - around 3p and were quickly sent up to the largest (though not really very large) room on the top floor, with a huge balcony overlooking the beautiful Pacific Ocean! Happy Birthday to Me.
The hotel, on the National Historical listings, has the perfect location for a visit to La Jolla - right on the ocean and within walking distance to all the shops and restaurants in exceedingly cute La Jolla. We settled-in, then kept peering over the balcony to the wedding happening on the 7th floor terrace below.
We dressed for dinner, and went down to the pretty bar in the hotel lobby.
Fortified, we walked two blocks to Marisi Italian Restaurant. Marisi is one of the prettiest restaurants I have been to in a while. Gorgeous plants and trees in the outside semi-covered patio - just a perfect setting for a romantic birthday weekend dinner. Pretty people in pretty clothes. However, the food was not good. I was so disappointed. We shared an appetizer of grilled stone fruit with burrata. While the burrata was creamy, the stone fruit may have been grilled, but it was not ripe. Crunchy peaches. Not fun. I ordered butternut squash ravioli in brown butter, but the pasta was way too al dente for my dentes, and DT felt the same for his pasta with red sauce. Such a bummer. But the restaurant knew it was my birthday (because I used OpenTable to book?) and brought out two little cookies, with a sparkler.
We went back to our room, where I immediately removed my birthdate from my OpenTable app, and went to bed.
Duke's On Monday
We woke to clouds and maybe fog? Don't know. Haven't seen either of these things for so long, I'm afraid they are going to pull my Oregonian Card. Today is my (actual) birthday, though the celebration has been going on since the first of October, it seems. A lazy morning for me, but Dave worked out. The sun came out around 11a, and it was warm and not windy, so we headed out to explore town. First lunch at Cody's rooftop where there are views to the waves and rock and roll over the sound waves.
Again, why do they bring so much food? I tried, Patient Reader. After our repast, we began exploring the pretty town of La Jolla - her name is derived from the Spanish word for jewel. So many cute little shops and restaurants and very few chain-type establishments. It is easy to just walk down the main drag, but more fun to explore up a few blocks from the shore. There is a very nice needlepoint shop in La Jolla - The Needle Nook - where I have visited previously a very long time ago. It's a bit of an odd establishment as the canvases are in one store, and the fibers are in another - and there is a different shop altogether between the two! Anyway, I needed some fiber, which was easy to find as they must carry every brand of silk, wool, cotton and combinations available from around the world. Walls and walls of fiber. Kinda like I imagine Heaven would be? Two doors down I found a few cute canvases to hopefully get me through the winter. Probably. Anyway, it was a lot of window shopping, a little bit of actual shopping, we found something fun for Lenny, and three miles later were back in our room watching the Dodgers lose in the second game to the Mets. I stitched on my current purse project (a small needlepoint project that can fit in my purse) - a little wall hanging for our bar.
As stated above, dinner tonight was at Duke's. This famed Waikiki establishment has three outlets in Hawaii and three on the California coast. The menus are the same, and you are looking out over the Pacific Ocean from them all. Normally Duke's would be a very bad choice for someone allergic to shellfish, but dammit, Jimmy Buffett wrote a song about the place (Duke's on Monday), so I wanted to go. Dave had a seared Ahi steak and I had the Huli Chicken plate. This teriyaki-like chicken usually comes with grilled pork as well, but the server said I could just have the chicken. I begged for just the chicken and not double chicken, but was delivered two big slabs of Huli bird.
It was very tender and yummy, and I loved that it was served with real Hawaiian-style macaroni salad. I hated that I had to waste half of the chicken though. The server also asked if it was my birthday and I said no - a slice of their Hula Pie is bigger than my head. Duke's is a fun restaurant and very popular. Lines out the door. I realize My Birthday was a national holiday this year, but where do all these people come from on a Monday? The restaurant is mostly outdoors (with heat lamps) and people were dressed in everything from suits, to shorts, flip flops and fancy dresses. Everything. So many fruity drinks with umbrellas flying by on trays.
Back at the hotel bar, I told the friendly bartender it was my birthday and he comped me a martini and indulged me by shaking it 69 times.
Link: Read about the amazing life of Duke Kahanamoku.
Taco Tuesday
Another night sleeping where we could hear crashing waves... but did not as we had the patio door closed because it was COLD. 62 cold. (Oh, just stop. I can hear your laughter from here.) After coffee, we laced up our sneakers and went for a three-miler along the paved ocean front walkway. There are several small coves between the rocky cliffs where Sea Lions and Harbour Seals hang out with their pups.
It was quite the show too. The two happily-feeding pups would occasionally swipe at each other and sometimes have to fight off other babies. Pretty interesting. The moms could pay no-never-mind as to what was happening.
I would guess there were about 100 Sea Lions in this cove, and about a half-dozen (human) swimmers out amongst them. I would be terrified, as the creatures have big teeth and powerful jaws, but I think same people may swim with them daily? The water was only 64° - and few swimmers were wearing wetsuits. The cliffside in the rear was filled with Brown Pelicans and Cormorants. Several large male Sea Lions were patrolling the beach - pushing aside any smaller males who came within their sight - and also barking off any tourists who ventured near his harem. Seriously constant vigilance. Exhausting work.
More photos from our southerly walk:
We also saw some-sort of ground squirrels along the shore, plus gulls and pigeons. The sea was pretty calm, but there were several surfers (in wetsuits) having no luck catching a wave. Reversing our route, we saw what we thought must be a very nice hotel - cute little bungalows with gorgeous gardens and patios, overlooking the sea. When we came to the entrance, we discovered Casa de Mañana was a old-age home. (NOTE TO LISA: Remember this place.) There was also constant activity in the air and water from the nearby Marine base, cargo ships cruising up and down the coast, and fishing vessels close to shore.
Our hotel has a large presence from the shore. Big and Pink. I snapped a photo and drew an arrow to our balcony:
Just before reaching our hotel, we stopped for brunch at The Cove House (we can see it from our balcony) and were seated on the outdoor patio overlooking the ocean. Great service and an interesting menu. I ordered the Chick' N' Toast - Chicken Fritters, Cinnamon Brioche French Toast, Vanilla Butter, Spicy Maple Syrup. It was like a SoCal take on chicken and waffles. It was so yummy. I wish Lucy would have been with us - this is right up her chicken tender alley:
My Driver ordered something that is often on the brunch menu at our club - Loco Moco, a House Blend Burger, Hatch Chile Gravy, 2 Sunny Eggs, Jasmine Rice, Pico De Gallo, and Cilantro. It's almost like Filipino food, though history claims it came from Hawaii and was originally served with brown gravy. Who knows? DT pretty much took it down.
The afternoon was again, quiet. I stitched. Dave read. Later he went to the fitness center to workout because a long walk is not enough exercise for him. Dinner tonight was just a short walk to Aldea. Aldea is a seafood restaurant inspired by Mexican coastal cuisine. Chef Augustin Saucedo greeted us at the door and we were seated outdoors on a heated patio. Service was very good as there were few patrons on a Tuesday night. First we ordered the Fina Margarita (not listed on their current website menu) and made-at-table guacamole. The guacamole was good, but included no jalapeno nor cilantro (no matter what it says on the online menu). Instead we had avocado, lime, white onion, salt, pomegranate and pepita seeds. Different, but we really enjoyed the spread, served with Tajin chips. The margarita featured a grilled-and-then-dehydrated slice of lime. Might try this when our citrus trees mature in a few months?
I had one fish taco, grilled. It was super delicious. Dave had the shrimp cocktail, which was served more like a salad. We finished our meals!
Again, no dessert, but we have plans for remedying that problem tomorrow. It's been a great birthday celebration in La Jolla!
Wednesday: Home Again
Awake, packed, and on the road by 10 o'clock this morning. It was a lovely stay and I really recommend the hotel. It's old, but not stuffy. La Valencia is a classic. The staff are excellent, and the location is perfect. Dave drove me through Julian so I could have a slice of pie (he had one as well) at the Julian Pie Company and we brought two frozen-ready-to-bake pies home with us. (One for us, one for the 4L's.)
I asked if we could pay for the frozen pies while we were paying for our slices of pie, and grab them from the freezers on the way out. Usually, they do not allow this - to prevent thievery, and customers have to line up again to get to-go pies after eating their slice, but since it wasn't busy today, the clerk said yes. They also said on Monday they had so many customers they sold out of pie by 4:30p! I told her Monday was a National Holiday - my birthday - and all the girls behind the counter laughed. When we had finished our delicious (really very very delicious) slices of freshly baked pie, I went back into the store to grab two frozen pie and jokingly thanked them for letting me steal two pies. As I exited the shop, I heard: Anything for a Libra! Oh, those ladies made my day. Dave continued to La Quinta, through Borrego Springs and we were safely home.
A lovely birthday trip and we had a lot of fun in pretty La Jolla. It was also refreshing to be out of 115° heat for a few days, and during our quick escape Mother Nature turned down the thermostat and we won't see 100° for a while. Maybe not until Spring? Hoping!
- from Mary B. She MADE it!
Until my next update, your aged correspondent.