It’s been a relaxing four-day weekend for us, and we’re ready to greet December head on…with its high of 78? tomorrow. Hmm. Anyway, we spent Friday through Sunday in San Diego, after a nice Thanksgiving day at friends of Aimee’s from work. After an easy sub-two hour drive down, we stopped at Balboa Park and happened upon a Ferrari exhibition at the Automotive Museum, which was a lot of fun to wander through.







We headed up to our B&B in Cardiff-by-the-Sea via La Jolla, and, after a rejuvenating nap, we headed back down to San Diego for dinner.



We spent the evening in Hillcrest, eating at a terrific Mexican restaurant and wandering around for a bit before heading to Little Italy for a walk around another neighborhood.



The next morning, we met Leslie for breakfast at the Potato Shack near our B&B. She’d just returned from Thailand, and it’d been a long time since we’d hung out. We caught up on things and enjoyed some tasty potatoes before heading down to San Diego to visit the world famous (don’t forget it) San Diego Zoo. We’re not much for zoos, but of course, this one’s different, and we enjoyed ourselves very much. We took Leslie’s advice and rode the bus around first to get our bearings, before wandering the massive grounds in search of interesting animals.







The panda, the koala (and joey), and the giraffes were highlights for me, but everything was interesting, and the whole place was nicely set up and well-run.



Oh, and the okapi! I’d always remembered the okapi from some book I’d read as a child, and it was great to finally see one.



After a visit to a local photographer’s old photobooth and a wander around Seaport Village, we ended up in North Park for drinks at Toronado, which was a total gem: a huge craft beer selection and prices right around $4 each for beers that would have cost double that at Blue Palms, Father’s Office, or 3rd Stop here in L.A. We had a tasty dinner at Urban Solace – I could really eat mac and cheese wherever I go – and a not-so-great end to the night at a local cafe where the live music drove us out into the street.

We returned to Cardiff, and took Leslie up on her suggestion of Pannikin’s for coffee in Encinitas the next morning, and then made our way back home.More pictures from the weekend here.