Sweet suite!

Thanks Sheraton.

Because I was such a late arrival Friday night, the hotel I’m staying at was completely full. So the upgraded me to the Governor’s Suite. If Arnold does stay here, he enjoys 3 bathrooms, 4 balconies, 2 large flat-screen TVs, and a king-size bed. If he comes often, he has probably learned that the refrigerator doesn’t get very cold, so he should bring home his leftovers if he has seafood.
Speaking of which, I had a lovely spaghetti dinner at Mona Lisa last night in San Diego’s Little Italy. Very nice, with a ton of vegetables mixed in with the prawns. Bell peppers, carrots, and zucchini. Even with the cream in the ‘pink sauce,’ it was probably a pretty healthy dinner. The cannoli was to die for. It was made to order, so the pastry was still very crisp. And the filling was soft and pillowy.

Everyone in San Diego seems to be loving life (except for the complaining Aussies at the table next to me in the faux-Irish pub yesterday). At dinner last night, being a solo diner I sat at the bar. A series of giddy parties came and went as I went. Every single one of them struck up a conversation: it’s her birthday; what are you reading?; how’s that cannoli? Granted, everyone was half- to three-quarters sloshed, but they were all happy sloshed. Even the bus drivers glad to see you—the opposite of most big cities where someone who doesn’t know the system (is my trolley pass good on the bus? Do I swipe it or just show it?).

I snuck up to Balboa Park for the weekly organ concert. Dreamy. The park is the city’s museum campus, and I knew there was a photography museum, but I wasn’t expecting a triple cultural attraction that speaks directly to several different parts of my personality:



(For those of my loyal readers who aren’t my parents, yes, I was a train geek growing up.)

My one complaint about the Sheraton is that the interweb isn’t free in the rooms, so I have to go downstairs to the lobby to post this and research a dinner location. I’m writing this up with my feet up on a deck chair enjoying my harbor view. So, I’ll enjoy that for a bit longer and then head down. As always, click on one of the photos to see the whole day’s worth.

(a bit later)

I assume the reason they make you go to the lobby to blog (check your email, google restaurants, etc.) is because some hi-tech business major figured out that they are X% more likely to sell you a beer for $4.50 than they are to sell you an hour in interweb access for $11.50.

This keen observation also made me remember that the San Diego convention center has a net-nanny web filter installed. While the Chinese government won't let you see websites about Tibet, San Diego won't let you google brew pubs