7/24/09–Day 7 (Kitchen 1540)

This morning began with a stroll over to the Museum of Making Music, on twitter @MuseumMaknMusic.  This museum is off of Armada Drive in Carlsbad and features musical instruments and musical artists from the 1800s to current.  The staff and volunteers are extremely friendly and knowledgeable, and Sam, one of the volunteers, gladly walked us through the museum pointing out some of the most interesting artifacts.  It includes many Steinway pianos, guitars, saxophones, and violins from each time period.  The museum also has clips of music from all the major eras and artists.  You can listen to swing, big band, rock and roll, and everything else in between!  I highly recommend this museum–so go check it out!

The afternoon was boarding at the beach.  The waves were rough and the rip current was extremely strong.  It was tough to get out there, but once I did, it was a blast.

Of course the big event today was dinner at Kitchen 1540 in Del Mar.  The restaurant and the hotel are absolutely beautiful.  As you drive in the stone driveway the valets move to get the number of Porsches parked.  It is a very young and hip crowd who cover the hotel lobby and mob both the indoor and the outdoor bars.  Once into the restaurant you are brought to a lovely light oak wood table.  There is an extensive wine menu and starter menu.  You can order appetizers, meats, and or cheeses.  You can even order raw plates to start–salads, sashimi, and or tartare.  The entrees are extremely fresh and delicious.  I ordered the halibut, but we also had the lamb, and the salmon ordered at our table.  All of the entrees were mouthwatering.  The halibut was cooked medium with a lovely crunch, and it was served in a delicious broth with muscles, fava beans, and artichokes.  The other plates featured fennel–which is all over the menu.  Dessert included a warm chocolate cake, and I enjoyed some home-made lemon sorbet.  The sorbet was quite refreshing.  All in all, 1540 is an excellent dining experience.  The fare is delicious and the service is very prompt and the staff truly work to please you.  If you plan to go be sure to make a reservation a couple days in advance.  If you do not make a reservation on a Friday or Saturday you will not be able to get a table.

Well, San Diego is simply beautiful.  Everything about it from the weather, to downtown, to all the beach cities.  The vegetation and flowers add a wonderful greenery to the city.  Of course the turquoise sparkling blue ocean also add to the magnificence.

I have greatly enjoyed blogging this week, and I hope all the readers have enjoyed it.  Please let use know if you have any suggestions for next time.  We will continue to do these blogs for destinations we travel, and will feature the latest one on the Tripst3r home page.  Safe Travels!

Take it easy, for the final time from San Diego–for this week at least,

Adam

7/23/09–Day 6

Today was World Famous San Diego Zoo day!  I am pretty certain that most visitors to San Diego know to check out the zoo–if you have an interest in witnessing the behavior of exotic creatures at least–but anyhow it is quite an impressive zoo!  We entered the park and took the guided bus tour around (about a 45 minute tour) about 75% of the exhibits.  Once you do this, you get a feel for which animals you have an interest in seeing, and which animals you can pass on.  The zoo is so enormous that you will have to pass on some exhibits–unless you feel like being there from opening to close (about 9:00 P.M.).  I tremendously enjoyed the Koala Bears, the Monkey and Guerrilla Exhibit, the Tiger and Lion exhibit, and the all new Elephant exhibit.  Also, be sure to ride SkyFari.  It takes you in a 4 minute gondola ride over the zoo.

As the afternoon set in, we drove up to Del Mar for some beach fun at L’Auberge Del Mar.  The ocean view is magnificent, and the glass fencing keeps the ocean breezes tolerable, yet the space in between the glass lets the breezes seep through.  It is simply wonderful.  The property was just renovated in November 2008, and it is incredible.  You walk into the marble clad lobby–redone with a tan and cream finish–with huge glass walls open to the ocean.  The hotel’s new restaurant is Kitchen 1540–the hottest new restaurant in Del Mar.  The fare is modern and unique (from raw foods to fresh fish and range meat).  We have a reservation for tomorrow night at 1540, so I will report on the experience tomorrow (late night).

Dinner tonight was at Miltons in Del Mar. It is a delicious kosher deli that serves everything from corned beef and pastrami to wonderful desserts and pastries.

Photos from the zoo:

Take it easy,

Adam

7/22/09–Day 5 (Newport and Balboa)

Wow!  What a Day!  Up at 8:00 A.M., on to Newport Beach (and thereabouts) and back blogging at 11:00 P.M.  Hopefully no one was stuck waiting for today’s blog post.  On another note (a non-sequitur), I am attempting to keep everyone up to date on our daily activities (under 140 characters) on our Twitter Feed–so check out our Twitter feed on the right side of the Tripst3r pages or at http://www.twitter.com/mytripst3r.

Anyhow, today we headed up the 5 (freeway) to the 73 highway.  If it is rush hour, or you notice a tremendous amount of traffic on the 5, and you are headed to Newport Beach–take the 73–it is certainly worth the $5 toll.  Once we arrived in the lovely Newport Beach, we made a stop for lunch at Sushi 21.  I ordered some delicious Nigri Ahi, Nigri Albacore Sushi,  Maki Spicy Tuna, and Maki California Rolls.  The place is right by the pier, and is quite good.  I highly recommend it for lunch.  Its not a fancy place, but it serves some mean sushi.

Before our Harbor Cruise,  after lunch we watched some wake-boarders in amazement as they fully surfed some crashing white waves.   We then headed out on the sparkling bay for a 90 minute harbor cruise.  They motor you around the bay in a double decker boat and point out all the landmarks and celebrity properties.  Homes and gigantic yachts owned by everyone from Nicholas Cage, Buddy Epson, The owner of Chick Filet, The owner of Marie Calendars, the founder of In and Out, The founders of Sears, the founders of Wrigley Gum, John Wayne’s old stomping grounds, Vanna White and even Dennis Rodmans’ failed attempt at a night club!  This is just a fraction of the list, I mean maybe 1/10, or even 1/11 of the list.

You cruise back into dock and head on out to the Pacific Ocean to check out some sea lions and seals.  All the sea lions are close together and extremely cozy.  Their whiskers are pointing up, and they are not scared or bothered by humans or boats.  It is a very cute scene!

After the cruise we headed across on the ferry to Balboa Island for a pleasant stroll around the island, and a walk down streets to see the boutiques, and restaurants.  If you are just going to Newport for the day, I would recommend passing on Balboa–there is plenty to do in Newport, however if you have the time–head over.  We wanted to go back to Newport for dinner, but the ferry was broken down–the off ramp was not functioning!  So, we ate diner at Ciao, an Italian bistro on the island–quite tasty.  I had linguine with clams, and we also tasted the chicken marsala–both very good.  We took the ferry back to Newport, and drove on to Carlsbad.

Be sure to check out today’s photos below–
As usual, take it easy,

Adam

[View with PicLens]

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7/21/09–Day 4

Day 4 started out well–sleeping in.  We took it easy today, doing some morning shopping at the Carlsbad Outlets.  I enjoy shopping at the Banana Republic and Brooks Brothers Factory Stores.  They have tons of great bargains, and plenty of good threads.  After lunch, we took a relaxing stroll along the beach letting the roaring water raise above our ankles.  It was low tide, so the  water was especially low, and the white sand was quite compacted.  Dinner capped today off at a restaurant called “Coyote.”  It was very tasty serving some American and Mexican entrees.  Desert was a delicious Key Lime Pie with fresh whipped cream!  They were having a Karaoke event outside the restaurant bar which was quite exciting.  Some extremely good tunes, and some not-so-much!

Tomorrow should bring more excitement, maybe a day trip up to Newport Beach, West Hollywood, or the beach for some surfing.  The next couple days should be some variation of those activities.

Take it easy,

Adam

7/20/09–Day 3 (the most exciting day yet)

Perched up on a steep 150 foot bluff lies the sterling Ritz Carlton Laguna Niguel/Dana Point.  The property is just off of the coastal highway (highway 1 in California), and is truly a magnificent site.  Day 3 started out well, eating breakfast at the hotel rather early (yes, 9:00 A.M. is early for me), and we got in the car to head up to Laguna Beach.  No trip to Laguna is complete without a visit or overnight at the Ritz Carlton.  You turn left into the hotel driveway, appropriately named Ritz Carlton Drive, and the über opulence hits you instantly.  From the gold/brass plated fire hydrants, to the lush greenery and colorful local flower arrangements, the hotel is unlike any other in the area.  The valets immediately hustle over to open your doors, and whisk you into the white marble clad lobby.  You are immersed in a plethora of flower arrangements–from orchids, to yellow and orange roses, to calla lilies.  There are aqua tinted vases every 10 feet with additional vases of fresh flowers.  Out the back window, at the end of the lobby, lies the bar, which has an outstanding view of the sparkling Pacific Ocean.  All along the back of the hotel, from the restaurant, to the bar, and the hallways to the luxurious rooms, has floor to ceiling crystal windows–and yes more vases of full yellow roses.  The climax of excitement occurred when I saw Jeremy Piven, the star Ari Gold from the HBO special Entourage eating lunch.  He was with a couple other actors, yet I did not recognize them.

The afternoon was amongst us, and we drove into the “town” of Laguna Beach.  Laguna Beach is quite possibly the hippest, coolest town I have ever been to.  And that says quite a bit.  Every other restaurant is a modern eatery serving fusion, modern Italian, or contemporary “fresh” American cooking.  In the spaces between the eateries are slick modern art galleries, and small expensive boutiques.  These are not your everyday local boutiques, but a whole other level–the type that sells $120 tee shirts, and $3,500 dresses.  As you walk the streets in comfortable amazement, you are passed by a number of Bentley’s, Range Rovers, Custom Hummers, Ferrari’s, and Austin Martins.  Its like the line from a recent movie, come on “this is Laguna Beach, even the nannies drive BMW’s!”

We decided to eat lunch at a modern fusion joint callled Sapphire.  The menu was entirely unique, and the restaurant even had a concept I had never head of before, but is common with Chinese Family Style,”community tables.”  This is just a long table out on the misty patio–overlooking the Pacific–that has multiple parties.  It is one way to prevent long waits at trendy eateries.  I enjoyed a meal called the “lunch box,” which was a combination of six or seven “surprise” samplers.  It included some seared ahi, some Thai chicken, a spicy shrimp, a Japanese salad, and all sorts of other tasty treats.  We also tried the apple chicken salad sandwich–which was quite enjoyable.  The whole menu ranged from items as creative as the “lunch box,” which I had never seen before, to a Kobe burger–which looked mouthwatering.  All and all the restaurant was quite good, service was above average, and it made for an enjoyable afternoon.  I didn’t try it, but the peach cobbler on the dessert menu looked amazing.  For dinner Sapphire serves a plethora of regular fare, fusion fare, and vegetarian plates.  Lots of fresh food–fish, veggies, and fruit.

The day capped off by a visit to the Festival of the Arts.  An amazing festival of art by numerous local and international artists.  Unfortunately, I was feeling under the weather by this point in the day so we decided to skip the Pageant of the Arts which looked like an amazing show.  If you get a chance to see it–we are going to go out on a limb and say “Go see it!”

When we returned to the hotel we were greeted by a kind note from the manager of the hotel–apologizing for the sink issues the other day, and extended us many other amenities–including free activities, free valet parking, and some other nice perks.  It was certainly a nice gesture after the  three hour sink fiasco yesterday!

Take it easy,

Adam

Some photos from the day ( took with the Nikon D60):

7/19/09–Day 2

Well day two started out quite relaxing getting up late and eating a delicious breakfast in the room.  It was actually pretty funny because one of the sinks in the room was not working properly.  We called down to maintenance to have them fix it–and they came right up.  So, about 15 minutes later, the repair dude called down for more support–never a great sign.  Another maintenance “technician” came up to attempt the daunting task of fixing the broken sink.  Of course, he snapped the part that they needed, so they both had to go and attempt to find another version of this cap.  They come back up–about  30 minutes later–with a handful of caps, and with our luck–none of them worked.  So, one of them just cut the caulking, and simply pulled the entire sink out of the counter.  They went down to find another sink, and brought up a brand new sink to install–3 hours later–we had a second working sink in the room!

So, with it being 2:00 in the afternoon, and now too late to head up to Laguna Beach/Dana Point, we just decided to head down to the beach.  We spent the afternoon relaxing in the pearly white sand, and the sparkling turquoise blue pacific ocean.  The waves were actually quite large, and were a ton of fun to bust out the boogie board with.  No surfing today, but a speedy, waxed boogie board got the job done.  The water was actually quite refreshing about 67 degrees, which by Pacific standards is warm.  Some of the locales were saying how they can now swim for 40 minutes to an hour in it!  Wow, I am freezing after a quick 20!  Riding the board in, accelerating, and getting pulled under the white froth of the wave is just a blast.  I just love the ocean–always have–always will!

Headed out for dinner tonight, we are going to try the Karl Straus Brewery.  Last time I was in Carlsbad–about 2 years ago–I saw Kelly Purdue–the winner of season 2 of the Apprentice there.  Definitely a minor celebrity sighting!  I will report on the food in tomorrow’s blog entry, and any night fun we might check out.  The weather is beautiful–a “warm” 77 degrees.  I definitely don’t throw out the word paradise often–maybe St. Lucia, or Hawaii, but North San Diego comes very close.  The dry, yet tropical air, just feels amazing on the skin, and is such a pleasant change from the dry desert heat of Tucson or the smoggy, warm air of Los Angeles.

Tomorrow, we’ll head up to Laguna, and I’ll report on that, and I am not sure whats up for Tuesday.  Wednesday is a day trip up to LA, to check on some Tripst3r business, and who knows maybe a quick Hollywood homes tour, or a quick Sunset Strip tour–always fun!  I will be sure to start taking more photos tomorrow, and I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

Take it easy!

7/18/09

Howdy Folks–Thanks for joining us, and following one of the first true Trispt3r adventures.  One of many to come!  I arrived in San Diego, California today, and went to lunch at Sea Port Village.  The Village is right by the water, has very impressive views, a nice breeze, and is quite enjoyable to walk around.  There are tons of restaurants (most of which are overpriced, and serve food of poor quality), funny and always exciting street performers, and many shops, and the Grand Hyatt and a Marriott.  If you go, be sure to park near the Midway, as you will get a better rate–and it is a nice walk along the bay.  Be sure to bring quarters for the parking meters as they are strictly enforced!  We ate lunch at the Edgewater Grill which has amazing views.  Although the views are quite impressive, I suggest you check them out (right on the bay with lovely breezes) the food is sub-par.  It is much like bad-home cooking.

After lunch, you can take a stroll around the village–eat an ice-cream cone or a cookie–and enjoy the tropical surroundings.

I headed up to our resort in North County–Carlsbad, CA.  The resort is the lovely Grand Pacific Palisades–which is quite nice, and offers huge 2 bedroom suites.  It is only about a two minute drive from the ocean which is awesome.  The property is very lush, has several pools, a full service fitness center, and is only minutes away from the luxurious Four Seasons Aviara resort for fine dining.  I really enjoy being in North County–rather than Coronado or any of the “beaches” further south.  First, the waves are better (especially between 5:00 P.M. and 7:00 P.M) the best time to surf, and also it is less congested.  It is very nice, and has a more local feel.  Of course the Del is wonderful, especially if it is your first trip to San Diego, but I highly recommend Carlsbad or Del Mar.  Later this week–in addition to relaxing and surfing at the beach–I will be headed up to Hollywood–check on the Tripst3r operations there, and we will be enjoying the opening of the Del Mar Horse Races.  One of our Tripst3r partners has family that races–so best of luck to them!

The weather is a beautiful 76 degrees, and the sky is a blue as can be.  Everything is going well, and nothing too exciting to report on yet.  I will be posting pictures daily, so keep on the look out for that.

Take it easy,

Adam

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