fun 4th

Over 4th of July weekend, I attended a wedding in San Diego.

The wedding was scheduled for Friday the 3rd, but the ceremony wasn't until 5:30pm, so I figured I was safe booking a flight that arrived at 1:35pm. I guess nothing is safe when travelling on a holiday weekend!

After arriving in SAN, we caught the Thrifty rental car shuttle from Terminal 1. When we got to Terminal 2, there was a huge line of people; in fact, I'm pretty sure not everyone got on the shuttle, because we didn't all fit. Listening to the people who *did* get on, it sounded like they had been waiting for the shuttle for over an hour.

Once we got to the agency, we waited in line for nearly an hour and a half, to get our car, and we were third in line coming out of the shuttle. Some of the people who were towards the end of the line gave up; they must have walked or otherwise gone to another rental car place, I'm not sure how. Anyway, we finally got to our hotel before 4pm, so we still had time to shower and change, but it was a much closer call than we expected.

The wedding itself was fun, despite us not knowing most of the guests. The bride and groom had provided lots of fun props: Mardi Gras beads (the bride is from Louisiana), sparkly stickers, temporary tattoos, glow sticks, and bingo/mad libs type games on the reception and cocktail tables. They had also hired a balloon guy, who made balloon animals, hats, and other props for us to wear on the dance floor, while a live band played mostly 80's music. Outside the reception area, there was a photographer who was taking "prom-style" photos, so we camped it up for him.

One other touch that I liked: on their first date, the bride and groom had gone to a karaoke place and sung "Total Eclipse of the Heart" together. So, for the first dance, they taped a karaoke version of that song (with their own words!) and danced to that...very creative and fun.

Since the wedding was on a Friday, we had two days to hang out and explore the San Diego area. On the 4th, we went wandering around Old Town, Coronado, and La Jolla, before enjoying a great dinner at The Marine Room, a restaurant right on the beach in La Jolla. At times I felt like the waves were about to hit up against our window, which was a cool effect.

While shopping in Old Town, I ran across these cute wind chimes (but didn't buy any):


There was an "1800's style" celebration going on, and people were doing cakewalks and making cornhusk dolls:


We also spent some time checking out Coronado. People had set up tents and picnics all along the shore, in preparation for watching the late night fireworks over this nice view:


Afterwards we headed over to La Jolla, which was our favorite neighborhood. We only peeked at the beach part, though:


Finally, we had dinner at The Marine Room, which had gorgeous views:


From our table:


Our appetizer: Mano de Leon Diver Scallop and Foie, Purple Cauliflower Mousseline, Royal Trumpets, Brique Crisp, Truffle, Torani Amer Syrup:


D's entree: Sesame Peppered Ruby Red Ahi Tuna, Thai Rice, Mango Daikon Salad, Avocado Beignet, White Port Hibiscus Sauce:


My entree: Country Meadow Rack of Lamb, Black Current Mustard, Pistachio, St. Andre Bread Pudding, Rosebud Jam, Sage Garnacha Reduction


Dessert: Cobblestone Pie, Espresso and Vanilla Gelato, Chocolate Nuggets, Spiced Caramel:


The food was good, and they also had some creative drinks (I had a Lavendar Lemon Drop, D had a Mango Mojito), but I think the setting was definitely the star of the show. We stayed over two hours, until nearly sunset, and then drove back to downtown.

On Sunday, we got up late and drove to Carlsbad, where we spent many hours outlet shopping, also meeting up with a friend at the nearby Karl Strauss Brewing Company for a late lunch (or early dinner, I suppose). I think the Gilroy outlet mall is still larger, but some of the stores at Carlsbad were nicer; for instance there was a Barney's, a Dooney & Bourke, and even a Le Creuset.

From there we went directly to the airport, where we were only delayed an hour on our way home. I considered that par for the course, for a holiday weekend.