Devin's Road Trips: Stay classy, San Diego.

Friday, July 5th 2013.

It was October of 2011 when I was last here. Unfortunately, every time I visit is a one night stand. I still think San Diego is the nicest city. Yes, I mentioned much about Denver, and I still agree Denver is absolutely gorgeous, amazing, has beautiful weather and beautiful people, but San Diego still wins. Even the highways are beautiful.

Along I-5 south:

California route 163 south, heading into Downtown. The trees and landscaping just along the freeway is pretty nice.

Minutes later we were downtown.

We stayed at the Courtyard Marriott. This used to be the National Interstate Bank, built in the 1920s. The Marriott only moved into this building in the last decade, and renovated in the last year, however kept most of the old bank architecture. The marble and woodworking are original, and have been restored. Our hotel itself turned out to be a big part of our San Diego tourism! Pictures below.

This was the lobby of the hotel. The cielings were so high

And our elevators:

The door to our room, huge and solid wood:

Interestingly enough, remembering back to Salt Lake City, they did not have the Book of Mormon next to the bed, as I was expecting; they only had the Bible. Here in San Deigo however, we found it. Apparently someone before us had some opinions regarding it:

(The middle M is crossed out.)

The level below the lobby was open to the public, and it was the original vault for the bank. This is where they currently hold conferences. Seen below are restored and fully functioning phone booths:

And a vault, which would lead into a conference room, but was closed,

View of the original cielings:

Side entrance to the hotel, seen at night:

We stopped at Starlight bar, where we first discovered the Moscow Mule, last time we were here. Very refreshing adult beverage - vodka, ginger beer, lime and bitters. They serve them in solid copper cups which are imported, shown below, which kind of add to the enjoyment.

After which we were off to meet friends of ours, whom we originally met the first time we came to San Diego. Passing through neighboring towns.

These flowers were seen in many places, along sidwalks. Apparently they don't need much care or water to survive.

A HUGE thank you to our friends Jay and Paul for inviting us to their place, and for showing me San Diego from a local perspective. It really made the night. Their home is beautiful, and the charm factor is unmeasurable. Some day..! Hopefully we'll see them again soon, regardless of what coast we're on.

From a recommendation, we stopped at a brewery in a local neighborhood. This has been the theme of the last few days. Eventually, beers start being in-differentiable, but still a good experience.

Back downtown, the Gaslamp Quarter. So lively at night! The streets are loud, crowded with people, and parties everywhere.

Back to the scene of the crime, where I first realized how much I enjoy the San Diego lifestyle. Altitude bar, atop the downtown Marriott (not the hotel we were staying in). View directly into Petco Park, as well as much of downtown.