To celebrate two major milestones this summer (Shawna's 50th and our 20th Anniversary), we decided to take several longer trips in the US - working remotely and taking some time off to celebrate. The original plan was to get a hut over the water in Bora Bora but given Covid, we had to punt that trip another year. The first of our summer trips was a three week stint in Southern California - starting in Palm Springs over Memorial Day, spending 10 days in San Diego, celebrating our bdays in Los Olivos (wine area north of Santa Barbara) and ending with a few days in Newport Beach.
We flew into San Diego on Thursday night and since we arrived so late, we stayed at the Hilton by the airport and then drove into Palm Springs the following morning.
Palm Springs:
Accommodation
Avalon Hotel and Bungalows - A small boutique hotel located in town with rooms sparsely decorated in white and three small pools to relax by. Our room was quite large but unfortunately our balcony overlooked the road so we didn't really sit out there. The hotel decor was very cool and the staff were super friendly.
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| Pool at the Avalon |
Activities
On Friday afternoon, we did a two hour jeep tour of the San Andreas Fault. The meeting spot was about 40 minutes outside of Palm Springs. We ended up getting a private tour as they are only allowing members of the same family to be on a tour due to Covid. Our guide was very informative - we learned about the fault, the local Indians and the flora (in particular the palm trees) growing in the area. We got out of the jeep a couple of times and walked into the narrow canyons to see up close how the plates push up the rocks and dirt to form the hills. Our guide informed us of a date shop nearby so after the tour we stopped at Shields Date Garden and bought a few date samplers to enjoy throughout the weekend. We also tried their date shake which didn't really taste too much like dates but was still good.
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| Jeep Tour of San Andreas Fault |
On Saturday, we hiked Murray Canyon which is a four mile, two hour easy hike up a canyon to a small waterfall. The hike was nice with palm tree oasis' along the way. It was quite hot once we were done so we decided that we should not hike any further (there are a few other hikes in the park we could have tried). So instead, we returned to the hotel, cleaned up quickly and then went for a walk into town and grabbed lunch. After lunch, we napped, showered and then headed out for drinks and dinner. On the way to dinner, Shawna lost one of her bracelets and to both of our surprise, she found it on the sidewalk on the walk back to the hotel! When we got back to the hotel, we got a text from Mark Feinberg asking if we were in Palm Springs - turns out Alicia's sister, Michelle, had seen us walking back and had texted Mark to ask him. We connected with her via text and made plans to meet up for a drink the next day.
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| Hike Murray Canyon |
On Sunday, we went for a walk in the neighborhood and started to hike up North Lykken Trail - but then realized that it was not smart to be hiking up a mountain in the heat with no water. So we only hiked up a small part of the way to see the views and decided we would return the next day to hike it. After a stop at Starbucks for iced teas, we returned to the hotel for a day of relaxation. We sat by the pool (the one that is closest to the restaurant), had lunch and rose wine and read until we had to go to the hotel spa for our massages. There was some great people watching at the pool and Shawna swears that she saw Marcia Gay Harden having lunch there. After the massages, we cleaned up and met Michelle (Alicia's sister) and her friend at our hotel for a drink - what a small world! We then headed out to dinner and were back in bed by 8:30pm - we were so pooped from such a relaxing day!!
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| Pool Down Time |
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| Drinks with Michelle |
On Monday, we got up early and went back to hike part of the North Lykken Trail. We then had breakfast at the hotel, cleaned up and checked out. We ended our time in Palm Springs with the Legends and Icons Tour which was a two hour tour in a van to see many of the homes of the old movie stars, a few of which still live there today. The area became a prominent place for movie starts to own second homes in the 50s. Some of the houses were quite nice and kept up well but a few were a bit run down. While our tour guide was informative, we wish she had shared more stories about the movie stars who lived there during those times. After the tour, we had planned to grab lunch in town but all the restaurants were quite packed so we instead just had a granola bar in the car and drove back (via the scenic route through the mountains) to San Diego. We checked into our hotel, settled in for our 10 day stay and then ran to the grocery store to get food for the week.
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| Elvis and Priscilla's House |
Restaurants
Cici Restaurant - Located in our hotel with tables surrounding one of the pools. We had lunch here twice and breakfast each morning. For lunch, we had the Cobb salad and the tuna poke bowl. For breakfast, we had the açaí bowl and avocado toast. Food was very fresh.
Sandfish Sushi - We had dinner here - we sat outside on the patio which was protected with walls of shipping containers. It took a while to get seated and to get our food but the food was very good. We shared the stuffed squash blossoms, the lollipop roll and the tatake. We also had a couple of Einstock beers in remembrance of our Iceland trip.
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| Dinner at Sandfish Sushi |
TacQuila - We had lunch here - it's a great place with more traditional Mexican dishes. We shared the carnitas street tacos and the carnitas stuffed poblano (which was very tasty). We also had the pineapple and berry margaritas.
High Bar - This is the rooftop bar at The Rowan (Kimpton Hotel) with nice views of the mountains. We had a couple of drinks here before dinner.
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| Drinks at High Bar |
Workshop Kitchen and Bar - We had dinner here - the decor inside is very modern with concrete poured booths and very high ceilings. The food was very good. We had a bottle of wine, the fruit burrata appetizer and the black cod entree which just melted in your mouth!
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| Dinner at Workshop Kitchen and Bar |
Birba - We had dinner here - nice garden seating outside. We shared a bottle of chardonnay, meatball appetizer and ragu pasta for entree. The food came out quite fast and was tasty but was not our favorite meal of the trip.
San Diego:
Accommodation
Residence Inn Downtown San Diego - Located near Little Italy and the waterfront. While it's a great location, the place is a bit run down. Shawna got upgraded to a two bedroom suite so it was nice to be able to spread out a bit. The kitchen was not well stocked so we had to get a few more things at the store than we had planned - e.g. large bowls, tupperware.
Activities
During the first week, Shawna worked out of the hotel while Keith visited properties and spent time with a new employee who was starting a job at LivCor. The weather was mostly sunny with temps in the low 70s so Shawna was able to get in a workout outside after work each day.
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| Running along the waterfront |
During the weekend, we met up with Patrick and Lauren on Friday night for dinner and walked along the waterfront after dinner. We got to meet their adorable 6 month old son, Shane, who has the bluest eyes and the cutest cheeks - such a happy baby! On Saturday, we did some work in the hotel, did a 6 mile walk around Balboa Park and napped. In the afternoon, we met Patrick and Shane for a two hour hike in the Torrey Pines Extension park and that evening we joined the three of them for dinner. On Sunday, we met a few of Keith's colleagues and their spouses for lunch in Newport and then did a 1.5 hour hike in Crystal Cove State Park.
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| Walk around Balboa Park |
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| Hike in Torrey Pines Extension Park |
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| Dinner at Stone Brewery with Patrick, Lauren and Shane |
During the second week, Shawna continued to worked out of the hotel while Keith made a side trip to Vegas to see some properties. Since this was our birthday week, we had quite a few celebrations all week - Shawna meeting with her friend Jen (who she used to work with at Cigna), Shawna and Keith going out to dinner for Shawna's birthday and both of us meeting up with Danelle to celebrate both of our birthdays (plus hers which is in July). It was so nice to celebrate together and with others!
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| Dinner with Jennifer Rapp |
Restaurants
Puesto - Mexican restaurant located in Seaport Village. We met Patrick and Lauren here for dinner. We started out with guacamole and chicharrones (which were not diet friendly but oh so yummy) and then we each got our own tacos. The food was tasty.
Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens - A very large brewery located in Liberty Station. We met Patrick and Laurent here for dinner. We shared the pretzel and roasted brussel sprouts for an appetizer for the table and then we shared a salad and stir fry dish for dinner.
Peninsula Lounge - Located in Newport Beach - we met up with Keith's colleagues for lunch, We shared the ahi poke and a veggie pizza - food was just OK.
Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens - Same brewery but this one located in an office park in Escondido. Shawna met a former Cigna colleague, Jennifer Rapp, here for dinner. Shawna had the chopped salad which was pretty good.
Cucina Urbana - Located in Bankers Hill near downtown San Diego. We went here for dinner to celebrate Shawna's birthday. They have a bottle shop in the restaurant so the cost of the wine is the same as retail. We started out with a glass of champagne and then shared a bottle of Heitz Cellars Cabernet and ended the evening with a port and another glass of champagne. For food, we shared the meatball, brussel sprouts and burrata appetizers, the short rib pappardelle for an entree and the chocolate panna cotta for dessert (compliments of the restaurant). Everything was very tasty!
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| Shawna Bday Dinner at Cucina Urbana |
Los Olivos:
Accommodation
Residence Inn - Located in Westlake Village. We stayed here one night on our way up to Los Olivos so that we could have dinner with Danelle. Room was dated but it was a bit cleaner than the one in San Diego.
Fess Parker Inn - A very cute inn located in Los Olivos. We stayed here two nights. Room was quite large and the bed was super comfortable.
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| Fess Parker Inn |
Activities
On Thursday afternoon, we drove up to Westlake Village near Thousand Oaks to spend one night so we could meet up with Danelle and Dan for dinner. It was great to see them and to celebrate three of our birthdays (Shawna, Keith and Danelle whose birthday is in July).
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| Dinner with Danelle and Dan |
The next morning (Friday) we left early to drive up to Los Olivos where we took the Friday off and enjoyed the area for the weekend as our final birthday celebrations! We were able to check into our hotel early so we unpacked and then headed out to walk around the very cute town. Shawna had booked three wine tastings at different tasting rooms in town. We were quite buzzed after this so we went back to the room to nap before dinner.
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| Stolpman |
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| Carhartt |
On Saturday, we had a leisurely morning in the hotel, catching up on email. The hotel did not have breakfast available so we just drank coffee in the room. We stopped at the Los Olivos Grocery store and bought some cheese, prosciutto and crackers for lunch which we ate at one of the wineries. We did wine tasting at three different wineries - this time we split the tastings so that we didn't over do it!! We got back to the hotel around 3pm and relaxed by the pool for a few hours before we cleaned up and went to dinner.
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| Andrew Murray |
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| Pool time |
Restaurants / Wineries
Finney's - Located in Westlake Village. Met Danelle and Dan here for a couple of drinks before dinner.
Pearl District - Located in Westlake Village. Had dinner here with Danelle and Dan. Sat at the bar. Food was very good. We started with a bottle of champagne and then had wine by the glass. We shared a few appetizers among the four of us - shishito peppers, short ribs and salt and pepper shrimp. Then the two of us shared the heirloom tomato stack and the salmon for our entree. To top it all off, the four of us shared the creme caramel and chocolate bread pudding for dessert.
Stolpman - A great tasting room in town - we sat outside and tried a rose, white and several reds. We ended up buying 6 bottles to ship home - 4 Grenache and 2 Angeli.
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| Stolpman |
Carhartt - Another great tasting room in town - we sat outside in the back patio. The guy who poured our wine was quite hilarious. We bought 6 bottles as well to ship home - Zinfandel and Sangiovese.
Bubble Shack - Part of Fess Parker winery - this tasting room is in town with a large outside seating area. We had the complimentary white wine tasting (got this because we were staying at the Inn) and then shared the bubble tasting. The wine was pretty good but we did not buy anything.
The Gathering Table - A great restaurant just a few minutes away from Los Olivos. We had Keith's birthday dinner here - we sat outside which was nice and the food was very good. We started with a glass of champagne, then had a bottle of Ridge Zinfandel and then a glass of sauterne with our dessert. For food, we shared the warm bread basket, hamachi (which was probably the best we've ever had) and the sunchoke salad to start and then the hangar steak entree with a side of brussel sprouts and garlic noodles. For dessert, we shared the warm chocolate cake with homemade ice cream. Yummo!!
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| Dinner at The Gathering Table |
Beckmen - Winery located a couple minutes outside of town. The woman who helped us was a bit crabby, the tasting area was not very cute and the wines were just OK. So this one was our least favorite!
Andrew Murray - Modern winery with nice tables outside. We enjoyed some of the reds.
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| Andrew Murray |
Zaca Mesa - Another modern winery with nice tables outside (we sat on the front patio with nice views of the hills). We enjoyed the reds - in particular the Syrahs.
Nella Kitchen and Bar - This restaurant was located at our hotel - very nice decor. We had dinner here. We were a bit tired of wine so we had a couple of beers with dinner. We shared the burrata and meatball appetizers and the lamb chops for dinner. Food was tasty.
Los Angeles/Newport Beach:
Accommodation
Lido House Hotel - A very cool, modern beach decor hotel (Marriott). We stayed here two nights.
Activities
We drove in on Sunday afternoon and after checking into the hotel, we sat by the pool for a couple of hours and read. Shawna worked out of the hotel on Mon/Tues while Keith visited properties. On Monday afternoon, Keith's team did a whale watching tour where they saw a blue whale and some dolphins and on Monday evening, the team went out to dinner and included spouses. Shawna flew back to Chicago Tuesday afternoon and Keith went on to Hawaii for two days before he returned to Chicago.
Restaurants
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