San Diego - Part 3 - Rocky's Cheeseburgers, Point Loma Lighthouses, and Pacific Beach Bar and Grill $2 Taco Tuesdays!

Greetings Jeffrey's Tuners! We have some more pictures, and some food recommendations for SD on the cheap (remember, I was the author of the Hillbilly Gourmet at one time...hehe). So, on this post we will see some ground bovine delights, cheap crustaceans Mexican food stuffs, and some great shots of an old light house standing guard over Naval vessels.

On our trek to Point Loma to see the dual light houses (one was built too high, so the vessels could not see the light once the marine layer rolled in during the June gloom) led us to one of the best burger joints in SD. A little place called Rocky's nestled into a corner store front, that was not much bigger than the bar and few tables (where the heck did they put the kitchen). Now this place was packed with locals by noon, so I knew it had to be good. Their menu was simple and the plethora of draft beers had me in heaven. Here is the menu:

1/3 lbs hamburger
1/3 lbs cheeseburger
1/2 lbs hamburger
1/2 lbs cheeseburger
fries

Don't forget that day's special:
1/3 lbs hamburger, fries, soda or domestic draft beer.

Now mind you, they don't ask how you want it cooked, everything is medium (just a little pink). Of course I ordered a 1/2 pounder and 2 buds. Absolute rapture once it hit my taste buds. If you are in SD and got a hankering for sports and burgers, hit:

Rocky's Crown Pub
3786 Ingraham St
San Diego, CA 92109
(858) 273-9140
Google Map

After there, it was a drive over to Point Loma to the Cabrillo point where Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo landed his ships to discover San Diego. Here is link from the US National Parks on Cabrillo National Monument. This is where we got some excellent shots from the lighthouse, of the lighthouse, submarines, frigates, and the tidal pools.

Cabrillo Monument:


The main light house (and I didn't get a good shot, this thing is way up on a cliff)






A conch (pronounced "conk")


It was a nice time up there on the hill (I guess the pictures didn't capture how high this place is, over looking the bay). After this, we headed over to Pacific Beach for some lobster and shrimp tacos.

After parking the car in Pacific Beach, we head up to PB Bar and Grill. It is half inside and half out (but mind you, it is cold here, so there are those big propane heaters outside). The entire bar and grill is done up in a light wood, and plaster/stucco walls. A true beach town bar, with surfers and hippies. However, we did not really come to drink. We came for the main attraction on Tuesdays, Two Dollar Taco's! Now, out here, you can get anything in a taco. Beef, chicken, pork, fish, shrimp, lobster, chocolate... ok, I am kidding about that last one (well there is probably some place that has one). I had one shrimp and 2 lobster. For under $6 and a $3 draft (did I mention the beers out here are great? Flat tire, Pacifico, Sierra Nevada). Remember, the white sauce is what makes these (which I will figure out how to make and take back to SWFL). So if you are in PB on a Tuesday, go to the PB Bar and Grill and get some $2 tacos and a draft!

Pacific Beach Bar and Grill
860 Garnet Ave
San Diego, CA 92109
(858) 272-4745
Google Map

So until the next post, Jeffrey's on the scene composing his tune in Sunny SD.

San Diego - Part 2 - The Seals of La Jolla and Torry Pines

Greetings all from "brrrr" mild (ok, I am cold, since living in SWFL) southern California. I just wanted to share some of our adventures, being we ended up in La Jolla (pronounced La Hooya) and Torry Pines (of the golf course fame). Firstly, I want to address a problem they have in La Jolla's beach. It seems the city put up a retaining wall to shelter a man made beach area for children to play many years ago. Well, being that it was protected, the migrating seals decided it was sheltered enough for them to give birth and create a nursery for their pups. If you know anything about seals, you will know that while they may be cute looking, when cornered or their young is accosted, they can be very ferocious. Not to mention, they are quite large and can move well enough to seriously hurt an adult person (imagine if it was a child, God forbid). So the controversy is between the parents and the environmentalists.

To net out the problem, it is basically the parents want the beach for their children to have a place to play and enjoy the beach. The environmentalist want a place for the seals to have a nursery and be seen by people. Lastly, there are some that want "one beach". Where they share the beach with the seals. This is difficult to say the least (I get the feeling that the seals tend to win out). Well the city said they could rip out the wall so the beach would wash away and the seals would just leave (this is the worst solution in my mind). Instead, the last verdict I heard from the local courts is they are going now keep the beach for the children and some how drive off the seals.

Now, I can understand the parents point of view. Especially if my taxes went to create the project and now I could not enjoy it as promised. However, I enjoyed the sight of the seals. I think... no, I know... if I lived here (and I am considering summering here), I would continue to enjoy the sight of the seals. I think I would enjoy watching my children enjoy the sight of the seals. The water is too damn cold to truly enjoy swimming in it anyway (even in the summer when I was here last). Coming from SWFL, we no longer have seals. In fact, there have been no seals in FL in my life time. Go visit Scripps Aquarium and there is a display about how humans ran the seals off in the 1950's and they have not been back. Check out: Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

My point is this, be thankful you have such an unusual and unique natural creature you can view and enjoy. It might not be there forever. And besides, you always can go to the public pool or a tidal pool down the street.

Some pictures:










Enough about the seals for now. We went up the coast a little way more to Torry Pines (yes the Torry Pines park with the world famous golf course) to hopefully catch a glimpse of the hang gliders. While out here, my future brother-in-law asked if I wanted to try it. I just might. So look for some future post about it. I will have my wife take the shots (and pay up the life insurance). Although there were no hang gliders, we did get some fantastic shots of the sunset. Here you go:







I love this bird action shot:




Wherever the Santana Winds blows me, I will be there taking pictures and making observations. So stay tuned to Jeffrey's Tune!

San Diego - Part 1 - The trip out

Greetings all. It has been awhile since the last few posts due to work's end of year wrap ups and my own side projects. To that end, my family and I left balmy SWFL for the shores of the left coast. We are attending family event in beatiful San Diego and decided to take the week to explore prior. I have decided to post some of the pictures that I took on the way out and the first day. Also, if you have read any of my other posts, you know that will have made some observations and opinions that I will share along the way :). Below is a quick (and I do mean quick, since I rarely use a numbered list) run down of some things I have witnessed:

1.) People seem to be in their own little social enclaves here (unlike in FL, where you have highly social NYer's, southerners, and Midwesterners meeting and greeting each other). I hope it is not the norm and my observations will prove incorrect. I will say that in a bar on Coronado, there is more social interaction, probably due to the military presence there.

2.) The vegatation is the same as SWFL, with the exception of coconuts, xoria, spanish moss, and cyprus.

3.) The colder weather and hills are a nice change of pace to the endless heat and humidity that you get in SWFL (don't get my wrong, I love the heat and humidity). However, I think when I went inland away from the ocean, my sinus's went ape-sh!t. I would consider this area a place I would live (or at least summer) at this point. The expense of living is the only deterrent.

4.) I like the "no worries" saying that is pervasive here. Is it really no worries attitude, or just a local color saying?

Now, time for the pictures, with the first coming from the plane ride out (all were taken in this post with my Sony Ericsson 580i).

The plane wing, hehe:


Roswell, NM (see the little grey dudes? Me either):


These were the next morning at the Sunset Cliffs near the house we rented for the week:



A bunch of Kormorants drying off next to this peace sign on that lone cliff (I wonder who the nutty arse that climbed up there to put it on there was?)


A last shot of the Pacific that first morning:


I will post more in a bit. I apologize for the lack of decent writing, but we are constantly on the move seeing things. Until later, "no worries".