San Diego Summer 2021- Part II

More primo adventures in San Diego!

On this day we headed up to Del Mar to eat at Sammys, the restaurant Pepe manages.  

 

He gave us the royal treatment sampling so many delicious dishes.  He just kept bringing food out in true Pepe Style- plate after plate.  Then at the end he brought out a sky high plate of cotton candy. WHA?!? Nooooooooooo

It was followed by a HUMONGOUS chocolate sundae.  Pepe is all about food and he never disappoints! 

Muchas gracias cuñado!

He is friends with the manager of the movie theatre next door too, so inaddition to a fabulous lunch, he got us free tickets to this posh theatre with servers!  We saw Cruella and it was so fun!

No trip to San Diego is ever complete without a hike up Cowles Mountain.  I know I post it every year, so I guess you could say it's a tradition.

The only thing that changes are my tights. haha This year these Kyodan leopard tights were my go to.  So comfortable and they stay put (on sale right now too)!

It wasn't just us.  Of course we brought all the kids who wanted to go.

That's right, Mateo is not in the picture.  He has firmly stated that he does not enjoy hiking.  I am, of course, going to make it my mission to change his mind. 

He is frequently missing from the cousin shots though.  He mostly hangs out with Chacho and Jalyn.

These guys are UP for going anywhere and running around all day! 

Don't get me wrong there was some ipad time too.

We hit tio Jerry's pool up one more time the last week.

This is Chava, Cariza's boyfriend and I love him.  Get married already!!!

Family, pool, food, Pegs and Jokers.  The day was perfect!

Wanted to share this photo of the front yard before we left. 

It is TOTALLY torn up.  I can't wait to see it next Summer.  House will be painted, walkway, fence, pool, patio. It's going to be a WHOLE. NEW. HOUSE!

A big thanks goes out to the Alexander neighbors who let the kids hang out in their back yard A LOT this trip.  Next year we will be in the pool with you guys every day!!

This was only the first set of good-byes.  Most of the family was heading up to the Rancho Bernardo Inn for a little "Staycation" before we left.  

This "Inn" should be called a resort.  With lush gardens and winding paths, this place is gorgeous. There were so many areas to explore. 

Erin, Maia and I were hoping to get into the spa for a facial but unfortunately they were booked😩  We did get to spend some time at the private spa pool area, which was soooooo peaceful....

That in itself was almost a spa treatment.  I mean we came from this pool..... 

Haha..a little more action over here!

They were back and forth to the hot tub and pool.

We hung out here all day and just ordered lunch here.  It was so easy.  A perfect couple of days really!

In the pool area sat this ping-pong table and there was some heated competition.  

Abuela was the reigning champion, but Maia did steal the title by a point!

We had one special evening eating out on the patio by the fireplace, it was such a treat. The food was delicious! 

The primos had their own table and I loved hearing all of the chatter and giggles wafting over to our table. 

These two best buddies squeezed in one last BIG hug before Juliana headed home for the night. We were heading to the airport the next morning. They are really going to miss each other! 

We flew out of LAX and unfortunately it was a quick goodbye due to all the congestion at drop off.  Mis suegras are the best!  They were happy to take us .  Im loving this picture with Tata in front of the airport.  

 We are going to miss you guys (and the whole family!) so much!

Adiossssssssss familia! Nos vemos en 9 meses!

20 years of Being an Espinoza

 

20 years of marriage?!?!  Yep, Ernesto and I got married back in 2001.

On our 10 year anniversary, I presented Ernesto with this video of all our travels together.  "Where is the 20 year video?" asked my niece Cariza.  😭😭😭. Im a total failure.

On our 15th anniversary, Ernesto had this cute idea of taking our picture with this sign...

I LOVED that idea and I wanted to do it again this year....but I used "markup" on my iphone  to make the sign instead. #lazy

It still turned out super cute, right?

We left the house early with the kids that morning.  Ernesto planned a surprise getaway for later, but we wanted to enjoy some family time first. 

Hiking Torrey Pines is one of my favorite things to do while in San Diego.  The views are beautiful and provide a perfect backdrop for photos. 

Look how young we look with this backdrop haha

 

Once we made it down to the beach, the crab hunting started.

Marcelo is always the picker-upper and Paloma and Mateo point things out to him.  

We thought a treat was in order (daily on vacation right?) so when Ernesto got off the highway towards Pacific Beach,I knew we were heading to Mr. Frostie.

The BEST peanut butter shake I HAVE EVER TASTED!!

Later in the afternoon, we left the kids with los abuelos (muchas gracias!) and headed north on the 5.  I was thinking we were heading to Del Mar, but at the last minute, Ernesto swerved to the Coronado Bridge exit! 

 via

When he pulled up to the Hotel del Coronado I was excited.  Over the years we have had drinks here a couple times, and walked around the property, but to actually stay here was a real treat.  Fitting for a 20 year anniversary night!!

This hotel is big, beautiful and iconic; the most famous in San Diego.  It was built in the late 1800's and is the only hotel on the beach!   The neighborhood is beautiful too and I love to walk around and check out the beautiful houses. The island definitely has vacation vibes. 

Walking in the hallways was the same.  I loved the umbrella covered walls. So chic!

In the courtyard there were many places to lounge and enjoy the scenery. 

We started our evening at Babcock & Story Bar on the beach with some vino and a delish cheese sampler.

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Ernesto was really craving oysters so we crossed over to Orange Street and had dinner at Brigantine.

Yes that is a humongous octopus tentacle served with a beet salad.  It was muy rico!  

In the morning we  took our time to get up and outside, but really everything outside was better than the actual hotel room.

Don't get me wrong, the room was nice, elegant, comfortable, but I think this is the second most expensive room I have stayed in and I would say you are definitely paying for the whole beach front property instead of the room. 

We grabbed coffees at the little open air store onsite and got to walking on the beach. 

There were a few very impressive sand castles lined up, we didn't need to worry that our kids were going to knock them down either HA

Since neither of us eat breakfast, by noon we were ready for a delicious lunch.  The day before I saw a couple sitting on a bench beachside with an amazing looking Poke bowl.  They said it was from Poke 123 down the street....so we headed that way!  

We also sat on a bench at the beach to eat ours and I felt so lucky!  Even just 18 hours alone with my man was a super treat!  We really have fun together.  I love hanging out with him.  

On to the amazing pool! 

We asked abuela to bring all the kids after lunch so we could really get our money's worth at the pool all day! It was wonderful! 

So glad we got to celebrate 20 years in a special way!  Definitely a memorable one! I love you mi amor!