San Diego

 I had back to back work events and left Chicago straight to San Diego. I originally going to end in San Diego and take the Amtrak home but discovered that the rail line was disrupted due to erosion. With the rail option out, I ended up flying home after all. The cost of the car rental one way and flying home was about the same and I needed segments to hit 1K on United.

Checked into the Residence Inn San Diego/Gaslamp Quarter. It is an older property but the location is ideal if you're interested in being in the middle of the gaslamp area. My conference hotel was closer to the water but I found it more enjoyable to be in this part of town. Coincidentally, I had friends who happened to be in the area at the same time so we met a few times for some meals.

Dining

Extraordinary Desserts - I've always been a fan of this bakery and introduced my friends to it. They also serve gelato which also was nice.

Nobu - I don't know if every Nobu allows take-out but the San Diego location does. I decided to order miso cod because I usually like this dish in japanese restaurants. The restaurant is inside the Hard Rock Hotel and the clientele is very swanky. The hostess was still very nice to me as I clearly wasn't there to dine in! Until I checked out their website, I didn't realize how extensive the restaurants are worldwide.

Gaslamp Breakfast Company - I ordered a waffle as the restaurant was around the corner from the Residence Inn. Even though the hotel offers continental hot breakfast, I wanted a waffle with the eggs and sausage. 

Hob East Village Coffee - I enjoyed the Friar Faithful latte. It was delicious and the service was friendly.

Temari-zushi - My friends had a hankering for ramen since they had been on the road for the past few weeks eating mostly fast casual american food. In search of asian food in the north side of San Diego near Belmont Park. Landed upon this restaurant and had a meal of ramen, gyoza, and donburi. Overall, the food was fine and the service was prompt. The restaurant was quiet.

Crumbl - My neighbor loves the cookies and it was across the way from Temari-zushi. The cookies look appealing but I'm not a fan of soft baked cookies and it wasn't for me.

Belmont Park - I did alot of eating at this amusement park. They have the usual assortment of hot dogs, pretzels, ice cream etc. It's not a large park but amusing enough for a few hours with the under 10 crowd. I enjoyed the mangolada Dole soft serve swirl from one of the kiosks and Hot Dog on a Stick is always good.

Huapangos - Randomly chose to go to this restaurant with my friends because they wanted mexican food and it was a good midpoint between downtown San Diego and the northside of town where they were staying. I ended up enjoying my meal and I generally am not a fan of mexican food. I had the house special burrito (Huapangos burrito). It doesn't look very busy at night, the restaurant across the street was busier but fancier looking. Traveling with three kids, it was a better choice to be at Huapangos.