Lemon trees in Santa Barbara,
snakes in the San Diego Zoo and the Indiana Jones ride in Disneyland.
California Cuisine, Extraordinary Desserts, Taki Sushi, Croce’s and breakfast
in Hillcrest.
Wonderful memories of our
trip to California.
Most of the restaurants where
we ate and all of the hotels that we stayed at were found before leaving
on our trip from the Internet. Planning a trip this way can leave
one feeling organized and give one choices one might otherwise not have.
Since we had reservations
at the Hyatt on Mission Bay in San Diego, I needed to find restaurants.
I was eager and excited about the prospect of not having to cook, yet eating
delectable foods.
Elaine Sosa helped with her
great Web Page, which I found using the search term “San Diego” in Yahoo!:
www.bpe.com/food/dining/nam/sandiego/index.htm. She rated each with
$=steal deal (not too many of these), $$=your tummy and your wallet will
smile, or $$$=yikes, but if it’s on my list, it’s worth it.
Our sushi meal was found by
chance, trotting around the Gaslight district the first evening.
The following morning, after a scrumptious breakfast at a Hillcrest café
which included a whole wheat pancake, fresh squeezed orange juice and decaf
cappucino, we visited the Zoo and then returned to Hillcrest.
There we found a restaurant
reviewed by Susa called California Cuisine. It was her review of
the New Zealand lamb loin covered in an almond-black pepper crust accompanied
by a dijon mustard-sherry cream that made my husband’s decision.
We had a mushroom pate as an appetizer, I had a squash soup and for a light
meal I had a salmon salad with potato salad.
Later that evening, after
a beautiful sunset viewed from our balcony at Mission Bay with a bottle
of wine, we found Extraordinary Desserts in the Uptown district, a place
we would never have found, had it not been for the Internet. There
we enjoyed coffee, a light as a cloud, creamy, gorgeous chocolate torte
and an incredibly colorful scoop of mango ice cream, dished up over a plate
covered with flower petals.
I discovered a guide to restaurants
and entertainment at www.sdro.com/best.htm. But we ditched the list
when we spotted Croce’s in the Gaslamp Quarter. Croce’s, according
to Sosa’s page, is owned by the late singer Jim Croce’s widow, Ingrid.
We enjoyed the window view where we could people watch while listening
to some Santana-like jazz, consisting of piano, bongos, drums, saxophone
and guitar.
I had taken a guess at the
address and searched www.disney.com and found a map to Disneyland and a
page on the Employee Benefit Program called the Magic Kingdom Club.
I figured my husband’s employer must be a member and called Disney’s toll
free number to find out. Sure enough, I was given the name of the
man who handles the memberships here in Michigan. He gave us a membership
card so we could get a Disneyland discount on admission and food.
We needed a hotel near Disneyland,
so I searched the city of Anaheim through Yahoo! Anaheim International
Inn was only three blocks away from the park. Their address is www.catalog.com/gallery/anhint/AIIShome.htm.
I was glad that we got in so late from a full day at Disneyland Park, because
their air conditioning wasn’t so great.
Our last stop would be Santa
Barbara. Yahoo! led me to two equally appealing hotels. One,
the Casa Del Mar Inn, has a relaxing courtyard jacuzzi and sun deck surrounded
by lush gardens and an all-you-can-eat buffet style “Continental-Plus”
breakfast. The other, the Harbor House Inn, “a nice little Inn at
the beach” is quiet, has nine rooms decorated with antiques, small kitchens,
a continental breakfast with homemade breads and muffins, and bicycles
to borrow. I think the final factor was the 1913 Model T Ford and
the Jack Russell Terrier named “Shorty” that made this seem like a cozy
selection. Harbor House’s web address is: www.harborhouseinn.com.
Next time we go to Santa Barbara,
now my favorite city, we can stay at the Casa Del Mar Inn, whose email
is CasaDMar@aol.com. Traveling is certainly more rewarding when you
know more about where you’re going before you go!