Grant Grill

June 12, 2011

Well I walked outside into a sunny day
called some friends to back my play
went downtown to taste a few
then over to the coast
to see what kind of trouble we could get into
what trouble we could get into 
in sweet home San Diego
                        Sprung Monkey

Our kind of trouble usually involves food.  A sweet deal from travelzoo sent us downtown for lunch at the US Grant Hotel.  We parked at Horton's plaza shopping center and walked over to the hotel. 
http://www.usgrant.net/
 
Bridget's mom worked here as a cashier in the 1940's and 1950's.  The hotel opened in 1910 and has had several renovations.  The last one completed in 2006 by the Sycuan Indian Tribe brought the hotel back to it's glory days.
 

We started lunch with a glass of Zinfandel from Thornton, a Temecula winery (see previous blog about Temcula wine tasting 8/8/10) and fresh bread.  I ordered the Kobe Beef Burger and Bridget had the Turkey Club.  Freshly made potato chips accompanied the meal.  The food and service was outstanding.  Our booth was the second from the end.

We were stuffed so we walked off some of our calories at the mall.  Then it was time to head home.  Needless to say we didn't eat a big dinner that night.

It's all Greek to me.

June 4, 2011

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCFXGanTx4A


I saw in the things to do on the weekend section of the paper that St Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church was having a Greek Festival.  The church is located close to Balboa Park.  We found a place to park and walked over to the church.

There were many booths, music, lots of food and drinks.

http://www.sdgreekfestival.com/


For lunch we had Souviaki and feta fries.  I also tried some Greek coffee.  Sweet and strong.  We took a tour of the church and saw all the icons.  After that we bought some pastries to bring home, Baklava, Kataifi and Saragli.  We had that for dessert and breakfast the next few days.

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=104602009528

Good times.  Greek food is excellent.

 

DOT DOT DOT

June 2, 2011

Mamma mia, here I go again
My my, how can I resist you?
Mamma mia, does it show again
My My, just how much I've missed you?
Yes, I've been broken-hearted
Blue since the day we parted
Why, why did I ever let you go?
Mamma mia, now I really know
My my, I should not have let you go
                                     ABBA



Bridget got some half price tickets to Momma Mia at the San Diego Civic Theatre.  We grabbed dinner at Downtown Johnny Brown's.  Nice little joint right by the Civic Theatre. 
http://downtownjohnnybrowns.com/

The seats were in the orchestra section so that was great.  A nice mix of old and new in the crowd.  And yes everyone appeared to know the words to all the songs.

http://www.mammamianorthamerica.com/

If you haven't seen it check out the music and video link on the website above and it has some scenes from the play.  The play and cast were great.  Part of the nationwide touring company

Help I've been Gleeked!!!

May 29, 2011

Just a small town girl
Livin' in a lonely world
She took the midnight train
Goin' anywhere
Just a city boy
Born and raised in South Detroit
He took the midnight train
Goin' anywhere
                  Journey


Bridget has watched Glee from the beginning and has some of the music.  I'll admit I have seen the show, but usually when Gwyneth is on.  She heard they were coming to San Diego and really wanted to go.  AMEX had a presale so...  Before I ordered the ticked I called Connie to see if her and Russ wanted to go too.  Russ loves the show too.  We had to order the tickets in February.

The day of the show finally arrived.  Connie and Russ came down that morning.  We had a light lunch then if was off to the winery.  I needed libations before the concert.  Haha.  Not really, we had purchased some wine tasting  at one of those discount websites.  It was to the Bernardo Winnery, just up the street from our house.

Founded 1889. The oldest continuously operating winery in Southern California.

http://bernardowinery.com/

We each had 5 tastings and sat out in the patio.  On Sundays they have Live Jazz on the Patio.  There are also little shops to browse.  Afterwards we bought some of the wines we liked and then went over to the Rancho Bernardo Inn and showed off our neighbor.  Bridget and I have attended many concerts there and it is a beautiful place.

http://www.ranchobernardoinn.com/

We got back to the house, changed and headed down to Mission Valley.  Bridget and I picked out Hunter's Steakhouse for dinner.

http://www.huntersteakhouse.com/

We had a great dinner then headed to the Valley View Casino Center (the old Sports Arena).  There was a lot of traffic so I took a short cut and we parked on the street and walked over to the arena.  There were huge lines just to get in.  Once in there were many people around all the souvenir stands.  We had seats on the floor.  They were great because we were right by a smaller stage that the cast members came out to for some numbers.  See the pics.

I have to admit the concert was entertaining.  The cast of Glee and the band was good, even the Warblers were there.  No teachers though.  All of the kids were there, even the one kid that dances but does not sing.  Hopefully they realize how lucky they are to be on that show and do sold out concerts across the nation. 

The Valley

May 21, 2011

she had to leave
los angeles
              X
 
We got up and drove to Los Angeles, actually the Valley to Jen and Brian's apartment.  Only Brian is not there, he is in Texas.  Jen is leaving to join him on Saturday May 28.  We volunteered to help her finish the packing and also took up some stuff that was still at our house.  Also for those who are in the dark, Jen is pregnant with her first child, and our first grandchild.  And he is going to be born in Texas.  What is up with that?  Wife-Califonia, Daughter- Califonia, Grandson - Texas. 
 
http://jenandbrianingram.blogspot.com/
 
Eventually they will get caught up on their blog and tell the story much better than I can.  They are going to close to her sister, Courtney and David so that part is good.

 
So we got there and grabbed some lunch.  Then started packing up boxes.  Ran to Lowes to get more boxes.  Packed more boxes.  We finished right before dinner.  Jen took us to a great place she has talked about on her blog.  Stonefire Grill.  It reminds us of Pat and Oscars with a twist.  The closest one to us is in Orange County.  I really recommend the Tri Tip.  Excellent choice.
 
http://www.stonefiregrill.com/
 
Jen was tired so we headed to our hotel.  We passed a Box Store on the way so we did some research on the laptop because we needed a different size than the ones at Lowes.
 
We got up the next morning, hit the Box Store then went to Jen's.  For breakfast we went to a restaurant in Tarzana called Cici's Cafe.  It was so good, with a huge menu and crazy portions.  Check out the pictures of the place and food, then look at the menu on the link below.  So good.
 
http://ciciscafe.com/

 
We pretty much had finished everything yesterday so we said our goodbyes and headed back to San Diego.  Happy for them, but sad too.

A Night of Hope

May 13, 2011

Shout to the Lord
All the Earth, let us sing
Power and majesty
Praise to the King
Mountains bow down
And the seas will roar
At the sound of Your name
I sing for joy at the work
Of Your hands
Forever I'll love You
Forever I'll stand
Nothing compares
To the promise I have
In You
          Darlene Zschech


We bought tickets to go see Joel Osteen at the
Sports Arena in San Diego.

A Night of Hope events are filled with praise and worship music, encouragment from Victoria Osteen, a special testimony from Dodie Osteen, a prayer time together and an inspiring message from Joel Osteen.


http://www.joelosteen.com/


There were over 14,000 people there and his message was one of hope and optimism.  I know some people have a problem with his ministry, but there is nothing wrong with hope and optimism.  This world could use both right now.

Open the eyes of my heart, Lord
Open the eyes of my heart
I want to see You
I want to see You
To see You high and lifted up
Shinin' in the light of Your glory
Pour out Your power and love
As we sing holy, holy, holy
                      Paul Baloche

There's so much trying to pull us down today," Joel said. "Our message is all about lifting people's spirits and letting them know that God is in control."


"Prosperity comes from inside," Victoria said. "It's not about what you have, it's really about your joy, your peace, the things you have on the inside. You can go through tough times and still have a smile on your face. We're all going to face challenges, we might as well get up and get after it."

When you take God at His word, and really meditate on His love for you, it will change you!

Let us pray, let us pray, everywhere in every way
Every moment of the day, it is the right time
For the Father above, He is listening with love
And He wants to answer us, so let us pray
                        Steven Curtis Chapman


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAR9pvItXdM&feature=player_detailpage


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PwvYwIpXGg&feature=player_detailpage

http://www.nctimes.com/lifestyles/faith-and-values/article_6f308215-58a2-5139-9816-67bef415cd2c.html

Art Walk

April 30, 2011

La donna è mobile qual piuma al vento,
muta d'accento e di pensiero.
Sempre un amabile leggiadro viso,
in pianto o in riso, è menzognero.
La donna è mobil qual piuma al vento,
                                    Verdi

It was a beautiful San Diego Day.  We went down to Little Italy for the Artwalk.

http://www.missionfederalartwalk.org/

There was 16 blocks of art and food.  Some very talented artist but the prices were high.  No bargains here as they wanted to be paid for their effort.

Little Italy is a great area in San Diego.

http://www.littleitalysd.com/