San Diego dreamin’

We recently spent several blissful, sun-soaked days in the San Diego area, staying with our friends Allison and Duncan (former New Yorkers who’ve moved back to their native West Coast).

I’m still nursing a dream that I’ll wake up each morning and see flowering plants outside the window, as we did there. As much as I love Boston, it’s seriously lacking in lush foliage, colorful blooms, and palm trees.

We stayed on beautiful Coronado Island, where we spent hours reading on the beach, browsing the cute shops along the main drag (Orange Street), and strolling the neighborhoods. From doll-sized exquisite Craftsman houses to much larger vacation homes, the houses are lovely. I picked out a few I’d love to live in.

Any vacation out west always involves Mexican food, and we had it three times in four days: a sit-down meal at Cafe Coyote in Old Town, chichi tacos at Puesto in La Jolla, and carne asada burritos at a hole-in-the-wall joint on Coronado called, improbably, Clayton’s. All delicious.

Because ice cream is obviously a must on vacation, we made several trips to MooTime. I recommend the Green Mint and strawberry (though not together). Elvis stands guard outside the door, and we had to say hello.

“You two have a built-in radar for indie booksellers,” Allison commented while we were there. We found two delightful ones: Bay Books on Coronado, where I bought two books featuring Jacqueline Kennedy as a CIA agent, and Warwick’s in La Jolla, where my husband posed with his friend Ron Burgundy.

We spent plenty of time on the beach, both at Coronado (adjacent to the famous and grand Hotel del Coronado) and walking along the cliffs at La Jolla. I was thrilled to bring my sandals, straw hat and favorite red shorts out of hibernation.

We came home sated with sunshine and sand, with many memories of blue skies, the scent of citrus blossoms, and warm air on our faces. Since spring in Boston is still a dream of the future, this interlude of warmth and rest was just perfect.

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