Gaylord Pacific

Finally the Gaylord Pacific had a public opening on Friday May 16 … and of course we had to check it out!. We loaded our bikes up and headed to Pepper Park on the National City side of the Sweet Water River. Last tine we were here Phase 1 of the Pepper Park improvements had just begun. Now they are in full demolition mode.

Pepper Park

I do not see anything on their web site that would require that massive concrete pump. Perhaps an adjacent project?

It's a short bike ride to Sweetwater Park in Chula Vista, which opened a couple weeks ago, but this is our first visit.

On the park map the bike path is the black line on the right, and we're riding down the map.

Gunpowder Point and the Wildlife Refuge are to the left.

Some cute signs to protect the new landscaping. Much nicer that the KEEP OUT signs seen in our park areas.

Sweetwater has a fairly decent sized parking lot. A reasonable place to park for a stroll to the Gaylord.

It's just a guess but I say it's about a ¼ mile stroll through the park to catch the bike path at the southern end. Past a few picnic ramadas.

A fun swing set where the play mat is in the colors of the beach

A massive sand box

For sand castle building and climbing

And than KaBoom it's right there!, just off the bike path

A crosswalk leads to the Gaylord property

We worked our way up to the lobby, yup it's on the 2^nd level! But we enjoyed the walk past some of the water features

Wave pool

Lap pool

and into the lobby

The palm trees are legit, the different textures in the marble somehow really work well together. The big screen TV was looping a relaxing water video,

More mis-matched marble flooring outside the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) Cafe and Gift Shop.

Need a new T-shirt?

Grab-and-Go selections within the PCH

Pretty reasonable prices on their panini sandwiches

The PCH also includes Oregon and Washington … but no huckleberries here!!!

This picture is of yet another floor covering, A rug from the beach dunes, to the dry sand, the tide washed sand, a red tide?, shallow to deeper water. Amazing to see, but had to get a worthy picture .

There's currently 11 dining areas open with another to open soon. This is Growlers, a sports bar.

Too many TVs! But if it's on TV it'll be on a TV here. Ohio State Softball was on! (I didn't tell Fran ;))

Look at all those brews on tap!

But we relaxed with a glass of wine

My red wine was presented in a white wine glass, but the wine in front of me is my new favorite regardless of the presentation. $11 each, not bad.

And with this view from our table …

The lawn is so perfect we thought is was artificial. Nope! How do they control their gophers??? The cars in the foreground are on the property, but the cars and the shade just beyond are in Bayside Park. It's really a very short walk.

The lighting must be really eye catching after dark  ... in the lobby

The structure on the left is a waterfall … in the lobby!

Recessed seating for a private time … in the lobby

A view from the other side. The palm tress are so cool to see … in the lobby

There are 4 acres of water features in the park.  I've already mentioned a few but there's more!, that includes:

A fun speed slide

A high twisty slide

A Jacuzzi

There's also a Lazy River ride, but no pictures …

The use of the water features for non-guests requires a $12.50 day use pass Google search 'Gaylord Pacific day pass' and select Beach Time Reservation. They do not make it easy!

But this very well could become our new lunch stop on when we ride in South Bay.  It would be time for a break and a shot after lunch ride to Pepper Park.

And back on the home front The Gopher Wars continue!

Gas bombs disappears too fast, this one was back on this side of the grass the day after I set it off on the other side of the grass.

Solar noise makers work iffy when there's sunshine

No pictures of my Dry Ice bombs since I had to work fast with heavy gloves. The idea is as Carbon Dioxide is released, which is heavier than air, it will settle in the lowest point in the tunnel. That may have been my most successful. The gopher should scamper from the cold and just fall asleep.

I'm still looking for ideas!

May Gray – a meritage to catchup

When I mentioned to Fran I was going to work on the Blog, she asked if we did anything Blog worthy.  Not really a single event, but a couple weeks filled with some fun doings.

1. Little Italy Art Walk

It was full on May Gray and misty with rain, and more in the rain forecast for the afternoon.  But we hopped on the Blue Line Trolley for the ride to Little Italy.  From the trolley it's a couple blocks up Beech St. to the the Art Walk.  It looked like we'd get between the rain drops.

Kg is in Boston studying for her advance degree in Library Science.  She can catalog pretty much anything now.  We found this gift for her at the Art Walk.  

Reaching Forward

The rain came early and now it’s pouring!  The trolley stops have covers over the standing area, but not over the seating area!  Who designed this?

2. Bates Nut Farm

Various events are held at Bates Nut Farm (Bates Brothers Nut Farm) to attract visitors.  Bates is located in Valley center (Bear Valley) just east of Escondido.  The event that had my attention was the Rods, Customs and Classics Car Show.

Some restored customs:

A work in progress

and my favorite restoration:

A restored Texaco tow truck

Towing its mini-me

A few rods:

The 'rust' is part of the paint job
Notice the shine

And some classics:

Bates always has some farm animals for the kids to feed

And this day they also had a craft fair to wander around.

Fran asked me to pick up a few snacks for our trip to the Moonlight Theater.   Good Grief!, where to start???

I skipped the candies

4 long isles of various nuts made for some selections

A fun mix made from 6 small selections

3. Guajome Reginal Park

This is a county park near Oceanside, just an hour from home, and is our overnight for attending the Moonlight Theater.

Although the county raised the one night stay to $48 (from $38) with FHU, I’d rather stay then arrive home at midnight.  The park is a great walking and birding spot.  We walked around the 12 acre lake a couple times, but too many bugs for us to explore into the marshlands.  

The trails connect the local communities, as we sat out we'd see lots of walkers, strollers, joggers and kids on bikes as they go to/from school.

Tonight's Moonlight Theater play will end around 10pm, by the time we return to Rufus it'll be close to 11pm.

I simply cannot drive at night, so a little camping is just part of the adventure.

4. Moonlight Theater

This is a fun outdoor venue in nearby Vista about a half hour away.  It has a huge stage for the plays, but only seats around 2000, which keeps it intimate.

We are here for the stage adaptation of Grease.

Snacks and non-adult beverages are allowed to be brought in, and on site beverages including adult are available, lots of food options too.

The play? The headliners are from a great Broadway cast, with lots of awesome local talent.  So much energy and just fabulous vocals.  Sandy was played by a softspoken gal who had no trouble when it came to singing, she filled the outdoor theater.  She was the best, well except for ONJ … RIP

5. Cinco de Mayo

On another cold May Gray day with a bit of rain, we again hopped on the trolley for a couple stops to Old Town.  But with the heavy mist it was not as well attended as past years, still fun.

The last time we were here was a couple weeks ago with Marty and Juanita and there were Mariachis.  Not this time, there were lots of Folkloric dancers … in the street and on the stage.  Such graceful and colorful dancers.

.

This time we ate at Casa de Reyes (Casa de Pico), and would return again.  Fran had the chicken tortilla soup (a cream broth) I had a carne asada tostada, excellent!, but they had a grilled mahi-mahi tostada.  I've not seen that on another menu.  Next time.

Casa de Reyes is near the stage, a big plus for this day, and although it's managed by the group that runs Barra Barra, the menu offers other options.

6. Some plans that were rained out :(((

Motorcars on MainStreet

This is the annual classic car show in Coronado, which we've been to in the past.

We had planned to bike to the Coronado Ferry, take the ferry to Coronado and then bike to the event near Star Circle.

 ... but there's rain

Animals on the Bay

$5 admission to the Chula Vista Discovery Center on Gunpowder Point (usually $20), it's an easy ride from Pepper Park.  Although we've been here a few times it is an enjoyable visit.

and it is adjacent Sweetwater Park is now open.  We’d normally do a bike ride from Pepper Park,

 ... but there's rain

Well, we certainly need all the rain, too bad it's later than usual when fun events have been planned.

7. Up next

Rain permitting, a bike ride to the Grand Opening of the Gaylord Pacific Resort and Convention Center in Chula Vista.  We'll bike from Pepper Park and hope to have time to investigate the new Sweetwater Park along the way.

and here at home it's war on the gophers!
 ... rain or shine!

any ideas?

Please offer suggestions if you’ve done battle with these critters!