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Sunday, March 16, 2014

One Week Whirlwind: Boston and San Diego

The next few weeks are going to be a bit hectic.  Well, it's not like the last one wasn't.  I just got back from a crazy girls' weekend in San Diego.  And just got back from a very quick work trip to Boston the day before.

Early morning yoga in boarding group 5

Boston:

A quick trip, to say the least. My 6am United flight was earrrrly.  Some weirdo lady was doing yoga on the floor of the boarding area.  Why?

My original seat was my usual exit row aisle.  I was on a newly-refurbished A320.  No video screens and the new "leather" seats that are slim, and apparently, uncomfortable.  I didn't get a chance to enjoy because I got a lovely upgrade.  And a crap bowl of honey nut cheerios.  I hate cereal, but I am NOT complaining about being upgraded.   I got more work done than I would have, for sure.  I also napped harder.  Yay for upgrades.


New UAL econ interior.  Too Lufthansa-y.
I was with two teammates and we were staying in the middle of nowhere (Newton).  In a Marriott.  In the rain and snow.  None of that is my favorite.  They had an afternoon meeting, so I spent time in my room getting stuff done.  I was still enjoying a cold, so I ended up not even bringing workout gear and just hung out.

Dinner was at a different hotel restaurant at a steakhouse.  I cobbled together a side dish meal, including some lobster mac-n-cheese (thank you, east coast!) and hit the hay early, knowing I'd be coughing my brains out.

Emerson! 
Our meeting the next day was a breakfast meeting in Concord.  Being a literary nerd, I was kind of digging the scene.  We drove past Emerson's house and I got real stoked.  We had breakfast at the Colonial Inn, which was old and creaky and charming as hell.  And breakfast was delish--a benedict.  Our meeting was really interesting with a very, very smart dude.  It was intense and I had to do a lot of thinking--and originally I wasn't supposed to be there, but it's a good thing I went.  Always good to have common interests to have good client conversations.  Being the resident nerd, I ended up driving a lot of the conversation, so it was good I was there.

I always feel like I should dress more formally when I go east coast.  I don't know why.  Probably the right thing to do.  I had on a dress and flat boots and a blazer, and they were all black.  I promptly changed back into my trusty Lululemon Wunder Unders at the airport.  With an amazing Target v-neck tee (buy this, seriously) and my Splendid thermal hoodie which I don't wear enough and is perfect for long flights.

Mmm.  Lobstah.
And then I was very thankful for those stretchy pants because I decided to hit up Legal Sea Food and get myself a lobster roll and fries.  How much lobster in 24 hours?  A lot.

The flight back was the Thursday consultant express--every seat full.  I had to work hard to get an aisle seat (thank GOD) and I was still in economy minus, even as a 1k.  It was a lonnnng flight.  I bought the DirecTV and watched 12 Years a Slave.  And cried like a lunatic.







San Diego:

I flew Southwest, which is unusual.  Only because it's good for short 1 hour or less jaunts in California.  I hate having to check in 24 hours in advance because I usually forget.  And even worse, I was on my flight back from Boston during the check-in time, so I asked Bob to check me in and was rewarded with A-54.  Thank god!

With TSA pre-check, life is so good.  No ridiculousness of taking stuff out or shoes off or anything.  San Jose is the best airport, too.  Quick and easy.  My friend Tina and I traveled together and plotted to get iced coffees for the trip down.  They were delish.

Where'd we stay?
Once in SD, we headed over to our hotel.  We stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel.  Not my usual jam, but we got a deal through my friend Erin who works at Expedia.  We all agreed it was a hotel designed by a man.  The bathroom was kind of open plan, and there wasn't a fan.  Or a plug by the sink.  HOW DO YOU NOT HAVE AN ELECTRICAL OUTLET BY A SINK?  It was ridiculous.  The rooms were pretty dark, too.  The staff wasn't very accommodating, on multiple occasions.  The pool area was ok, we spent most of the day on Saturday there in the cabanas.

Where'd we eat?
Girlz at Urbana
Seersucker:  Dinner on Friday was great.  We shared a lot of smaller plates and the food was, as one of the girls put it, INTENSE.  Very flavorful.  Nice variety--new American cuisine, and apparently run by a Top Chef winner.  We had a giant table--not very good for chatting.  And it was hella loud with rocking club music.  Service was solid.

Cucina Urbana:  Saturday's dinner location was amazing.  Hands down the winner.  Great pastas, pizza, salads.  Really rich and tasty.  We had a more private table in the wine shop and it was easy to have a nice chat and grub.  Service got spotty at the end of the night.  Desert menu was not inspiring to me.

Lion Coffee:  A taste of Hawaii in SD.  Great acai bowl and a good variety of coffee.  Plus, they play Hawaiian music.

Lion.  Growl!  Bowl.
El Camino:  On recommendation of the guys in the shoe department at Nordstrom, we hit up El Camino on Saturday night.  Good jams.  Helped us avoid the trashy St. Paddy's block party in Gaslamp.

El Poopy Pulpo
Mariscos El Pulpo:  A yelp find, we picked it for Sunday lunch after some ladies were hankering for Mexican.  Good thing the food was good--mostly seafood options.  I had grilled fish tacos.  Service was complete shit.  One small bowl of salsa is not going to satisfy.  Come on.

Mary Jane's:  The diner in the Hard Rock has pretty good diner food.  I skipped out on late night grubbing on tater tots and went to bed.  I can speak to the omelette.  Good.  Hash browns were bomb.

Burger Lounge:  Yeah, you should go here if you like burgers.  Organic, nice choices, well done.  A great selection, fresh salads, a step up from the Counter.  They have Maine Root sodas, which I love.  And iced mint tea.  I had a salad and fries.

San Diego is fun, but I'm thinking maybe we should have gone to the beach?  Regardless, if you've got good friends around, you can make a good time out of any city.



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