Weekend In Rosarito

Last weekend Charlie and I redeemed a Groupon voucher I had bought to spend two nights at the Rosario Beach Hotel just about 30 minutes away from the border.   The voucher not only included two night stay in a ocean view room but complimentary breakfast and 6 margaritas!  Before purchasing I researched yelp and overall it had some pretty good reviews so for $190 we decided to do it!  As always, one of my other intentions with the purchase was i knew that at that location technically Charlie should be able to go surf.  Well, the day we arrived the waves were probably the best but the wind was on it and it just really wasn't where it should have been at.  So unfortunately Charlie did not get to surf.  Other then that the trip was exactly what we wanted!

It only took us about an hour to get down there.  Very smooth traveling.  It has been at least 3 or 4 years since we have driven across the border so we were both a little anxious but it all went well.  The hotel had security 24 hours a day so we weren't worried about the car at all.

We arrived a little early so we had some time to kill.  

Right behind the hotel was the beach and a pier.  In fact, you could watch the waves come in from the jacuzzi and pool.  We walked the beach and to the end of the pier to get some vista shots.

It was a beautiful day!

There was a lot of life in this city!  Occasionally traveling to our favorite camp spot in Mexico, La Fonda, it just seemed like a ghost town.  But not here.

There were a few other hotels but the main spots were two beach bars, Papas&Beer and Iggy's which are pictured below.  Tongs of vendors, ATV rides, horse rides, food and drinks!

I planned ahead for us on this day and packed a picnic lunch with a few bottles of wine.  We ended up posting right near the lifeguard tower and had a two hours lunch.  It was perfect.  Just watching the waves, chatting, occasionally laying down, talking to some of the vendors (who were relentless).  

We had killed more then enough time so decided to go check out our room.

Well we were pleased!  We were very excited about the view and decided to do a little sun salutation, giving thanks for it all.

It was a tiny balcony but definitely didn't phase us. 

They actually had two pools at this hotel.  The one below us was for kids but we contemplated going down the slide, of course. 

And of course, this was the only picture I got of the both of us :)

We enjoyed just sitting and taking it in.

That evening we walked on the main st just checking to the stores and restaurants.  There was a lot going on in town!  Some really popular restaurants and live music.  We enjoyed just kind of being outside observers.  We walked into a little random taco joint and had dinner.  It was perfect.  We are over the nighttime partying so we were in bed at 9 watching Spanish TV.  Charlie and I have said we don't really care much about the fact that we don't have cable but we were loving watching movies in Spanish.  We actually watched Toy Story because we could follow the dialogue.  It was great practice but when i think back it cracks me up.

The next day we went down to the hotel restaurant to redeem our complimentary breakfast.  We had an egg and chorizo scramble with black beans and tortillas.  It was very good but didn't feel like breakfast!  After that we decided to take a walk on the beach.  Found about a dozen sand dollars and it was perfect out.  Well as you can see it was an exhausting walk because we came back to the room and it was nap time.

While Charlie napped I read and took some pictures on the balcony.

Just South of the pier there were horses hanging out for paid rides.  I really don't know how I felt about it, the horses were out there probably 12 hours a day and I didn't see them feeding or giving them water so I wasn't really into paying these people to ride them but we did get to watch them trot around a lot which made for some nice pictures.  When the sun went down they would do obstacle runs around the trash cans, there were some experienced riders so it was entertaining to watch but I wish i had a big bag of carrots to feed them.

Just couldn't get enough of the view.  

We wanted to walk around town again. The night before we saw some signs that kind of made us do a double take.  This one below was one of them. 

But this was better!!!  First off, I saw this "BudLight" store and though WTHeck.  I knew I wanted a picture of it because how funny is that, in another country, they have a store for the crummiest American beer.  Turns out it was a regular liquor store so I reframed from taking a picture until a guy came up to the DQ (yes Rosarito has a Dairy Queen, maybe a delicacy) next door on his horse.  Then i knew I had to get a picture.

We decided to grab some beers on the beach and just hang out and observe locals on a Sunday.  The beach was hopping with people!  Tons of families spending the day at the beach.  There were a few other tourists scattered but it was primarily locals I think.   By this time, we had SO many people coming up to us asking to buy stuff, braid our hair, henna tattoos, massage, bracelets, food, and anything you could think of.  I think I said "no gracias" 100 times on that trip without exaggeration. We did notice that they go up to everyone though, not just the white people.

But it didn't perturb us much, we just enjoyed our chips, guacamole and Sol's on while watching the waves (or lack there of) roll in.

There were a few stray dogs running around.  This one behind Charlie was especially timid, we were watching her with some other people who were feeding her and she scared really easily. So what does she do?  She runs behind Charlie like he is shelter and just plops down to sleep.  

We had had enough of beers on the beach and decided to test the jacuzzi waters.  We were not disappointed.  Because it was Sunday afternoon the mother's day mayhem had all checked out and we had the jacuzzi pretty much to ourselves.  The two of us just relaxed again watching the ocean, therapy in itself.  Since we had such a "tough" day we wanted to just order dinner and take it back up to the room.  Dinner was delicious, another variation of meat, cheese, beans, rice and tortillas but always satisfying. 

After sleeping through breakfast we decided to check out and head home.   We had gotten a fast pass for the border but totally missed the turn.  From our time leaving the hotel to getting home it was only 2 hours so it wasn't bad at all.

Until next time Mexico!

Graduate School

Yup! It's happening for me and I am so excited about it!

One of my biggest intentions for moving from NY was coming back for graduate school.  I had applied to SDSU for an educational leadership program and I felt really good about my odds in getting in, I had current professors recommending me and my Dad is alumni, I thought easy, I'll be a shoe in.  Much to my dismay about a week into our time in San Diego i found out that i was not even considered for the interview!  I was told that I had to go for credentialing first (as costly as graduate school) and because of the route I am interested in, I knew that getting those credentials was something I had been avoiding on purpose.  Well I must say that for the first few days I was pretty devastated and in shock really. I felt guilty that I had asked Charlie to leave his home to come with me across country to go to school, I had this plan all figured out and,well, life clearly seemed to be unconcerned with my vision.

I took a few weeks before trying to figure out my next step.  I started looking for full-time positions doing something like i was doing in New York but didn't feel really right about it because it wasn't a positive progression for me.  I pretty much knew and decided again that I needed to go on in my education, that was something I felt meant for, maybe just not that particular program.  After lots of talking with family and Charlie i started to think, why couldn't I go for a business degree?  I really blossomed in the last position i was in and built a lot of confidence so why wouldn't i do well in that type of program?  I started researching and found that California State University of San Marcos (where I went for my BA) offered a specialized accelerated masters in business administration degree, where a student can earn their degree in 15 months.  This particular program also encouraged applicants with only a few years of background in business and to apply even if your degree was in a non related field.  PERFECT!!! So I attended a few information sessions, applied and almost exactly a month after getting rejected I was accepted in the program.  May 26th I will begin graduate school and I couldn't be more excited about it.  

I do still want the same end goal, I would like to run some supplemental educational program, but I am open to opportunities and possibilities.  This is a way to better myself and my future even if it is not the way I originally envisioned it.  

So, cheers to a new chapter!!

Weekend Wedding in New York

Last Thursday Charlie and I headed to NY for a quick three day weekend to go to a friend's wedding. We were being extreme procrastinators about tickets hoping we would stumble on some amazing deal of $300 roundtrip from San Diego.  Luckily we did only pay a little more then that but we ended up flying out of LAX.  Any who, while we were living in Long Island we had promised our friend Katie that we would go to her wedding no matter where we lived.  Charlie grew up playing with her brother Shawn, and then kind of rekindled their friendship like 3 years ago and we have all become good friends.  We wanted to be there to share the day with them but it was definitely a whirlwind sort of a trip! So quick.

We arrived late on Thursday night and had the wedding Friday afternoon.  It was a nice opportunity to just relax, especially for Charlie who has been working so much.  Kathy took us to lunch at Belagio's and then we just were hanging out and getting ready for the wedding.


Kathy got a kick out of Charlie ironing his clothes, I guess he was telling her no one ever taught him how to do it.  Looks to me he got the hang of it haha.

This guy definitely had a few more gray hairs but was very happy to give us hugs and kisses.

Johnson was not the only one happy to see us..

As usual Danny has so much love for his brother Charlie!

We tried to get cleaned up for the wedding.

The ceremony and reception were held at the Woodbury Country Club.  Originally it was suppose to be partially outside but on that day there were some crazy cold winds so it was changed to all inside.  I was pretty grateful for that because I realized that I didn't even really bring an appropriate jacket to wear to the wedding.  The San Diego sun already had me forgetting that in other parts of the country it is still cold.

The ceremony was beautiful! A little fancier then we were anticipating.  A ton of delicious appetizers at the cocktail hour.  So much so that Charlie asked me if it was the dinner because there was that much food.  

Charlie and I saw a lot of genuine looks of surprise to see us at the wedding!  I didn't realize until we were there but they had actually anticipated for us not to come (i think) so we got a lot of genuine thank you and hugs from everyone.

Congratulations to Katie and Steve Ferrigno!

I didn't get much pictures but luckily there was a Photo Booth for that.  Always so much fun to have these at weddings.

The following day we had no plans.  Just eat more pizza and hang out with the family as much as we could because we had a very early flight out the next morning.  It was actually a great day, almost as much fun as the wedding.

Kathy and Rich bought Hannah a basketball hoop to play and practice on so we spent a lot of time outside Saturday (I watching) setting that up.

But Danny and Johnson were both happy to sit outside with me and just hang out!

Hannah is getting so big its blowing me away.  Pretty sure she's just about as tall as me, if not taller.  Turning into a beautiful young lady!

Oh man was Danny a happy guy on Saturday!  We all took a ride to Grandma Psillos's house and then we all went and got some pizza at Gino's.  It was a great day, no wonder Danny was so content.

Saturday was definitely not as cold as Friday.  The wind had mellowed out a lot but there was still a chill.  Kathy was so funny coming outside in gloves and the hat.  I will say it was perfect hot chocolate/tea weather.

And we even got to see a pretty nice sunset.

Kathy and Hannah had to sneak out for a church event so while Rich was finishing up the hoop Charlie and I were hanging with Danny for a bit inside.  He was having a really hilarious giggle fit so we took some selfies of it..

I really love this picture of Danny below.  

It was a short but very sweet visit.  We were back out our place by 1pm on Sunday and Charlie also had Monday off so it was a good we had the recovery time.   We were really happy to share the celebration with the Ferrignos, Palmers and then have a great day with Charlie's family.

Until next time New York!

It's Fun Having Visitors!

Well Charlie and I had our first visitor last week.  My friend Dana came to spend about 5 days with us and just enjoy sunny San Diego, in hopes she could return to NY with a tan!

It is always fun to have someone come into town.  It gives us a great excuse to revisit what makes San Diego such a great town.  Also, since I have yet to find a job, I was able to spend the trip with her!  It was awesome to have a buddy around, and especially her.  She is a very easy going and fun person to be around.  Needless to say, the first thing we did (and everyday there after) when was here was head to the beach!  I was a little worried about the weather, a few days before she came we had mostly days in the mid to high 70's and the week she was here it said it was dropping to high 60's but I forget that San Diego can still be so warm even in the 60's.  It turned out to be perfect sunning weather which we did plenty of.  We even jumped in the water a few times!

Coincidently we had two other friends in town that were staying up North with Matt and his girlfriend Alyssa.  Poor Charlie had to work this day but we all met at Torrey Pines Beach to do the hike on the cliffs and walk the beach.  Such a gorgeous day.

Then of course after our scenic hike we needed to refuel..

Luckily Charlie scheduled worked out that he had his 3 day weekend when she was here so on one of his days off we decided we would take the hike to Blacks beach.  It was another great day and Dana and I pretty much had the beach to ourselves!  I was even able to get some pictures of Charlie surfing on his new board.

The view from the top of blacks beach.

We spent a majority of our time at the beach, lots of walks and tanning sessions.  I am always appreciative of where we live but when you have someone visiting it is like another reminder to be grateful!

Luckily Dana's selfie game was on point so we got a lot of pictures, which was good because I'm not nearly as on top of it as she was!  

A view from the end of the pier.

I was hesitant about posting this next part because I didn't want any parents having panic attacks but Charlie said I should just go ahead and do it.

One activity that Charlie and I have been saying we are going to do is go spend a day in Tijuana.  There has been a lot of movements to start cleaning it up and bring back life to the area.  Charlie has a coworker who actually lives down there, originally he is from Rhode Island, and commutes to Poway everyday.  He had been assuring Charlie that things are better down there and Americans are starting to come visit on weekends again.  Also, a lot of the Southern California surfing community is still going to Baja regularly and Charlie has been pursuing a lot of surfing sights about Americans traveling.  We generally have the mindset that if your not an idiot and doing any questionable activity, you will be OK and can enjoy yourself, which is exactly what we did!

While Dana was out here we had a few other friends in town as well. They were suppose to leave on the day we went to Mexico but coincidentally their flight was cancelled!  They are big travelers and brought their passports to SD with them on a whim so they were excited to jump on the opportunity to come with us!

We were all a little nervous when we first got there.  There was a HUGE line at the border to get back into the states and we weren't expecting that at all.  We actually were thinking maybe we should turn around now and get on line to get back but we decided not to since we had come all that way.

Once we all got to the main street, Revolucion, our anxieties had started to ease.  We found a great modern clean place that was on a rooftop which is where the picture above was taken.

View from the roof.

I wish I had pictures of the food we got.  It was all so good.  We probably ate at 4 different places, getting street tacos, taquitos, nachos and other creations on the same ingredients hah.  It was really authentic, clean and tasty!  Despite its reputation, no one got sick from the food or drink, just stuffed. We did a lot of walking around, bouncing to different places, shopping, and of course, eating.

We stumbled (not literally) on a really cool brewpub type of place that had a lot of local people who were are age.  We had some authentic locally brewed beer..

As well as some local favorites, I'm pretty sure it's a michelada which is beer, tomato juice and seasonings all around the rim.  Heather (Rob's wife who is pictured below) was practicing her Spanish and asked someone sitting next to us what they were drinking.  Definitely didn't understand their response even though we asked a few times but we called over the waitress, pointed to their drink, and they delivered which is what you are seeing below! We were all pretty excited about that..

We brought back a lot of goodies, Charlie and I got some really cool glasses, a new blanket, a little pocket book for me and a couple other trinkets.  By 8pm we decided we should head back and were pleased to walk up to no line at all at the border!! It was as easy as ever to get back and took all about 2 minutes.  Once we were over we hopped on the trolley home.

Then we tried to stay up, but all fell asleep on the couch..

It was a great week! I will miss having my beach buddy around but we made everyday count!