Home of my Forefathers

San Diego, the land of my ancestors, holds a special place in my heart. While driving around SD with my grandfather’s hand-drawn, and not very precise map, I found out that my Great Grandfather once owned a significant amount of commercial property in the area prior to the Great Depression.

Before the depression hit, he actually sold 5 acres for a measly $55,000 to my favorite big box retailer, K-Mart. It looks like K-Mart lost the store in their 2002 bankruptcy because it’s no longer on those 5 acres, but they will still be receiving a letter from me demanding free pressboard furniture and ankle high white socks for my GG’s generosity (I know, I know, $55k is a lot of depression-era dollars, don’t try to curb my arguments with logic).

This stop on our trip was special because we got to stay at a hotel with my parents (who were also coincidentally vacationing there) and my parent’s credit cards. This “coincidence” had the benefit of ensuring that all our food was free (i.e. paid for by mom and dad) and tasted all that much better because of it. I felt we earned our keep by washing dishes in our hotel suite and finding delicious places via Yelp.

Outside of San Diego’s always-sunny weather, warm beaches and beautiful women, the food was a welcome surprise in the region. On a quest for free wi-fi, we stopped by Blue Mug, which is a specialty coffee bar that would curb stomp starbucks (American History X style) any day of the week. First, they offer 25 different coffee beans, anywhere from a simple French roast to the rare and delectable Tanzanian Peaberry. Second, they make each cup of coffee individually in a drip coffee bar. Finally, they offer free (listen-up starbucks) and powerful wi-fi. If you end up in the Escondido area definitely stop by.

Next, before an afternoon at the beach, we went by Hodad’s, a magical burger joint with burgers as big as your face and milkshakes that bring all the boys to the yard. Read: big, tasty burgers and milkshakes with a giant scoop of ice cream on top. This is all complemented by the hilarious license plates they have on the wall and the punk rock they play in the background. Check ‘em out.

Finally, we hit up Bahia Don Bravo, a place I heard about many years ago when my friend Jenna came back to Santa Rosa bragging about SD’s special burrito. This burrito, creatively named the “California” burrito, contains carne asada, guacamole, salsa and, drumroll please, FRENCH FRIES!! Alright, it wasn’t as magnificent as I had envisioned it in my mind, but it was still damn good. Down here in SoCal they don’t serve rice and beans in the burritos, so the French fries were a good substitute and there is nothing quite as satisfying as mixing the side dish of an American hamburger meal with my favorite Mexican concoction, the burrito. In all, I’d roll down here and give one a try, but I don’t know if I’d bother with anything else on the menu.

Thank’s again Jenna for letting us stay at your place when we got expelled from our LA spot (funny story, not our fault, but probably not right for the pages of this blog).