There are a lot of reasons that I travel; to explore the world, have a chill vacation, visit friends, have an amazing dining experience, etc. In November I realized I was going to be barely short on miles to make Alaska Gold MVP again, so I started plotting a quick getaway to remedy the situation. Then my brother mentioned he was going to be in San Diego. Perfect.
I was also able to use one of my MVP Gold upgrades, so it was a very comfortable flight in first class. I left for the airport after work and after a bit of a flight delay, arrived at the Kimpton Palomar around 1am via Uber.
I was excited to see my brother, so after a 1/2 day of work in my hotel the next day, we met up for lunch at Fairweather. This is a great rooftop bar, right next to the baseball stadium. Mark told me the day's plans over cocktails and tacos. He was surprising me with an open-cockpit biplane ride over the city. HOLY SHIT! I am pretty much terrified of small planes, which he didn't realize, and hadn't packed my Xanax because generally a weekend with my brother is pretty chill! I ordered a 2nd cocktail.
We arrived at Montgomery Field and checked in with San Diego Sky Tours. Our pilot, who looked all of about 20, assured us that he was actually an active Navy pilot and was one of the owners. In their very cool hangar, outfitted with old flight memorabilia, and a bar for after, he went over the flight plan. Mark and I would ride the same plane but at different times, I offered to go first as I really thought I might bail otherwise, I was sooooooo nervous!
I'm so happy I had the guts to do this as it was amazing! We flew between 400 and 800 feet altitude over the city, the bay, and along the beaches. I was terrified of dropping my iPhone as I took photos, I hadn't thought to bring the wrist strap I usually use when adventure traveling!
After landing I grabbed a beer from their bar and decompressed while Mark took his turn. This was really such an amazing experience, I would highly recommend San Diego Sky Tours when you are in the area!
We headed back into the Little Italy area of town and found our way to False Idol, inside of the restaurant Craft & Commerce. This tacky tiki bar, with crazy Christmas decorations, and a menu for all occasions, was very fun and the drinks delicious! Rum was just what we needed after our afternoon of biplane flying!
It was a gorgeous night out so we walked to our dinner destination of Kettner Exchange and chose a table on their rooftop. We had an absolutely delicious dinner here, the shared plates were more than enough for the 2 of us. Our duck meatball, huge pork chop, and caramel dessert were all hits!
Right across the street, Mark introduced me to the historic dive bar, The Waterfront. Since 1933 this fun and enthusiastic bar has been packing people in, and it was no different on this Tuesday night. We just had a quick shot, but if you are in the mood to people watch, make new friends, or just spend a day drinking (they open at 6am), go in for a visit here!
My choice of nightcap is a bit different, so Mark kindly let me drag him to Noble Experiment, which we discovered on my last trip to San Diego. It's so pretty, so little, and just dark enough. Oh and the cocktails are amazing.
All San Diego photos here.
More eating and drinking from this trip: On the Ground in San Diego
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