Coronado Island

My in-laws Jacque and Mike took advantage of a "book 3 nights, get 2 free" promotion to return to the Hotel Del Coronado last week, joined occasionally by my adult nieces Kendra and Kelsey on day visits. When in-laws Toren and John announced they would be coming from Colorado with their kids Brett, Bree and Bradley, Julie's sister Cheryl and her son Jered decided to drive down from Seattle to join the party, staying at Jacque and Mike's temporarily vacated house located twenty miles to the east in Rancho San Diego and commuting into Coronado. Julie and I drove down for one night, staying at the nearby Loew's Coronado Bay Resort, sacrificing a couple of miles proximity to save a couple of hundred dollars.

We usually tack on a visit to my wheelchair-bound mother-in-law Edna on any trip to San Diego, and we had a short visit with her along with John's and Cheryl's families. After an excellent lunch at Albert's, one of many similar Mexican Restaurants in San Diego County, we dropped her off back at her Rancho San Diego retirement home and headed to the Hotel Del to join the party. I felt bad about not bringing Edna to the gathering of her children in Coronado, but it wasn't my decision to make.

My kids Jay and Amy came along for lunch with Grandma and spent a couple of hours at the Hotel Del, but they had other plans that required them to head back to Los Angeles County that same afternoon before dinner. While they were there and most of the rest of our stay, we pulled chairs out on the grassy area between the hotel and sand. My biggest activity of the two days was playing Frisbee catch with my adult nephew Jered, but my in-laws also brought bikes and enjoyed riding along the sidewalk by the shore.

We ordered a super large pepperoni and cheese pizza that must have been three feet in diameter plus a large "works" pizza from a nearby pizzeria that delivered. For $70, we fed fourteen people, so it was a pretty good deal at a land resort. My in-laws staying at the Hotel Del Coronado had filled their refrigerators with sodas and beer purchased off site, so we had drinks available without buying the $7.50 to $9 beers, $14 mixed drinks or $4.25 sodas from the hotel bar.

Julie and I didn't check into our comfortable, well-appointed room at Loew's until about 10:00 PM, and we went down to the beautiful lobby bar to have a drink before bed. The 14 Hands Cabernet Sauvignon ($8) was quite good, and Julie had some kind of berry drink in a low ball glass with lots of ice that turned out to cost $14. I always mention the obvious fact that great meals and snacks are always available with the cost of admission on a cruise, but this weekend reminded me of what a great deal the a la carte drinks are on a cruise by comparison to a land resort.

The next day, we did some online work using the free internet in the hotel lobby, but then we checked out without making use of the pool or spa. Julie and I drove to the ferry port and had a breakfast of sorts at KFC, dining on fried chicken wraps. The view of San Diego from the plaza overlooking the bay is really gorgeous.

We again found free parking across from the Coronado Yacht Club about a mile away from the hotel itself. Back at the Hotel Del, it was more of the same, sitting around and talking about our favorite television shows and other subjects. Lest I forget, Julie's childhood friend Chris also joined us on both days, reminiscing about days gone by.

Jacque and Mike had enjoyed a huge room service breakfast, so they weren't ready for lunch when John and Toren headed to Imperial Beach in search of an affordable burger joint.



About an hour after they returned, Julie and I went to the hotel's pool bar to split a cheese burger, fries and soda, and I also had a bowl of chili, with the tab coming in at about $25. Then, about an hour after we finished, Jacque and Mike were ready for dinner, so they headed to nearby Miguel's, which they said is an excellent Mexican restaurant.

When they returned, John and Toren took their family to Subway for sandwiches, and by the time they returned, we figured the traffic had died down enough to start our trek back to Manhattan Beach.

Now the highlight for avid golfer Mike would come later in the week, playing the nearby Coronado course, although the Hotel Del Coronado Father's Day Brunch they had while we were dining with the others at Albert's had also reportedly been great. Jacque and Mike undoubtedly enjoyed some great meals at Coronado restaurants and bike rides on the beach over the rest of the week, and coming from Colorado, Brett, Bree and Bradley enjoyed swimming in the hotel pool, laying in the sand and boogie boarding in the Pacific Ocean under consistently sunny skies.