Beachin' and Baseball

This morning we once again enjoyed the amazing views and a quick breakfast on the terrace of our hotel. I just cannot get over how much fun it is to eat breakfast up there each morning. After breakfast, Alison and I headed over to Coronado for paddleboard lessons. Alison set them up last night. At the time I wasn’t sure if we needed lessons or if we could just figure out how to paddleboard on our own. After much discussion, we decided on the lessons. It was the right choice.

We ended up going through a small company called SUPCoronado (stand-up paddleboard). Two sisters who have been teaching paddleboarding since 2008 run it.  Our lesson was with Crystal. She was great. There were three other people doing the lesson with us. She got us fixed up with an appropriate-sized board and paddle and then taught us how to launch into the marina. The lesson lasted about an hour. Crystal gave us lots of tips and tricks to help make sure we were comfortable and knew what we were doing. I have to admit I was very shaky, but Crystal reassured me that is normal. I actually didn’t fall off for a long time. Alison fell off twice before I fell off. Although we switched boards later - Alison’s was much more challenging. After the lesson, we had another half an hour of free time. It really was a blast.

After our lesson, we swung back to the hotel to pick up Debbie. She decided to shop while we went on our paddleboard adventure. We grabbed a bite to eat at Panera Bread (it is seriously Alison’s favorite place to eat and she would eat there all the time if one was in Utah.) Then we headed back to Coronado and the beach. We spent the afternoon bumming on the beach. Alison liked to nap on a towel on the beach while Debbie and I went in the water. The waves were big and strong today. I would go out into the ocean until it was up to my neck. There I would wait for a big wave to come and bowl me over. I loved tumbling through the waves. It was a lot of fun. Debbie thought the water was cold, but I thought it was just right. We really spent hours of the day on the beach.

When we were about ready to be done with the beach we decided to grab some ice cream on the way back. The other night at the Melting Pot the server recommended a place on Coronado called Moo Time. It was a little bit of a walk, but it sure was worth it. They had exceptional ice cream. It was just what we needed after a long relaxing day at the beach.

When we got back to the hotel Blake was there. His flight got in while we were driving back. We are glad he made it. Alison and I got ready and we headed to the game. The Padre’s ballpark really is great. We love it because of the beautiful views of downtown San Diego. We also love that the ocean is nearby (although if you could see the ocean this would be one of our very favorite ballparks.) We also love there is a grassy hill where families can sit together to enjoy the game. It reminds us of Smith’s ballpark. We also love that they have a sandy beach area near Right Field for kids to play in. Alison really liked their gear. The current colors and styles Padres fans wear are pretty cool (although the throwbacks are pretty bad.) The Padres really go above and beyond in making their ballpark an experience.

A few innings into the game Alison’s coworker, Rob Case, and his girlfriend, Cori, came and sat by us. They are also in San Diego on vacation and went to the game. It was fun to see them. Rob gave me the nickname, The Champ. He loves to call me that anytime I see him. He really enjoyed seeing Blake and Debbie as well. He used to work with Blake back in the Arkona days.

The game was a lot of fun. The Padres were playing the Marlins. Neither team is very good this year, but it ended up being a pretty even matchup. We did see some hilarity. In one inning the Padres had second and third with no one out. They made a series of extremely poor base running decisions and an ill-timed pop-up to blow that opportunity. The Padres did hit three long home runs to get to a score of 3-1. Things got dicey in the ninth when Craig Kimbrel did not look very sharp. He ended the threat with runners on first and second. It was really an exciting baseball game.