I purposely went at an off hour for lunch because I knew it would be packed around noon and again around happy hour. When I got there, I think there were maybe twenty people there. I mean, this is a huge tasting room, so I was actually expecting a tumbleweed to roll by me.
I ordered a $5 flight and found a seat by the window. The flight I got consisted of the Grapefruit Sculpin IPA, Habanero Sculpin IPA (yes, like habanero pepper, and yes, it was really freaking spicy), and Sour Wench Blackberry Berliner Weisse. I sipped all three while looking over the menu to decide what I wanted for lunch. After deciding on a Cheddarwurst sandwich and grilled peaches and shrimp, I resumed reading my book. I don't know if you can see the title of this book, but its called You Deserve a Drink: Boozy Misadventures and Tales of Debauchery by Mamrie Hart. Mamrie Hart is a Youtuber who used to work as a bartender. Her channel is dedicated to making a drink for a person in pop culture who needs it most. She's made one for Charlie Sheen, Mila Kunis, and Kanye West, just to name a few. She is Southern, hilarious, and full of puns. She is also the cohost of HeyUSA, the inspiration of this trip. She is my idol and I love her.
This Cheddarwurst was the Cheddar-best. I mean, look at that ooey-gooey cheese stuffed in that sausage! Topped with caramelized onions and red cabbage and apple sauerkraut, I dug in! I didn't even bother with the bun or potato salad because who needs the carbs when you're drinking beer? I was already full by the time my second dish came out. Also, don't judge me for ordering two things. It's not easy traveling alone and not being able to split food with someone. MY LIFE'S SO HARD! My second dish was grilled shrimp and peach skewers on a fresh garden slaw with grits cakes. Frankly, it wasn't nearly as good as the sausage, but the grits and slaw were pretty tasty.
My second flight of beer included Coral American Wheat with Cherry, Barmy Apricot Ale, and Cream-Sicle Fathom, a vanilla and orange peel infused beer. My third and final flight was called Preview of Fall because, like I said, I'm a little homesick. While the pumpkin beer, scottish red ale, and harvest wheat beer were tasty, it is way too early for Fall beers. Pump the breaks, Ballast Point! Now, I know what you're thinking. Wow, that's a lot of beer. And it does totally look that way. The equivalent of the beer I had was three bottles. I was there from 1:30 to 4:00. I had two entrees. I was fine.
The hop-on, hop-off trolley began in Old Town San Diego. Old Town San Diego actually used to be all of what San Diego was when it was first colonized. As touristy as it is now, they've tried to keep as much of the Old Town flare as they could.
There are ceramic shops nestled in to the markets, antique stores, crafts soaps and handmade candles. There are adorable little museums to show how the town used to function. They've even kept quite a bit of the original architecture, like the famous (or infamous) Cosmopolitan Hotel and the Whaley House. More on both of those in the next blog!
So after exploring the little town square, I hopped on the trolley. From Old Town, we headed towards Downtown San Diego, first going to the bay!
We passed by marinas and the Air Force Base. We passed by the airport too. The only way we knew that is because as we were stopped at a light, a plan came right over us to land. And by right over us, I mean I was vibrating, it was so close.
We drove past the town hall and the Horton Plaza shopping center.
We drove into the Gaslamp Quarter, which felt like a little preview of New Orleans.
This next bit will probably only excite Jordan, but I drove past the San Diego Convention Center, where the largest Comic Con is held every year! Nerd alert.
Apparently, the most imported item to the United States is bananas and we passed by a whole bunch of them at the Dole docks.
We crossed over the bridge to the island of Coronado. Our guide, an native San Diegan, was quick to correct that while people who live on Coronado like to call it an island, it's actually a peninsula.... Semantics.
We drove by a great view of downtown San Diego and where the ferry docks used to be. That little white gazebo all the way to the left in the picture on the right is actually the original ticket booth from the ferry in the early 1900s. We passed a sweet Victorian manor which is called the Little Hotel del Coronado because it closely resembled the architecture of the actual hotel.
The Hotel del Coronado used to be the biggest waterfront resort when it was first built in 1889. It lost that title sometime in the mid 1900s, but still has the title of the largest wooden waterfront resort with 399 rooms.
Back over the bridge to San Diego proper and up to Balboa Park. More about that in the next blog, too!
With about a two hour tour under my belt, we arrived back in Old Town San Diego. My last stop here was El Campo Santo Cemetery. Guess what... More about that in my next blog! I guess you'll have to stay tuned.
After my tour ended, I headed up town a little to meet a friend for dinner. We went to Oscar's, which is a local favorite for tacos of any sort. Apparently, the unofficial dish of San Diego is fish tacos. Twist my arm. Not too hard though because I got a surf and turf taco, shrimp and skirt steak with pico de gallo, cabbage and avocado on a fresh tortilla. It was really good. And it was amazing to catch up with my friend who I hadn't seen in a solid 8 years. My, how time flies when you're having fun. And what fun indeed!
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