Travel With Us to Coronado: Week 1
Travel with us to Coronado, California. We LOVE It here! I have been coming to Coronado to the same condo since I was three years old. There were a few years we didn’t make It, but more often then not we spent our time as a family at 910 1/2. I love this terra cotta building that feels like a hug when you come back home. The recently blue door and black and white kitchen tiles are always here to welcome us after a long year, good or bad. The smell of the beach and the sound of the waves brings back so many memories, and taking in the site of the beautifully historic Hotel Del always feels nostalgic and cozy to me.
Not only is the condo the perfect little bungalow with a great courtyard to enjoy while the kids are napping, but the beach and the ferry landing are within walking distance… as well as our favorite eateries. I have shared some of my favorite dining spots on the island (peninsula) in this post here. But, I thought I would share our first week here WITH YOU!
DAY 1 in Coronado
It’s typically our tradition to Uber from the airport, unload our things and then walk to Clayton’s Mexican take-out for lunch and take It to the park. However, Aaron’s parents were on their way so we wanted to save that spot for them! So, we hit up the liquor store… yep! That’s right. Avenue Liquor and Wine Shoppe is actually one of the best sandwich places here! You will not be disappointed. We took our sandwiches to Spreckels Park to let the kids run out their energy before naps. We were doing our best to keep them awake until their normal nap time as to adjust to the time change. (See Taking Cara Babies suggestions for adjusting nap schedules for travel).
After Naps we walked to Clayton’s Mexican takeout and brought our food over to the Hotel Del turf that overlooks the beach. We sat and ate dinner, let the kids run around and then we took the sand toys and let the kids play in the sand. After the sunset It was baths and bedtime.
DAY 2 In Coronado
It’s our second day, but our first breakfast which means Night and Day Cafe! They have the best chilaquiles for us and giant pancakes for the kids. It was a great breakfast, and afterwards we let the boys run around the park! It was Art in the Park at Spreckels Park and I met a really sweet artist named Maic. She is from France and her paintings are gorgeous! I bought a few prints. I just fell in love.
Later that morning, Aaron’s parents rented us a golf cart for a couple hours. This was so fun! I have never done It here before, but I’m so glad we did! It was a fun way to show them the Island! And, two hours went by so quickly! In the middle of looking at the peninsula and the houses, we stopped to play at Mathewson Park. The boys loved it and It was a great stretch break.
Before we returned the golf cart, we snagged ourselves some rolls from Lobster west! These are a must have while we are here because they are delicious!! I usually get the lobster roll, but this time I branched out and got the crab roll, and I hate to say this, but it’s way better than the lobster roll in my opinion. So don’t box yourself in.
During naps, Aaron and I walked over to The Henry for a couple drinks while we watched the Cowboys play. The Henry is one of my favorite restaurants in general… Dallas and Scottsdale’s locations are wonderful, but the Coronado outdoor seating is my absolute favorite!
After naps was the perfect time for our first stop at Moo Time for the BEST ice cream ever! And, we took our take out from High Tide to the beach. High Tide is a bottle shop and Aaron and I personally think it’s the most underrated spot on Coronado. Their pizza and salads are amazing and huge!! Think Costco sizes but better flavor!
Day 3 in Coronado
This is the day that we decided to Uber to the San Diego Zoo! See, we don’t actually rent a car when we come here and we love It! It is so nice to walk everywhere and not have to get in and out of cars. But, one ride to the zoo is worth It, so we Uber and check our carseats at the entrance. It cost $10 an item but It is less than renting a car! I learned a lot about the zoo this time around, so I feel like I could almost do another post just on the zoo.
It was a cloudy and misty day at the zoo, but we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves! So did the animals! They were also loving the weather because they were up close and very active! We got to see the koalas being fed and I could have just sat there and watched them all day long. It was incredible!
After a long day, we made reservations for early dinner. Since we live in Texas, we decided we needed a good seafood dinner! So, we headed to Bluewater Boathouse. Aaron and I have been there before for starters and drinks, but the dinner this time was amazing! I 10/10 recommend. The seafood was incredible, plus the ambiance is so fun! You are out on the water, surrounded by all of the boats. It’s a great spot and really affordable for the quality food they are serving!
Day 4 In Coronado
It was my in-laws last day here, so we walked down to the Hotel Del and showed them around the shops. It is such a gorgeous hotel! Of course the kids played down in the sand again. They are seriously loving the beach time. There hasn’t been a day where we haven’t made It to play in the sand. Since It was Tuesday, we decided to eat lunch at Burger Lounge. Not only do they have great burgers, but the kids eat free on Tuesday with a purchase of an entree.
We thought we would do Taco Tuesday dinner at the Brig, but we were tired and we decided to eat leftovers at the condo. We’ll have to save the Tacos for next Tuesday! We did however walk back to the Hotel Del to watch the sunset and this business was there taking a lesson from the Sandcastle Man. We watched them for awhile and then the Sandcastle Man was so nice to offer the kids his extra two mounds of wet sand. So they had a lot of fun building castles, tunnels and monkeys. Collie of course, smashed everything… as should be suspected.
Day 5 In Coronado
Our first day on our own. Aaron works in the mornings while we are here, so me and the kids venture off on walks, to parks or to the beach. I tried to get into the BSF here, but their childcare was full so the kids and I went down to the beach to see if our sandcastle creations were still there. They were, so we just played some more! On the way we stopped to get some Dinky Donuts for the boys! They were so good! Definitely recommend the s’mores flavor!
We then ventured over to Spreckels park for the kids to play. And, Aaron surprised me with sunflowers and chocolate which completely made my day! We had another chill day and hung out in the courtyard by the condo after naps and put the kids to bed early.
I was excited because I finally caught up on this season’s Only Murderers in the Building. Have you watched It yet?? Meryl Streep and Paul Rudd are in It! It’s so great! My sister and I were talking about this earlier, but we feel like Steve Martin is doing a little more improv this season and we are really getting into his comedy. It’s so great! I also just finished reading his book Born Standing Up and It was wonderfully entertaining!
Day 6 In Coronado
I can’t believe it’s already been 6 days. Where has the time gone?? This morning we headed to the Bayside to walk around and you guessed It, let the boys play in the sand. Aaron worked and I caught up on my bible study while the kids played. I think I told them to go play and let us have some time about 50 times, but they finally got It. It was a beautiful morning! We also stopped into Boney’s Bayside Market for some smoothies. They were delicious.
For lunch we decided to eat at Coronado Brewing Company, one of our favorites, and we ended the night with another sunset picnic at the Hotel Del. While walking today, the kids found a book in the free book library box and we have already read It 10 times. They crack up at the end of every page. It is so cute. It’s called Blue Hat, Green Hat and It is by one of their favorite toddler book authors, Sandra Boynton.
I’ve said this before, but if you are needing someone to take care of your vacation home, we will volunteer to live there and take care of It for you. I just love It here. I love that we can walk everywhere we need to or want to go, and I love how family friendly everything is!
Day 7 In Coronado
We have new visitors!! Nana Bebes and PoPo drove in late last night and we are off for some more adventures! We decided It was time for another beach day. Just like every day since we’ve been here, It started off cloudy…. however, this time It didn’t burn off in the afternoon. Instead It started raining! But we still built sand castles, played smash ball and didn’t let It bother us. After we were frigid, we headed back.
That evening, the guys went golfing and the girls took the kids to a childhood regular spot, Island Pasta. This place has stood the test of time, and It is a family friendly spot with good prices. I had the spinach chicken, and I need to figure out how to make It at home. It was delicious and seemed easy enough.
After the kids went down we popped open a bottle of wine and enjoyed a new game I recently played at a friend’s called Skull King. It took us a little bit to get the scoring down, but It is so fun! We were full of laughs. It was wonderful!
That was the first week of Vacation! Will share more spots and locations next week.
