He Lost His Hat On The Skyfari

On Friday 7/20, we all went to lunch at In-N-Out Burger.  Peppermint got her first taste of In-N-Out back when she visited us in 2009.  This would be her son Nicholas' first In-N-Out experience.


And of course, I encouraged a first-ever-never-before-seen joint "Todd Shot". 


I don't think Tom liked In-N-Out as much as the rest of us.  He didn't eat half his burger. 


After lunch, we headed to the world-famous San Diego Zoo.  We took the Skyfari across the park.  I was taking a photo of Tom, Peppermint, and Nicholas the same time that Tom was taking a photo of us.  Ha!


Poor Todd.  He wore his white Ironman California 70.3 finisher hat, and it got blown off his head while we were on the Skyfari!  It fell into a tree below.  He worked so hard for that hat!


We couldn't resist this photo opp. :p


One of the polar bears at the zoo was playing with this ball.  He would toss it over to the rocks and the ball would bounce back to him.  He did this over and over again.


Then he dove to the bottom of the water and came up with some carrots to snack on!


This hippo held his breath under water for over 5 minutes, just walking around and entertaining us.


Open up and say "ah"!


Asian elephant.


California condors.


Giraffe hanging out.


Our day at the zoo concluded around 5:30. 




We jumped in the car and went over the Coronado Bridge to Coronado Island for dinner.  I always love this view of San Diego while on the bridge.


Nicholas is a big car buff.  He was looking for Ferraris and Maseratis, but I found this big yellow VW van to be quite charming.


Whenever we cross the bridge over to Coronado Island, I always feel like we've entered into a whole new idyllic small town world.


Arriving at our destination, the Hotel Del Coronado.  Or as locals call it, "The Del".


We had planned a dinner on the Hotel Del Coronado sun deck.  Todd and I did this for the first time last summer and loved it. 


Such an iconic landmark.  I never get tired of taking pictures of it.


We found a table on the sun deck and enjoyed the ocean views and the band that played near us.


One thing I learned during Peppermint's visit is that her whole family doesn't like to pose for photos.  So I have some rare photos of them looking at the camera.  Otherwise it's always the non-chalant look-away.  At least Todd smiled.


I got the shrimps with tomatillo sauce and it was phenomenal!  It came with tortillas and corn fritters, which were delicious.


Peppermint got sea scallops.


Todd and Tom both got the sea bass.  This one with an extra dose of sun!



After dinner, we walked over to Moo Time Creamery, our favorite ice cream place in San Diego.  Todd and I shared a two-scoop with caramel and butter pecan flavors and it was really delicious. 


The sun went down the horizon as we headed out of the hotel to our car.  I love how this scene looked.  This is how I imagine a perfect summer memory to be.






There was a wedding on the beach.


Tom, Peppermint, and Nicholas walking to the car with us. 


I love Coronado and the Hotel Del.  Very happy to share that love with friends.