Day 2: Jacob's trip -- Coronado and the San Diego Padres

June 1, 2019 (Saturday)  WARNING: There are blank spaces in this draft where I will be inserting movies. 

We got up leisurely and had the breakfast buffet at the hotel. We then got the car from the valet and headed to Coronado.

A look back at our hotel area from the Coronado Bridge.

Looking at Coronado from the bridge.

San Diego in the background.

Looking back at the bridge.

I've had several people say that to drive the bridge spooked them. We were stuck in traffic for most of the drive because one lane was closed down. But I was fascinated with the scenery.

We followed the signs to the historic hotel. It was built in 1888 and at the time was the largest resort hotel in the world. Notable guests have included Thomas Edison, L. Frank Baum, Charlie Chaplin, King Kalakaua of Hawaii,Vincent Price, Babe Ruth, James Stewart, Bette Davis and Katharine Hepburn. More recently, guests have included Kevin Costner, Whoopi Goldberg, Gene Hackman, George Harrison, Keanu Reeves, Brad Pitt, Madonna, Barbra Streisand, and Oprah Winfrey.

These presidents have stayed at the hotel: Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, William Howard Taft, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, 

More information on the hotel.

Jacob just finishing taking a photo of the chandelier. He seemed pretty impressed.

Here's the lobby. It's very dark.

We stepped out into the courtyard just briefly.

We were fascinated by this tree. They had some very exotic plants and 

the gardens were so well-tended.

Bird of paradise.

Pedestrians took this footpath from the street to the front of the hotel.

These were HUGE birds of paradise in the pedestrian walkway.

Before we left, I had to take a photo of the gas prices. On the mainland it was about $4.69.

All Jacob really wanted to do was shop. We found a T-shirt he liked for $5, but that was the only bargain of the day.

We drove south along the beach, passing the Silver Strand beach and a few of the Navy outposts. As we rounded around towards the mainland (and I-5) we saw a Jack-in-the-box and Jacob decided we'd have lunch there.  After we ordered our food (and he LOVED his spicy chicken sandwich), a very strange customer walked in.

This woman walked in with two or three kids -- and a cat on a leash. You can see Jacob gazing at her. What we didn't realize until later, when she turned around, is that the woman had a beard! After she got her food, they all went outside to eat. Now, that was a different experience. 

We got back to the room and Paul took a nap while Jacob and I went to shop at the Seaport Village. It was an easy couple blocks walk from the hotel.

He found the hoodie he wanted in his size!

Outside, stylin' by the foundation.

He was feeling fly enough to try out a hammock.

We walked as far down as the Midway museum. We'll hit it another day.

Seaport Village.

San Diego Bay.

Another view of the Midway.

Around 4:30 we left to catch the Green Line trolley up to the Gaslamp Quarter for dinner.

Our biggest problem is finding a place for Jacob to eat (as I said, he's picky). We finally saw a restaurant with chicken tenders on the menu so we stopped there. (Cold Beer and Cheeseburgers). 

The entrance to the Gaslamp Quarter.

Eating his chicken tenders and fries.

We got a view of several low riders parading past us.

After dinner, we walked over to Petco Park, where the San Diego Padres were playing the Miami Marlins.  Jacob, of course, rooted for the Marlins.

He checked out the Hall of Fame wall.

The two rivals.

Our seats were located almost directly next to first base, 28 rows up.

Our view of the big board,

Jacob was prepared for the fireworks.

The grounds crew fixing the field.

Friar Faithful, the mascot.

Navy seaman with the National Anthem presentation.

Machado got the loudest roar when introduced.

Our flyover. 

Part of the homerun celebration.

"Anchorman" run.

Two fans jumped onto the field and security ran them down. The one guy was subdued and taken off quite quickly, but, man, that second dude fought! I filmed it but not sure if it will post. I got the security guy pounding him once on the ground. They finally had actual police come on the field.  It took awhile to get him cuffed and hauled away. The ball players watched amusedly at first, but then just started tossing the ball to each other.

Machado up! 

Our selfie that later became famous!

He tried this hat on, but decided to buy a t-shirt instead. 

Notice the photo on the bottom right of the big board! Yes, that's us! Unfortunately Jacob's face is obscured by the text. But it was shown at least four or five times and once it was in the center of the board and you could see Jacob clearly. HE WAS THRILLED. "Our 15 minutes of fame," he said. The people behind us congratulated us!  

Final score: Marlins 9, Padres 3. We got to see a home run by Naylor (Padres) but missed the one by the Marlins (as that's when we were shopping). Jacob was happy. Took the trolley back but didn't go to bed until midnight PDST.

Tomorrow -- the Mexco border and Old Town.

Miles walked today: 6.2