Our morning started off again with breakfast in our room before making our way down to the marina. Mason really wanted the three of us to rent scooters. Since it was pretty early on a Sunday, there was not much traffic and we were able to move freely on the paths. I was smitten with the scooter ride (although I admit I would have felt better had we been wearing helmets).
It is easy to see how these scooters would be really helpful for folks staying in the area and shuttling themselves to the convention center, local restaurants and shops.
Next stop was a trip south. We couldn’t pass up the opportunity to cross the border. Truthfully, we were mainly hoping to get Mason another stamp in his passport.
Crossing over into Mexico was easy. We filled out visa form, flashed our passport and gained admittance. Once we were on Mexican soil, Bill and I led Mason to the area where we used to occasionally go when we were younger. It turns out Tijuana has changed tremendously in the last thirty years. What used to be a thriving, bustling border crossing was very deserted. Thankfully, a very kind taxi driver picked us up, drove us to Avenida Revolución (the main drag) and directed us to how to contact him when we were ready to return to the USA.
We had brunch at Tia Juana Tilly’s and then we returned to the little shop where we haggled for some souvenirs and awaited our taxi.
The experience was quite fun and Mason now can say he has been to the countries that border the United States to the north and the south.
On our way to drop Mason off at UCSD, we made one more detour to Rite Aid drugstore. We were all healthy but Bill wanted to share a childhood memory with Mason. Bill and I both grew up eating ice cream from Thrifty. It was a really cheap treat. Back in my day, a single scoop was 15 cents, a double was 30 and a triple was a whopping 40 cents. The scoops were cylindrical and stacked on the cone like a column. It was, and still is, the only place I knew of where ice cream was served like that.
Bill’s memory was jogged about Thrifty after reading a recent article about a majoy grocery chain buying out the ice cream company. I bet that was the day that Bill added this excursion to our San Diego itinerary. The scoops are larger now and cost a bit more, but now Mason has experienced a piece of our childhood that Bill and I are so nostalgic about.
Then we were off to UCSD to check Mason into camp. He is attending a camp run by Digital Media Academy called Intro to Filmmaking. He will be staying on campus until Friday when Gramma and Papa pick him up. After settling him in, we wished him well and drove off.
Once on our own, Bill and I drove around San Diego and reacquainted ourselves with some of the schools Bill attended when he was stationed in San Diego.
After much deliberation, we decided our last meal in San Diego should be Mexican. We parked the car back at the hotel and walked through the Gaslamp Quarter to La Puerta. It was more of a bar than a restaurant but the food was out of this world. We started with an order of guacamole (picture from their website). The chips were fresh and cut from thick tortillas and could support the weight of the chunkiest guac I may have ever had.
Bill and I each ordered a burrito and I asked for mine to be wet. We both decided this restaurant was a great find as we walked back to the hotel. Tomorrow we head home.
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