San Clemente - The pier and Beach Ice Cream

Before heading home, we stopped by the seaside town of San Clemente...

which TC reminded me was the home of skater Ryan Sheckler (he played a hockey player in the abominable movie "The Tooth Fairy" which also starred The Rock; why did I even waste my time watching that....ha ha)...

Plus, they do have a really pretty pier...

Olive Baking Company

While in Mission Beach, why not see the beach, right?

We were taking a short stroll to get to the boardwalk when I saw this sign...

Return to Better Buzz The Lab + scenes from Mission Beach

Later that same morning, we wanted to have...

even more caffeine!

Bert hadn't been here before so it was a good excuse to revisit The Lab (Better Buzz's location in Mission Beach)...

To the Point Cafe and Eatery

Yesterday TC had a tennis event and we had to drop her off early...

The skies were gloomy and foggy as we made our way up the 5, passing by my favorite landmark, the Palm Reader sign near Division St. in National City...

and seeing the top of this new'ish building on Market Street covered by fog...

New flavors at Hogetsu

A recent training brought me to the area...

where I had a sudden craving for mochi sweets since it was so close by...

I hadn't been here in quite awhile and it was time for a revisit...

Return to Twist Sandwiches & North Park Nursery

Still in North Park but veering towards the boundary of Hillcrest...

is Twist Sandwiches, located between a liquor store and mariscos place...

Cafe Moto & Nomad revisit

This past Saturday, we headed out to enjoy the weekend..

First up was coffee at one of our favorite roasters...

Good ole Cafe Moto...

Hawthorn Coffee

This is a bit of a "late" post, but then again many of my posts have been in the queu for quite awhile, including our Summer 2014 road trip (which I promise to finish soon)...

So here is a fairly new coffee shop located in University Heights...

It's off Adams and 30th and across the street from Antique Row Cafe. The green vintage tile and the handmade benches were inviting...

Star Dust sign is gone

Gone is this...

the iconic missing letters sign for Imperial Beach donut institution, Star Dust...

Verbatim Books, trio of drinks from Caffe Calabria + TC's plants

After our "mini dinner" at Encontro, we were about to head to Dark Horse Coffee around the corner when I saw this...

Bert and I spied this toward the end of last year but it hadn't yet opened. This time, it looked "fully operational"...

Encontro North Park

After getting a coveted two hour parking spot near Caffe Calabria (score)...

we thought we would give the newly opened Encontro a try...

Signs in LA plus Amoeba Music and the Capitol Records Building

A Hi-Fi sign seen while in traffic en route to downtown LA...

Okay, there was a sequel?  Who green lighted that? The first movie wasn't too bad but still...

I was more interested in that vintage sign and giant globe...

Lemon Poppy Kitchen

Since I did most of the planning for the trip, I was a bit brain-fried and didn't plan on where to eat for lunch. Thankfully my husband took over the "lunch" destination duty...

Doing his research the night before and deciding on a nearby eatery so we wouldn't have to drive too far...

Nestled in Verdugo Plaza near a water store and coin laundry was our welcomed lunch spot...

Walking in LA - The Hidden Steps of L.A. - Glassel Park North

We had the morning ahead of us after our coffee break at Intelligenstia...

We headed down the freeway to the city of Eagle Rock...

Ave 40 was our exit which would lead us to the neighborhood of Glassel Park...

Return to Intelligentsia, Pasadena

It's the return of the LA Road Trip post from last President's Day weekend. I vow to finish it before this year's President's Day, ha ha.

To refresh our collective memories, we enjoyed our pastries obtained the day before from Copenhagen, especally the Kransecake (an icing striped coffee cake with almond filling) and the coffee bread...

Our hotel was just a short walk to our coffee destination...

City Farmer's Nursery revisit

A few days ago we revisited City Farmer's Nursery...

Noticing that the sign was painted over...

Lunch @ Bracero Cocina de Raiz (plus pre lunch dessert at Pan Bon)

A few days ago, I had the pleasure of having lunch with one of my dear friends, MFH.

We had planned to go to Bracero twice before...

More inflation reflected in Mandarin's menu...

I was at Mandarin Chinese recently with some friends...

and saw the inevitable...

We'll take the whole menu please...drinks @ Mostra Coffee + desserts from Champagne French Bakery

D and I knew we wanted our group to come here for coffee...

ever since our first visit a few months ago...

KD's Birthday brunch @ Ocean Pacific Grille

[Sadly, Ocean Pacific Grille is now CLOSED, as of December 2016 - Sadness]

Yesterday, the Educator GF's (me, TORC and D) celebrated KD's birthday...

and as they usually do, let me plan the itinerary for today which brought us to the Gaslamp for brunch...

RIP David Bowie

Today, one of music's greatest songwriters and performers died...

RIP David Bowie (1947 - 2016)...

Return to Sandwich Bags Deli

With my precious Mary's donuts ensconced in the back seat...

I made my way to this strip mall...

Mary's Donuts is alive for another month or so...

Dramatic cloud cover made a pretty picture as I made my pilgrimage to Mary's Donuts...

which will remain open until next month...

Da Nang revisit

We hadn't been to Da Nang in awhile...

and I had a craving for my favorite soup...

Return to Mostra and Champagne French Bakery

With TC volunteering at  at event at her school,  Bert and I were on our own...

We decided to head up north so that Bert could try out Mostra Coffee...

Last taste of Mary's Donuts or is it?

I wonder if this is how that one person felt on December 24th during closing time at Mary's Donuts..

but just like how the Dread Pirate Roberts lets Westley live in "The Princess Bride"...

Late breakfast at Manna with TC

Along with the New Year comes a slight increase in prices...

as TC and I noted this quiet Wednesday morning...

Feliz Ano + Rosca de Reyes

Earlier this morning I was out during errands...

and thought I'd drop by La Concha bakery...

More holiday paintings + return to the "One Nation Under Doom" House

I wish the taco shops in San Diego were this creative...

These gems were sent from Cathy as she set out for Pasadena that day after the Rose Parade...

Return to Golden House

We hadn't been here in awhile...

and for the sake of convenience (and also because TC was craving orange chicken)...

"Love and Respect" Mural in Linda Vista

During the winter break while gift and food shopping...

I saw this cool mural in this parking lot while on my way to Thuan Phat.

I made sure to document it after my trip to the store...

Holsem + a new mural & other forms of street art in North Park

The morning was still young...

before heading home, we made a stop at one of my favorite coffee shops in San Diego...

Return to the Old Mill Cafe

Yikes, I just realized I published this post in skeleton form, meaning no actual text. Iguess I was just in a hurry to put this out. So now that it's fixed...here it is.

Anyhow, after our morning session at Mount Helix....

breakfast was in order and we thought we would do a daytime revisit here...

Mount Helix Park

The day after New Year's...

we headed out super early (as in 6:15 am'ish)....

New Year's Day + Capirotada

Just a few minutes after midnight, TC and Bert lit up a box of these sparklers...

(sparklers from TJ, courtesy of Thor)

while we ushered in the New Year...