Halloween 2016

I didn't dress up this year to pass out candy.

I wore my "costume" all day at work and the weight of the battery pack was irritating me...

My Halloween Costume - The "Stranger Things" Alphabet Wall

It's almost Halloween and I've had the dilemma of trying to figure out which costume I wanted to wear...

I originally wanted to be two other characters...

Mary's Donuts, Lakeside - Grand Opening

Since we were in Lakeside still, Cathy of mmm-yoso alerted me that there was a new location of Mary's Donuts...

which meant of course, we had to go there.

The original Mary's in Santee closed late last year and a new one opened up down the road. Now there is a second location...

Lake Lindo Grill

We visited Bert's mom in Lakeside earlier today and after our visit,

decided to have lunch at a local Middle Eastern place a few minutes away....

Return to Cucina Basilico & Gelato Vero Caffe + dramatic clouds

Last  night Bert and I had night out on our own...

(H St offramp to 805 N)

TC was doing volunteer service at a local Fall Festival...

and was looking forward to helping out with the game booths with her friends...

Patys Restaurant, Toluca Lake

Could this be???

Yes it was Bob of Bob's Big Boy Fame!

The ORIGINAL one too...but we were not eating there...

Recent revisits to La Concha - empanadas, fresh pan dulce & not so good coffee

Over the fall break and just this afternoon we enjoyed some pastries from La Concha, a popular Mexican panaderia in Chula Vista...

This particular visit was with Bert whohadn't been there in a while, plus, there was a coupon I wanted to use...

El Pollo Grill, Bonita

One of my colleagues invited us to lunch with her at a fairly new Mexican eatery...

It's right near the 805 freeway off Bonita Road...

Opened just five weeks ago...

San Diego Serbian Festival 2016 + the St. George Serbian Orthodox Church

Last year TC and I went to the San Diego Serbian Festival on a whim...

I liked the food so much that well, we had to come back...

Painted utility boxes near Duet Coffee

Earlier this month, I met up with Cathy of mmm-yoso...

We had breakfast at the nearby Daily Grind Cafe and headed to this strip mall westward on ECB so we could have coffee at Duet.

Santos Coffee House revisit, homemade lemonade + Mr. Frostie

After checking out the new murals on 30th and Redwood...

TC drove over to the southern end of North Park...

New murals on 30th and Redwood

TC was practicing her driving skills this day...

driving through the southern end of North Park so we could have coffee at Santos...

Coronado Spice & Tea

Earlier this morning while enjoying our drinks at Santos Coffee House...

I didn't realize that this other spot I'd been meaning to check out was right across the street...

Anikin's Fruit & Deli, Golden Hill + Golden Hill Park

TC is learning how to drive and at the time of this visit, hadn't completely finished her six hours of on the road instruction...

That didn't deter us from having her drive from a nearby coffee shop in North Park to Golden Hill...

Sadly, there was no parking in this lot with new (to me) solar panels...

IB Street Tacos

The other night we were out on one of those rare occasions...

As we passed by the former site Marian High School, which was demolished last year, we saw that signs as well as model homes were already up. We would have dinner in IB before dropping off TC for a youth group event...

Spring Break Road Trip 2016 Day 7 - Gilroy & Paso Robles + vintage signs in LA

In the wee hours of the morning, before the sun was even out...

we left our favorite motel in SF (THE first one!) and headed south...

A quick breakfast would be here...

Sweet Revenge Bakery

It's been awhile since I last checked out this particular strip mall.

It's in my old 'hood down south...

Valerio's Bakery closed several years ago when the owner passed away. It is now a pizza place. The Filipino takeout place, Zambales is also gone and replaced by Botanas Locas.  Next to it was a "Bakery" sign so I was hopeful...

Izakaya Naruto revisit

TC was out at her school's homecoming formal with her friends...

Bert and I were over in west Chula Vista...

craving some sushi from Naruto (which replaced the former Kaga Sushi)...

Cake de Partie - the last stop for TORC's birthday crawl

When searching for a dessert place for TORC's birthday crawl, I wanted to go somewhere that we all hadn't been to before. Here's my "drive by" shot (I was the passenger mind you, not the driver).

There were a couple of choices in this area, but Cake de Partie seemed to be the most versatile since it offered not only desserts, but snacks and drinks (soda, teas, and coffee).

Cake de Partie (only two weeks new at time of writing), is located at the site of the now defunct Tea Garden and next to the now empty Pangea Bakery storefront...

Maxwell's House of Books and the La Mesa Antique Mall

I was glad I was able to come back here with my gal pals to check out this particular bookstore.

When Bert, TC and I visited a few weeks ago, we paid Maxwell's House of Books a short visit...

Return to Public Square Coffee House

The day was shaping up to be a hot one especially as we headed inland to La Mesa...

where the next stop of TORC's Birthday crawl would be...

I've been here before but now, I was here with the Educator GF's...

A tale of two breakfasts @ The Lot in Liberty Station

Last month and earlier today I had the opportunity to dine at the Lot in Liberty Station.

I'd heard of the Lot in La Jolla. These are upscale movie theaters that provide guest with a high quality dining and cinema experience.

Kirbie chose the venue for our breakfast that day...

Souplantation, Chula Vista

A month or so ago, the co-workers and I had a training down south...

Before heading back to work, we had lunch off Main St in Chula Vista...

Capetown Bar and Grill revisit

Last week, before watching a PASACAT Extravaganza performance in La Jolla,

we made the short trek over to the Miramar area to have some lunch.

I noticed that the strip mall sign had changed...

The Pizza Place on Noriega + revisits to Noriega Produce, Devil's Teeth Bakery & dinner from Java Beach Cafe

The Pizza Place on Noriega is next to Noriega Produce market...

as well as across the street from Devil's Teeth Bakery...

San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers

By now the sun was out in full force.

It wasn't burning hot at least, but made for a pleasant day out in the park...

Golden Gate Park that is...specifically the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers...

Mt. Davidson Pt. 3 - The views + the iconic "dead tree"

At the opposite end of the cross was a path...

which led to these views....

The city was still covered with morning fog...

Bourre Southern Bistro

This past Friday while TC was at a football game, Bert and I took this opportunity to head out to dinner..

Thank goodness for our FastPass transponder, I love using the 125 and not dealing with the mess on the 805...

Above, the view of Mount Miguel as veered north...

Return to S3 Coffee Bar, Donut Panic, Olive Baking Co. & Charlie's Best Bread, Pavaraga (PB) & Duet Coffee

I'm too lazy to do separate posts, so this is a combo post to be more efficient, ha ha.

This particular stripmall is in Grantville...

destination of one of my favorite donut joints plus a nice and new coffee bar...

Mt. Davidson Part 2 - The Cross from "Dirty Harry"

And here it is...

a gigantic cross that has been there since 1934 and lit by FDR via telegraph!

Mt. Davidson, Part 1 - The walk uphill

Fresh from breakfast and coffee at Beachside and Trouble...

we made our way past the famous Doggie Diner head on Sloat (more info here from a previous post)...

and headed east toward the fog shrouded hill...

Spring Break Road Trip 2016 Day 6 - Beachside Coffee Bar & Kitchen + Judah Street & Trouble Coffee revisit

It's back to the Spring Break Road Trip post...

We were back here on Judah Street...

One of the main streets in the Outer Sunset (much like Noriega)...

We were up bright and early for breakfast at this neighborhood cafe...