San Diego Flea Market & Hotel Del Coronado

Yesterday we had planned to go to the Kobey's Swap Meet in San Diego with our friends Michele & Larry.  We packed up and left about 9:30, it was a treat because Larry drove and he knows his way around Southern California very well!.  The Kobey Swap Meet is one of the best in the area and is held every Friday, Saturday & Sunday. Parking is free and it costs only $1 (Senior Discount) to get in.

Kobey Swap Meet

It was a lot better than the one we went to at Oceanside because it seemed that the swap meet had more "antique" dealers as opposed to tee-shirt, perfume, pile of clothes, boxes of store overstock and tool dealers that seem in abundance at the lower quality swap meets (flea markets). It was a real hot day, but the ocean breeze from the shore nearby kept us comfortable.  Elly bought a few things for re-sale, tried to negotiate the purchase of a "loaded" Victorian scrap book (negotiations fell through), and I scored another Sodastream machine for only $20 for Evan back home.  (see my earlier posts about my sodastream).

Elly Inspecting the Merchandise

My New Sodastream

We shopped for about three hours before we packed up Larry's truck and headed out for lunch/dinner.
We went to eat at Anthony's Fish Grotto. This restaurant is right on the Water in San Diego harbor, very close to the battleship Midway Aircraft Carrier. The Midway is on the must visit list for later in the year.

Front of Anthony's

Anthony's from the Pier

 The seafood was excellent, we even had raw oysters and it was a pleasure to sit and chat and to cool off from the hours in the sun and watch the boats in the harbor.  There was even a mock battle between two pirate ships with canon blasts right outside our window.

This is where we sat ..

View from our table

After dinner, Larry wanted to show us some of the sites of San Diego. He decided to head out to Coronado Island as we hadn't been there yet. Wow, we were in for a treat!  As we crossed over the large bridge that brings you to the island, we got a real good view of the San Diego skyline.

Bridge to Coronado Island

Photo I took while we were crossing the Bridge

After a short drive around the cute little town and tourist area, we headed over to Hotel Del Coronado for a drink.  Check out their website here.   You can read the history of "The Del" here on wikipedia.     It is one of the Grand Old Resorts much like the Mount Washington Hotel in Bretton Woods, NH.
 

Hotel Del Coronado

   This place was fabulous.  There were tons of people here, but it was large enough not to seem crowded.

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Larry & Michele walking up to the Hotel

Me & Elly in front of the Hotel

We decided to take take a walk around the place, it is massive, with many bars, restaurants and shops.  Everything was very pricey. Just to stay in the hotel without any special featured room will cost about $400+ per night.  In addition to the rooms in the hotel itself, there were larger villas right on the beach, each with its own pool and individual jacuzzis with a glass wall surround.  These rooms at the Beach Villas will run you from $800 to $3,600 per night.

How about dinner for two on your own private veranda at a beach villa!

Looking back at the hotel from the beach

 There were a few "private events" happening including two weddings, one on the beach.

A Wedding happening at the beach

Me and my new car. ;)

The Pool area for Hotel Guests

 After our leisurely stoll around the grounds we settled into the B&S Bar with a beach view to imbibe and chat with our friends for the evening. A very enjoyable evening!

On the way off the island and on the way home, I snapped this picture of an ice cream store that I thought was cute called "Mootime".

Mootime Creamery.  I liked the art deco style sign

We had a great fun filled day shopping and dining with our friends.  This might qualify for a repeat visit later in the year.