West Coast: Day 8 and Day 9

On day 8 of my 9 day west coast trip it was essential I make it down to San Diego to see the Padres play. Instead of making the two hour trip south from Los Angeles just to watch baseball, my aunt and I made it a small day trip. We first went to Cabrillo National Monument on Point Loma just outside of San Diego. This peninsula is the assumed first landing by a Eurpoean on what is now the west coast of the United States. From this point we could see downtown San Diego and the navel base on Point Loma. While we only saw one large Navy ship, there were several smaller ships in the ocean below and helicopters flying around above. Also at Cabrillo National Monument was one of the first lighthouses on the west coast. After Cabrillo National Monument, my aunt and I ate a Mexican restaurant in old town San Diego. The restaurant had a lady out front making fresh tortillas. I made sure to order something with a fresh tortilla so I ordered the carnitas. Ordinarilly I would say that the fillings are the critical aspects of Mexican cuisine but the fresh tortillas made the dish. We then headed to Petco Park where the Padres played the Nationals. The ballpark review of Petco Park has already been posted. After the game we made the two hour drive back to Los Angeles.

On the last day of my trip I took it easy. I ate at a local burrito place on Hermosa Beach where my cousins have seen many L.A. Kings players through the years. I then walked to the Manhattan Beach Peir and back. It was kind of cool to see all the expensive beach homes right next to the beach. I can imagine how renting a beach house for a week and going to the bars right off the pier would be a blast but I don't have that kind of money and would rather spend my time going to baseball stadiums. 

I then took the red-eye flight back to Michigan. I tried to sleep on the plane with very limited success. I flew Spirit Airlines which must have the least amount of leg room of any airline in world. Additionally, a lady on the flight had a food allergy reaction so they had to turn the lights on in the cabin and make a few announcements, consequently waking everyone up. My flight got back into Detroit at 6 AM and one of my roommates was gracious enough to pick me up.