I am woefully behind on my blog, as usual. I am just now telling of an arrival in San Diego, while the rest of my friends and fellow bloggers have long moved on. So the next five posts will be short on prose, as I attempt to capture the essence of my two weeks in San Diego in subtitles…
First up…The Markets. And Beer!
On any given day, you can find a Farmers Market in San Diego. Tuesday is Coronado, Wednesday is Ocean Beach, Thursday is North Park, Saturday is Little Italy, and Sunday is Hillcrest.
I only managed to make it to two of the markets, Hillcrest, and Ocean Beach.
Of the two, Ocean Beach and Hillcrest, I found Hillcrest to be more about the food, while Ocean Beach was more about the arts….and patchouli oil. 😉 (Do you think they make this tee shirt in my 94 year old father’s size?)
Lots of unusual items on display here. Not much mainstream produce…
I haven’t seen squash blossoms since Oaxaca.
Mushrooms this beautiful must surely be magic…
Oh, this Mango Chili Lime was soooo good!!
Admiring the beauty in the antiques… L to R, Debbie, Kim, and Gayle.
Debbie adds perspective to artichokes as big as your head!
Lots of food stands at Hillcrest….Pho Realz, Ya’ll!
I stepped on an entire family of these once. Nothing can make me lose my appetite faster than the memory of 50 sea urchin spines in my instep!
Tastes like?….”Custard??”
No Farmers Market would be complete without them!
San Diego is rapidly gaining a reputation for being the “Craft Beer Capital of America.” While we were visiting, what was reported to be the 100th brewery opened. I joined Jim and Gayle, mid-quest in attempt to visit them all…
Today’s post is paired with a selection from Hillcrest Brewery, where the flight offerings included Crotch Rocket Red, Hop Sucker Double IPA, Banana Hammock Scotch Ale, Long and Stout Russian Imperial Stout, and Triple Trouble Belgian Style Ale.
Nothing says Easter Sunday like a “hoppy” IPA from the Easter Bunny Bartender!
Debbie, helping guard the flight long enough for a photo…
Soon never to be seen again!
In addition, a nice pairing with the Ocean Beach Farmers Market was the nearby Pizza Port, home of “Tasty Grub and Grog,” just one block from the market. The night we visited, they were offering a delightful Eukaryst Sinister Imperial Oatmeal Stout. Unfortunately, I was too busy chowing down on the famous pizza with the wholegrain beer crust to remember to take photos.
Next up…Part 2 of 5, “The Biking…and the Beer!” (As you can tell, there is going to be a common thread throughout this series.) 😉
“He was a wise man who invented beer.”
~Plato
You chose well on the farmers markets for a sample of quality and a sample of funky! If those red mushrooms were at the OB farmers market they very well could have had magic qualities!
I LOVE the names of the Hillcrest Brewing beers! Very appropriate for the neighborhood! 😉
Lisa — Yes, your assessment is perfect. I loved all the beautiful produce at Hillcrest. But while at OB, I had to keep reminding myself to stop looking at the booths, because what was walking around was far more interesting! haha!! Wish I had made it to Little Italy, but the timing was never right…
yep, loved the beer in San Diego…
John, we sampled one of our “Pre-San Diego” favorites at happy hour recently, and agreed we are forever spoiled after San Diego beer!
Oh, what fun! Thanks for the memories. ..
Yes, Kim, if only we could remember them after all that beer!
Thank goodness for blogs, right? Already I am asking myself “What did I do for two weeks?”
Oh no, no, no — you are most definitely not in the category of “woefully behind” on your blog. (I am, however.) We never made it to the Hillcrest Farmer’s Market — it’s on our list for our next layover in San Diego. Looks fun and colorful!
Laurel — It was fun and interesting, but be sure to hit the one on Ocean Beach too if you haven’t been. It takes “colorful” to a whole new level! haha!!
So you want to hear something really wierd. I had a blog reader anonymously send me two of those “I pooped today” T-shirts. To this day I still don’t quite get it. Love the pics as usual. Plus I miss San Diego beer.
Nina
Oh, I am sorry, Nina….I laughed and laughed at that comment! Maybe they got you confused with Roxanne from the Good Luck Duck who loves to blog about poop! Otherwise, unless you are 94 like my Dad, I don’t get the connection. We can’t seem to stop with the brewery stops! Found two here in Temecula! Another Karl Strauss, and a local called “Garage.” Gonna need an intervention soon…
Oh, Nina that is weird, very weird!! I want one for Mike’s Dad, not that he would wear it but the shirt says it all when you are 92 years old!
Janna — ain’t it the truth! haha!
Love squash blossoms but the sea urchins don’t look all that appealing. Sherry would love all those wacky quackies. What a fun time.
Gaelyn, I too thought about Sherry’s co-pilots when I saw those duckies.
Ah, a multitude of beers, flowers and raw sea urchins you must have been in heaven.
Allen — Yes, indeed, I love the beer and flower heaven, but I was happy to just gawk at the urchin! I have tasted a lot of things in my travels, but can’t quite get up for that one!
I can hardly wait until I can get back to the beer tastings. I am missing out on so much. Can you guess what I will be doing in SD later this year? 😉 Love that red mushroom. I agree with Lisa, if it’s OB, it probably has some mystical properties.
Bring on the next beer post!
So much fun…..love it all. But I still could not stay in that RV Park.