June 18, 2010

Woo Hoo! It's Friday! It's Friday! I love Fridays!

I know you can't tell, but I'm doing a little happy dance! 🙂

If you've been reading BigSisLilSis for any period of time, you already know that Friday is my favorite day of the week and today is not only a Fantastic Friday, it's a Fantabulous Friday!

SirHoney and I got some fantastic news this week, plus BigSis and SisMama are here in Southern California visiting us, and today, we're heading to the casino! BigSis says she enjoys gambling at online casinos at the moment because you can learn all you need to know about online bonuses and take better advantage of them. I told her we won't be benefiting from many bonuses in this casino, but she was happy enough that we were getting to play some slots. Since we're probably going to be playing penny slots, were not really expecting to hit it big, but we're going to have fun trying! Perhaps we may have to follow this link or find another online casino similar so we can play something a little more thrilling than penny slots, this way we'll have a better chance of hitting it big as well, wish us luck!

On another note, since we were just talking about Man vs. Food, did anyone happen to catch the season premier episode on Wednesday night that was filmed here in San Diego? It was awesome! Our favorite part of the show was when Adam tackled the legendary Ironman Challenge at the infamous Broken Yolk Cafe.

Broken Yolk Cafà© Special (For the Iron man or woman)
A dozen-egg omelet filled with mushrooms, onions, American cheese and smothered with chili and more cheese. On the other half of a 15-inch pizza pan is a generous pile of homefries and two biscuits. The Broken Yolk Special is free if you eat it all within an hour.

Here's a peek at just a couple of their giant four egg omelets. Can you imagine what that 12 egg omelet looks like close-up?

We're trying to talk HayHay into letting us take him to Broken Yolk Cafe to attempt the challenge, so if we make our own Young Man vs. Food video, we'll be back to share it with you. Otherwise, we're in Vay Cay mode here in So Cal and we'll check back in if we have something fun to report.

Have a great weekend! 🙂

~LilSis

September 29, 2009

The San Diego tourism, along with just about every other industry, has been affected by our poor economy. I was so disappointed to read that San Diego is going to lose it's only year-round cruise ship by April, 2010.  Carnival Cruise Lines has decided to relocate its' 2,052 passenger ship, Elation from its' home port in San Diego to Mobile, Alabama.

California's battered economy, along with the sharp drop-off in travel to Mexico because of the swine flu scare and an increase in drug-related violence in Baja, California, has driven business down for the cruise line.

Not everyone realizes how much of an impact this can be for the city. A study conducted by the Port Authority in 2005 found that each cruise ship contributes $2 million dollars to the economy.  Multiply that by the 78 stops that Elation makes in San Diego during a year, and that's nearly $160 million in lost revenue.

Earlier this year, the Port District was trying to persuade the Walt Disney Co. to bring its' planned West Coast cruise operations to San Diego, but the Disney Cruise line ultimately chose the Los Angeles area.

One bit of good news for San Diego was the debut last week of Royal Caribbeans' Radiance of the Seas, an eight-year old, 2,500 passenger ship that will be making about 30 round trip cruises to Mexico from San Diego. In the beginning, the cruise line will be offering four and five night trips to the Mexican Riviera through November 16. After that, the ship will offer nine to twelve nights through May to destinations such as Acapulco, Ixtapa, Ensenada, Puerto Vallarta, and Mazatlan.

The arrival of Radiance also marks the launch of the cruise line’s military appreciation campaign. In recognition of the contributions made by members of the U.S. military, Royal Caribbean is donating $10,000 to Wounded Warriors Families Support, an organization that provides support to the families of those who have been wounded, injured or killed during combat operations.

Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship Radiance of the Sea (photo credit: John Gibbins/Union Tribune)

I actually saw the Royal Caribbean Radiance last Friday when I drove past the harbor on my way to the airport. It's a gorgeous ship! Thanks for coming to San Diego Royal Caribbean!

~LilSis

July 6, 2009

Got your summer vacation planned? Anyone still trying to decide on a great place to visit that's jam-packed with things to do? If that's the case, you might want to consider visiting beautiful San Diego, California. Whether you're traveling alone or with children, there is absolutely, without a doubt, something in San Diego for all ages.

Here's a list of just some of the main attractions that you'll find here in San Diego.

• San Diego Zoo
• SeaWorld
• Balboa Park (home to 15 major museums)
• Birch Aquarium
• Marine Corps Command Museum
• Wild Animal Park
• Legoland
• California Surf Museum
• San Diego Air and Space Museum

If you're lucky enough to have time for some fun day trips, here are a just a few ideas.

• Cruise the historic Highway 101 to find everything from historic buildings, specialty shops, and beach side restaurants.
• Relax and play on Mission Bay.
• Tour the USS Midway.
• Cruise to Catalina Island.
• Take the 15 minute scenic ferry ride to Coronado Island to visit the legendary Hotel Del Coronado.
• Drive up to Oceanside Pier for a walk out on one of the largest wooden piers on the West Coast.
• Take a Trolley Tour. Check out the San Diego Metro Transit site for timetables.
• Walk around the Gas Lamp Quarter in Downtown San Diego for amazing shopping and dining.
• Visit Historic Old Town, the Birthplace of California. After siteseeing, have lunch at my favorite, Cafe Coyote for some of the best Mexican Food in Old Town.

Lastly, for specific dates on events or for more information about San Diego, check out the San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau site. Whether you've got a week or just a long weekend, you really can't go wrong in choosing  San Diego as your vacation destination.

We've lived here for seven years and still haven't managed to see or do everything on this list! 🙂

~LilSis