Think Different; Think Rachel!: Do You Know The Way to San...Diego?

The Friday after Thanksgiving, Diane and I went on a sister vacay to San Diego. Every year that she works with her company, she accrues two R & R days, which means that she and a guest (in this case, me) get to spend a complimentary night in any of her company's hotels. It also means that all meals and services at the hotel are also complimentary...pretty sweet, if you ask me! We did this last year and stayed at the Westgate Hotel in downtown San Diego; it was a blast, so we did it again! This year, however, we were able to plan ahead and give ourselves a little more lounging time, time to sight-see, and just time, in general to be together. This stay was even more amazing than the last!

Friday morning, we woke up early and drove to San Diego, where we went to the temple. Diane hadn't been inside since we went through the open house when we were kids. It's such a beautiful place!

Not many people were around so we didn't get many pictures of us together and the one that we did get is not flattering to either of us, so this one will have to do! ; )

After the temple, we drove to the hotel and checked in. We brought in our stuff and then decided to go to the hotel restaurant for lunch. It was fun to try out different types of foods and get a dessert that looked less like food and more like an abstract sculpture. Dang it! Why did I not take a picture of it!?!?

Next, we drove to Old Town and took the tour at the Mormon Battalion Visitor Center. It was a first for Diane, since the place had been remodeled, and it did not disappoint.

Then we walked around Old Town and had time to talk and catch up. It was nice to be able to spend this kind of time with my sister since she lives in Utah and I don't get to see her as often as I'd like.

When Old Town closed, we went back to the room, watched "Bride Wars" and enjoyed the view from our balcony.

Then we ordered room service for dinner!

There's something to be said for eating a fancy dinner in your jammies and a ponytail...no make-up required. It was especially nice because the restaurant in the hotel has a dress-code and so we would've had to dress up. Blah! ; )

The next morning, we went and took some pictures with the beautiful Christmas decorations in the lobby.

I LOVE CHRISTMAS!

We also played with some of the statues!

I just love this place! So beautiful!

Afterwards, we went back to our room to pack up and get ready to go. Here's the view in the the daylight. We could see out to the harbor and could even see the docked cruise ships.

Last year when we came here, we went down to Seaport Village, so this year we wanted to do something different. We decided to go to Cabrillo National Monument and to see the Point Loma Lighthouse. We used to go here all the time as kids and we LOVE it there!

Cabrillo's Statue overlooking the ocean.

Point Loma Lighthouse

The BEAUTIFUL Pacific Ocean! It really was just breathtaking!

Finally, it was time for lunch at Phil's BBQ. It's a delicious place in San Diego by the old Clippers arena. You can call in your order if you want it to-go, but if you want to eat there, you have to wait in a line, which wraps around the restaurant. I was skeptical that it would be worth the hour we had to wait in line, but was not disappointed when we got our food. It was UH-MAZING!