Taking a Leap

Well, as my stay in San Diego is drawing to a close, I'll remember most the meals I had. Whether that makes it a good or bad trip, I'll let you decide.

Monday night we went to Sushi Ota, where I had some very enjoyable tuna. I'll have to remember that for return trips to the area.



Tuesday night, it was off to Fleming's Steakhouse, where I had what may be the most expensive meal I've ever had. Not the best -- I've had better for 1/10 the price and worse for 1/2 the price. But pretty darn good. The bill was augmented by the wine ordering. I had a 2001 Frog's Leap Merlot and a Stag's Leap Petit Syrah (I didn't catch the year).

Wednesday, after a reception related to the meeting I'm at, we played NTN at the Sports City Cafe and Brewery. It had an NTN feature I hadn't seen before -- individual TVs at each booth. I guess that's a non-NTN feature if you're not playing, but it was handy not to have to crane our necks.

Last night, I was full after a week of eating, so I just hit the concierge lounge at the Marriott. I did go to Rubio's for tacos for a couple of lunches.

First Ski Trip of the Season

This is the fourth winter Christina and I have been skiing together, and it's the latest we've gotten started, what with bad weather and then all of her traveling in January. But we got underway last night with the late night ski at Whitetail. Each of the three Pennsylvania ski areas owned by SnowTime, Inc. has two nights during the season where they sell you a 3 or 4 hour lift ticket for around $15. Compared to the regular prices, it's a pretty good deal.

Last night was a good way of shaking out all the cobwebs before the "real" ski trip we're hoping to take on Thursday. The first time out, I had incredible pain in one of my boots. Christina helped me set it right, but it took a while. I think they key lesson is that I need to take a lot of time putting on my boots to make sure it's done right.

It was also freaking cold last night. That's what finally did us in after a couple of hours. I think we need to buy masks to keep the wind off our faces. Either than, or not go skiing at night when it's so cold.

I was pretty happy with how I picked up from 11 months without skiing. By the end of the evening, I was OK skiing the hardest green (easy) and easiest blue (intermediate) slopes. I didn't make it to the "real" blues, from the top of the mountain. That would have been nice, as the lift runs a lot faster -- and there are fewer bonehead skiers on those slopes.