San Diego is a favorite destination for us and as we observe each time we visit, people are happy, life moves calmly along, the scenery is beautiful and as one of our Uber drivers stated, “Why not, we live in perpetual springtime.” True dat my friend. 
This journey was specifically about baseball. The last window to get away before we pour on the work to hopefully pave our pathway for the Snowbird 2018 escape. It was also about taking time to visit a few times with a dear friend whose luck has gone south.
We caught 2 day games and 2 night games. Add that to Phoenix and Denver and we have 10 games under our belt. This attendance level makes for a good season already but hopefully we’ll find a way to escape for more before the rosters close for 2017. #lovemesomeMLB 🙂 We typically try to root for the home team but boy oh boy do the Padres make that tough. This is a ball club that has some challenges. My honey cracked a few jokes about triple a level play. We caught the end of the series with the Brewers and the entire series against the Diamondbacks and finally on Sunday under bright blue skies we saw a Padres win. Petco Park sits smack dab in Downtowm and is a first rate park. Excellent seats were easily had at great prices. We sat close to the field out the first base line and directly behind home plate. Great views. The Padre mascot, Swinging Friar, provided fun entertainment and Sunday was Coast Guard tribute Day and the helicopter flyover at the close of the National Anthem was pretty breath taking. Once again, as our travels have proven lately, cranes dotted the skyline around the park, leading one to believe in some level of prosperity in our world. 
Our hotel was in Little Italy, a location that was a new one for us. Porto Vista was on Columbia Drive just above India Street that is the heart of Little Italy and the thriving Italian eatery scene. The fourth floor housed a bar/restaurant with a great view of the sparkling bay. The rooms were simple, clean and comfortable. The staff was attentive and provided excellent service. The shuttle happily took us anywhere in the surrounding area. We were also close enough for just over a mile and a half walk to the ballpark or the pier which we thoroughly enjoyed. Our first couple stabs at dining in the neighborhood at (Fillipi’s and Landini’s Pizzeria) left us unenchanted but then we found Sorrento and the area was redeemed. Great Italian bread with olive oil heavily spiced with fresh basil, garlic and Parmesan was just the beginning of the tastebuds explosion experienced at Sorrento. We accompanied the bread with an Avocado Salad with Grilled Shrimp and Chicken Saltimboca. We sat outside in what was an old alley way now converted to dining area with iron tables and potted plants and statues of goddesses here and there. We will visit this establishment again and definitely recommend it. There is some good boutique style shopping as well as some antique stores to poke around. I loved the style of Architectural Salvage. This neighborhood is thriving with cranes dotted around in it working on more residential accommodations. The only negative was the jet pathway with the airport just west and south of the area but we would easily stay again if our preference for “steal of a deal” price point search led us to it. 
Our visits to our friend went well. We sure hope they somehow make a difference for him. His tragedy has made us realize yet again how fortunate we are to be in good health. He was aided by Hospice to go “home” while we were there. He is very tired of this 18 month long battle and we can only hope to will him to find the strength to carry on. I have searched words of encouragement and have tried to find the inspiration to compose them myself but they don’t come easily. Remember my friends to value every moment in life, every beauty of nature so that if or when a large battle is before you, you are not capable of fathoming how you would be without any of them. Desire for life and all that we cherish about it must be the root of the strength to survive whatever cards we are dealt. We did get take out to share meals with our friend that deserve a mention. Pho-Ever and Rudy’s were both quick and easy for pick up and insured we had all the necessary paper and plastic supplies as well as condiments and both the Pho and Mexican fare was excellent. We returned for lunch at Pho-Ever before heading to the airport. Memorial Day Weekend and summer lie just ahead. Don’t forget to like my Facebook page for my biz @BoCo Sluice Box, come #livelifewithme!
