“I don’t believe I’ve ever played a hip dude.  I don’t think I would have the wherewithal to do that.” – Eugene Levy

We’re 11 days into our condo remodel and move-in day is a mere 13 days away.  The stresses of a short sale process, closing and now a remodel have definitely taken their toll on our psyches…and our pocket books.  Fortunately a previously scheduled business/pleasure trip has arrived.

Bella is a Chair of a division of the Orange County MTAC (Music Teacher’s Association of California) and their annual convention is being held at the Town & Country Resort and Conference Center (A: 500 Hotel Circle North, San Diego, CA  92108.  P: 888-231-3058.  W: towncountry.com).  The drive was amazingly easy and we park in the back lot near the Royal Palm Tower.

Bella heads to her student’s room in the tower while I walk the grounds.  As I observe my surroundings I feel as if I’m in a 70s’ time warp as I can little that’s changed since then.  I quickly realize my first amateur travel journalist error by leaving my camera in the car.

Directly outside the meeting rooms building are a family of raccoons concealed slightly by well-manicured bushes.  I count a mama and four babies.  It is as if they are laughing at my camera memory slip as they camp out for what seems like a lifetime.  The mama however is at least somewhat cautious and aware of my gazing eyes.  The babies climb on top of and over each other and begin slapping each other across the face.

I observe the raccoons for a few minutes before hotel guests begin to stop to see what has caught my attention.  Within a minute a gathering has congregated and people are whispering, pointing, smiling and snapping photos with their cell phones.  A friendly Chinese woman and I talk about them for a while before the raccoons retire to a more private area around the tree.  She and the crowd disperse and I continue walking the grounds.

Lafayette Hotel

Bella meets me back at the tower and we drive to the posh, chic, ultra-hip Lafayette Hotel (A: 2223 El Cajon Blvd., San Diego, CA  92104.  P: 619-296-2101.  W: lafayettehotelsd.com).  They’ve been in business since 1946 and have recently undergone a major renovation.  We opt for parking in the underground parking garage as street parking is limited and the back lot is tiny and awkward with huge pick-up trucks protruding from spaces.  Upon walking in the lobby I immediately realize I should’ve packed the “hippest, funkiest, coolest” clothes I own in order to only slightly stand out versus being the Old “Man” Navy wearing forty-something I will soon be “sold out” as.  There is a clear “old skool” Hollywood vibe here and the guests I observe are exuding that same vibe.

Lafayette Hotel: Lobby

Lafayette Hotel: Atrium

There is a very nice pool area with a bar and restaurant just off of the pool.  A very deep Carrera marble counter separates us from our hotel clerk.  There is such a monumental “buffer zone”; she couldn’t place our key card in our paw if she were Shaquille O’Neal.  Each guest room has a small placard with a room number and a glossy black and white photo featuring actors and musicians (i.e. Grant, Stewart, Hepburn(s), and Bogart etc.) from the 30s’, 40s’ and 50s’.

Lafayette: Rita Hayworth

Lafayette: Elizabeth Taylor

For once we are exhausted and feeling too lazy to seek out a Yelp researched restaurant.  We roll into the attached Red Fox Steakhouse and Piano Bar (A: 2223 El Cajon Blvd., San Diego, CA  92104.  P: 619-297-1313.  W: redfoxsd.com).  Key ingredients include red vinyl booths, dim lighting, dark woods and waitresses dressed in traditional British pub attire.  The rooms of the pub and restaurant date back to 1560 Surrey England.  These rooms were shipped to the United States and eventually ended up in the Lafayette Hotel.  They have more on their history at their website.

Red Fox Steakhouse

I can’t think of a more perfect establishment as an accessory to the ultra-hip Lafayette.  Artsy, gothic, and hepcat types fill the dining room and bar.  Even the late forties aged parents in the corner booth are engaging in a very adult conversation with their early teenage son (more likely stepson).  The mom is schooling him on how to be a good man and a good human being.

The food here is simple but good.  Items we consume include: ground beef steak with mushrooms; halibut Almondine; cheese bread; Caesar salad; rice pilaf; celery and carrot sticks and ranch dip.  After dinner we retire to the room and soon enough we’re snoring like the “unhip” forty-something (or thereabouts) married couple that we are.

Lafayette: Guest Room

Its morning and I drop Bella off at the Town & Country Resort and pick up breakfast at a nearby 7-11 convenience store.  Back at our hotel I change into gym clothes and do cardio and weights in the fitness center.  I grab some complimentary Seattle’s Best (more like “Worst”) coffee from the lobby which is so thin you can’t add creamer without it becoming beige water.  Furthermore, Seattle’s Best is owned by Starpukes – enough said.  I rock back and forth on a giant rocking chair overlooking the pool.  There are some lookers or hipsters present but the “Old Navy Navigator” feels a little more accepted here today.

Lafayette: Tai Chi @ Pool

Lafayette: Lobby Mural

I pick up Elfie at the Town & Country Resort and we head to the Hillcrest District to have lunch.  I stayed in the gay-friendly community of Hillcrest in 2003 and really enjoyed the quality dining, wine bars and trendy shops.

Hillcrest: Streets

We eat lunch at Urban Eats (A: 3850 5^th Avenue, San Diego, CA  92103.  P: 619-255-1882.  W: urban-eats.com).  This fashionable café serves American bistro food.  I choose the pressed “steak and blue” which consists of roast beef, caramelized onions, wild arugula, blue cheese and horseradish aioli.  Bella selects the “low and slow pork” which includes creamy polenta, crispy bacon, Brussel sprouts, honey mustard glaze.

“Low & Slow Pork”

They bring us complimentary toasted bread with melted parmesan cheese and served with a side of butter with honey drizzled on top.  The food is delicious and the free freshly baked chocolate chip cookies were a nice close to the meal.  They were accompanied with a side of whipped cream and a sliced strawberry.  The pricing is very reasonable and the freebies made it all that much better.

“Steak & Blue”

A Happy Elfie

Nearby I purchase a couple pairs of faux “Maui Jim” sunglasses.  Then we trek down to Kona Coffee Company (A: 3995 Fifth Ave., San Diego, CA  92103.  P: 619-298-5662.  W: thekonacoffeecompany.com).  I pick up a bold and tasty iced coffee drink with whole milk.  Down the street we make our dinner reservation at Ristorante Arrivederci.  I haven’t dined here since 2003 so hopefully it is as good as I recalled.  Feeling the summer heat we return to our hotel for a nap.

Back in the saddle again we drive to dinner at Ristorante Arrivederci (A: 3845 Fourth Ave., San Diego, CA  92103.  P: 619-299-6282.  W: arrivederciristorante.com).  Our appetizer choice is a calamari sautéed with white wine, fresh spinach and tomato.  Bella orders orecchiette pasta with spinach, spicy Italian sausage in a white wine sauce.  I select the gnocchi in a pink sauce.  They are tender, fresh and on the small side but fortunately there is a large portion of them.  I drink a glass of Malbec wine from Argentina.

Sauteed Calamari

Orecchiette, Sausage & Spinach

Cannolo Pastry

Mango Panna Cotta

American Graffiti Style: theboulevard.org

In the morning we check out of the hotel and head back to Hillcrest to have breakfast at the extremely popular Snooze (A: 3940 Fifth Ave., San Diego, CA  92103.  P: 619-500-3344.  W: snoozeeatery.com).  Fortunately we arrive at 9am so our wait in line is a nominal twenty minutes.  Yelp had reviews of people waiting two to three hours for a table.  For breakfast…I think I would have to pass.  They seat us at the bar where two energetic and friendly male bartenders greet us.  We are quickly reminded that we were in Hillcrest when we observe the shredded jean shorts and form fitting shirts on the bartenders.  “Not that there is anything wrong with that”.

Hillcrest: “Snooze”

Snooze: Dining Room

My OMG! French toast arrives and consists of Brioche bread stuffed with mascarpone cheese and topped with vanilla crème, salted caramel, agave soaked strawberries and toasted coconut.  The bread is very soft (almost sponge-cake soft) and there is a perfect balance of crème and caramel sauce.  Bella loves the Bella! Bella! Benny dish which consists of prosciutto, Taleggio cheese and poached eggs on toasted ciabatta topped with cream cheese hollandaise, balsamic glaze and arugula.

OMG! French Toast

Bella! Bella! Benny

After breakfast we hit the road back to the OC and drop by our condo to see how the remodel is going.  Of course there was a fire to put out – shock-HER!  Regardless, I think the mini-vacation did us good given what we’ve been through since mid-February.

“Rather be dead than cool.” – Kurt Cobain

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