Dinner

These trip blog entries might end up pretty boring to others, but I like to write things down while I'm travelling, so I can remember the little things. (More than just 'I went to San Diego'.) Another thing that I like to do while I travel is to eat. I'll probably be writing about a fair bit of food, with any luck.

Tonight was going to be a quiet night that turned out great. I found a restaurant that makes homemade pasta, and decided to try it out. They were so busy that the only seat that I could get was a the bar. At the time, I was the only one there. I didn't have my book, or anything to do other than stare at the bartender. I'm not usually a fan of eating alone, so was considering asking for my order to go. Right about then, a family came in and wanted to be seated. There weren't any tables, and of course I'd picked the one seat that meant that they couldn't all sit together. I offered to move (which seemed to surprise them) and shifted down a few stools. Just as I settled in, another family came in and I was in the way again. So I moved again, and ended up sitting between the two families.

On one side was an older man who had grown up in Coronado. He was sweet, but the rest of his family seemed to ignore him. (or, maybe he ignored them). On the other side was a family of a lady, her husband and their daughters. She'd grown up in San Diego, moved away for most of her adult life and then they'd just moved back. Her husband, a sailor, is from New Zealand, where they lived for a while before his job moved them to Spain. We all ended up having a great chat, talking about everything between the differences between the various countries, to the benefits for their young girls to be so well traveled, to Coronado, the local library and dogs.

Keeping in mind that I'm generally painfully uncomfortable in groups of people (even people I know), I had a really good time. Totally not what I expected. The food only made it better. The spinach tortellini in tomato cream sauce was really good. I'd go back there in a heartbeat. Actually, when I commented on both families being local, they told me that that restaurant is a bit of a local secret. The locals love it, and don't really advertise to the tourists about it, lest it get too crowded and they can't get in. I guess I should be thankful that they were so welcoming to me.