Quiet Day

When I was little, I used to wake up at an obnoxious hour on Christmas day. It didn't matter how many times my parents told me to stay in bed until a reasonable time, I'd be awake by 3:30 or 4:00, and in my sister's room looking for somebody to join me so that I could route through my stocking (which Santa used to leave outside my bedroom door) by 5:00. It wouldn't be long before we'd wake up my brother too, and we'd all congregate in my sister's room until my parents finally got up at 6:30.

Apparently, waking up at the butt-crack of dawn on Christmas day is a habit I haven't been able to shake. I was up reading quite late last night, since I knew today would be quiet. Even so, I was awake by 4:00, and up and about by 5:00. And there wasn't even a stocking full of goodies outside my door.

Even so, it was a good day. I walked along the pier this morning, and then went in search of lunch. Not much was open, due to it being Christmas day, so I ended up at a Mexican restaurant.

I feel kind of bad saying this - especially around here - but I'm not a fan of Mexican food. With all the beans and rice and tortillas, there's too many carbs and not enough vegetables. I guess it's not bad, just heavy and bland. I didn't enjoy it nearly as much as, say, the chicken & fruit salad sandwich that I had last night for dinner. It was on freshly baked bread, and was absolutely delicious. (Which, really, why haven't chicken and fruit salads been mixed together more? Is that not an obvious mix? It should be done a lot more.)

After lunch I went back to the room and had a nap. Then I wandered over to the Hotel Del Coronado, which was crazy busy with tourists. Last year, I spend most of Christmas day wandering around the beach behind the Del and was the only one there. This year it was packed with people. There were so many people that I didn't last very long, and am thinking that I might go back early tomorrow morning to beat the crowds and try to get some pictures.

Dinner, sadly, was not pizza tonight. Last year I had pizza for Christmas dinner. I had wandered around, looking for something open, and this little pizza shop was all I could find. It had maybe 15 tables, all full. Every seat in the place was taken, and people were standing around between the tables, eating and drinking on foot. It was so full that there was barely anyplace to stand. I pushed myself to the back and ordered a pizza, and was promptly deemed to be the last customer that they'd serve (and I'd have to take my pizza to go). As I waited for it to be cooked, they must have turned away 30 more people; and as I walked back to the hotel, people kept asking me where I'd gotten it. Maybe it was the limited availability, but I remember that pizza to be one of the best I've ever had. I had actually planned to have it again for dinner tonight, but sadly they were closed.

Instead, tonight I had Subway for dinner. Which is actually pretty appropriate. I probably eat lunch at Subway 4 days a week (or more). It's not as exciting. It doesn't come with a story, but it's reliable and somewhat healthy.

Some pictures that I took: