Search Results for: San Diego

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Hotel Review: Sweet Upgrade to the Presidential Suite at Historic San Diego Courtyard Marriott

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Good afternoon everyone.  After our short Alaska Airlines flight from Santa Rosa / Sonoma County to San Diego, we took an Uber to the Courtyard San Diego Downtown Hotel.  I picked this hotel because the “hotel is in the former San Diego Trust and Savings Bank building, and the old vault has been converted into a one-of-a-kind meeting space that your colleagues will be talking about for years to come.”  I love staying in old, historic, charming hotels, like my Amazing Stay at DoubleTree Arctic Club Hotel in Seattle (Historic Building Built in 1917).

This hotel costs 35,000 Marriott Bonvoy Points per night, so I used my Free Night Certificate from the Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card to book the first night and then I used 35,000 Marriott Bonvoy Points for the second night.  Somehow, I received 5 free Suite Night Upgrades in my Marriott Bonvoy account (probably from combining my SPG & Marriott Rewards accounts and from having several Marriott credit cards with elite nights stacking).  I decided to use my last 2 Suite Night Upgrades at this hotel because they were going to expire on December 31, 2019, and I don’t have any other Marriott stays booked or planned for the rest of the year.  This turned out to be a great use of my Suite Night Upgrades…

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My New Favorite Alaska Airlines Route: Santa Rosa / Sonoma County (STS) to San Diego (SAN)

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Full Disclosure: Alaska Airlines provided 2 round trip tickets for my wife and I to experience and write about their new daily flight from Santa Rosa / Sonoma County to San Diego.  The below thoughts and opinions are my own.

Good morning everyone.  This past weekend, I had the pleasure to fly from the Charles M. Schulz Sonoma County Airport (STS) in the heart of Santa Rosa / Sonoma County to San Diego (SAN) on Alaska Airlines’ new route.  I live in Sonoma County and it is only a 20-30 minute drive to the Santa Rosa / Sonoma County Airport (compared to a 75-90 minute drive to the San Francisco International Airport or Oakland International Airport).  Conversely, if you want to visit the many wineries (and breweries) in Sonoma County or neighboring Napa County, flying into Santa Rosa will save you a lot of time.  Plus, with Alaska Airlines’ Wine Flies Free program, Alaska Airlines “Mileage Plan members can bring home a case of wine with no baggage fee from 30 participating West Coast cities.”

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New Ice Cream Parlor Open in San Diego – Should you Try It?

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Salt and Straw, the Portland, Oregon based, family-run by two cousins, small batch ice cream shop would be opening up in San Diego’s Little Italy area. They finally did open just before New Year’s. Recently, I went down to Salt and Straw and spent a few hours talking with one of the managers about ice cream.

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14 Free Things to Do in San Diego

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When you mention San Diego, everyone has a different image and reaction. Some people picture the beaches, and some start craving the Mexican food. But everyone has the same question: what can we do and see that’s free? After all, I’m a local so I must know the answer, right? With great weather year around, San Diego lends itself to many free sites and places to explore because many of them are outdoors. So there’s never a bad time of year to visit. Here are some FREE ideas for you! See what you think.

1. Mission Bay Park
I never realized until recently that Mission Bay Park is the largest aquatic park in the country with 4,600 acres, including 27 miles of shoreline, 19 miles of sandy beaches, and 8 designated swimming areas. I walk along Mission Bay quite often. It’s a great place to watch the sunset and in the summer, you can enjoy a great view of the SeaWorld fireworks. When I have visitors, we’ll bike all along the bay and over to Pacific Beach. The park has bike and walking paths, boating, picnic areas, playgrounds, basketball courts, swimming, windsurfing, kayaking, and stand-up paddle boarding. There really is something for everyone. And maybe the best part is that there is plenty of parking, and that’s free too.

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​​7 Tips to Maximize your Fun at the San Diego Zoo

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Good morning everyone, I hope you all had a great weekend.  I just got back from a great San Diego weekend trip and had an amazing time at the San Diego Zoo, so I wanted to share some tips to maximize the amount of fun you will have at the zoo too.  I am no expert at seeing zoos, but I think some of these tips will help make your visit more enjoyable.  For those who haven’t been to the San Diego Zoo before (or in a long time), the zoo recently celebrated its 100th birthday and made many improvements over the last few years.  Without further ado, here are my 7 tips to maximize your fun at the San Diego Zoo (with 2 bonus ideas at the end).

1 – Buy discount San Diego Zoo tickets online.  The normal price for tickets is $52, but if you buy them through Groupon, you can get tickets for only $39.99.  This deal is only good through December 20, but I am sure the Groupon discount comes around often.  To super charge your Groupon purchase, sign up for Ebates and earn cash back on your Groupon purchase.