Days 10 & 11 - LA to San Diego to Williams

Having determined to escape LA before the odds of running over the entrants of the marathon went against us, we were in San Diego by ten in the morning, just in time for the opening of Hodad's. There were about sixty people lined up waiting for the doors to open, and in the spirit of where I was going to move to, the Hubs and I decided to join the queue, not knowing what it was for. I was opening to find a superior burger to the Surfinder case, and some consolation for missing both Lucky Devils and Umami Burger the day before. Hodad's served the biggest burger that I had ever seen. The Hubs let his hangover and lack of breakfast do the talking and went for a double cheeseburger and bacon basket. He managed about two thirds before giving up the battle. At five pm he still claimed to be feeling sick. It was mammoth. Best of all though, they let us experiment with hot sauces, with about five different kinds on offer. The Hubs liked California Chili (their spelling, not mine), and I favoured the Cajun Werewolf.

We tried to walk off the meal on the San Diego pier but realised that there was probably no pier long enough, and that San Diego's was particularly inappropriate since it was really dull. In fact, unless you were in the mood to surf or hang out at Sea World, San Diego didn't seem to have much to offer. We tried to get onto a whale watching cruise but the sheer numbers in the queues put me off. Instead, we decided this was the right time for Target, specifically Liberty for Target. What a great, though random, combination! I've always loved their prints but have always objected to paying so much for bolts of cloth. Finally, it's accessible! I went nuts in there and bought everything from stationery to lingerie. That was all the Hubs could take and so in no time at all, we were back in the hotel and staring at the sea.

The next day we had an anticipated eight hour drive up towards the Grand Canyon. We made as early a start as we could muster, thinking we might try out the indoor skydiving school in Perris. Unfortunately though, there was a big IHOP shaped flaw in the plan. After consuming four days worth of calories, there was no way we were going to try defying gravity, and so we decided to push on through to Arizona. Well, really, we were trying to get to Bearizona, but it sadly wasn't open yet. Instead, we shacked up in Williams, one of the cutest towns to ever exist, strategically placed on Route 66*. Here, we discovered an Irish Pub and Mexican called Pancho McGillicuddy's, which we decided to go to in honour of the strange combination. Apart from Guinness and Margaritas, they also did a mean brown sugar steak. I'm going to have to try that one at home!


*award for most implausibly linked movie name to plot ever here.