One Last Happy Hour

This is the 2nd to last entry in a 12-entry series about our honeymoon that begins and ends at Jill's blog.

Wednesday, May 10

Waking up significantly later than 4am was a pleasant change. We caught breakfast on the roof, got directions to the Coronado Ferry from the Gaslamp Plaza valet, and set off, without so much as a glance at either of our watches.

We arrived at the pier at 11:05, when we realized the ferry leaves every hour on teh hour. We killed an hour sitting on a bench, watching planes take off and lamenting the end of our trip. At noon, we hopped on the ferry and sat in the sun of the second deck for the 15-minute trip.

On the island, we walked past adorable condo after adorable condo, finally resting our feet and emptying our bladders (ok, my bladder) at our fourth and final public library of the trip. Coronoado's was by far the most impressive, due in large part to its spacious, sunny reading room, of which we did not take advantage. We ate dinner at the Coronado Brewing Company, whose red ale was every bit as good as Karl Strauss's, so we polished off a pitcher before happy hour.

The return ferry picked up some passengers at a Naval boat, where we were warned that cameras and camcorders would be confiscated if it were suspected that anyone had taken a picture. Sufficiently freaked out, we got back in time to meet Joe downtown at 3:10.

Joe took us to The Yardhouse, whose claim to fame is 100+ beer taps, so I continued my red ale tour with a Humboldt Red, a Mad River Jamaica Red, a Murphy's (best of the bunch), and a Killian's (the weakest). Jill, naturally, drank martinis, and Joe followed suit, matching each of Jill's four after a beer. By the time we bid adieu to the week's most intoxifying host, my blushing bride was tripping over sidewalk cracks and squeezing my hand for balance.

We took in dinner at Candela's, a high-end Mexican joint with a French twist and a candlelit wine cellar ambience. Sangria kept the "buzz" alive while we sloshed over three courses that could just as easily have been $60 McDonald's cheeseburgers in our condition.

I played seeing-eye dog as the little lady greeted passersby and restaurant hostesses on the way back to the hotel. We passed out for a half hour or so, woke up long enough to pack and set an alarm, caught lost and went to sleep for the last time as honeymooners.

Jill will take us home on Thursday.