Dan and I have landed in California! A few weeks ago, when snow was dumping on Colorado, we decided we needed a beach to look forward to.

We chose San Diego, and specifically the Coronado area, to improve upon a memory. We had previously visited San Diego together for Comic Con in 2010, and we had one single day to sneak away from the crowds and the geekery for a beach day on Coronado… but Dan had come down with something. We rented a cabana and spent a sunny but miserable day together as Dan sweated out his cold. A second crack at Coronado appealed to us both.

On that visit nine years ago, I could only dream of staying in the beautiful, historic Hotel del Coronado. This time around, since we were only spending a quick weekend and wanted as much beach as possible, we splurged.

We arrived in Coronado in the afternoon, already exhausted from a day of travel, but found time to wander a few local shops and get the lay of the land.

(Is there any time I won’t wear black leggings? Apparently not.)

Tomorrow: beach time from sunup to sundown… and with any luck, Dan will enjoy it in full health this time around.

P.S. I stumbled upon a very SoCal-appropriate souvenir: a pair of Vans. As on-brand as they are for me, I’ve never actually owned a pair; I grew up a Chuck Taylor girl. This spunky pair of yellow kicks spoke to me, and they’ll be perfect for two different Weird Al-related events I have coming up this summer.