Taking on 70

Although every birthday comes unique, it’s not every day you turn 70. So with my mom hitting that milestone, Heidi and I thought a celebration would be in order! My mom had never been to San Diego, so we flew her out from Austin to discover what I consider one of America’s best cities. It did not disappoint.

First we made our way to the aircraft carrier Midway, the most visited tourist attraction in town. After finding our sea legs and doing many an impersonation of Top Gun (filmed at nearby Miramar) we took a long walk by the pier and docks to catch a Pacific ocean sunset.

The birthday night had dinner at one our rapidly growing favorite restaurants on Coronado Island. I’m not sure what was better – eating the food or introducing Mom as “look who’s turning 50” to the accommodating wait staff. With a short jaunt to the nearby theater, we saw an original premier of the Wizard of Oz, retold with new music and a twist of 21^st century techno.

Things continued to be fun as we rented a surrey to pedal our way around Coronado Island ~33 square miles but thankfully we only did 3! All that was good since we needed to burn off an uncountable amount of calories from brunch at Il Fornaio. The day finished at Old Town San Diego – where the city grew up for 200 years before migrating to be closer to the coast.

In the end, the events were fun; however, it was spending time with mom that made it the best. No, you don’t turn 70 every day, but if you do and can still ride a surrey, climb a ship, and enjoy a show…then consider yourself lucky.

K