October 2016 - Hydeout, Coronado, Cubs

October 2016

Hutchy, Laurel, Megan, Willie, and I were preparing to go to Naples and spend a week at the Hydeout. We were emailing back and forth about all the activities we were excited about trying. Paddleboarding, lots of swimming, hot-tubbing, drinks on the beach, pickleball, bocce, maybe get a little golf in, make some dinners, go out to eat. It was going to be a great vacation. Until ZIKA. Well zika and the fact that we found out we were pregnant with Lincoln 3 days before we were scheduled to leave.

There were a couple cases of zika near Miami but Naples was still under the pregnant women warning. So we scrapped the trip. Megan and I had such mixed feelings; excited and surprised that we were pregnant but incredibly sad that we weren't going to get a week on the beach. Then Hutchy came up with an incredible solution; his family has a house on Coronado Island just outside of San Diego, California. We flipped some flights from Indy to Fort Myers to now be Chicago to San Diego. We even saved a few bucks on the switch which was crazy.

Willie Flying to Cali

We rented a car in San Diego and had some kid stuff rented and dropped off at the house before we arrived. Upon arrival on Coronado Island, we went to Coronado Brewing Company to relax, enjoy a beer, and eat some food. We also made a stop at the grocery store to get supplies for the week.

San Diego

I can't remember the exact order of events but I will tell some of the stories. We went to the San Diego zoo which was a good time. We saw some giant sea turtles having sex. When looking at the snakes, Laurel spilled some water on my arm just as a snake moved and I almost jumped out of my shoes. Also, Willie really enjoyed nature's skyscrapers, the giraffes. After the zoo, we played around in Balboa Park. Willie crawled around and we found some slides and swings.

The Snake that scared the crap out of me.

Turtle Sex

Solid Crawling Form

On Monday evening, the group went to dinner at Nicky Rottens Sports Bar to watch game 3 of the NLDS, Cubs vs San Francisco Giants. The Cubs had won games 1 and 2 and were one win away from reaching the National League Championship Series. We were enjoying the game, along with some drinks and food when Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta hit a 3 run homer to put them up early. When he hit it, the sports bar made a lot of noise, particularly me and Hutchy. The roar made Willie nervous and then eventually cry. It was hilarious and cute. The game eventually went against the Cubs plus it was nearing Willie's bedtime, so Megan, Laurel, and Willie went back to the house. Hutchy and I were dejected and the bar was closing so we left to walk home when we saw on our phones Kris Bryant had hit a homerun to tie the game and send it to extra innings. We quickly found the only other bar that was open and ran inside. We stayed for the extra innings but the Cubs couldn't pull it out.

Willie Celebrating the Cubs

Willie Sad by the Cubs

The next night was Game 4 of the Cubs playoff series against the Giants and the Cubs needed to get 1 more win to advance. I don't remember where we watched the beginning of the game but once again Hutchy and I ended up out later than the ladies plus Willie. We were at the same bar as the night before, McP's Irish Pub, the one that was open late (past 10 p.m.) It was no fun; the Cubs were losing 5-2 and didn't seem to have any chances to score any runs. There were some fans from New York that were chatting us up and I couldn't even talk to them I was so angry. Hutchy was making friends which made me even angrier. Then the 9th inning came around. It was 1 hit by Bryant and then a walk by Rizzo then a double by Zobrist and the Cubs had something going. Now down 5-3 with the tying run at 2nd. Maybe we have a chance...Willson Contreras hit a slow grounder right back up the middle and the Cubs had tied it! Heyward tried to bunt Willy over to 2nd but made it there himself on an errant throw attempting to turn the double play. Then Javier Baez came up and again hit a slow roller to center field which allowed Heyward to score and take the lead. At this point Hutchy and I were out of our minds. How did we turn this around?! 4 runs in the 9th inning. In the bottom of the 9th, we bring in Aroldis Chapman, I'm not sure if I actually felt this way then but looking back it seemed like a forgone conclusion. Chapman struck out the side and the game was over very quickly. The 4 runs and then 3 strikeouts to end it felt like it took less than 2 minutes. To go from down 5-2 to winning 6-5 was incredible. We did shots to celebrate. We talked to lots of people. We hugged. We sang. It was a great night.


On Coronado Island, we did lots of walking. We went to the park just outside of the main drag, which was Spreckels Park. It was beautiful and we enjoyed playing in the luscious grass and going down the slides. We also enjoyed the breakfast at Clayton's Coffee Shop, or at least the take out window, which we then ate at the picnic tables near by. We also walked to the beach a few times, and although the weather wasn't particularly warm, we did dip our toes in the water and gave Willie a chance to enjoy the sand. From the beach we walked towards the Hotel Del Coronado or as locals call it, the Hotel Del. There they had amazing sand castles that were awe inspiring. We also got ice cream at Moo Time and had drinks on the top deck and watched the sunset.

Sand Castles at the Hotel Del

Trav-Hutch Vacation Crew

Willie Enjoying Palm Trees and Manicured Grass

One day we planned to take the ferry across San Diego Bay. After we survived the parking stress, we enjoyed the short boat ride to San Diego. We walked along the waterfront past the USS Midway to Seaport Village which had a bunch of restaurants and shops. Willie went for a short merry-go-round ride with Megan. We also bought some souvenirs and had a little brunch before walking back to the ferry.

Willie and Megan on the Carousel

Coronado Island

On a different day we jumped in the car and drove to see some other sights. We visited the Point Loma Tide Pools and the Cabrillo National Monument. The tide pools were cool but it wasn't a super low tide so we couldn't see as much marine life as was touted but it was still a fun little walk down to the water. The Cabrillo National Monument was a statue to the first European to reach San Diego Bay. It is on the southern tip of the northern peninsula of San Diego. It has amazing views of San Diego. After that we got some In-n-Out burger before heading to La Jolla. After again, we survived the parking stress, we climbed down to the beach to La Jolla Cove to see the seals up close and play around in the sand and water. In the park right next to the cove, Megan and I forced Willed to take his first steps. He had been really close for a couple weeks and why not do it somewhere memorable. After his successful steps, we went to find a drink and snack at Herringbone which was a nice restaurant just up the road.

TIde Pools

Cabrillo

La Jolla

Add caption

The next day we packed up the house and cleaned really well, because we didn't want Mrs. Hutch is be disappointed in us. On our return flight, the flight attendant was super helpful with Willie and gave him free reign of the plane.

One Last Beer on the Porch

Willie and the Flight Attendant