We went to Old Town for dinner once we landed in San Diego. One can never go wrong with Mexican Fried Ice Cream at Casa Guadalajara!
I met up with Chad and Aileen at Dave & Busters to play games and have a snack after we checked into our hotel.
Here is one of the entrances into Petco Park where the Padres play.
This is a view of the field at Petco Park from one of the party decks.
We checked out the Padres Hall of Fame before the game at Petco Park.
Both the Padres and Rangers are warming up below for the 3:30 PM game. This was my mom's first baseball game.
This was during the Rangers team introductions. Why is there a Jack In The Box guy on the pole? Jack In The Box is based in San Diego.
The Rangers lost the game 3-2 that day.
My mom wanted to take a pedicab after the game so we took one to dinner, but we had a long detour since the driver confused our restaurant with another place. LOL.
My new boss at my new company recommended this place for dinner. I am keeping my new company still confidential at this time.
I tried an amazing bourbon called Noah's Mill at dinner. My mom was curious what about I drink so I asked her to try it. She said her throat was burning. LOL.
I loved the trio of kanpachi they had on the menu. This was pretty pricey, but it was worth it!
We saw the Big Bay Boom fireworks show from the convention center in downtown San Diego. The show was great!
My mom and I went to Coronado Island the next day. This is the beach on Coronado Island.
We are outside the Hotel del Coronado here. I stayed there a few years back during Covid. Check out those pictures too!
They had a House of Suntory stand set up at the Del. I got a Japanese julep which had Toki Japanese whiskey in it.
My mom wanted a picture by the fake cherry blossom at the House of Suntory stand.
We got some delicious pizza at the Hotel Del Coronado. I think this is one of the best I ever had!
San Diego Airport now has a Sapphire Lounge by the Club!
We were greeted by prosecco.
I like the premium bar at the Sapphire Clubs. Also, they have the big cubes of ice too.
A FEW DAYS LATER......
I flew to Vegas the following week since I was basically on a paid sabatical until I started my new job. That is a Maker's and diet in the Escape Lounge.
Joy got me a new iPad for my birthday so I decided to make my old iPad a downstairs/travel iPad. LOL. I am watching Wicked on the plane here, but I was not happy with some of the liberal themes.
I saw a Nielsens Frozen Custard when I went to lunch at Twin Peaks after I got into town so I had to get some.
The first night, I stayed at my brother's place. I made sure to introduce Fox News to my nephew so he does not become a liberal!
I went to the Underground at the Mob Museum to meet some friends for a drink that evening. This is the most authentic speakeasy I have been to where the guy at the door truly makes sure you are not a "cop."
It was great to see Tim and Mary at the speakeasy!
I got Noah's Mill bourbon again at the speakeasy. This is an amazing bourbon! Also, I asked the bartender what "bottled in bond" means.
I sent my nephew a cool build your own robot toy. He is building it here the next morning.
I was so proud of this art work by my nephew. After I saw it, I told him how important it was for us to honor our Veterans.
My nephew loves the Rocketpop flavor at Yogurtland so we went there after lunch on that Friday. He was so excited.
I headed over to the Virgin Hotel Las Vegas to check in that afternoon. They put me in their exclusive Ruby Tower which had a private lobby.
They upgraded me to a nice junior suite in the Ruby Tower at the Virgin Hotel.
The suite had a large entry that led into the bedroom and living area.
The junior suite was very comfortable. I think the Virgin Hotel is very well maintained.
I exploed the pool area after I worked out at the gym. There were no resort fees too when I stayed here.
The pool area has a nice beach area too with sand.
I went to Bugsy & Meyers Steakhouse for dinner that night at the Flamingo with a buddy of mine. Of course, I started with bourbon. They had a special Weller Full Proof bottled just for them.
We each got the $79 three course special which included a caesar salad to start and a filet as an option for the entree.
The creme brulee was one of the dessert options.
We went to see XBurlesque at the Flamingo after dinner.
Here is a nice picture of the iconic Flamingo sign outside the hotel.
There is Paris off in the distance.
Ojos Locos has their own casino in Vegas!
I enjoyed some mezcal at Ojos Locos!
The NBA Summer League was using the Virgin Hotel as its headquarters too. I heard Cooper Flagg was seen there!
I had a dining credit at Virgin Hotel since I am a Hilton Diamond member. After getting the breakfast buffet, I played some slots too.
Virgin Hotel's players club matched my status with MGM. They gave me a $50 food and beverage credit too.
After I resigned from Regeneron, they basically let me have a paid sabatical until my last day so I headed to San Diego for a few days with my mother for the 4th of July since Joy had some family in town from Hong Kong to watch my Rangers play the Padres. Also, it was my mom's first baseball game. We flew out there the day before the 4th, and I hung out with some friends in San Diego that first night at Dave & Busters. The next day, we went to the Rangers game at Petco Park before having a great dinner at Lionfish. This restaurant was located in the Gaslamp Quarter near the park. I ordered a Noah's Mill bourbon over a big cube to start off dinner, and my mom was curious to what I drink so I asked her to take a sip. LOL. She said her throat was burning. That bourbon was amazing however. What I liked most about Lionfish was their selection of kanpanchi or amberjack sushi and sashimi. After dinner, we watched the Big Bay Boom fireworks from the San Diego Convention Center.
The next day, I took my mother to Coronado since she wanted to check out the ocean. Afterwards, we had lunch at the Hotel del Coronado before we headed to the airport. I enjoyed the Chase Sapphire Lounge at San Diego Airport like I did in Phoenix earlier this year. The new Sapphire lounges make my $550 annual fee even more worth it!
The week after the 4th, I flew down to Vegas to see my nephew and hang out with some friends. I spent the first night at my brother's house so I could hang out with Aakash. Since he likes building Legos and robots, I got him a build your own robot toy which he loved. The first night, I went to see Tim and Mary. We hung out at the Underground Speakeasy at the Mob Museum before going to Circa to gamble. The next day, we took Aakash to Yogurtland after lunch so he can enjoy his favorite flavor there. I checked into the Virgin Hotel that day since I was going to do a Vegas night with friends. The Virgin Hotel upgraded me to a junior suite in their Ruby Tower since I am a Hilton Diamond guest. I also got a dining credit too.
For dinner, we went to Bugsy & Meyers at the Flamingo. Afterwards, we watched XBurlesque, which is a nice topless revue at the Flamingo. We went to Ojos Locos Casino for a drink and snack after the show. The next day, I hung out at the hotel for the morning before going back to my brother's place to hang out with Aakash before I had to leave for the airport.
This was a shorter trip than we usually do for the 4th of July, but since Joy's family was in town and I was starting a new job, this made the most sense. The last few months were very busy since almost eight different companies had reached out to me for a new opportunity within the biopharma and healthcare space. I was very impressed with the compensation packages too, and I was very excited when a top 10 pharma company offered me the chance to join their biologics team.