Labor Day Weekend 2014

Staying in San Diego this weekend and looking for something fun? Well don't fret there are plenty of wonderful options. No matter if you're looking to spend time with the family, be outside, eat great food or drink some beers, the following three events are perfect for anyone spending time in this beautiful city. 

US Sand Sculpting Challenge and 3D Art Exposition 

What: A huge showing of sand art by some of the best sculptors in the world, art for purchase, beer garden, food trucks, live music and fun for the kids. 

Where: B Street Pier, 1140 North Harbor Drive

When: August 29- September 1, 9am-7pm

Cost: $10 adults, $7 kids buy tickets here

Festival of Sail 

What: Come experience the largest Tall Ship festival on the west coast. Included in admission is the opportunity to explore seven ships that are docked in the harbor. In addition to the boats there is a kids zone, food and drink booths, a beer garden and fun for the entire family. 

Where: Maritime Museum of San Diego 1492 Harbor Drive

When: August 29- September 1, 9am-7pm through sunday, 9am-5pm monday 

Cost: $7 adults, $5 kids/seniors/active military with ID; buy tickets here

I personally will be checking out the Festival of Sail tomorrow. Can't wait to let you know what I see, just in case you want to go monday. Want to know more about my experience at the sand sculpting challenge? Check out my post here! 

Enjoy the weekend. 

US Sand Sculpting Challenge and 3D Art Exposition 2014

Looking for amazing sand and 3D art? If so, head down to the B street pier in downtown San Diego all this weekend to see some truly fantastic art at the US Sand Sculpting Challenge and 3D Art Exposition. Some of the best sand sculptors in the world have traveled to San Diego to compete this beautiful Labor Day weekend. The sand artists have been working since wednesday on their masterpieces. As of friday the creations really had a shape to them and many were on the verge of completion, which was good because the artists only have until 2pm saturday to finish their work.

This event also gives the opportunity for local amateur sand sculptors to display their best work as well. These artists began working yesterday giving attendees the opportunity to see how the process really begins.

 this specific artist asked attendees to help pack down the sand. in order to get the sand more clay like they use water but if the wet sand is not packed down properly it could potentially crack. 

once the sand is packed down they than use their molds to continue to stack the sand as high as they want their design. the above pictures is most of the amateur artists at the beginning building stages.

In addition to the sand art there were several local artists displaying their work for purchase. Don't forget to bring the kids and some extra money. There are several food trucks/vendors and for a small fee, extra entertainment for the little ones.

extra things for the kiddos for a small extra price. look how beautiful the city is in the background. most beautiful city on earth. 

delicious gelato for sale on the pier

I promise you will not be disappointed with what you see at this years Sand Sculpting Challenge and 3D Art Exposition.

When: August 29- September 1st, 9am-7pm

Where: B Street Pier 1140 North Harbor Drive, San Diego, CA

Cost: $10 for adults (you can save $3 if you take public transit or you go get a voucher from any San Diego Mission Federal Credit Union; $7 for children

Eclipse Chocolate: Chocolate Threeway

Eclipse Chocolate is located in the cute and very hip area of South Park. They opened in February 2013 relocating from North Park. This month they will celebrate their 10 year anniversary with various events throughout September.

Eclipse has a fantastic drink menu of local draft beers, great wines and beautiful chocolate inspired concoctions. Happy hour is served Monday- Thursday from 5-7pm where all of their beer and wines are only $5. What makes Eclipse even more unique (other than their great chocolate) is they serve brunch daily from 9am-2pm. There are few places in San Diego you can get fantastic breakfast food any day of the week. Add the chocolate that is in some way incorporated into each dish, it is an experience you definitely will not forget.

Once a month Eclipse Chocolate in South Park hosts a delicious three-way pairing of local craft beer, truffles and handpicked cheese. Last night was their monthly event partnering up with Saint Archer brewery. These Threeways give local foodies the chance to try some delicious beer, flavorful cheese and the amazing truffles made at Eclipse Chocolate. 

If you have never tried the chocolate made by Eclipse, you are definitely missing out. The owner/chocolatier Will Gustwiller truly understands how to create fantastic sweet and salty combinations. For the pairings Will works directly with the brewery to discover the cheese and chocolate that will perfectly accent each other. 

For this tasting each cheese and chocolate was unique from each other allowing each of them to truly standout. 

If you want to attend a future Chocolate Threeway you can contact Eclipse Chocolate at 619.578.2984. The cost is only $20, starts at 7pm and allows you to enjoy Happy Hour for the entire evening.  

Move over Godiva, you have some competition.

Today I am headed to the US Sand Sculpting Challenge located on the 'B' Street cruise ship terminal pier on the Big Bay in downtown San Diego. The event runs all weekend and features some of the best sand artists in the world!

For tickets click here! You save $3 if you book online.

For more information on what is going on this weekend, don't forget to check the calendar.

Happy Labor Day weekend!

xxT

Spreckles Organ Pavillon: Twilight in the Park 2014

Twilight in the Park is a fantastic way to spend a summer evening. 

There are concerts all throughout the summer on the stage of the famous Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park. Last night the Navy Show Band West was performing which really brought out a crowd. 

Although there were hundreds of people in attendance, if you were willing to sit off to the side or in the sun there was plenty of seating. 

The concerts start at 6:15pm and last for an hour. 

Don't worry about parking, Balboa Park now has sleek new trams that pick up and drop off all around the Organ Pavilion as well as throughout the many different surrounding parking lots. It definitely helps to keep the walking to a minimum.

Pack yourself a picnic, bring some chairs and a blanket and enjoy a beautiful summer San Diego night .

And of course don't forget to bust out some dance moves! 

Tonight I'm headed to Eclipse Chocolate for a beer, cheese and chocolate tasting. Can't wait to let you know how much I enjoyed it! Check back later for more about that!

xxT

Curbside Bites: South Park

Tonight I made my way up the street and checked out the food trucks that show up every tuesday night on the corner of Grape and Fern St. in the Gala Foods parking lot. Curbside Bites puts on these food truck events all over Southern California. They work with over 250 trucks throughout SoCal and help to manage the booking with one centralized agency. 

If you get a chance, check out their Facebook page, see if they have any trucks in your area and go eat! 

This evening in South Park there were six trucks in attendance. 

Three of them served some sort of Mexican fare and the other three had sandwiches/hot dogs. I decided to try two different trucks (both which were voted Best of San Diego in 2013 one in the UT and the other in San Diego A lister) with a total of three delicious items. Entree, side & dessert if you will.

Asparagus Grilled Cheese from Devilicious

woohooo was this delicious. grilled asparagus, carmelized onions, tomatoes, brie & goat cheese. 

fantastic combination

Primal Slaw from Not So Fast

this was probably the best slaw i have ever had. perfect mixture of mayo (homemade according to the menu) and vinegar. the most exciting part was the apple! 

definitely adding that little crunch to my next slaw

S'mores 'Wich also from Devilicious

umm WOWWWW. marshmellow, nutella, grilled (like a grilled cheese) and topped with chocolate sauce. i might need to start making this for parties because dayymmmm

On the agenda for tomorrow evening: Twilight in the Park at Balboa Park's Sprekles Pavilion. The last day is thursday and I defiintely want to check it out before they wrap up for the summer. 

Until later scoopers. 

xxT

Suzy's Farm: Pedal, Pick & Grin

Happy Monday Explorers!

This past saturday Suzy's Farm hosted their annual event, Pedal, Pick & Grin. It was my birthday and after running the San Diego Beer Run in the morning, I was excited to continue healthy habits and head out to the farm. 

Suzy's Farm is a fully functioning organic farm. You can pick vegetables, flowers or simply sign up for monthly organic vegetable boxes delivered straight to your door.  At this specific event the only thing we could actually pic was tomatoes and flowers. Although we could not pick anything else, they had a very large table full of different peppers and herbs that were grown on the farm. I had personally never seen such a selection of peppers. It was truly beautiful seeing them all laid out on the table. 

We opted for a $5 cone that we could fill with anything on their tables as well as flowers and tomatoes from the fields. After stocking up on peppers and herbs we headed out to the fields to do some picking. 

I had my little sisters tag along with me (because birthday's obviously must be spent with loved ones) and one of my sisters went ham picking flowers! She was like a sunflower picking machine.

Very thankful for flower picking skills because now we have beautiful sunflowers to look at all around the house. For $5, it was definitely a great deal. 

playing with the beautiful sunflowers. 

In addition to filling up a cone full of vegetables and flowers, there was a band, two food trucks, hula hooping and various booths.

If you ever want to check out a fully functioning USDA- certified Organic farm, so close to the city, drive a little south and check out Suzy's Farm

2570 Sunset Ave

San Diego, CA 92154

www.suzysfarm.com

Happy Exploring!

Tiffany