The travel day for our Spring Break cruise quickly approached. Our flight on United Airlines was leaving Dulles at 8:15 am, so our scheduled taxi picked us up at 6 am. We arrived quickly at Dulles ready to check in for our flight (really just drop off the bags since we checked in online). The ticket area was really busy, probably because of Spring Break travelers like ourselves. We got our bags dropped off and headed for the TSA Pre Check line. The line was slightly backed up, but we managed to clear it without anyone getting pulled aside for additional screening, which might be a first. On the way to our gate, we stopped for a free breakfast using our Priority Pass from our Hilton Aspire Cards. We ended up pushing up against our departure time, so we had to cut breakfast short so we could get to our gate before boarding. We walked over to our gate (which was nearby) and boarding started ten minutes later.
We were on a Boeing 787, which has a 3 and 3 seat configuration. I sat with the girls while Nancy settled into the window seat in the row in front of us. We had all brought movies and reading material for the flight, so it passed quickly without incident. The flight to San Francisco took about 5 hours or so and we landed at the International Terminal.
Our next flight to San Diego was leaving from Terminal 3 in two hours, so we had time to get another free meal using Priority Pass at the Yankee Pier restaurant in Terminal 3. Luckily, it was on our way to the next gate.
After we finished eating, we headed to Gate 70 to catch our next flight to San Diego. Luckily, the weather here was much nicer than in Dulles. The plane to San Diego was much smaller than the previous flight.
Nancy was able to get some great pictures on the way to San Diego, including the Golden Gate Bridge and a nice photo of Mission Bay, where our hotel was in San Diego.
We landed in San Diego and collected our luggage. We grabbed a taxi and headed towards our hotel, the Hyatt Regency Mission Bay.
The Hyatt was in a great location, not very far from Mission Beach. Had we been staying longer than one night, we would have been able to take advantage of the great location.
Nancy went to check in while we waited in the seating area of the lobby. The room wasn’t quite ready, so Nancy and the girls decided to walk around the resort while I waited with the luggage, which was fine with me. I was super tired from the travel.
They walked all over the resort and took lots of pictures. The resort certainly has a lot to see and do, including renting watercraft for exploring Mission Bay.
There was a small market that included snacks and Starbucks coffee. We ended up getting breakfast from here the next morning.
There were several pools, including a zero entry pool and some water slides. We weren’t able to take advantage of the pools during the short time that we were at the resort.
We headed upstairs to the room and we were not disappointed. The view from the room was amazing! The room was on a high floor and looked out towards the ocean. We sat outside and enjoyed the view for a few hours.
The room was furnished with two queen beds, a small desk, and a television. It was more than comfortable for the one night we were going to spend there. I think the hotel would be a great base for touring San Diego.
There was a small fridge outside the bathroom as well.
After relaxing in the room for a bit, we ordered an Uber to take us to the Amplified Ale Works to meet a friend for dinner. We had a great time catching up with him and really enjoyed the food. After dinner, we walked down to the beach to enjoy the sunset.
After being there for a few hours, we eventually called it a night and headed back to the hotel via another Uber.
It had been a long day since we had left our home to head for Dulles airport. We went to bed excited with the thoughts of getting back on the Wonder the next day.
Next up, we will head down to the Pier to board the Disney Wonder for our Baja Cruise!
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