October 8, 2019

We arrived in San Diego around 1:00 this afternoon, and headed to our hotel to check in. Located near the Gaslamp Quarter, the US Grant Hotel, built in the early 1900’s by Ulysses S Grant, Jr, and named for his father. It opened in 1910, and the family and friends marveled over the fact that many of the rooms had their own bathrooms!

The Grant may have been ahead of its time regarding bathrooms, but it was behind the times regarding how women were treated. Until 1969, the Grant Grill Restaurant only allowed men before 3:00pm. Apparently, women didn’t need lunch! On June 17, 1969, six women made lunch reservations under an ambiguous name – Sydney Windle – and enjoyed a lunch of mock turtle soup. Apparently, Sydney and her five friends weren’t asked to leave, and they are credited with changing the course of history.

After checking in and finding our rooms, we took a stroll to the Little Italy neighborhood for lunch. We found a lovely spot with outdoor tables – Enoteca Style – where we enjoyed wine and paninis. When returning to our room, we were greeted with chocolate dipped strawberries and sparkling cider – what a treat!

Dinner tonight was at the Grant Grill Restaurant in our hotel. It appears we will be eating well on this trip.

It was a long day for us, with a two hour time difference from Minnesota, so we headed off to bed shortly after dining. We need our rest for tomorrow’s activities.