At the Del, Some Like it Hot!

The San Diego skyline, as seen from the ever gorgeous Coronado Island. One of the most expensive cities to live in in the United States, the island is essentially gorgeous houses and hotels with a few fancy restaurants and boutiques thrown in for good fun. Luckily one doesn't have to own one of these million dollar homes to be able to enjoy all that Coronado has to offer. Aside from the great views of downtown, the beach on Coronado has been voted the best beach in the US! I defiantly remember my mom bringing us out to this beach in the summer as a kid growing up in San Diego, but now it is the Del that holds my heart here, not the waves.

The Hotel Del Coronado, opened in 1887/1888 (it seems no one is quite sure?), is the second largest wooden structure in the United States! As one of the last Victorian wooden beach-side resort, the Del stands as a monument to a time lost long ago. With San Diego's proximity to Hollywood, early stars flocked to the fabulous hotel in the 1920s. Those early guests included Douglas Fairbanks, Rudolph Valentino, Charlie Chaplin, Clark Gable, Errol Flynn, Mae West and others! The architecture sure sounds like it came in handy during the 20's as the architect "also built two giant cisterns with concrete walls a foot thick in the basement to store rainwater. Although these cisterns were never used for rainwater, they were reputedly very handy for storing alcoholic beverages during Prohibition." (wiki) Well now that's a hotel ready to party!

Many of you may be more familiar with the Del than you know as it played a role in 1959's Some Like it Hot with Marilyn Monroe! The Del stood in for the film's fictitious "Seminole Ritz"!
  

Dress: Made by me
Shoes: Nine West
Sunglasses: Forever21
Belt: Banana Republic
Necklace: Vintage (shortened by me)
Bracelet: Target

For our visit we started at a lovely European style bakery and cafe where I had a most delicious pear and gorgonzola salad. We took a few pictures of downtown and then headed over the the magnificent Del. Grabbing a drink on the terrace, we watched the waves roll in for a while from our picturesque perch. I wore my new red cherry blossom print dress I managed to just finish sewing in time to pack! Again this is the same dress pattern as my last two dresses, only with a lower and rounded neckline and a little sarong like drape in the front. I thought the dress was suitably Marilyn-esk for a day at the Del! I ended up shortening what I assume was actually an 80's long bead necklace to a shorter length to go with the neckline of this dress and I think it looks suitably tropical, especially when I stand in front of some palm trees!

I leave you with our view back over the hotel from our spot on the decks overlooking the beach!