Riding the San Diego Trolley and a Visit to UTC

mmm-yoso!!! is a blog written mostly by Kirk.  But since He and His Missus are on a month-long vacation, Cathy is helping out.  All of our posts are about food, either directly or indirectly.  Today is another indirect post. 

In September, I received the dreaded notice in the mail-Jury Duty.  This notice was not like the others received during Covid-19 times (call a phone number after 5 p.m. starting on a specific Thursday until the following Wednesday or upon being called in to the Court).  No, this notice gave me a date to show up-Downtown.  Since I hadn't been on the Trolley in years, knew it had expanded to University Town Center in November 2021 and was curious after seeing the 'new' extension being built over the years, then seeing some banners advertising a "Ride the Trolley Free Day" happening in a few days, The Mister and I decided to make a day of it to get me re-acclimated to this mode of transportation. We started at the top right corner of this map (Green Line), changed to the Orange Line and after getting downtown, changed again to the Blue Line going North, ending up at the top left of this map. (Going home, we changed from the Blue to the Green Line)
 It was sunny leaving Santee.
 Then it got a bit cloudy when we hit downtown.
 Many people left the Trolley at this stop, since it was closest to the Ballpark and the Padres had a playoff game.
 By the time we were headed on the 'new' line, alongside Interstate 5, there was full fog.
 We stayed on until the last stop, followed signage (and the other people who exited) to the Mall (through the parking lot) and eventually got to the Food Court, which overlooks the Ice Rink.
 After checking all of the Food Court offerings, we decide on a meal and went off to order.  The Mister stopped here, at Craft Pizza.
He ordered a Calzone with ham, sausage and mushrooms; an item going back to our dating days.  This was excellent.
 I went over to Kebab Grill and ordered a 'Lunch Special' advertised behind the cash register to the left in this photo.
 Salad and
 Lentil soup.  Each was really good and made for a filling and complete meal. Then we started walking around the mall. 
   The Mall has remained about the same, with new stores taking the place of old ones.  There were some interesting vending machines.
 Then we saw this.  Had to stop.
 A great selection of cookies, cupcakes, pastries and ice cream as well as hot and cold beverages.  
 We shared a cup of coffee and a Jesuite pastry (Napoleon/flaky pastry filled with an almond custard, topped with almonds) (Triangle shaped  like a Jesuit Priest hat).

Then we headed home, enjoying a different route.  
 It was still overcast changing from the Blue Line to Green Line in Old Town. Passing the new Snapdragon Stadium and back to sunshine by the time we got home.

Jury Duty was at the new Courthouse, which has scaffolding and canopies all around because windows have been mysteriously shattering.  It's very nice; has a good cafeteria. I wasn't called, so expect another notice in the mail next year.  

Soo rode the trolley, too!

Comments

[kat]

what a nice trolley ride, I am guessing it beats looking for parking near the courthouse:)

[Peter]

Really loving the new trolley addition between Old Town and UTC. We live near UCSD and often take the trolley for drinks/dinner in Old Town and Little Italy. Quick, convenient, and don't have to troll for parking. And UTC is becoming quite a food destination with all sorts of interesting new restaurants opening all the time. Glad you enjoyed the ride, Cathy!

[Soo]

That's good you tried the new line. I enjoyed taking it to Comic Con:
https://www.hungryones.com/2022/08/san-diego-trolley/

[Dereck]

We took the blue line from Nobel to Little Italy for the festival Saturday round trip. I'm glad they are expanding the light rail, extremely disappointed that the blue line goes along the 5 and not through claremont, UC and UTC around to UCSD. The catchment is terrible for such a new line basically on top of a freeway.

[Cathy]

Oh, parking near the Courthouse is at least $20 for the day, plus the commute, Kat! Trolley fees are nowhere near that much. Plus, if called to a Jury, your payment is $15 per day plus mileage-one way.
I never considered taking the Trolley to go out for a meal (and not worry about parking), but it makes perfect sense, Peter. Since I received a free pass for being a Juror (actually for showing up), The Mister and I can do that to just about anywhere. We both grew up using public transportation , still have that automatic 'muscle memory' and did really enjoy it.
Oh, thanks, Soo. I will link. What a fun time you had!
I imagine years of planning went into researching which exits were destination for a majority of commuters, Dereck. A majority of the students who used the UCSD Central Campus and Medical Center and the VA stops seemed to have 'additional' transportation-bicycles, scooters and skateboards (ah, to be young again). Probably earthquake protection combined with a trolley near places with building codes were factors.

[Soo]

Thanks for the link!

[caninecologne]

It's nice to see a Jesuit offered. Not many French bakeries offer that. My husband and I rode the trolley last November '21 (when the blue line officially opened). We took it all the up to UTC and then to UCSD for an alumni event (freebies galore). It was really cool riding it up the new areas (past Mission Bay and up through La Jolla).

The mall is so different from what I remembered from the mid/late 80's to the 90's and to now. So many high end stores I will never shop at (ha ha) but also many fun and new eateries .

Sounds like you had a great time exploring that day!

[Cathy]

As soon as I saw the Jesuit, I knew what to order even though there were so many nice looking pastries, cc. The trolley is a nice way to get to some places other than the Courthouse. The Mister and I plan to utilizeit more this year.