My husband and I have great respect for Dr. David Jeremiah's ministry. We receive his daily devotions and watch his Shadow Mountain church services, but they don't replace our local church attendance. As soon as we decided San Diego was going to be part of our trip, my hubby called his church [in nearby El Cajon] to make sure he would be back home and in his pulpit on Palm Sunday. [He had been on a trip to the Holy Land just prior to our arrival.]
When we pulled into the huge parking lot we were asked if we were first time visitors because there's special parking for guests closer to all the buildings. I couldn't resist taking a photo of the reserved parking sign to send to my son who pastors the church we attend. I kiddingly told him to make sure we have reserved parking spaces for first time visitors when our building/parking lot is completed. [We're no where near the size of Shadow Mountain so a first time visitor won't have to be concerned about all the prime spaces being taken. ;-)]
My friend, Lorna, and her husband, Dave, attend the second service so we met up with them in the main foyer just before the service started at 10:45 a.m. We sat in the balcony, which is where they like to sit. The music, as always, was outstanding. Lorna and Dave used to sing in the choir and that's how they met.
Dr. Jeremiah began a new sermon series that morning titled "Everything You Need" from II Peter 1:3-5. Hopefully we'll be able to follow the rest of the series from home.
We didn't attempt to meet Dr. Jeremiah after service was dismissed. We were too busy chatting with Lorna and Dave and taking pictures. We'll try to meet him on our next visit. Although my hubby was a good sport about visiting all the tearooms with me and said he enjoyed them, attending Shadow Mountain was the big highlight of the trip for him.
~ Lorna and Dave ~
Shadow Mountain's main campus is large and beautiful with a K-12 grade school and a seminary. They have several satellite churches too.
After we said our goodbyes to Lorna and Dave we headed off to downtown San Diego where we had 2:30 p.m. reservations for Afternoon Tea at the Westgate Hotel. I wanted one hotel Afternoon Tea on the trip. My first choice was the Fairmont Grand Del Mar, but they were booked before we ever left home, so we'll have to catch them next time. As it turned out, the Westgate was lovely.
Beautiful Lobby decorated in my favorite color!
When no one was looking I couldn't resist peeking to see who manufactured the china.
Villeroy & Boch / Germany
Their tea purveyor is White Lion. Jerry ordered Organic Earl Grey and I got Ginger Peach [both black teas]. I had never heard of White Lion before so did a Google search - they have a business address in Scottsdale, AZ and it appears they're primarily associated with servicing the hospitality industry.
If there was anything they could have improved on it would have been decanting the tea before bringing it to our table. The first cup was delicious, but the second cup had over steeped and was bitter. To help remedy the situation our server added more hot water to the pot. They didn't have any warmers or cozies either, so the pot cooled down rather quickly.
This was our sixth and final tea of the trip and I enjoyed every one!
Savories: House Smoked Salmon topped with Quail Egg and Bowfin Caviar; Baja Prawn on Cucumber with Watercress Pesto; Chicken & Egg Salad with Tarragon Remoulade; Humboldt Fog Goat Cheese & Truffle Honey, Fiscalini Cheese Savory Muffin.
Golden Raisin & Sugar Cane Scone with Jam and Summer Berries topped with Vanilla Whipped Cream.
A harpist played beautiful music during our tea time.
Desserts: Fruit Tarts; French Macarons; Cheese Cake; Banana Cupcake; and Chocolate Cake. [I still haven't got on the scale since returning home. I'm afraid to!]
After our tea we got back in our rental car and took Hwy. 1 Coastal Route destined for Long Beach where we had reservations to spend the night on the Queen Mary.
It was a beautiful scenic route - another house built high up on a mountain top.
Dana Point was so beautiful we had to stop and take a few pictures.
More mountain top homes.
It was still daylight when we drove into the area where the Queen Mary is permanently docked. Since it's very unlikely I'll ever sail across the pond on the Queen Mary II, I really wanted to see this ship. Tomorrow's post...
What a lovely day!
ReplyDeleteYour definitely had a special tea trip and now the Queen Mary. Though I have been in LA many times I have never been to the Queen Mary.
ReplyDeleteI visited Shadow Mountain church when my sister and I visited her son. It was such a special time. We walked down to the alter and took communion and after met and had our picture taken with Dr. David Jeremiah.
ReplyDeleteThe tea looks beautiful and the vase of roses matched your outfit! Such a nice picture of you and Jerry.