This, yet again, was a year of travel. I can say we have heeded the advice of all when they say take advantage of the time you have before children. We did Puerto Rico, New York, Boston, and San Diego this year. We picked San Diego because neither of us had been there and I love California and warm weather, so it just worked out. I'm not sure what I expected of San Diego but I loved it and much different than I thought. We stayed around Mission Beach, right across the street from the beach. There is a board walk there that we walked pretty much went to every night and watched the sunset. We were about 10 minutes from La Joya-adorable little town, with beautiful cliff views and about 10 minutes from downtown San Diego. We got there on Thanksgiving day, which was a great time to travel because it was rather quiet at the airports. That night in San Diego we hadn't figured out where we would eat dinner (let me say we celebrated Thanksgiving with my family the weekend before so we had had our turkey) so we asked the hotel for a suggestion. They told us Sasha's was a restaurant they frequent and they were having a pot luck. I did not hear this part, but when Jack heard it he thought that just meant a buffet of some sorts. We walked down the street and Sasha's looked closed. I call, they tell us they are closed and meanwhile Jack finds a door open and the guy says come on in. To their family thanksgiving meal. I immediately panic. Panic. What?! I am not sitting with these strangers, eating their thanksgiving food. Luckily, it wasn't too bad. They had a big amount of people and all were spread out in the restaurant so we blended in better than I thought. They did have a potluck thanksgiving and it was so sweet of the owner to let us in on their family dinner. Apparently the restaurant had been in the family for years and they always have family holiday meals here. I felt really blessed to be welcomed like that by a complete stranger. So go to Sasha's if you are in Mission Beach.
The next day we arrive at the zoo first thing as it opens to get a head start before the crowd and again we are shocked by generosity. A lady from San Diego asks us if we want to go in for free. We both think there is a catch, but no, she just does this for people she's knows are tourist going to the zoo for the first time. Yep, so we go in to the zoo for free. What?! God is too nice to us. She says she just likes to pay it forward.
The theme of the trip-great food, beautiful sights, and long walks on the beach taking in the beautiful scenery. It was a great "babymoon", as people call it. Highly recommend. I love how laid back and friendly the people are here. Definitely my vibe. I wish I could be a California girl.
Board walk on Mission Beach. Adorable places right on the board walk and everyone is biking, roller blading, skateboarding, or walking/running. I would love to live somewhere that has this.
Our view from our hotel, Catamaran.
Biggest. portions. ever. Hashhouse a go go as featured on Man vs Food. This was biscuits, gravy, fried chicken, potatoes, and eggs. Oh, lets throw in some watermelon for good measure.
A very large blueberry pancake.
The San Diego Zoo was awesome. Jack's favorite was the tortoise.
Me kissing tortoise. This was not the real one, people
Balboa Park is right by the zoo and was gorgeous. A short walk and lots of beautiful buildings to see. There are several free museums in this area.
Torrey Pines is right by La Joya. It's a national park and they have lots of trails to hike, the beach, cliff jumping, and of course, a golf course. I did LOTS of hiking and lots of people stared at me for doing it. Mmm.
The seals at La Joya
Yes, my eyes are closed but I wanted to show the sign :).
Jack wanted to play badly and gave him the go ahead, but he didn't. He did get this great picture though.
These next pictures are from the USS Midway ship. Was super cool and I felt like I was Tom Cruise in Top Gun the whole time. Except without the gay volleyball scene.
I love this picture of Jack. Laugh every time.
I would say this museum is worth it, even for the ladies.
I really wanted to reenact this statue but felt maybe the stranger behind the camera would be uncomfortable. I regret this decision.
Okay, so Old Town is el crapo. I don't suggest it. There are some cool old houses/buildings but the coolest thing I saw there was this Nacho Libre mask. I also regret not buying this. I'm beating myself up about it as I type this. "Don't you know I've had diarrheas since Easters?!"
Luckily we quickly found out Old Town was lame, got our churro and mexican hot chocolate and got out of there as fast as you could say "hola".
My favorite spot, Cabrillo National Monument. The view was breathtaking. This was where the picture was taken on our christmas card.
Cute old lighthouse used previously. You can go up in it almost to the top.
Below the monument are the tide pools. We missed low tide, but you can call ahead and see what time it happens and see some cool marine life.
Coronado is an island (kind of) off of San Diego that you can get to by bridge or ferry. In the monument pictures, this is what you are viewing. This is the beautiful Hotel Del Coronado, featured in films such as "Some like it Hot", "The stunt man" and "Wicked Wicked".
Sunset Cliffs. The water crashing into the rocks was awesome. Crazy how it just keeps wearing away at the rock. For some reason I could watch this for hours.
We stopped at Sunset Cliffs for what we heard 
No comments:
Post a Comment