California Girls

Two months ago today, I left for a trip to San Deigo.  If you remember, I mentioned it here, which unfortunately feels like so long ago now!  I've been wanting to recap our amazing adventure to the west coast for awhile now, but one thing after another kept getting in the way.  I felt like I needed to give the post the full attention it deserved! :) 

On June 2nd, my cousin Betsy & I began our adventure.  It was my first trip to the true west coast.  Before that trip, the farthest I had been was to Denver, Co.  We had a BLAST and it was an amazing trip.  That was very large in part due to our wonderful host & hostess, Mike & Tracey.  I was slightly apprehensive leading up to the trip just because we were going to be pretty far from home.  However, M&T made us feel right at home.  From the moment we got there they catered to our every need and made us feel so, so welcome.  Of course I have known Mike since I was 16 years old (so over 10 years!) but had only met his new wife, Tracey, once before.  What a sweetheart!  Mike could not have found a more wonderful lady to be his wife.  She was the kind of gal that made me instantly feel comfortable.  I'm so glad now that I feel like I have made a new friend for life!

When Betsy & I look back at the trip now we laugh at how much we accomplished while there.  We had a list in our minds of things we had heard were "must sees" but we were very open to just having a relaxing time no matter how much we did.  In our eyes it was just nice to get out of town, enjoy each other, have some delicious food and drinks and maybe see a celebrity while we touched down in LAX, haha.  (Which by the way we only saw Bonnie Hunt!) By the end of our week there we had done so much  we were convinced no one could tell us something we missed out on! :)

So for a recap of our week there, here ya go!  It was definitely a whirlwind of very good times...

Torrey Pines golf course

The "children's pool" where the infamous seals & sea lions reside

I have now been coast to coast!

Casa de Lilly

So welcoming!

Hotel del Cornado

W/ our host & hostess @ the Del

Dinner @ Miguel's

Mission Beach

Gaslamp District

Who knew there was a Little Italy in San Diego?!

Having a drink in Little Italy

Tracey & friends running the Rock n Roll Marathon

Tijuana - we didn't make it across the border but got this close!

Tracey's fun car she let us cruise around town!



World famous zoo!

Elephants!

Dinner @ Tilted Kilt before the Padres game

Batter up!

Betsy, Me, Bridget & Tracey @ the Padres/Rockies baseball game

Relaxing on La Jolla Beach

My first feel of the Pacific Ocean

Yes, that was a cliff!

YUM - first ever experience

Balboa Park

Our last night :(

The Last Supper - @ Red Marlin (where Mike & Tracey had their wedding reception)

One highlight of the trip was all of the delicious food and drinks.  My goodness it was non-stop & awesome!  In just the 7 days we were there we ate at Seau's, Peohe's, Miguel's, Cafe Coyote, Rockin Baja, Mona Lisa, Lefty's Chicago Pizzera, Tilted Kilt, In n Out, and Red Marlin.  And believe it or not there is still one place missing, too, that I can't remember! We felt like we just might be on the food tour of San Diego and considering I love food, it was super fabulous.

I'm pretty sure Betsy and I got a first class experience of California.  There is no doubt in my mind that I will one day go back (and take Ryan along this time!).

So in a nutshell...

Favorite things about San Diego:

1. The weather was perfect.  It was warm during the days & a tad chilly when the sun went down (my kind of weather!)

2. I didn't get ONE mosquito bite while there!  And they left their doors wide open w/ no worries of bugs/flies.  Loved that!

3. There were lots of restaurants.  I'm talking places to eat everywhere.  I had never seen so many little hole in the wall places.  I guess that explains our food tour. :)

Least favorite things about San Diego:

1. The Pacific Ocean water was freezing cold! 

2. I could've done w/o the time difference, only b/c it took me a good 3 days to recover once returning back to VA! :)

If you've never been to the west coast then I highly recommend a trip soon.  And even more so, I recommend a trip to San Diego.  It's pretty.  There is so much to do.  It's close to Mexico, but it's also close to LA and in between you will find beaches all over!  Oh, and did I mention there are some great places to eat?! ;) Perfect vacation spot.