San Diego

We LOVE San Diego. Tyler and I decided to end our summer by visiting lovely SD. We got a hotel in Mission Valley (great location by the way - kind of in the center of all the fun sites and restaurants) for a couple nights with our rewards points so we just had to pay for our food and fun! Last Friday we headed down to the SD Zoo. The weather was perfect... sunny with a cool breeze and it wasn't too crowded. We bought our tickets online so we didn't have to wait in line and there was no charge for parking! We took a BUNCH of pictures at the zoo so I will not be posting all of them. But here are some of my favorites...














Friday night we hit up Phil's BBQ for dinner. If you are ever in SD you NEED to go. It was amazing. I got ribs & chicken and Ty got ribs & corn. We also got onion rings to share.... we could not stop making yummy noises while we chowed down. There was a long line to get in, but it was well worth the wait!





Then we went to see a movie at an old restored theater downtown in the Gaslamp district.


We LOVED it. Although I have to admit... I am a little jealous of the amazing experiences had by Julia Roberts' character. It kind of made me want to drop everything and go travel around the world to find my inner balance and peace. Go see it!

Just a cool looking building we walked by downtown...


Saturday morning we ate breakfast and headed down to old town to visit the Mormon Battalion Visitor's Center. It is SO amazing. They completely renovated it and I'm pretty sure there aren't many other places that can compete with it. We really enjoyed it.







Then we headed down to the Cabrillo National Monument. Apparently Cabrillo was the first explorer to set foot on the California coast. The views were a little foggy, but it was still a fun place to visit.




After Cabrillo we headed to North Park San Diego. We visited the Velo Cult Bike Shop, visited some shops (I got a super cute hand made bag) and ate at Station Burgers. Now we want to buy lots of bikes and ride them everywhere. I think we could actually get around pretty easily with how close we are to so many things. I might be getting a sweet bike soon for a graduation present... we shall see. I just feel guilty spending so much money on a bike, but when it is something that will last forever I feel like it can be justified.




Oh... and here is our hotel room & notice my sweet new purse... it is so pretty!




We hung out by the pool in the afternoon and then headed to Lefty's for some RIDICULOUSLY tasty pizza! The pictures do not do it justice. Go to this place next time you are in the area. You. Wont. Regret. It.



Then we headed to Heaven Sent Desserts. It was simply magical. You pass by an assortment of desserts and pick out the one(s) you want, order and they bring it to your table. It totally reminded me of Central Perk. We ordered a chocolate chocolate cupcake, strawberry fraise and I also got a hot chocolate (amazing by the way) and they served it to me in an over sized mug... just like on Friends! I was loving it!!!





Just a sweet thing I saw after we ate our dessert...


Sunday we went down to the harbor and toured a few boats. Tyler is really into sail boats and pretty much all types of water vessels so he arranged for us to tour some. We went on the star of india and a submarine. We also got to gaze at some other really old boats. It was nice to be down by the water and the weather was beautiful too!
















Then we went Kayaking down in La Jolla. I have to say this first: I am outrageously afraid of the ocean/waves. I go in the water up to my knees and no further. I think it is because of being tossed around a lot as a child, but for whatever reason I am freaked out by the ocean. We got into a double kayak equipped with our life vests and paddles. Then I noticed the waves crashing. The guy from the Kayak rental place pushed us straight into my worst fear. It was like a nightmare being brought to life. I seriously had an anxiety attack. When we finally got through the like 5 or 6 waves I realized I was shaking and my heart was pounding. But the good thing was... I never gave up and I was determined to get through the waves out to the calm water and I did! We saw dolphins, tons of sea lions and Tyler claims he also saw a shark. He of course did NOT mention it to me until after we were back on land so as to not cut our kayaking venture short.

The weekend was just what we needed. We could be with each other in a really fun environment and we weren't worried about school or work. We had a really great time and we cannot wait to go back! We may even live down there when Tyler goes to grad school. We just got a really fun/laid back vibe from the people and the towns that we visited. There are tons of things to do, places to eat and it is all close to the beach. If you are thinking of taking a vacation to California make sure you hit up SD!

This is one of my favorite memories from the trip...



Take only what the hotel owes you. Ross taught me well.