Heading to San Diego for a few days of rest and relaxation is quickly becoming a yearly ritual for my family. Mid July is the perfect time to run far and fast from the desert temperatures and head to the coast for the salty air and beach hair. My parents, sister, Kristie (honorary daughter), and Mike and I packed up our rav’s and headed westward!
We stayed at the cutest little Airbnb cottage, it was actually our 2nd time staying there! (You can see our 2015 vacation adventure here!) It’s SO nice having a home to relax in rather than a stiff hotel room, plus you can’t beat a cottage that sleeps 6!
Although we visited many of the same breakfast bars and beaches as last year, this years trip felt incredibly different. This time last year, Mike was walking with a cane and would soon be in a wheelchair. Despite being feverish and ill, he was a trooper and came to SD, but most of his time was spent at the cottage resting. I’m not only thankful that he’s healthy this year, but that we got to share memories and experience SD together in a whole new way.
It’s not a trip to Southern California without spending a day beachside! We camped out, pic-nic’d, and soaked up the sun at Mission Beach. Mike actually isn’t a huge beach lover, but he was so preoccupied looking for Pokemon that I don’t think he even cared. 😉
Since I take pictures all year long, I generally leave my camera at home for vacations. It’s nice to get a break from shooting, so most of these photos are from my phone and snapchat. 😉 And as a side note, I was so happy to score some DOLE WHIP at Mission Beach, heck YES!
I’ve never wanted a selfie stick before..but totally caved and bought one for the trip. It came in handy trying to photograph all six of us. It took a little while to get the hang of it. Haha 🙂
As we prepared for the trip, my mom continued to joke that each day would begin by grabbin’ a donut at the Donut Bar. Well, we didn’t go every day, but we did go! The Chai donut I had was definitely amazing, it paired wonderfully with their Stumptown cold brew.
We spent an afternoon exploring Balboa Park, which was beyond beautiful! We walked through a few museums, gardens, and tried our hand at another selfie. 😉
My dad and I spent a morning hiking through Torrey Pines, an amazing beach and hiking spot north of La Jolla. We snapped photos, enjoyed the breeze off the water, and hiked somewhere around 3 miles. I highly recommend this little treasure of a place!
Thanks to recommendations from friends, we hit up a few coffee shops! We tried Better then Buzz and the Coffee and Tea Collective. Both were SO good!!
For our last night, we hit up Coronado Island for sunset (and ice cream, duh) and saw the SD skyline after dark. It’s always a beautiful view!
Until next time, San Diego!
Heading to San Diego for a few days of rest and relaxation is quickly becoming a yearly ritual for my family. Mid July is the perfect time to run far and fast from the desert temperatures and head to the coast for the salty air and beach hair. My parents, sister, Kristie (honorary daughter), and Mike and I packed up our rav’s and headed westward!
We stayed at the cutest little Airbnb cottage, it was actually our 2nd time staying there! (You can see our 2015 vacation adventure here!) It’s SO nice having a home to relax in rather than a stiff hotel room, plus you can’t beat a cottage that sleeps 6!
Although we visited many of the same breakfast bars and beaches as last year, this years trip felt incredibly different. This time last year, Mike was walking with a cane and would soon be in a wheelchair. Despite being feverish and ill, he was a trooper and came to SD, but most of his time was spent at the cottage resting. I’m not only thankful that he’s healthy this year, but that we got to share memories and experience SD together in a whole new way.
It’s not a trip to Southern California without spending a day beachside! We camped out, pic-nic’d, and soaked up the sun at Mission Beach. Mike actually isn’t a huge beach lover, but he was so preoccupied looking for Pokemon that I don’t think he even cared. 😉
Since I take pictures all year long, I generally leave my camera at home for vacations. It’s nice to get a break from shooting, so most of these photos are from my phone and snapchat. 😉 And as a side note, I was so happy to score some DOLE WHIP at Mission Beach, heck YES!
I’ve never wanted a selfie stick before..but totally caved and bought one for the trip. It came in handy trying to photograph all six of us. It took a little while to get the hang of it. Haha 🙂
As we prepared for the trip, my mom continued to joke that each day would begin by grabbin’ a donut at the Donut Bar. Well, we didn’t go every day, but we did go! The Chai donut I had was definitely amazing, it paired wonderfully with their Stumptown cold brew.
We spent an afternoon exploring Balboa Park, which was beyond beautiful! We walked through a few museums, gardens, and tried our hand at another selfie. 😉
My dad and I spent a morning hiking through Torrey Pines, an amazing beach and hiking spot north of La Jolla. We snapped photos, enjoyed the breeze off the water, and hiked somewhere around 3 miles. I highly recommend this little treasure of a place!
Thanks to recommendations from friends, we hit up a few coffee shops! We tried Better then Buzz and the Coffee and Tea Collective. Both were SO good!!
For our last night, we hit up Coronado Island for sunset (and ice cream, duh) and saw the SD skyline after dark. It’s always a beautiful view!
Until next time, San Diego!
