San Diego Style

San Diego, commonly referred to as "my happy place,"  is a place we get to more than most because we are blessed to have family there. I believe this was our third trip out together and my fourth overall but we can't wait to get back again soon! To me there's just nothing better. San Diego has beaches, breweries galore and amazing scenery. Here's the highlights:

Our first stop is always In-n-Out Burger. I'm not a huge fast food person, but In-n-Out simply is a must. All ingredients are locally sourced and the taste reflects it! We made it here twice this time around and wanted to go for a third but it didn't work out in our favor.

OMG YUM

Another new thing for me was walking through Balboa Park. I'd been to the zoo, which is technically in the park but I'd never actually taken a stroll through it. It's worth it from the scenery alone, but there's a ton of museums and across the street is an amazing rose garden, too.

Balboa Park is full of beautiful architecture

Botanical gardens

Rose gardens across the street

Next to the outdoor ampitheater

This felt like a secret garden

I love the vegetation in SoCal

From there we decided to head down to Point Loma to Cabrillo National Monument. The cost is  $15/car but there's tons of trails and tide pools you can explore. Just be sure to get there early, there's not much parking and the line gets pretty long! We ended up staying longer than planned due to slight car troubles but hey, there are worse places to be stuck!

A look at the city from afar

Tide pools 

Monument to Cabrillo - he came to America in the 1500's!

Hubs enjoying the scenery

A beautiful lighthouse

In winter and spring gray whales can be seen all the way down the coast from this park. 

Beautiful view of the Pacific

Bees are so important to our environment. I was really excited to see this little guy!

A friend to accompany me whilst we waited for the car to be fixed

We hit up the Karl Strauss brewery in the Gaslamp district for lunch. Can't go wrong with this one! The food was amazing and the beers were top notch. The main location is in Pacific Beach and if you time it right, you can enjoy some music whilst you drink.

You definitely have your choice of beaches when visiting - Ocean Beach, Pacific Beach, Dog Beach... I could go on... but my favorite is La Jolla. The drive in is incredible and the views are spectacular. Again, you have to get there early to get a parking spot!

Flowers we were enjoying in Grandma's garden

Grandma has inspired me to put out bird feeders!

I'm not usually a huge cat person (we have two amazing pups) but I did fall in love with Waffles on this trip. He's a cool cat.

Hydrangea's are one of my favorites and Grandma's were so beautiful!

Stalking his prey... 

We spent a lot of time with Hubs' Aunt and Uncle who were awesome enough to take us to a few cool spots. First, we went for lunch to a Mexican joint in the Barrio called Las Cuatro Milpas. Another place to get to early but the food was extremely authentic! We had a great time. Afterwards, we decided to get swanky with it and drove over to Coronado to have drinks at the Hotel Del Coronado. Even if you don't want a drink, I definitely recommend at least checking out the hotel, it's massive! And the island itself is adorable with tons to do.

It was the perfect weather for drinks by the water

Feelin' fancy

One of my favorite things to do is catch a sunset over the Pacific. And boy, did we catch a great one!

Sunsets and dinner by the water make a great date night!

Waiting patiently for the show to begin!

Here we go!

The clouds were incredible.

On our last day, we were lucky enough to venture out to the Desert Tower which is about an hour outside of San Diego. Not only can you see for miles and miles, but there's also a boulder park you can climb and hang out in. We enjoyed a beer whilst we enjoyed the views. Oh and bonus, the people who run the Tower have a peacock! Sadly, I'm not sure I'd ever seen one up close so that was pretty cool for me! I gotta admit, I was in awe once we were out in the desert. I'm not sure I've ever really been to the desert, so it was exciting for me to have a this cool experience.

You can see all the way into Arizona on a clear day!

The owners of the tower have a peacock and I was excited it let me snap a few pics!

The Tower

Entering Boulder Park

Watch out!

Admiring the view

Cheers from the top!

In the tower!

How did I get up here?!?

Boulder Park

With Uncle and Lily

We always have a great time in San Diego, but I think this was our best trip to date. It was the perfect mix of relaxation and adventure and it definitely has us excited to go back soon!