California Recap #1: Sunny SoCal!

February 24, 2014

When it comes to adjusting to different time zones, they say it is easier to fly west than fly east. Man are they right! We flew back last Tuesday and I don’t think I felt back on schedule until yesterday. It’s been rough.

But now I’m ready to give you part one of two to recap our California trip. Get ready for lots of pictures 

We started off our vacation by visiting Aaron’s best friend and his wife, who live about halfway between San Diego and LA. Literally 10 minutes after arriving at their apartment from the airport, we were out the door and off walking to the beach. It was such a great way to start the vacation.

We had a great time catching up, including an awesome trip to a dog beach,

a visit to Petco Park,

a walk around the San Diego harbor,

and sunset in La Jolla while watching the seals!

After spending the first two days of vacation with friends, we were on our own on Monday. Funny how quickly you forget that other people have work when you’re on vacation! We visited Balboa Park and Old Town before enjoying dinner on Coronado. Sadly, I do not have pics of Old Town or Coronado, apparently I was slacking, so the next few are all Balboa Park.

Near one of the fountains in beautiful Balboa Park:

One of the most colorful place I’ve seen, aka a spot in the Spanish Village Art Center:

Cacti in the desert garden:

Tuesday, we woke up and drove to LA. We stopped off at Manhattan beach, where I enjoyed  Fresh Masa Cakes topped with Pork Belly and Guacamole at Simmzy’s.

I’m a sucker for guacamole.

We also stopped off at Venice Beach and watched the skateboarders.

We then headed into the center of LA where we drove through Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive. I loved this place in the picture below, which I assume is joking by claiming their cupcakes have no sugar, carbs, or fat?

In the evening, we accidentally stumbled upon this overlook of the Hollywood sign and the city of LA just as the sun was setting.

The sunsets were so beautiful out west.

We ended the day by walking through Hollywood with the celebrity stars beneath our feet.

We ate a delicious dinner at Aventine. There we shared the Casa salad (baby greens, grilled pears, roasted pine nuts, focaccia croutons, shaved parmesan) and the Pancetta pizza (roasted Brussels sprouts, caramelized onions, toasted hazelnuts, mozzarella).

I had never had Brussels sprouts on a pizza before but it was surprisingly tasty! I may have to recreate this one at home.

The next day, we spent the morning in Echo Park. Not only was it gorgeous (sunny and 78ºF), but I think this was the day that the East coast was hit with snow. Dodged that bullet!

Echo Park was so pretty!

We then headed over to Santa Monica, where we took in more views of the Pacific and explored the farmer’s market.

Around lunch, we headed up to Malibu, where we enjoyed probably my favorite meal of the trip: clams on the half shell to start followed by a lobster roll with a side of roasted Brussels sprouts (I clearly love Brussels sprouts).

The restaurant was right on the water with beautiful views. After lunch, we took a small hike on the cliffs near the restaurant. It was gorgeous, just like every other view in Cali so far.

That evening, we headed up to Santa Barbara, where we explored the small town and of course took in the sunset.

Sick of sunset pics yet? I hope not!

The next morning we started our trip up the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH), en route to San Francisco. But you will have to wait a few more days to hear about that when I recap in the next post! Stay tuned cause we’re just halfway there!