Monday, February 20, 2017

Shouldless Days in San Diego - Part 1

We've been back from San Diego for a week now and I am finally getting around to posting my recap!  We had a really nice 4-day getaway. Life has felt really busy lately, so it was great to get away and relax for 4 days. We were hoping to soak up lots of sun, but the weather wasn't as nice as we were hoping (rain, fog, overcast skies). But we made the most of it!  Here's a (picture-heavy) recap of our time!

We stayed in an airbnb in the Mission Beach area of San Diego. This was a great area to stay because it was fairly central and we were so close (less than a block!) to the beach. When we had our windows open, we could hear the waves.  #bliss

On Thursday morning I was up before Phil so I walked to a local coffee shop for my morning caffeine fix and walked back along the beach. It was so beautiful out at that point of the day. Little did I know that was the last time I was going to see blue skies until our day of departure. Womp womp.


Shortly after I took that picture, heavy fog moved in. We had plans to go to Torrey Pines State Natural Preserve in the La Jolla area. We thought that the fog would maybe burn off by the time we got up there or during our hike. We were wrong. So we didn't get great views of the ocean, but we still had a great time!

The terrain was rugged and beautiful! This picture gives you an idea of how foggy it was!
There are several short hikes in the area but the most popular one is the beach hike.


The foggy weather made the beach look mysterious and beautiful
 After walking along the beach for a while, we headed back to the trail head.
Navigating the dense fog back to the trail head.
By the time we got done hiking, we were starting to get hungry. Since we were close to La Jolla, we stopped there for lunch at Bubba's Smokehouse (which was really good!). La Jolla is definitely a much more "ritzy" area than where we were staying (think Cartier and other high end shops). At one point we had considered staying in La Jolla, but I'm glad we didn't as we are more of the Pacific Beach types (which is touristy, but more low key/not ritzy).

One draw of the La Jolla area is La Jolla Cove. We walked down there after lunch. This little passageway/cove was especially cool.


It's crazy to think that the topography of the area occurred naturally. 


We had been out and about for quite a chunk of time at this point, so we decided to head back to our condo and relax for awhile. 
Wine + a good book
After relaxing for awhile, we went for a walk on the beach.  It was chilly and misty so we had the beach to ourselves.

Phil found some sand dollars for me
 This picture gives you an idea of how foggy it was!





It was a great first day!  I'll be back later this week with part 2 of the recap!

Have you been to San Diego?

14 comments:

Charbelle said...

I'm so sorry there wasn't as much sun as you were hoping but y'all definitely made the most of your trip! I love the pictures!!! Hopefully it was also a really good time reconnecting with each other!

Jeanie said...

This sounds like a fabulous trip, even with the fog and clouds. Good time to get away, walk, recharge before you really get rolling with the wedding. Did you find those shells on that beach? They're beautiful!

Marlys said...

I have never been to San Deigo but your Dad spent 3 months or so there while in Navy Boot Camp, although he didn't get much time off to sight see. I have heard that it is a beautiful area of California and your pictures do show that!
I love looking at scenery pictures!

katielookingforward said...

I've been to la jolla, but it was in high school, I would love to go back! The torrey pines hike seems lovely!

Gracie said...

The beaches look so dream-like in the fog. I love how fog mutes everything - sounds, lights, colors.

Kyria @ Travel Spot said...

I love the Mission Beach and Ocean Beach areas of SD. La Jolla is definitely very high end, but there are some great beaches and also one of my favorite places to get duck! You definitely did the right thing by not staying there though. It's definitely not as colorful or fun! I don't know if you saw them, but one of my favorite things about Mission Beach is all the colorful beach cruisers! Regarding the weather, you pretty much came right in the middle of the CA coast "winter" which means fog and rain!! I had a similar experience last weekend: I was supposed to go to Tahoe, but the threat of snow changed my plans so I thought I would stick to the coast, but due to rain, a lot of highways are closed! It was a fruitless trip in the end, but I ended up getting a lot of reading done instead!

Jolene - EverydayFoodie said...

It's too bad that the weather wasn't as sunny and warm as you were hoping, but the fog looks pretty ...

I don't think I've ever heard of/ seen sand dollars until now - neat!

Nope, I've never been to San Diego, but I've heard that it's a great walking city, and that I'd love it. It's on our list of US cities to visit :-)

Carolina John said...

I'm with Kyria here! Mission beach and Ocean Beach were some of my favorite parts of SD too. We stayed downtown when I was there, but I would stay at Mission beach if I ever get to go back.

Stephany said...

Oh, bummer. I'm sorry you had so much fog during your trip! Going to California should mean lots of sun, sun, sun! (Especially when you're escaping from the Midwest in winter! Ha.)

Abby said...

Well, I am bummed that your weather wasn't sunny and typical San Diego. However, it looks like you two didn't let that ruin your vacation!! Was so fun for me to read this. Ryan and I need to add these hikes to our next trip!

I'm relieved you liked the Mission beach area. Wasn't sure. Someone I know thinks it's "trashy" and cannot believe we stay there?!?! I think the beach rentals are so cute and love all the fish tacos and locally owned coffee shops!

Love your beach photos!!!! Almost looks like Maine!!

Amber said...

Sucks that it was so so foggy for your trip! But I'm glad you got some relaxation and shouldless days in anyways. The foggy beach pictures remind me of Tofino! Still beautiful, but a different kind of beautiful than sunny beach pics!

Leigh said...

We didn't have the greatest weather either, but I was still impressed by San Diego. I'd take that over the snow we are getting right now!

San said...

Oh, I love San Diego... and they almost always have sunshine, so I am a bit bummed for you that you caught a few foggy days.

Grateful Kae said...

Thanks for sharing this! You certainly did get foggy weather!! Ours was more just overcast, but a little foggy in the morning. I think maybe it is foggier in the winter months? I thought I heard that somewhere. I Feel like there are so many places we didn't get to see in San Diego on such a short trip, and of course, a lot of it was dominated by the work events. Also, I really enjoyed staying on Coronado, but it is not centrally located, of course! It was fun for this particular trip, since we weren't really worrying about doing the full tourist thing. If we go back, I'm sure we would shoot for a more convenient location. Hearing the waves from your hotel sounds wonderful! Our hotel was lovely, too, in a different way- a very pretty setting on a marina, and just a really pretty hotel in general. So it's kind of an either/or situation- pros and cons to both. As always seems to be the case with travel! You could do most trips a million different ways and love different things about each way.