San Diego: Day 1

Are you ready for a gazillion pictures

 from one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen 

in the United States?

Well, you have come to the right blog post:) 

San Diego was AMAZING!!!!!
Mark sent me away on a little vacation with my friend Megan
for 4 days to relax and soak up some sun on the beach!
I SO wish Mark and I could have gone together
but leaving 4 children behind is quite difficult.
(Also this winter is our 10 yr anniversary and
we want to go away somewhere tropical to celebrate!)
Anyhow, San Diego.... 

The weather was a perfect 70-75 degrees every day and nice and cool at night. 

The beaches were picture perfect and not crowded at all.

The food was out of this world! 

 We arrived after a very short flight and went right to our hotel to check in- we stayed at the Porto Vista which was right next to the airport and about 5 minutes from downtown. It was an older hotel that they remade to look vintage with large black and white murals covering one whole wall in the room.

After checking in, we proceeded to Ocean Beach where we grabbed a bite to eat at Hodads which is very famous for its burgers and fries! It didnt disappoint! We loved how everyone was SO laid back in the tiny little kitchen flippin burgers- there was a nonstop line to get into the place since it was the size of a large kitchen! The walls were lined with liscence plates.. and surf boards

 I was so excited to snap a bunch of beach photos before going into the surf to swim! 

I love how they turned out! 

The water was pretty warm once you got in:) 

but this beach had TONS of seaweed and kelp.

That didnt  stop us from riding the waves- it was so relaxing!

 That evening we came back and took pictures along the pier. It was just beautiful.

All the surfers tend to come out in the early morning and later in the evening-

 the waves are so much bigger. It was fun watching them.
I would love to someday try to surf.

.

 We ate dinner at SouthBeach Bar and Grill which is known for its fish tacos-
 they were SO good! 

I tried the Wahoo and Lobster variety and
also downed a plate of raw oysters on the half shell- 

they were SO fresh and salty- delicious! 

 After dinner we proceeded up Sunset Cliff Boulevard- 

the sun did not cooperate but we still got some pretty pictures. 

 Then we headed back to the hotel- the San Diego airport is in the middle of a very busy section of the city- so as we were walking to the hotel it looked like planes were landing feet away from us- 

they flew SO low and it was very loud! 

the view from the hotel balcony

We retired early since we had been up since 3am to get our plane!
Stay tuned...More ocean to come....
But let me leave you with a classic poem by Robert Louis Stevenson about the ocean.

At The Sea-Side

When I was down beside the sea
A wooden spade they gave to me
To dig the sandy shore.

My holes were empty like a cup.
In every hole the sea came up,
Till it could come no more.