sunny san diego

figured i should write about my first trip to the west coast...

clif, jenn, kristi, and myself decided on a trip to visit jonathan since he has been in arizona training.  it was a perfect opportunity for me to make my first trip to the west coast.  of course, i had all of the stereotypical assumptions of the west coast...hot, sunny, beaches everywhere, high fashion, etc.  some proved true, others did not.  my first disappointment came about a week before the trip when we realized the high for our stay was about seventy degrees.  when the temperature was hitting one hundred here at home, seventy seemed to be a big disappointment. 

our plane was scheduled to leave at 5:30am, which meant we had to meet and be ready about 4:30am.  my goal was to be packed by 3, leaving me time for a quick nap.  surprisingly, i was packed just after midnight with the lightest suitcase of the three girls.  this is important to note as i feel as though this generally does not happen. =)

thursday...so, off we go to san deigo!!!  after picking up the rental and checking into our hotel, it was time to explore and try to begin the jet lag recovery program.  we walked a few miles that day exploring.  we ate lunch at {the tin fish}, which came highly recommended by our friend tiffany.  she suggested the fish tacos, but i stuck to the chicken tacos.  still yummy!  san diego was beautiful, clean, and peaceful.  we gave in and took a short nap (comfy, comfy beds!) before getting up to do more exploring.  truth be told...we were having a difficult time transitioning to west coast time but survived a late-ish dinner at {sammy's woodfired pizza}.  it was obvious we weren't as important as the table beside us, but still enjoyed the meal.  quick dip in the hot tub finished the evening.

friday...road trip to LA.  driving along the coast was enjoyable.  pretty view most of the way.  once hitting LA though, there was an obvious change in cleanliness.  straight to hollywood.  parked, walked along the hollywood stars, took our distant picture with the famous hollywood sign, and then hit the road again to pasadena.  another pretty area!  had lunch jenn's and clif's friend, who promises us seat filler tickets for a premier for our next trip to cali.  how fun would that be?!?! after checking out pasadena's city hall, we headed back to LA for a stop at intelligensia for a quick coffee break.  next stop:  back to san diego to meet jonathan.  that evening we enjoyed honest food and drinks at {the lincoln room}.  fun atmosphere.

saturday...{san diego zoo}.  let's be honest, i enjoy going to the zoo, so i was excited for this part of the trip.  well, done, san diego, well done.  my only true disappointment was not being able to see the giant panda.  pandas are favorite.  giraffes, too.  the dancing elephant was precious.  they call her cha-cha because she loves to sway back and forth.  cute, cute.  that evening, we dressed up a bit and had dinner at the {coronado boathouse}.  great view, great food.  our waitor was entertaining and gave us free dessert because he enjoyed seeing people from lynchburg, va.  yum!  also, cindy mccain was sitting two tables from ours.  it was the only celebrity/famous person sighting we really had our entire trip.  after dinner, we had a little stroll on the coronado beach. the sand was so cold at night.

sunday...another fun-filled day.  we started out the morning by walking a few blocks to cheer on the marathon running.  it was early, but fun.  we saw some interesting running costumes.  our next visit was to the {uss midway museum}.  neat museum.  it is crazy to think of actually living and functioning in some of those quarters though.  after the museum, it was time to hit the beach.  beautiful day for laying on the beach.  sleep, read, tan...wonderful combination.  we ventured to {in-n-out burger} for dinner.  we had to see what all the west coast hype was.  it was good, but i would probably stick to {five guys}!  i convinced everyone to get cheesecake from {the cheesecake factory}. red velvet cheesecake is favorite!  we enjoyed our cheesecake sitting at the harbor.

monday...last day in san diego.  packed up the rental car and went to find lunch in san diego's little italy.  so cute!  we next ventured to a harbor tour, which was cold, but fun to see the sights from the boat.  some of our sightings:  many military planes, helicopters, boats, submarines, sea lions, and dolphins.  i was a happy girl seeing the dolphins!  one last adventure to the old town of san diego before the crew dropped me off at the airport for my flight back to lynchburg.  i have flown around the world, but this was my first time flying solo, so i was a bit nervous.  all went well though.  the only thing i really would rather not do over was the red eye flight.  not a fan of the red eye.  the rest of the gang had a later flight back.

now we are all back to the reality of work, but we are brainstorming for possibilities for the next big trip.  maybe disney world over thanksgiving?!?!?