Trey and I have a bit of an unusual situation in that we both work for a school district and have spring break every year! It's pretty fantastic! This post is coming a bit late, but I finally had some time to put it together, and it's fun to reminisce on a truly amazing vacation with Trey!
Not only did I get to sleep 8+ hours every night for a week (much, much needed), but Trey and I got to spend a whole week of quality time, just the two of us, and it was so wonderful!
It ended up being one of our favorite vacations ever, so I thought I would share some highlights of the things we did and places we ate in case you're headed to SoCal at some point (which I highly recommend doing!). We spent most of our time in the SD area, but made it up to the LA area for a couple of days (although we mostly hung out in beach towns).
Things to do in San Diego...
Torrey Pines State Reserve
We enjoyed our day of hiking so, so much and did every trail but one! You can be active and get in a workout while taking in some of the best views in the San Diego area. It's truly gorgeous there and the ocean breeze is amazing!
backpack | leggings
backpack | leggings
The San Diego Zoo
Tickets for the zoo are a bit steep, but they are worth every dollar! We spent nearly the entire day at the zoo because it was so good! The animals were super active, the plants were beautiful, and the whole experience was really educational. We got to see pandas (there are only around 12 in the US), polar bears (the two males fought over the female and it was cray!), gorillas up close, and more. If you're visiting San Diego you must go!
Coronado Island
Coronado Island is dreamy. The houses are darling and the beach is wide and beautiful. If you want to hit a beach in the SD area, this is one I would recommend (military planes often land over the beach-pretty crazy) and then I would spend some time walking or biking around the cute streets and looking at all of the perfect houses! The famous Hotel de Coronado is awesome as well and I believe you can use their cute pink/white striped beach chairs if you order drinks there!
Sunset Cliffs
We started our last evening of vacation by watching the sunset at Sunset Cliffs, and it was truly beautiful there. It's actually a pretty long stretch of coast line, but any of the spots are stunning! Definitely bring a jacket though...the breeze off the ocean is chilly by the evening!
top | jeans | sunglasses | similar slides
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Things to do in LA...
Griffith Observatory
This is definitely touristy, but we happened to be in LA on a super clear day, so I knew the views from Griffith Observatory would be insanely good, and they were! If you have more time in LA than we did, there are a lot of great hiking trails in and around Griffith Park too that have views for days!
Seeing the Historic Rose Bowl and Coliseum
If you have a sports loving s/o like I do, then you might make stops at famous sports venues when you travel 😉 We didn't make it to the Coliseum, but it was really cool to see the Rose Bowl! Fun fact: they were filming for the HBO show Ballers when we stopped by!
El Matador State Beach
On our second day in LA we drove up the coast to Malibu (a must!), and after lunch made our way a bit further north to El Matador State Beach. IT WAS INCREDIBLE. There are all kinds of amazing rock formations coming out of the sand, including some with natural archways. It's truly beautiful! We spent a couple of hours walking around + exploring, and watched a shark swimming just 20 feet out in the water!
Outfit details for the white set can be found here.
Outfit details for the white set can be found here.
The Beach Towns
Whether you're in San Diego or LA or somewhere in between, be sure to spend some time walking around and enjoying the little beach towns! It's so calming to be by the water, and I love the laid back atmosphere in those communities. Plus the houses are so fun to look at because you get to see amazing architecture and landscaping up close! We stayed in Manhattan Beach while up in "LA" and we loved how relaxed and pretty it was! We didn't go to the Venice Canals this trip, but have in the past and they're awesome to walk around as well.
Best Eats - LA
Malibu Seafood
A casual little spot right on the coast in Malibu that has crazy fresh seafood. Definitely get the fish sandwich! So yum!
The IZAKA-YA by KATSU-Ya
We walked to this sushi spot from our friend's place in Manhattan Beach, and had some of our best sushi ever! It was unbelievably fresh 👌
Manhattan Beach Creamery
On our second night in LA we got an ice cream sandwich (ice cream sandwiched between house-made cookies) to split while we watched the sunset on the beach. It was divine.
Blue Star Donuts
They have locations in Venice and Manhattan Beach, and if you're in LA you much go. They have unique flavors (mine was raspberry rosemary buttermilk, and Trey had a lemon poppy), and melt-in-your-mouth texture but with a crunchy bottom. So. Good.
Best Eats - San Diego
Jake's Del Mar
If you want to splurge on a nice dinner by the ocean, this is your spot! My grandma took us here and everything was perfect. It's literally on the beach, and the food is to-die-for! I had the "curry and cumin crusted tuna" (pictured above) and Trey had the best steak he's ever had.
Rubio's Coastal Grill
So this is kind of a chain, but I've loved their fish tacos since I was a little kid and I have to go at least once every time I'm in California! We went to the original location on this trip and it's tiny and charming.
Surf Side Deli
This is a hole-in-the-wall deli (Trey is awesome at finding these random spots), and their sandwiches are so damn good! They were gigantic and cheap and I would 100% get one again.
Nomad Donuts
Yes, we got donuts twice, but it was 100% worth the sugar and calories! I tried my first vegan donut here and I couldn't even tell a difference!
Crack Shack
This was our first meal when we landed in SD, and it did not disappoint! It's a Richard Blais restaurant, and we had this one our list long before our trip. We each had sandwiches and split the border slaw, which was a super interesting fruit salad/slaw creation.
Underbelly
If I had to pick, this was probably my favorite meal of our trip! We ate here our last night, and it was a perfect meal! I had the "underbelly ramen," Trey had the "beef bowl," and we split an order of the "pork belly buns." It was one of those meals that we didn't want to end! They have two locations in San Diego (we went to the one in North Park), and the atmosphere is perfect.
Thanks for joining me for this post! Trey and I love to plan trips, so I always look forward to sharing that information and tons of photos with you afterwards!
Malibu Seafood
A casual little spot right on the coast in Malibu that has crazy fresh seafood. Definitely get the fish sandwich! So yum!
The IZAKA-YA by KATSU-Ya
We walked to this sushi spot from our friend's place in Manhattan Beach, and had some of our best sushi ever! It was unbelievably fresh 👌
Manhattan Beach Creamery
On our second night in LA we got an ice cream sandwich (ice cream sandwiched between house-made cookies) to split while we watched the sunset on the beach. It was divine.
Blue Star Donuts
They have locations in Venice and Manhattan Beach, and if you're in LA you much go. They have unique flavors (mine was raspberry rosemary buttermilk, and Trey had a lemon poppy), and melt-in-your-mouth texture but with a crunchy bottom. So. Good.
Best Eats - San Diego
Jake's Del Mar
If you want to splurge on a nice dinner by the ocean, this is your spot! My grandma took us here and everything was perfect. It's literally on the beach, and the food is to-die-for! I had the "curry and cumin crusted tuna" (pictured above) and Trey had the best steak he's ever had.
Rubio's Coastal Grill
So this is kind of a chain, but I've loved their fish tacos since I was a little kid and I have to go at least once every time I'm in California! We went to the original location on this trip and it's tiny and charming.
Surf Side Deli
This is a hole-in-the-wall deli (Trey is awesome at finding these random spots), and their sandwiches are so damn good! They were gigantic and cheap and I would 100% get one again.
Nomad Donuts
Yes, we got donuts twice, but it was 100% worth the sugar and calories! I tried my first vegan donut here and I couldn't even tell a difference!
Crack Shack
This was our first meal when we landed in SD, and it did not disappoint! It's a Richard Blais restaurant, and we had this one our list long before our trip. We each had sandwiches and split the border slaw, which was a super interesting fruit salad/slaw creation.
Underbelly
If I had to pick, this was probably my favorite meal of our trip! We ate here our last night, and it was a perfect meal! I had the "underbelly ramen," Trey had the "beef bowl," and we split an order of the "pork belly buns." It was one of those meals that we didn't want to end! They have two locations in San Diego (we went to the one in North Park), and the atmosphere is perfect.
Thanks for joining me for this post! Trey and I love to plan trips, so I always look forward to sharing that information and tons of photos with you afterwards!
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xo, Jacy