Summer Excursion: San Diego, California

Tags

cabrillo national monument, Coronado, old town san diego, point loma lighthouse, San Diego, travel

Earlier this week I shared our trip to Charleston and so I wouldn’t be a good friend if I didn’t tell you (up front) that this is another travel post.

If you follow me on on Instagram, you may have seen several of these already, like the above pic of Cabrillo National Monument.

We spent three weeks in San Diego this summer and it was a glorious, relaxing trip.  The kind without rushing all around, visits with old friends and getting yourself reacquainted with all the things you miss about one city.

In the midst of our trip, I tried my hardest to do a few things we had never done before and they were all hits for my boys.

So, let’s begin.

Again, thank you for letting me dump some of our San Diego photos onto my blog (all were taken by my iPhone). I do use Main St. Cuisine as a time capsule of sorts for good food, recipes + family adventures.

If you’ve not toured San Diego, this particular view of the Pacific Ocean can be found when you visit Cabrillo National Monument, which is run by the National Park Service.  It is at the very end of the peninsula known as Point Loma (a residential area of the city of San Diego, which is surrounded by water on three sides).

All of San Diego is extremely dry so even near the shoreline, you’ll find the cliffs and hillsides dotted with scrub brush.  Just below (not in the photo) is where the more recently built, working lighthouse is located (which may look familiar if you are a fan of the film Top Gun) and tide pools that you can explore while visiting.

When I was growing up in the area we would always bring guests up to see the old Point Loma lighthouse and take in the view of San Diego bay, Coronado Island and downtown San Diego.  My boys got a kick out of looking through my high school yearbooks to see several photos of their mom as a teenager in front of this lighthouse (many, many years ago).

We spent a few days at Torrey Pines where my youngest decided he’d try his hand at surfing.  Using a Boogie Board.  At the edge of the beach. We will get the boys surfing lessons on our next trip.

We drove over the bridge to Coronado and the kids and their friends were lost in sand castle building, swimming, boogie boarding and finding sand crabs.

With baseball being the primary sport in our home, you can imagine that getting to Petco Park to see the San Diego Padres play was at the top of our list.  These two patiently waited for autographs and were rewarded with getting their Padres hats signed by four different players.  When you are a little boy dreaming of the big leagues, it’s a big deal.

We always venture into Old Town and spend time walking around and enjoy the mariachi bands and endless baskets of warm tortilla chips and delicious salsa.

Speaking of food, we indulged in fish tacos, chicken carnitas and found a quaint bakery just down the street from my in-laws home where we picked up the most unbelievable chocolate-peanut butter cupcakes.

La Jolla is one of the most beautiful spots in San Diego among many others.  We spent the day just relaxing there and watching the seals, sea lions and birds.  It was a spectacular afternoon.  I highly recommend including La Jolla on your next visit to San Diego.

 

Watching and listening to these guys as they “spoke” to one another was very entertaining.  My children  enjoyed watching them take in the afternoon sun.

I was so grateful to be able to stay with my in-laws, which we do each time we fly “home” to San Diego.  We were completely spoiled with lots of wonderful dinners and I also was able to visit with many of my old friends, which was a highlight of our stay.  It was a memorable trip for sure.

Happy Saturday, everyone!

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