adventure
Adventure is Out There: San Diego Edition
Friday, October 27 • adventure, advice, california, hiking, quick guide, round up, san diego, san diego blogger, travel
About six months ago, my husband and I moved to San Diego and have been exploring something new whenever we have the chance! So, in today’s post I want to share a few tourist things I have done recently that have been a lot of fun.
One of the best things about moving around is all the new experiences and adventures you get to go on. I can’t stress enough how you need to get out of your comfort zone and explore the world around you. It will definitely give you a new perspective and change your life. Moving to San Diego was quite a drastic change from our little town of Milton, FL and it was really hard to adapt to the change at first. We didn’t know what to do on the weekends or where to get our groceries, and we were definitely not used to the “Cali lifestyle.” So, we got out and we explored! We have already made so many new memories and are determined to leave here saying "wow, San Diego was great!"
So without further adu, here are 4 things to do while visiting San Diego:
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| Enjoying Disneyland with my amazing friends Katie and Jill while they visited from Washington. |
Disneyland – Okay, so I know this one isn’t in San Diego but its my favorite place on Earth! It is about an hour and a half drive up to Anaheim from San Diego so it isn’t too bad for a day trip. Usually I try to get there 30 min before the park opens and stay to watch World of Color or the fireworks and then head home. It does make for a long day but it is 100% worth it.
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| Biking riding and getting smoothies with Ryan, Hannah and Daniel while Ryan and Hannah were visiting over Spring Break. |
Bike Riding on Coronado Island – This is an activity that I have actually done three times now because I love it so much. My favorite place to rent bikes is Kruiser King in downtown Coronado. Their beach bike rental is $7 per hour or $20 per day. I really love renting bikes because you can ride them down to the Hotel Del Coronado and then along the beach, or you can ride through the neighborhoods and see the beautiful houses. As some of you know, I’m obsessed with HGTV so riding around and looking at houses is the highlight of my day!
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| Enjoyed a delicious meal at Cafe Gratitude with my Military Spouse friends. |
Eat – There are soooooo many good places to eat here! I could make a whole post on my favorite places to eat here but I’ll try to keep it to my top 3 (that I have tried so far). In no particular order, I have loved eating at: Buon Appetito in Little Italy, Café Gratitude in Little Italy and Havana Grill in Clairemont. Each restaurant is quite different so it really depends on the type of food you're looking for; but they are all delicious!
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| Hanging out on Potato Chip Rock with my friend Rachel when she was visiting from Pensacola. |
Hike - San Diego has some great trails to hike! There are trails for everything from a nice walk along the cliffs to a 7 mile trek up the mountains. For beginners, Torrey Pines is great! It offers beautiful views while not being too challenging of a hike. On the other hand, Potato Chip Rock is pretty tough. If you do the backside of the hike you gain about 2,000 ft in elevation in just 2-3 miles (it was killer on the legs)! My personal favorite hike is Cowles Mountain. It is a good workout while not being too strenuous; and offers beautiful views of the entire city at the top. I think no matter what trail you do, you won't be disappointed by hiking in San Diego!
I’m know there are more places that I haven’t explored yet, so I’ll keep you all updated as I explore more! Next on my list to do here is Balboa Park, the Zoo, skiing and camping!
Big Bear Lake - California
Sunday, September 10 • adventure, big bear lake, california, quick guide, review, san diego, san diego blogger, travel
This past weekend Daniel and I ventured up to Big Bear Mountain to celebrate our 1 year wedding anniversary and we had such a perfect weekend!
As soon as we got up there, we went to Alpine Slide at Magic Mountain. The alpine slides are really fun because you get to act like a little kid again! You get to ride the chair lift up to the top and then climb into a bright yellow sled and race down the hill. It was a blast! I also loved the view from the top of the slides. You could see the lake peeking through the trees with the bright blue sky. I wish I had gotten a better photo of it because this photo below doesn't do it justice.
After the slides, we headed down to the lake for lunch. I had packed a picnic lunch for the day so we sat and ate it under the pine trees. After lunch, we walked around the village and did a little shopping while waiting for our hotel room to be cleaned for check in. While in the village, we went to a really cute little coffee shop called The Tea and Coffee Exchange. I think we have officially earned the title of "old married couple" because we sat and played chess while enjoying our coffees!
We finally checked into our hotel (we stayed at The Lodge at Big Bear Lake) at 3pm. Our room was really cute with a fireplace and balcony. However, the room was a little on the older side and had an odd smell to it. Other than the smell, every thing was really clean and nice! The hotel was in a great location because it was only a couple blocks to the heart of the village and about four blocks away from the lake. If When we go back, we would definitely stay there again.
We took a couple hours to just relax and watch tv in the room before going to dinner since we got up pretty early that morning. Also, we were not able to have our wedding cake topper on our anniversary like tradition states - but, I was able to order these adorable sugar cookies from a local baker in San Diego (Amy's Cakery)!
We went out to dinner that night at The Peppercorn Grille. The restaurant food was okay.. it wasn't anything overly special. However, the atmosphere was perfect. It was a small place that had fire heating lamps set up on the patio - which made it feel so romantic. Also, the manager gave us a free chocolate cake (that I "accidentally" devoured before Daniel could have 3 bites LOL). After dinner we went right next door to Big Bear Lake Brewing Company. Neither of us had ever been to a brewery so it was a fun experience! We sat at the bar and ordered two flights of their house beers. My favorite was the Honey Blonde and Daniel's favorite was the Goldmine Pale Ale.
The next morning we had to head home unfortunately; but we left feeling rejuvenated after a night in the mountains! I think it is super important to spend time with the ones you love, experience new things together and most of all, cherish the little moments in life! I also HIGHLY reccomend Big Bear Mountain to those who are looking for a cute little mountain lake in California.
Thanks for reading! I hope everyone has a good week ahead!
Hiking: Cowels Mountain
Friday, August 18 • adventure, hiking, north face, packing list, photography, quick guide, san diego, san diego blogger
This weekend Daniel and I went to Cowles Mountian for a hike! We wanted to get to the top before the clouds burnt off and the sun came out so we started our hike around 7:30am. While it was really hard to get up early, it was so worth it to watch the clouds slowly disintegrate to show the beautiful mountains. We got some beautiful photos at the top and had the chance to just sit and relax after a long week. Once we got down the mountain, it was only 10:00am so we decided to stop and grab some juice! I was never a "juice person" but since moving to San Diego I have grown to love it. Daniel got a green juice that had mango, kale, agave and some other delicious stuff and I got a pink juice that had a lot of fresh fruit in it! By the time we got home it was only about 11am and we still had the whole day to get house stuff done. Starting our Sunday morning by hiking was definitely perfect!
For hiking, I always wear my hat to keep the sun off my face! I also like to wear a tank top and bring a 1/4 zip pullover in case it is a little chilly. I recommend wearing a light pair of leggings or pants when you go hiking to protect your legs from overgrown nature! Also, the hiking boots I picked up at REI were a lifesaver! They have a lot of grip on the bottom and added ankle support so I wasn't worried about rolling my ankles on rocks (especially when going back down the mountain). I will link some of my favorite hiking attire at the end of the post if you're in the market for new gear!
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| The trail we hiked up! |
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Thanks for reading! Check back for more hiking posts in the future (since this is becoming my new favorite hobby)!
SeaWorld San Diego
Sunday, June 4 • about me, adventure, milso, photography, quick guide, round up
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| Flamingos are my spirit animal |
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| Riding the Manta ride |
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| Taking a ride in the Observatory Tower - also rocking the shark tooth necklace |
Last weekend, we went to explore SeaWorld in San Diego. We had so much fun! Most of our time was spent looking at all of the animal exhibits but we also got to watch the Dolphin Show, Pets Show and ride their two roller coasters. We both loved the Manta roller coaster that makes you feel like you're a manta ray. The observatory tower was also pretty neat because you could see all of San Diego from the top of the tower! To end the day, and celebrate Daniel's birthday, we had dinner with Shamu! The food was absolutely delicious and it was cool to get to experience SeaWorld training hands on. We got to see the trainers do a few exercises with the orcas and interact with the beautiful animals. It was cute how happy the orcas were when their trainer was petting them or feeding them treats. Overall, it was a great day! If you ever get the chance, I would recommend making a day trip.
I also wanted to share some info on the "Waves of Honor" program that allows active duty military members, and up to 3 dependents, free admission to the park once a year (click here for more information). This is the program we used for our special day in the park!
Below are a few photos from our favorite exhibits! Enjoy!
Nashville
Thursday, December 29 • adventure, dogs, photography, quick guide, review, southern belle, travel
Last week we got the chance to visit Nashville for the first time! We were only there for 24 hours so we didn't get to see everything but we had a lot of fun. We stayed at the Lowes Vanderbilt Hotel and it was perfect. I HIGHLY recommend this place to everyone. It was right across the street from Vanderbilt, only a 10 min drive to downtown (and they had a hotel car that would take you downtown), about a 15 min walk to the Parthenon, a 10 min drive to East Hill and about a 15 min drive to the Grand Ole Opry. We were on the club level so we had a view of the city - and a nice concierge lounge with a delicious breakfast!
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Our view of the city!
What I wore in Nashville (it was 50 deg during the day and 30 at night):
For dinner, we went to Martin's BBQ and had their whole hog pulled pork dinner - which was delicious! After dinner, we went to the bars on Broadway and listened to live music.
On our way back to the hotel, we made a pit-stop in East Hill to get a picture with the "I Believe in Nashville" sign. I wanted to stop by Reese Witherspoons' store, Draper James, but it was closed by the time we made it here.
Before heading back to the hotel we stopped at the Sprinkles Cupcake ATM! The cupcakes were hands down the best cupcakes I've ever had in my life. Daniel got the banana bread one and I got the red velvet.
After dinner, bar hopping and the cupcake ATM we headed back to the hotel to crash for the night.
The next morning we walked about 15 min to Centennial Park and saw the Parthenon. Since it was freezing outside, and it looked cool, we explored inside it. Below are a few photos from inside the beautiful structure.
While we explored the city, we put Jack in puppy daycare. The Dog Spot in West Nashville was a great place to have our pup go to daycare and spend the night. It was reasonably priced and they gave us a tour before we left him. They also had webcams set up in each play area so we could watch our furry baby play around with all the other dogs. If anyone wants to go to Nashville but doesn't want to leave their dog at home, I'd recommend The Dog Spot.
After Nashville we had to get back on the road so we could venture up to Illinois for Christmas! In all, our Nashville experience was a lot of fun and I'd definitely like to go back someday. Thanks for reading my blog!
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