San Diego, California (Dec 2015)

This past Christmas I went to San Diego, since the flights to Maui were too expensive. I wanted some sunshine and San Diego definitely delivered!

I stayed in the Horton Grand Hotel in the Gaslamp Quarter. It was beautiful and I even had a balcony for no extra charge!

The Gaslamp Quarter is 16 square blocks of Victorian-era buildings. It’s filled with countless amazing restaurants, bars, and shops.

I took a nice long walk along the waterfront and enjoyed the sunshine.

I couldn’t help but rent a convertible Mustang for a week, because why not?! On vacation I do whatever the heck I want to do! I loved having the Mustang. It was almost as good as the Jeep Wrangler I rented on Maui.

I went hiking at Torrey Pines State Park, what an enjoyable afternoon! It’s a bit of rugged nature just a short drive from the city. It was a great getaway.

Balboa Park, an enormous 1,200 acre park right in the middle of the city. I only got to see one small corner of it.

I spent an entire day at the San Diego Zoo. It was incredible!! Can you tell which animal was my favorite? She was so playful and joyful!

Mission Trails Park. I didn’t hike up any of the peaks, just strolled along some of the easier paths. Good thing I brought my sunscreen!

Mission Beach (nowhere near each other). I’ve never seen so many vacation homes in one place! The beach extends right up to a sidewalk, and on the other side of the sidewalk is a 2-mile long row of houses. No street, no cars, it was really neat.

La Jolla Cove

A little bit further down, the seals come up on the rocks to sun themselves, and tourists gather around. They smelled so bad! I didn’t stay long.

My last night I went to a restaurant called Rockin Baja Cantina, got an outdoor table, and ordered a spicy mango margarita. Sweet with just a little kick, it was yummy! I ordered the raw ahi tuna tacos, they were sooooo delicious! Probably the best meal I had in the city.