Friday
We flew out Friday evening after work and arrived late Friday night. Goals for the evening: grab the rental car, eat dinner and go to sleep.
FYI: we flew Frontier (a budget airline) and I would recommend them again but not for that distance. It was really hard to get comfortable to nap on the almost 5-hour flight.
Saturday
I try to let the first day on vacation be a “chill” day where we can recover from the plane ride. But I couldn’t sleep because of jet lag so I got up at 6:30 am to do some yoga at our AirBnb (so perfect!) and then we were off for the day exploring San Diego.
We walked to Balboa Park (which turned into more of an unexpected hike!) and explored the Museum of Man and some gardens. The Museum of Man was suggested to us via a friend and it did not disappoint! I don’t really know how to categorize the museum because it had exhibits on monsters, cannibalism, beer around the world, Maya and Egyptian art, evolution of humans, and so much more! I guess you could say it is a museum of randomness connected to humanity…
While in the gardens and park square we stumbled upon a few weddings, street artists, and beautiful landscaping. It was just nice to stretch out legs and get some fresh air. I fell in love with the vibe of San Diego years ago and this trip just made that pull stronger.
Read more: San Diego: The city of Balboa Park, cliff-side beaches, & the Zoo
Sunday
San Diego Zoo today! I went with my family a few years ago and I know my science-loving husband would dig it. We spent a majority of the day exploring the zoo then we zipped over to La Jolla for a gorgeous Pacific coast sunset.
Read more: Summer Series: 2012 California
Monday
We checked out of our AirBnb to drive up the coast and meet up with my aunt and family. We stopped at the beautiful and peaceful Mission San Juan Capistrano and enjoyed some of the famous beaches (from the shore, it’s wayyy too cold). We only had time to visit Thousand Steps Beach (not 1,000 steps by the way!) and Huntington Beach.
Read more: Travel Style: Thanksgiving in SoCal
Tuesday
I did not plan anything today, letting my family show us around. We ended up going to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (they must know I like art or something…lol). And I was totally in my element giving mini-lessons to my cousin. We had a blast!
Read more: Museums with Kids (& Fidgety Adults)
Wednesday
We had the morning free to sleep in a little then spent the afternoon in a leisurely drive to Canyon Lake for Thanksgiving. There was not much going on today so I’ve got no stories to tell; however we did eat at In-N-Out Burger (a must do out west!).
Thursday-Thanksgiving Day!
No plans besides spending the day with Will’s cousin (& new baby!) and aunt, eating good food, and sharing lasting memories. So thankful to have family all around the country to visit and spend these holidays with.
Read more: So Blessed
Friday
This was an early morning so we could drive the 1.5 hours out to Joshua Tree National Park. I’ve seen all these amazing photos on Instagram and hear a lot about this desert-park so it was a no-brainer when I saw how close we were. Hiking and sweating off all the Thanksgiving food was also a brilliant idea!
Read more: Photo Diary: Joshua Tree National Park
Saturday
We had a late-night flight so the day was ours to spend as we wished! I had nothing planned, leaving it open to anything we did not get to do during the week that ended up on our list. In the end we walked around downtown San Diego from the Gaslamp District to Little Italy.
Sunday
We landed in Orlando at 4:30 am!!!! Sunday was spent sleeping, food shopping, laundry, cleaning and getting ready for work on Monday. Busy recovery day!
JMF
