How on earth had I never been to San Diego? Every wonderful thing I heard about this city is true. I would love to live there (although I don't think I'm glamorous enough).
Since my time in Phoenix is limited, I created an AZ bucket list, and Cabrillo National Monument was on there. I really couldn't afford this trip, but Amanda said she would cover hotel if I drove and paid for gas. So sweet of her!
Finding a good travel partner is not easy, and I am so lucky to have Amanda in my life. I was recently told by a friend that I was being "too perky" and needed to "take it down a notch." And I was holding back! With Amanda, I can be as loud and bubbly as I want because she is just right there with me. For example, I was really excited about all the wildflowers we saw on the drive out there. When I exclaimed that, "These flowers are blowing my mind!" Amanda wholeheartedly agreed.
We arrived on Friday night and had dinner at Godfather's restaurant. Amanda's parents treated us! I had good intentions of staying on Weight Watchers and ordered a pasta dish that I thought would come with marinara. It ended up being a bowl of cheese. Delicious. But soooo many calories! I gave up counting at that point and we ordered cannoli for dessert.
I have a feeling we were pretty annoying to anyone sitting near us just because we were so excited and kept saying the same thing at the same time and voice matching. I mean, to the point where we actually sighed in contentment at the same time! We find ourselves to be hilarious, but my friend who thinks I'm too perky would probably want to punch us in the throats.
Our first stop on Saturday morning was La Jolla Cove to see the sea lions. I think this was my favorite part of the whole trip! They were just so stinkin' cute. Most of them were still sleeping, but this one was just totally blissed out, enjoying the sun.
And there was this other guy (I named him Carl) who had been taking a dip in the ocean. He emerged and was all like, "Look at me, ladies. I am a sexy beast!" When no one paid any attention, he went over to the sleeping sea lions and attempted to wake them up. They were like, "Go away, Carl." "No one's interested, Carl." It was so, so funny.
I texted my mom this picture, and her response was, "Hey, I know them! It's Sally and Verne!" And that is where I get my sense of humor.
Our next stop was Cabrillo National Monument. I got my stamp and we listened to a ranger at the lighthouse talk about what San Diego was like in the 1800's. There were no trees! It is a Mediterranean climate, and no trees are indigenous to that area. They had to burn coal.
There was an area for whale watching, but we felt like we were too far away to see much, so we gave up on that quickly.
For lunch, we stopped at this sandwich shop called Rubicon, recommended by Nina. So good. And they had craft soda! How fun to have a Shirley Temple with my sandwich!
It's been too long since I've been to the beach. It was exactly what I needed.
I remembered that there is a Loft outlet in San Diego. Since there are none in AZ, we hit up the outlet mall. While we were there, Amanda treated me to a mani/pedi. It's amazing how having your nails done can just make you feel better about life!
Then it was time for sushi downtown! The restaurant was fabulous, and so was the food. We had dessert in Little Italy at this place called Pappalecco. A friend from church recommended their gelato, and it truly was one of the best things I have ever tasted! I had the mint chocolate chip.
We didn't really do much on Sunday; just had breakfast and then headed home. But something really beautiful happened at breakfast.
The restaurant was mostly empty. Amanda and I were sitting by the door, and a homeless man came in and asked for money. Amanda told him she would buy him breakfast. "Can I order anything I want?" he asked hopefully. "Of course!" Amanda replied. He left with about 4 to-go boxes, and I told Amanda I'd throw in some money to cover the cost.
When we were done eating, our server told us our bill had been taken care of. The people next to us loved what Amanda did, so they paid for our food AND the homeless man's food. They had tears in their eyes as they told Amanda how inspiring she was. We all left feeling a little emotional. Amanda has such a generous heart. She is intentional about showing extravagant love, and I see evidence of that all the time.
Since my time in Phoenix is limited, I created an AZ bucket list, and Cabrillo National Monument was on there. I really couldn't afford this trip, but Amanda said she would cover hotel if I drove and paid for gas. So sweet of her!
Finding a good travel partner is not easy, and I am so lucky to have Amanda in my life. I was recently told by a friend that I was being "too perky" and needed to "take it down a notch." And I was holding back! With Amanda, I can be as loud and bubbly as I want because she is just right there with me. For example, I was really excited about all the wildflowers we saw on the drive out there. When I exclaimed that, "These flowers are blowing my mind!" Amanda wholeheartedly agreed.
We arrived on Friday night and had dinner at Godfather's restaurant. Amanda's parents treated us! I had good intentions of staying on Weight Watchers and ordered a pasta dish that I thought would come with marinara. It ended up being a bowl of cheese. Delicious. But soooo many calories! I gave up counting at that point and we ordered cannoli for dessert.
I have a feeling we were pretty annoying to anyone sitting near us just because we were so excited and kept saying the same thing at the same time and voice matching. I mean, to the point where we actually sighed in contentment at the same time! We find ourselves to be hilarious, but my friend who thinks I'm too perky would probably want to punch us in the throats.
Our first stop on Saturday morning was La Jolla Cove to see the sea lions. I think this was my favorite part of the whole trip! They were just so stinkin' cute. Most of them were still sleeping, but this one was just totally blissed out, enjoying the sun.
And there was this other guy (I named him Carl) who had been taking a dip in the ocean. He emerged and was all like, "Look at me, ladies. I am a sexy beast!" When no one paid any attention, he went over to the sleeping sea lions and attempted to wake them up. They were like, "Go away, Carl." "No one's interested, Carl." It was so, so funny.
I texted my mom this picture, and her response was, "Hey, I know them! It's Sally and Verne!" And that is where I get my sense of humor.
Our next stop was Cabrillo National Monument. I got my stamp and we listened to a ranger at the lighthouse talk about what San Diego was like in the 1800's. There were no trees! It is a Mediterranean climate, and no trees are indigenous to that area. They had to burn coal.
There was an area for whale watching, but we felt like we were too far away to see much, so we gave up on that quickly.
For lunch, we stopped at this sandwich shop called Rubicon, recommended by Nina. So good. And they had craft soda! How fun to have a Shirley Temple with my sandwich!
Everyone raves about Coronado Island, so our next stop was the beach.
Then it was time for sushi downtown! The restaurant was fabulous, and so was the food. We had dessert in Little Italy at this place called Pappalecco. A friend from church recommended their gelato, and it truly was one of the best things I have ever tasted! I had the mint chocolate chip.
We didn't really do much on Sunday; just had breakfast and then headed home. But something really beautiful happened at breakfast.
The restaurant was mostly empty. Amanda and I were sitting by the door, and a homeless man came in and asked for money. Amanda told him she would buy him breakfast. "Can I order anything I want?" he asked hopefully. "Of course!" Amanda replied. He left with about 4 to-go boxes, and I told Amanda I'd throw in some money to cover the cost.
When we were done eating, our server told us our bill had been taken care of. The people next to us loved what Amanda did, so they paid for our food AND the homeless man's food. They had tears in their eyes as they told Amanda how inspiring she was. We all left feeling a little emotional. Amanda has such a generous heart. She is intentional about showing extravagant love, and I see evidence of that all the time.
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