California Dreamin'

The fam and I were completely spoiled last week with a nine day vacay in California. I am tempted here to write "sunny California" but evidently May Gray and June Gloom decided to live up to their reputations and provide an authentic Southern California experience. Please don't get me wrong, I am not complaining. When we roused our sleepy selves to drive to San Diego on day one, we were all too happy to bid adios to one hundred degree temps and don our sweaters and jackets as the breezy mid-sixty degree temps welcomed us. We started our vacation in San Diego celebrating the ten year anniversary and vow renewal of our best friends and finished by touring wine country in Temecula and sharing a gorgeous home with these friends turned family. Did I mention we were spoiled?

Our first stop in San Diego was Lucha Libre, courtesy of a recommendation from a friend. And, by first stop, yes, I mean before we even went to our house. This is how much we love tacos, friend. The tacos were great and the setting, complete with lucha libre masks, was eclectic and fun. It was a brilliant and colorful start to our vacation. 

Eventually, we did indeed make it our cottage. Can I just say, the hubs hit it out of the park when he found our vacation rental! It was the most adorable cottage, complete with white picket fence and front porch. Our cottage was nestled in the South Park neighborhood of San Diego, which is full of great local restaurants and shops all within walking distance. 

Dinner on our first night was such a treat! Not only did we eat at a fun local eatery aptly called: The Local, but we were able to dine with some great friends who call San Diego home. 

One of our favorite places to walk to in South Park was Captain Kirk's Coffee. Captain Kirk's is a cute little coffee stand that serves super scrummy acai bowls. We may or may not have gone multiple times...and recreated them as soon as we got home...and be acai addicts.  Sorry, not sorry.

Although we tried a few, our favorite bowl was the Drifter: acai, banana, strawberries, coconut and chocolate. Why? Because chocolate.

The one must see item on E's list for vacation was the Midway. He's wanted to do the tour for years and though he makes very few (read: no) requests or demands, he was adamant about doing the Midway tour. I'm sooo glad he planned this excursion! It was amazing and beyond humbling to think of all the service men and women who served aboard and made countless sacrifices to protect our country. And, bonus, you can take a picture with an F-14, the plane from Top Gun. Goose and Maverick weren't there, but my silly gooses were happy to pose for a picture.  I did resist the urge, much to my daughters' relief, to yell out "Take me to bed or lose me forever, you big stud" across the ship to the hubs. What can I say, I heart Meg Ryan.

On a boat, like a boss.

My favorite yahoos. Oh my, does my heart swell when I gaze at pictures of these three

This right here, friend, is a picture of my favorite culinary student next to the mixer on the boat. I did tell Erik I wanted a new, larger Kitchenaid... Hmmm...maybe for my birthday this year??

We spent nearly four hours touring every inch of the Midway and probably could have stayed longer. It really is a fantastic attraction and well worth the cost of admission. In fact, if you decide to hop aboard and take the tour, we highly recommend pre-purchasing your tickets online. 

We made the trek across the bridge to Coronado where we enjoyed cupcakes the size of our heads. Seriously. They were yummy, but that bridge, man. It sort of freaks me out...

We spent our time in San Diego over the next couple days with a visit to Ocean Beach, some fantastic antique shopping, a movie night in with scrummy homemade Cubanos (recipe coming soon!!) and a screening of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.

Our last lunch in San Diego was at Draft, right on the boardwalk at Mission Beach. The artichoke dip and pizza were good, but the view was amazing.

We could hardly believe it, but our vacation was only half over. Leg two was to be spent in Temecula with our friends. We stopped off at a The Taco Stand (of course) in Encinitas because: tacos. Have I mentioned we have a love affair with tacos? Then, on to our home. 

Oh. My. Gosh. 

This house, y'all. It was a straight up magazine worthy white farm house with an infinity edge pool and a view of the rolling hills of wine country. Ah-mazing. And, ginormous shout out to our friends turned family and traveling companions. It was only through their generous invitation and willingness to invite us into their home and vacation that this was even possible. Have I mentioned how much we love them? To the moon and back. Twice.

We, of course, toured various wineries and ate our way through Temecula. I'm pretty sure I ate my weight in carbs in the form of bread and ice cream. No regrets. Worth. Every. Calorie. For reals.  These cones were discovered at The Sweet Shop in Old Town Temecula. It's a pretty happening little town with lots of cool stuff to do.

You know when you meet someone and you spend nearly the whole conversation saying, "What? Me too!" That's my girl, Cortney. She makes me laugh, but she'll also cry with me. We have a ton of fun, but man we can wrestle through some stuff together, too. I can be authentically me with her and her family with no worry of judgment or ridicule. These friends have truly become our family. Yep, we're hashtag blessed to know them.

Cue Music: Back to life. Back to reality. Back to the here and now...

Seriously, day nine (9!) brought us home to our normal and Bella the Beagle. Here's the thing though. Yes, California was incredible and we definitely had the requisite "could we move here" conversations. But then we got home. We went to church. We saw our family and our friends. And we realized the best vacations are the best because we're not trying to run away from our real life. When you love your actual life and the people you do life with, get aways are a reminder of the blessings of your normal routine, not an escape from it. 

Verdict: Vacation was great. I would go back and do it all again in a hot second and probably will next year. But, it doesn't even come close to how much I love home. I guess it's true: home is pretty sweet. 

Bella the Beagle was super happy we  came home. In fact, she's made a bed out of the suitcase to insure we can't go anywhere, anytime soon. No worries, Bella Girl. We're happy to be here too.