California Part 3

I have to say when you are passing these views...you really don't mind the driving.  In North Carolina our beaches and our mountains are about 4 hours apart...not in California!

Oh and this was our ride for the week...I think this could be a real Jeep commercial! 

First stop today: San Luis Obispo.  We spent time driving around and found the perfect lunch spot!  Big Sky Cafe.  Ryan had a BLT with smoked salmon and avocado and I got a chicken salad with creme brulee goat cheese and hazelnuts.  They also had gluten free chocolate cake with poached kumquats and whipped cream.

We finally made it to Santa Barbra mid day.  Santa Barbra was what I visioned a Southern California town to look and feel like.  We loved the palm trees that lined the beach.

 There was a farmers market in the middle of town.  We enjoyed seeing some of the locals, people watched at happy hour and did some more shopping! 

We had the perfect view of the sun setting at the end of the pier while we had crab legs and oyster shooters!  Oh and they are known for their Bloody Marys which I loved even though they were super spicy.

 The next morning we headed to Los Angelas, California.  Of course our first stop was Rodeo Drive.  Prada, Hermes, Chanel...Oh My!

Although I couldn't afford anything, I truly enjoyed window shopping.

We enjoyed driving through Beverly Hills, seeing the Hollywood sign and driving down Hollywood Blvd.  Although I didn't see any celebrities, all in all it was a fun day.

Next stop La Jolla (pronounced La Hoya), California.  This city is very close to San Diego.  If Ryan didn't have so many meetings to attend in San Diego I wish we could have stayed in La Jolla and just gone to San Diego during the day.  Some of my friends have visited La Jolla and suggested we go on a hike at Torrey Pines.  This hike is well worth the workout to get there!

So finally we made it to San Diego, California.  Our final destination.  The main reason for this trip was because Ryan had meetings and had to attend the International Dental Research Convention....thats right **NERD ALERT**

While he was gone during the day I ventured out on my own.  I went to the zoo and did some more shopping!  This zoo is like no other.  They have several levels and even have these things you can ride on to see the overview of the entire zoo...kinda like a ski lift.

My favorite animal was the Panda.  I spent a while watching him...so funny!

One afternoon and most nights we got to be tourists together:)  There are many different sections of San Diego, but the two we spent the most time in were Little Italy and Gas Lamp Quarter.

On our final day of vacation we took a ferry to Coronado Island.  Loved everything about this little Island!  We had some of the best Mexican food at Miquels(I could have bathed in their white cheese dip), walked along the beach and ate Coronado Crunch! (I have a huge weakness for local candy stores...I think we hit up about 3 of them during our trip.

This blog post is getting long and I am losing steam....Overall I would highly recommend renting a car and driving down the coast of California.  We saw amazing views, ate amazing food and got to spend quality time together!  I am looking forward to recreating some of these meals soon!