SoCal - San Diego

Huntington Dog Beach -To- San Diego

Roadtrip Day 7: June 11th

Once we got to our house in Pacific Beach {or PB to sound local and cool} we knew right away it was adorable, but it didn't have central A/C or cable, just a TV.  Luckily, my husband loves me and knows I can't sleep without a television being on, so we journeyed to Best Buy to buy the hook up for the ipad, thanks Bubeleh, you're the best!

We opted to drive down the PCH to San Diego so we can see the beautiful coastline and stop at Huntington Dog Beach {which you know was my other favorite parts of this trip}!

Lashes was hilarious.  If we couldn’t find her we would look for anyone sitting down because we knew she’d be in their lap and Diesel LOVED it, he was in puppy Heaven & these photos are by far my favorite photos of all time!

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PB - LUCHA LIBRE

Roadtrip Day 7: June 11th

For dinner we went toLucha Libre, a place we found by watching Man vs Food {I wish we had one in Texas, or better yet, I wish we were back in San Diego}. I highly suggest you eat there if you're visiting SD, these burritos are huge!  We both ordered their Surfin' California {Grilled Steak, Shrimp, Fresh French Fries, Avocado, Pico De Gallo, Cheese, & Super Secret Chipotle Sauce}

*Tip: When you visit {and again, you should} be prepared for lines, LOOOOOOOOONG lines, but I swear it’s worth it!

And their soda fountain had a fool proof photo to ensure me that I was indeed receiving raspberry Ice Tea

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Breakfast of champs

Roadtrip Day 8: June 12th

We started our day by eating breakfast at The Broken Yolk Cafe, another restaurant idea we got from watching Man vs. Food.

When we sat down in the booth, there was only one thought on our minds… alcohol; and the only way to drink in the AM without looking like you have a problem is to add juice to whatever liquor or beer you’re consuming, so we opted for mimosas. 
We were given the option of either 2 glasses or a bottle of Champagne, guess which one we picked?...

This restaurant did remind me of a Denny’s or an IHOP but the food was homemade & the orange juice freshly squeezed, so they do have a leg up in that aspect. 
Cody ordered what seemed to be their entire breakfast menu:

And I just ate a biscuit

KIDDING!  That was just an appetizer to my $20 omelet, yep I said $20… I didn’t realize all the stuff I added inside of it was a $1 each, but it was an amazing omelet!

After we stuffed our faces & accrued a decent buzz...

...it was off to the San Diego Zoo.

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San Diego Zoo

Roadtrip Day 8: June 12th

"Hello, My name is Cody, and welcome to the zoo..." {say it in the voice of the swordsmen in the movie Princess Bride}

We utilized their air tram & bus tour which was included in our ticket cost {which were $80 EACH!}

We took a bus tour to take a break from walking {everything was up hill!} and learned they have more than a million plants on the grounds, 2 peacocks that roam the grounds freely, 

& that other zoos utilize them to get their bamboo supply.

After 5 hours, a souvenir cup, & a pair of much needed flip, we were done & ready for dinner!

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Little Italy

Roadtrip Day 8: June 12th

While at a dog park in Flagstaff we were told we had to visit Filippi's Pizza Grotto, so we did just that.  It’s in the back of an Italian deli, which you have to walk through in order to sit down at your table {they stuff all their own sausages, so I highly recommend ordering something with sausage and Cody really enjoyed their lasagna} 

Once you’re seated, you notice hundreds of chianti bottles hanging from the rafters decorated with words, photos, etc… from others that have dined there, so naturally, we ordered a bottle {Cody opted for the giant bottle instead of the cute smaller one}

Since it was taking us a while to finish the bottle, we got to chat with our waitress who is a 60 year old woman named Stella and we fell in love with her!  She ended up sitting down and told us all about her travels, her late husband, her dogs, her life.  She is such a special lady!

When you visit, make sure you do 3 things.  1).  Ask for Stella and tell her hi from Cody & Jeannie in Texas.  2). Customize your own bottle a chianti  . & 3). Please look for our bottle!  I used blue marker, drew a photo of our little family & wrote, "Roadtrip June 2012!" on it.  I got so tipsy that I forgot to snap a photo of it.  I didn't realize this until we were almost home & the restaurant was closed, and for some "lucky" reason, we captured my reaction on video:

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La Jolla

Roadtrip Day 9: June 13th

We decided the dogs needed an all day outings so today was dedicated to them.

We started by going to see the seals that sunbath at Children's Pool {it's amazing how close you can get to them}

then it was off to Del Mar dog beach

Diesel & Lashes had a blast!  There was even a female Mastiff & male puggle, how random was that?

After a nap & shower we filled some Kongs up with peanut butter & headed to meet up with our friends, Ian & Ann, for dinner

We went toLas Olas , in Cardiff by the Sea, which has an amazing view of the ocean that you can gaze at while sipping your margaritas.

One thing you should know if you’re a Texan going to California is their Mexican food is different than ours & their chip baskets are MUCH smaller, & they don’t refill it unless you ask.  {Silly Californians, carbs are delicious}!

Afterwards, Ian & Ann took us to Encinitas Ale House

Ian is currently enlisted in their 80 Beers in 80 Days Club.  Which is “A very exclusive club.  Drink 80 beers in 80 days and be entered to win a brewery tour destination trip!" 

The hospitable Ann & Ian then took us to their gorgeous apartment where we hung out for many hours {thanks Ian for being a trooper and staying up}!  They made it really hard to leave San Diego but they made our last night there awesome!

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Hasta la Vista PB

Roadtrip Day 10: June 14th

We packed up the truck, cleaned the rental house, and waved good bye to our temporary home {which we would permanently live in} and drove away.  After a quick bite to eat at Fatburger & short stop at Sprouts for roadtrip snacks, it was "on the road again," for the Miles

While deciding whether or not we wanted to go to a dog park or not, I received an interesting phone call from the management company that takes care of the rental house.  The agent told me that the maids said, “There are pee stains on the couch & bed, there is dirt everywhere, it’s completely trashed!”  so he was on his way to the rental to take photos and he wanted us to know that we might be charged more money on top of our pet deposit!  I told him that we were only 14 min away so we’d meet him there because I Knew it was not trashed.  When we were 3 minutes away he called us back and stated he didn’t know why the maids claimed what they did.  There was a normal amount of pet hair on the floor {but that’s why we pay a pet deposit} and it was a drool stain on the comforter {which can be washed} and the stain on the couch had been there the entire time, so everything is okay, no need to stop by.  Well, I was pissed!  What if we weren’t driving, but flying… I felt like this was a total scam to try and get more money!  After that fiasco, we decided to drive home & not stop at a dog park since we needed to make up for lost time, plus we were on a mission.  Every vacation we go on we buy sun glasses, this is what we collect.  Cody already had his {thanks to Ian!}, but I was in dire need, yes DiRE!  So the 1st gas station we stopped at, Cody bought me a cute pair

Once we made it through the check point in Arizona {yes, another check point, because that makes sense!} we let the dogs have their first potty break, but they did NOT want to get out of the truck, why?  BECAUSE IT WAS A DRY 104 DEGREES!  Diesel jumped out & jumped right back in, where Lashes just laid straight down on the sand, as if she were fainting. 

After we laughed for about 5 min I got to take a close up shot of the giant windmills I’ve been obsessing over, as well as the cacti

Be careful though, this was in Cody’s flip flop, OUCH!

Once the sun set we knew we had to think of something to stay awake and motivated and I remembered that my high school friend told us we HAD to visit Eegee's and get their slushies, which we did and that thing was SHUUU-GAAA-REEE!  And it did just the trick!

*Tip: If your driving partner is sleeping and you start to get bored, listen to the comedy channel on Pandora, it helps A LOT!

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Home Stretch

Roadtrip Day 11: June 15th

We were on a mission to get home; We barely made any stops {just for gas, potty breaks, & to feed the dogs} so we actually got home 2 hours earlier than expected.  Smelly & starving we drove straight to Gringo’s Mexican restaurant to pick up to-go {neither of us was going to lift a finger to prepare a meal}.  We ate dinner, slept, woke up, unload the truck, downloaded the lovely photos you’ve seen throughout these post, and slept some more!
When all was said and done, we had driven a total of 3800.6 miles and I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

I would like to say a special thank you to my wonderful husband:

Cody, thank you for driving the majority of the way, thank you for trusting me to plan this trip, & thank you for being you.  You made this trip amazing, and I wouldn’t have wanted to make this journey with anyone else, I love you very much.

Enough with the sappy stuff!  If you’re interested, here's map:

This trip was by far my all-time favorite vacation, the only thing I would have done differently was include a few more days in each city, but that’s about the ONLY thing I would have done differently.  We are definitely Californians at heart and there will be more trips made to the sunny city for sure.