Living Life to the Fullest in Southern California, Part 1

When Joyce first told me she was going to come visit this year I didn’t believe her. When she said that she was coming mid-July, I didn’t believe her. She then called and said, “Sam, I’m booking my ticket right now! — wait, let me call you back.” I still didn’t believe her. Then she called with the news, “Sam, I bought my ticket!” I was so beyond excited that I would finally get to see her after over a year of waiting! But she still mentioned sending me her flight confirmation just so I could be sure.

You see, Joyce is my friend who I have never been in the same state with for more than 6 months. She was always flying back and forth between California and home to New York and then once… she went to New York and never came back. And that was three years ago. In that time, she’s gotten married, graduated college, and started a home. But she really came back — for 5 whole days! Being the planner that I am, each day was minutely planned. Being the not-so-much-a-planner she is, I told her I’d be flexible. And guess what, guess who was late to pick her up from the airport? That’s right… me! Amie and I were just minutes late but we missed her grand entrance down the escalator at Ontario Airport. I was devastated!

But enough of this story, let me tell you through photos just how you can max out 5 days in Southern California with some time in the sun, toes in the sand, and just some great girl time in our jammies!

Day 0

Picked our friend up from the airport. We were totally on time. Her flight came early. That’s life.

Day 1

After a scrumptous breakfast of cinnamon rolls and fruit with girlfriends, we travelled down to San Diego and walked through Balboa Park. Last time I was there, I saw this little nature filled canyon that I wanted to explore so we started there. Then we walked along the main street ending with some cooling off in the fountain. We actually got in the water. Right after I saw a dog pee in it. This is where the title of this blog post comes in.

After Balboa Park, we went to my favorite part of San Diego: Coronado Island. A not-so-secret tip: if you want to go to a rather less crowded view point of the city of San Diego, instead of making the left to head to Hotel Del Coronado, make a right onto Orange when first arriving in Coronado. Then at the dead end, make a left. There’s a little tiny park on the right with some benches and a small beach.

Not only do I love the beach on Coronado Island, I love the food. More specifically: I love Miguel’s Cocina. And the most wonderful jalapeno cheese sauce known to man. Each time we go there, I get the shrimp enchilada a la carte, Andy get’s a combination plate, and then we feast on chips, salsa, white sauce, and pickled veggies. Our bill comes to $16. $20, with tip. Love it!

Read about Day 2 after the jump!

Day 2

This was a perfect day of church, rest and relaxation, and a drive up to Idyllwild in the afternoon. Our original plan was to head up to Big Bear and that just seemed too far of a drive that day so we settled for Idyllwild, which is about 45 minutes from my house. However, the lake I found to go to, was well over an hour away along a very twisty road. But it was fun nonetheless! Plus we had a hilarious 3 year old to keep us entertained along the way. We went at a rather awkward time in between lunch and dinner, next time I will bring a picnic to get a little bit more from our drive. Walking around Fulmor Lake, doesn’t take too long as it is only half a mile but we stopped several times to take some photos of course and let the boy explore! On our way back down we stopped at a view point that was just past the lake. Again, for more photos. And for a quite priceless moment with little Eli. He was just so daring that he had to climb on all these massive rocks. He climbed, and he climbed, and then realized… I don’t know how to get down! It was a split second from pure joy to a cry for Mommy! Super cute! Plus I’m sure Jamie wanted to climb the rocks anyway, but she just needed an excuse.