Vacation was.. absolutely wonderful.

I’m sitting in the LAX airport, with 1.5 hours to go before I board to Chicago. It’s bittersweet, in a way. I’m happy to get back to my apartment, my job and my routine, but I’m sad to leave the beautiful west coast and my best friend.

I’m thankful for blogging because for the next few days, I get to re-live my fun time through posts. Let’s start at the beginning, shall we?

The days leading up to May 19th were full of anticipation and jam packed with work, work and more work. I was SO ready for a vacation. I got to the airport so early (as obviously I am apt to do) and sat around for a bit.

My flight from GSP to Houston was uneventful, as was my flight from Houston to San Diego. I basically shot off the plane in SD and immediately saw Sam, who had been there for a bit already. We picked up my bags and took a cab to the hotel.

If you’re ever in San Diego, I highly recommend La Pensione Hotel. It was basic, but the location was absolutely fantastic. It’s in the heart of Little Italy, with tons of eateries and fun shops around. I rolled out of bed on Saturday into a Farmer’s Market and on Sunday into a Sicilian street festival. Also, the hotel has the cutest dog. How adorable is that!?

Anyway, after dropping my stuff, Sam and I walked next door to meet his friend Andrew, and we had a few drinks at a cute British Pub.

On Friday, Sam got up early to go to work and I slept in a bit. After a nice snooze, I set out to explore San Diego on foot.

I stumbled upon Formaggi, a little deli where I had breakfast. Orange/carrot juice and a bagel with cream cheese.

I walked along the shore and took in the sights.

Then I won at Monopoly.

I came across a park, where I kicked off my shoes and enjoyed the lush grass and beautiful flowers.

I pretty much just enjoyed being in a city again. San Diego, unlike L.A., is super walkable, which I LOVE. I sat at Starbucks (where I enjoyed my very first Coconut Mocha Frappuccino) and wrote for a bit while waiting for Sam to get off the ferry.

We met up with Sam’s friend Daniel, who drove us over the Coronado Bridge. I had my first glance of Coronado, Mexico, and the Hotel Del.

The Hotel Del Coronado is a lush, extravagant hotel on the west side of the island. The rooms go for a lot of money a night, and Sam and I considered staying there just one night out of the vacation, but then determined we would subsequently be poor.

Honey apparently opened a candy shop on the island.

All intentions to celebrate the food holidays basically went out the window. It was hard without transportation and a kitchen. I know one day was saltwater taffy day, and I found some!

Sam and I had our first of many indulgent dinners at Island Pasta, where our eyes were definitely bigger than our stomach. Cheesy garlic bread, a bottle of red wine, pesto pasta and a margharita pizza = YUM.

We originally wanted caprese sandwiches, but the restaurant was out of bread? No bread. How does that happen? Who knows.

After dinner we went to Coronado Brewing Company where several unpictured beers were had with two of Sam’s buddies. We walked around the island a bit and eventually headed back to the hotel to crash. Obviously my vacation just began, but I was already in love with San Diego, Coronado and the west coast.