I’m on the move again! I kissed my Floridian family goodbye, and headed West for the first time in my life. Two of my friends live in sunny San Diego, and have graciously been hosting me and showing me around their beautiful city!

It was so nice reuniting. Kelsey was my former roommate in college, and I hadn’t seen her in a year and a half…that’s a long time to go without seeing one of your best friends. We lived together for two of the craziest and best years of my life so far.

I made this whirlwind decision just a couple of days before my Friday flight. It’s a good thing I never actually unpacked my suitcase in Florida because it saved me a lot of hassle. Since the Ft. Lauderdale Airport is so close, I kinda sorta took my time in getting there, which resulted in me missing my flight to San Diego. Yikes!

Thankfully, I was able to re-book for a flight just an hour later to Long Beach, and since Kelsey and Mary Lynn are such wonderful friends, then even drove all the way there to pick me up!

We spent Saturday enjoying the sun and some drinks in Pacific Beach. Unfortunately, we didn’t get any pictures except for this…

Sunday was spent nursing our headaches with some relaxation and of course, brunch. We went to this breakfast brunch spot called Snooze. If you’re in San Diego or any of their other locations, then I would highly recommend going. It’s bomb. There were so many delicious savory and sweet options, that I wanted to eat it all.

Snooze does have an order option for us indecisive folk, so I was able to get half an order of a classic eggs Benedict AND  the I like you E’Lote Benedict, which had corn quinoa cakes topped with Cotija cheese, roasted corn salsa, and lots of other goodness.

In fact, I’m already looking forward to going there again this weekend…and it’s only Tuesday. The rest of the day was spent lounging and then we headed to Coronado Beach for my first Cali sunset and first time dipping my toes in the freezing Pacific!

Since Monday was a holiday, Kelsey and I spent the day running around the city. We had lunch at Mendocino Farms. I opted for the taco salad, which was completely vegan with plant-based chorizo and a mouth watering creamy cashew ranch dressing. Can you tell my palette is a fan of California yet?

We spent the sunny afternoon doing the classic Torrey Pines hike, which provided some great views of the Pacific Ocean, but was PACKED with other hikers, who also took advantage of MLK day.

After the hike, Kelsey showed me around La Jolla. Side note: I took Spanish and lived in Spain, but still made the mistake of calling this place La Jawla…whoops. It’s La Hoy-ya. Ya, know, no J’s in the Spanish language. But I’m sure you guys already knew that. Anyhow, my favorite part of the day had to be going down to the smelly park and seeing all of the sunbathing seals.

I had David Attenborough’s voice (Go watch Blue Planet 2 NOW!)  narrating the entire scene. Most of the seals were snoozing, but I did witness a little scuffle in the water and SO MANY babies–some who were even nursing from their moms. I was over the moon.

So far, I’ve really enjoyed my time in San Diego, and I look forward to exploring more of this energetic city! Let me know if any of you have suggestions to check out!