What’s more exciting than having your best friend come visit? Having them visit on their birthday! To be fair, this is the second time this year one of my blonde best friends has celebrated their birthday here.

Since Katie is super old now (just seeing if you’ll read this :P), we decided to have a chill night on Friday. Needless to say, we were dead the next morning.

We went to False Idol where the tropical drinks are abnormally strong and might have you walking sideways after a couple. The bar itself is a tiki temple hidden in a restaurant–like a speakeasy. It’s pretty dark, so after a cocktail or two, leaving the bar becomes slightly challenging.

After a sufficient dose of Navy grog and the like, we made our way to Ironside. We were seated in front of the pastry station, which was dangerous. The chef in front of us was making mouth-watering cheese biscuits. The smell of the dough had us in a trance until the chef thankfully slid over some hot biscuits. We continued to feast, drink wine, and oggle the goodies made before us.

Once her biscuits were done, she started on the doughnuts, which we also ended up sampling from Katie’s birthday treat.

With our stomachs full of delicious food and even more booze, we headed to another bar and proceeded to celebrate until we couldn’t stomach another drop.

Of course, we paid the price for this celebration the next morning when we woke up. I ambitiously set out brunch reservation for 9:45 AM, thinking after a relaxed night we’d be up early. I was wrong. The three of us struggled to make it to the restaurant and we ended up missing our reservation. We did eventually make it in and the food was well worth the wait.

The Great Maple is just that, a truly great breakfast place where hangovers go to die in their delicious Bloody Mary’s.  I had the Fried Goat Cheese Squash Blossom complete with roasted tomato, fresh mushrooms, sautéed spinach, and a strawberry balsamic drizzle–YUM. If you’re visiting or local to San Diego and haven’t been there yet, go go GO!

Our energy was making a comeback, so we headed to the Pacific Beach boardwalk for a sunny blade sesh.

With the bad energy and alcohol out of our systems, we cruised over to Old Town where the Cinco De Mayo celebrations were in full swing. The main street shut down and full of live music, food, and even some lucha libre wrestlers.

It was Katie’s birthday, so of course, we had to continue the celebration with a night full of dancing like lunatics until our feet could no longer stomp.

Sunday morning was a lot kinder to us. We headed to Little Italy for breakfast at The Parakeet Cafe. I tried an assortment of treats like a turmeric latte (spicy, but flavorful), parsnip soup (disappointing), and shakshuka eggs (delicious).

Feeling adventurous, we took a drive up to Laguna Beach, spending the day walking around the shops and beach area. Laguna is a picture-perfect town and still surprisingly small to me. I also can’t help but think about MTV’s dramatic rendition of life there as a high school student.

We said our goodbyes on Monday at Cafe Gratitude. This plant-based restaurant served up some tasty food, but had a very interesting way of ordering. The items on the menu each has its own name. For example, my cast-iron chickpea quiche was called Content. When ordering, all I had to say is “I am content” and they would bring out that dish. Kinda hippy-dippy for me, but I can’t complain about the quiche that was topped with cashew feta and spicy cashew aioli.

As I get older, I realize how difficult it can be to keep up with friends. In college, I was so used to being connected at the hip with Katie in our practices or classes that it’s slightly mind-blowing to think that we’ve only seen each other twice since October. Even though talking on the phone, texting, and sending memes keeps me it connected, it’s nothing like seeing a good friend in person. It allows us to reflect on our past memories and make new ones–and also to just give them a hug! These trips tend to be short, but they are very sweet to me.