Mindfull Mari

Well, I have officially lived in San Diego for *almost* 7 years- which is WILD to me because that is the longest I have lived pretty much anywhere. When I was growing up we moved around a lot (only between two different towns- hi Bay Area and hi Truckee, but I lived in 8 different houses between the ages of 0-18).

So being in San Diego, and really establishing a life here, I feel immense gratitude. It doesn’t surprise me that so many people either stay here, move here, or come back at some point after they leave.

Last week, my partner and I planned a really last minute staycation for our anniversary! It was perfect and such a lovely reminder that you don’t need an extravagant trip to feel vacation vibes. Although, it helps to live in San Diego.

Let me walk though what we did, and I will also add a few other San Diego gems and ideas that we didn’t necessarily do this past week- but that we do semi regularly and that I highly recommend!

• We stayed at the La Valencia Hotel. If you know, you know. Here are some shots from the hotel.

• Cocktails at George’s- at sunset. I got the Mojito and Connor got the Spicy Marg- both were divine.
• Did I mention the swell was HUGE for our night out (15+). The show was spectacular.
• Dinner at George’s! I got the Crab Linguini, Connor got the Salmon. The waiter brought us champagne on the house when he found out it was out anniversary. We followed it up with their Chocolate Cake..
• We walked around downtown La Jolla afterwards, listened to the ocean, and then returned to the hotel to sleep.
• In the morning, we got coffee at Parakeet Cafe, then walked along the coast, watching the sea life, the surf, and the surfers. (And the lifeguards ready to respond!!)
• We then had breakfast at the hotel and it was incredible- plus the views didn’t suck.

• I had a conference to present at that afternoon, so we spent an hour in our hotel room to do a little work- but with views like this I couldn’t complain). We packed up and our little 20 hour staycation came to an end.

While this was pretty much the perfect 2 day, 1 night staycation- there are LOADS of things to do and sights to see in San Diego. Whether you live here or are visiting- here are a few other must sees and dos:

Hiking/Nature:

• Torrey Pines State Beach hike
• Blacks Beach
• Sunset Cliffs
• Mt. Laguna (an hour from the coast- but beautiful mountain scenery!)
• Windsea Beach (my fav in SD)

Food/Drink:

• Bencotto (Little Italy)
• Queenstown Public House (Downtown)
• Puesto (La Jolla)
• The Grass Skirt (PB)
• Noble Experiment (Downtown)
• Raised By Wolves (UTC)
• Hidden Fish (Convoy St.)
• Bali Hai (Point Loma/Harbor)

Extra/Coffee/Vibes:

• BirdRock Coffee Roasters
• Carolines Seaside Cafe
• SuperBloom Coffee & Juice (vegan)
• Trilogy Sanctuary
• Genteel Coffee
• Hermosa Surf
• Birdrock Surf Shop

Live in San Diego? Know the place well? What are your favorite spots?!