SoCal
- laurenlcoon
- Feb 16, 2017
- 3 min read
The weekend following our trip to Canada we had a last minute trip to California! Would have made sense to just stay on the West Coast but nevertheless we were excited and tired!
One of my best friends was having a baby shower in Santa Monica, but she was the only person who didn't know it! Her husband had asked a few of us to come out there to surprise her since she thought she was just visiting his family for his upcoming birthday.
We took the first flight out on Saturday morning from ATL to LAX and landed just before lunch. We rented a car and decided to drive around before the baby shower. Where to go? Sunset Blvd and Bundy Drive of course! :)
The baby shower was adorable and she was so surprised by the shower, her parents and her friends being there! Her husband is Mexican and baby showers are like a Quinceanera AKA FUN! There was a band, taco stand and fresh hot churros. Not to mention TEQUILA! Nothing like the showers we have been to before! I almost told Brandon to stay home as I thought he would be bored! ha!
We had a blast and love his family and how welcoming they are. The shower was from 2pm until about 1AM! We left before then as we were still on East Coast time and tired from traveling that day. Brandon ate his weight in tacos and churros so we were stuffed and tired!
We actually were staying in Venice Beach and found a cute little hotel called Air Venice on the Beach. The location was great and the room was small but very affordable. We woke up the next morning to a beautiful sunrise!
Our plans on Sunday were to explore San Diego, somewhere Brandon has always wanted to visit! We got up early and hit the road. We had gotten some recommendations from Edgar's family and decided to hike Torrey Pines. The drive down was only about 2 hours, however we were up pretty early so traffic was light.
We were told about a place called Naked Cafe and their pancakes and it didn't disappoint. Whatever you do... get the Organic whole grain pancakes the Fuzzy Monkey style. They are made with Buckwheat and Rice flour and have Banana, almonds, raisins & granola in them... SO GOOD!
After eating some pancakes and Huevos Rancheros... we set out to do our hike! Torrey Pines overlooks Blacks Beach and has beautiful views. Also lots of people!
After our strenuous (not really) hike we were hungry again, jk... but tacos!
We were told to check out Lahaina's Beach house in Pacific Beach. They are basically a shack right off the board walk that serves beer and tacos and only accepts cash! So you know its good! This place was packed!! They don't have a GF menu but can cook your food separate and on corn tortillas so I was all about it!
YUM!
Our plans for the evening were meeting back up with friends for dinner in Malibu! A few years back I came to LA with some girlfriends and we ate at Gladstones so we decided to head back here as the view is amazing, especially at sunset!
The next morning consisted of accidentally torturing Brandon! I found a little breakfast cafe online that had gluten free donuts and cinnamon roles... little did we know it was a vegan joint! Whoops! It was so good and quaint and we both found things we liked! Check out Cafe Gratitude if you're down in Venice Beach.
Next up we met up with one of his football buddies from college at Bulletproof Coffee.
This is the place that was all the rave for weight-loss.
I have to say I was not a fan of butter in my coffee.
Afterwards we went to check out the Love Wall and my favorite clothing store Show Me Your Mumu!
Right next door is a place called Salt & Straw and I am pretty sure I'd be 1,000 lbs if I worked next store to this ice cream shop!
They have amazing, unique flavors like Black Tea & Coconut, Olive & Goat Cheese, and Sea Salt with Caramel! Yum!
After some sweets and shopping, we went to the skate park to check out the local boarders before heading back to LAX to drop off our rental and catch out flight home!
Until next time...
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