San Diego

After flying into Los Angeles, my first task was to take the Amtrak down to San Diego to see my brother, nephews, and sister-in-law! I've taken this exact train line a couple times before, so I was excited for the coastal trip. I love taking trains! How about you? Click through for a ton of photos from my day in SD.

My train left relatively early, and the first half of the ride was really foggy and beautiful. It was wonderful to finally see the Pacific again under a blanket to soft white-grey.



My brother and one of my nephews picked me up at the downtown San Diego station, and my nephew really wanted me to go see the tide pools. He was adorable and really excited to show me all of the nature down on the coast, so we climbed around on rocks, watched surfers, and searched for anemone for quite some time before getting lunch at a local burrito joint.


Is it weird that after a break up, one of the best moments of reflection I had was to sit on the cliffs and eat a giant burrito? Hah!


Something as simple as driving around this area of San Diego made me so happy. I love the architecture of the bungalows and the beach homes. I love palm trees! It was such perfect timing to get out of the Chicago cold and into some California sunshine. There were plenty of friendly surfer folks getting ready to hit the water, and we said hello to them and their amazing VW busses as we passed.




Next, we went to Mission Trails. One of my favorite things about San Diego is how you can discover totally different terrain in just a short drive. While I loved the rocky beach and Sunset Cliffs, seeing Mission Trails for the first time was great, too. We walked to paths for a while — my nephew told me all about everything... because that's how kids are. :)


My brother is all about plants (maybe that's where I get it), so walking through the trails was really interesting. I really dig the different kinds of plants that grow in southern California — it's such a different vibe than the midwest — and he knows all sorts of great info about the wildlife around him.


Before dinner, we headed back to my family's home. They live in Chula Vista and their porch overlooks a huge nature reserve. It was really quite beautiful. After playing with the kids and watching Mickey Mouse with them, the sitter came and us ~older kids~ were able to go enjoy a night out at San Diego bars and restaurants.


This was my first time back to San Diego since around 2010. Seeing my family was the perfect way to begin my vacation and I wish I could have stayed a little longer!


Striped Crop Top, H&M [ similar ]
Green Overalls, Ragstock [ similar ]
All Star Sneakers, Converse
Necklace, DIY [ similar ]


(Pssst: how great is the sunset outside my brother's window?!)