California trip Spring 2019 - San Diego
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My daughter Katie and I love traveling and take advantage when we can for mother/daughter trips. Katie is a photographer so when she has an opportunity to travel for her work, she jumps at it. In April, one of her wedding client’s asked her to come to San Diego to take their engagement pictures so of course I tagged along for the trip. In the 5 days we were there, we did quite a bit of driving to see as much of this beautiful state that we could fit in.
We decided to stay in Old Town San Diego at the Best Western Hacienda Hotel. It was a terrific choice. The hotel grounds were absolutely beautiful with multiple buildings cascading down the hillside, gorgeous stairwells, plazas and flowers. The rooms were a little dated but the charm of the hotel and the beauty of the grounds made up for it. Many restaurants, stores and the historic Old Town State Park were all within walking distance. We highly enjoyed a beautiful sunny afternoon on Old Town taking it all in. One thing about travel is the opportunity to meet up with family and friends that we don’t get to see very often. My cousin, Joanie and her husband who live in San Diego, were able to meet us in Old Town for dinner that evening. We wanted to relax a good bit this first day because the next two days would be quite busy with little sleep. Enjoy these pictures of the day taken by my talent daughter: https://www.kathrynhyslopphotography.com
Views outside our hotel room
The plaza in Old Town
The flowers were so vibrant and beautiful.
You can see that Katie enjoyed herself in San Diego
Dinner was fantastic. Can’t beat Mexican food in California. What we can get here in Pittsburgh does not compare.
Joanie and I enjoying our visit.
Day two: we had the morning and afternoon to ourselves before Katie had to meet her clients for a sunset photo shoot. We decided to take our time checking out the beach areas in the San Diego area. First step was the Cabrillo National Monument and more history of California. In addition to history, the park offered a great view of the coast, rocky cliffs and tidal pools. The tidal pools were an unexpected find and we took our time searching them for sea life. The crabs entertain us for a while. Climbing over the rocks was a little challenging for me. I thought the shoes I had taken would work well for that but they were quite slippery.
We moved onward up the coast a little ways to Mission Beach to take in the California beach culture at lunchtime. Definitely the place to be on a bike, skates or scooter. We especially liked the motorized scooters for rent everywhere.
The next stop up the coast was La Jolla. Another wonderful spot to visit and we found more tidal pools and got to see seals. That was the highlight of our day. I will end this blog here with more photos for your enjoyment. Saving Katie’s photo shoot and challenging schedule for the next blog entry.
