If you've read about my visit to the Flower Fields, then you've had a glimpse into the first part of our girls' weekend to celebrate Stefani's birthday. From Carlsbad, we made our way further south to San Diego.
For length's sake, I will not be covering any food-related parts of our adventure here, but you can find out what we ate here.
Friday, May 7
Our first essential stop before continuing the festivities was at Humphreys Half Moon Inn, a fun, tropical oasis on Shelter Island. Prior to this trip, I had no knowledge of the existence of Shelter Island, let alone Humphreys. When we arrived, we were pleasantly surprised by this quiet section of San Diego.
Our suite was very impressive - two queens, a pull-out sofa bed, balcony, double vanity bathroom and a full kitchen complete with bar seating. We opted for a garden view, with our balcony overlooking the central part of the hotel. Harbor views were also available at a slightly higher price. However, we still got to enjoy those views while going in and out of our room, which you can see in the photo below.
After we discovered our sunburns, changed and freshened up, we headed over to Bali Hai for dinner and proceeded onto our next adventure.
Since we were celebrating Stefani's birthday, I really wanted to do something unique to surprise her. Specifically, I wanted to find a reasonably-priced private boat to cruise the harbor. While it wasn't easy, I eventually stumbled upon the site GetMyBoat, which is basically like Airbnb but for boats.
I got connected with Andy, who captained the boat for us and took us on a cruise around the harbor. When we were done with dinner, all we had to do was walk to the Shelter Island boat ramp, where our boat was waiting for us. We were allowed to bring snacks and whatever we wanted onto the boat, and even used the Bluetooth to play our own music!
Even though it was overcast and we weren't able to see a sunset, our hour-long private cruise was perfect. We sipped on champagne and nibbled on a dessert box I made, while we watched the San Diego skyline light up.
We went back to our hotel, spent some time in the pool, then called it a night.
Saturday, May 8
We woke up bright and early for a chance at a very popular breakfast/brunch spot. Once we were done, I took the #wholesomefunsquad on some more surprise adventures.
Our first top was the Spruce Street Suspension Bridge. Nestled in a beautiful residential area in the hills is a pretty impressive suspension bridge that allows pedestrians to walk across a ravine.
Being a suspension bridge, there was a lot of swaying, which proved to be a little unsettling at first. Eventually we got used to it and continued taking in the views and snapping a bunch of photos.
Soon after, we started our way back home and headed to our next photo location, the Ellen Browning Scripps Memorial Pier in La Jolla.
Frequented by surfers and photographers alike, this spot has shown up on my social media feeds countless times. It was my first time visiting in person, and it was just as beautiful as it is in the photos.
Being under the pier, dipping our toes in the cold ocean reminded me of just what a privilege it is to be in California to see beautiful sights like this one.
Our final stop was just a few minutes from the pier. We drove up the hill to the Birch Aquarium at Scripps and parked in the public lot - the first couple hours are complimentary.
On the edge of the parking lot, there was a fairly steep dirt pathway leading up a small hill. The girls weren't thrilled about walking up the hill in sandals, but our little "hike" definitely paid off at the top.
At the top of the hill overlooking the water, we found one of La Jolla's secret swings!
The view was absolutely stunning, and there were plenty of surrounding trails and walkable areas to admire that view.
We took our last deep breaths of vacation air before we descended back down the path. We hopped into the car after a weekend of a few sunburns, a thousand photos, and countless laughs, and headed back home.
Until next time,
Happy wandering!
