San Diego Road Trip: Day 1/2

I recently took a two-day road trip by myself down to San Diego, a combination self-retreat / visit / explore / record on my friend's album.  This post will be Day 1.

I started out around 9:00am.  By the time I had gotten down to San Clemente, I realized I was still quite tired and needed some caffeine, so I pulled off the freeway, typed "coffee" into my GPS, and picked the first (aka closest) non-chain location that came up.  My magical little machine lead me to a place called Kaylani Coffee right by the beach.  It looked at first to be a dumpy little cafe, but inside was actually a cute little coffee shop.  My ice mocha was delicious, and soon I was again on my way.

Kaylani Coffee.

Kaylani Coffee.

I stopped again somewhere near Camp Pendleton at a vista point to enjoy the view.  There were seagulls and squirrels - I even got them in the same shot (it was odd to me to have those two animals together).

Points of interest from the vista point near Camp Pendleton.

 

 Vista point near Camp Pendleton.

 

Vista point near Camp Pendleton. Squirrels and seagulls in the same photo! 

Around 11:30am, I reached my first destination: Torrey Pines State Reserve.  It is a state park that protects the Torrey Pine, a tree that only grows in this state park and on Santa Rosa Island off the coast of Santa Barbara.  It has many easy hiking trails along the bluffs, and is absolutely gorgeous.  I spent most of the day there, just hiking around and enjoying the beauty of nature.  I spent a good amount of time walking along the water at the bottom of the bluffs as well, which was my favorite part of the day.

 Guy Fleming trail in Torrey Pines State Reserve, San Diego, CA.

 

Guy Fleming trail in Torrey Pines State Reserve, San Diego, CA.

 Guy Fleming trail in Torrey Pines State Reserve, San Diego, CA.

 

Guy Fleming trail in Torrey Pines State Reserve, San Diego, CA.

 Guy Fleming trail in Torrey Pines State Reserve, San Diego, CA.

Razor Point trail in Torrey Pines State Reserve, San Diego, CA.

 

Razor Point trail in Torrey Pines State Reserve, San Diego, CA.

 

Beach along the bluffs in Torrey Pines State Reserve, San Diego, CA.

 

Beach along the bluffs in Torrey Pines State Reserve, San Diego, CA.

 

Beach along the bluffs in Torrey Pines State Reserve, San Diego, CA.

 

Beach along the bluffs in Torrey Pines State Reserve, San Diego, CA.

 

Beach along the bluffs in Torrey Pines State Reserve, San Diego, CA.

 

Beach along the bluffs in Torrey Pines State Reserve, San Diego, CA.

Once I was sufficiently thirsty, hungry, and sunburnt, I head north on PCH a ways to Encinitas to walk around the historic downtown district.  I had some information from the internet on some small points of interest, but mostly I was just walking around and exploring.  I did a bit of thrift shopping, ate some delicious food and snacks, and saw some interesting things.  All that walking after a full day of hiking was exhausting but felt great.

 

Statue near Swami's Beach and the SRF temple in downtown Encinitas, CA.

Swami's beach in Encinitas, CA.

 

Fun wall art on a house in Encinitas, CA.

 

Boat houses in Encinitas, CA.

 

1883 one-room school house in Encinitas, Ca.

 

Book Tales used book store in Encinitas, CA.

 

Book Tales used book store in Encinitas, CA.

 

La Paloma movie theater in Encinitas, CA, where talkies used to be shown.

 

Delicious $10 meal from Lotus Cafe in Encinitas.

My friend Kelsea got off work at around 8:00pm, and we stopped by her house in South Park, San Diego before walking to a bar nearby.  On the way we caught up, shared life stories, and saw some fun inspirational sidewalk chalk.

The bar was called The Whistle Stop, and it was very fun!  That night they were having a trivia night, but they also have karaoke nights, board game nights, etc.  Kelsea bought me a fruity beer they apparently sell at Trader Joe's that I am not hooked on (I have very girly alcoholic tastes), and we met her boyfriend there as well.  After a drink, we went back to her house as she had to get up quite early for work the next morning.

 

Wall art outside the Whistle Stop in South Park, San Diego.

 

The Whistle Stop in South Park, San Diego.

Raspberry beer.  It tastes nothing like beer.  It's delicious.

It was actually Kelsea's first official night in her new place, so I got to help her break it in!  Her landlady is this cute little french woman who grows wine grapes in the front of the duplex.  She popped in every now and then.

Next up: day two!