California Recap

Hello! How was your weekend? We had a good one! On Friday, Travis had knee surgery, so he took it easy all weekend while we took turns getting him whatever he needed 😉 Hayden had baseball on Saturday, but then it was rained out on Sunday. While I love watching his team play, Sunday at home, was much needed with Travis, groceries, laundry, and just taking it easy. We were all pretty tired after our first week of school.

Today, I’m recapping our recent trip to Del Mar, California.

I have been there quite a few times, and it’s definitely one of my favorite places! Travis goes there a few times a year for work, and he often invites me to join him when he goes for work in August. I always say, “no” because it’s the weekend before school starts which is hectic within itself, but this year I decided to tag along.

I certainly have no regrets, and it was nice to get away for a few days, but it really did make the days leading up to the trip hectic to prep for back to school, and then I started school the day after we returned home.

We had a great time. Here are the details!

Wednesday:

An Uber picked us up at 4:30 AM for our 6:00 flight.

We flew to Dallas, and I will spare you the details of delays, deplaning, and changed gates, but the two hour layover turned into eight hours at DFW.

We finally landed in San Diego around 4:30, and after getting our luggage and a rental car, we drove the 25 minutes to our hotel in Del Mar. We rinsed off, got dressed, and I wanted to see the beach for a minute…

After travelling for 12+ hours and wearing a mask the entire time, I wanted some fresh air before we met some friends for dinner at…

Pamplemousse. I got the halibut, and it was delish. We were back to the hotel by 9:30. With the time change and long day of travel, we fell right asleep!

Thursday

On Thursday, I slept until 7:00, which was later than Travis did. I met him at the hotel bar for coffee and breakfast.

After breakfast, we enjoyed our coffee on the deck with an ocean view and planned out our day.

We went for a walk …

before heading to lunch at Brigantine.

This is a restaurant that overlooks the Del Mar racetrack, and Travis typically runs into people he knows. We both got the fish tacos and a beer!

After lunch, we headed to the beach for a couple of hours, and it was glorious.

I took a walk while Travis dozed off. By the end of this trip, I had 50+ photos of the beach and ocean on my phone…I can never get enough of the view.

Also, while beach trips with my kids have gotten easier as the years have gone by, it’s been a while since just Travis and I were at the beach. It felt so weird to grab my sunglasses, my book, and my towel and have that be all I need.

After the beach, we relaxed a bit, and then went to dinner at Market.

We actually sat at the bar, so we could watch the USA women win gold in beach volleyball!

The sushi was amazing!

Again, we were home by 9:30 and fell fast asleep!

Friday

On Friday, Travis was up very early to meet friends and clients on the back side of the track to look at horses. I slept in a bit, and then headed to the hotel bar again for breakfast.

I took my book and read while enjoying only about 1/3 of these pancakes with my coffee.

When Travis got back, we decided to drive to La Jolla which is only about 20 minutes away. We walked around and there’s an area where you can see the sea lions on the rocks, and we always go there to take in the views and see the sea lions.

We walked around a bit before going to Puesto for lunch. We split some chips and guac, and I got the shrimp tacos and cilantro rice.

On our drive home, I spotted a trail by the hotel, so while Travis napped, I went for a walk. The views were breathtaking, and I wondered what it would take to have a house on the side of a cliff with ocean views.

Ahh…

After I got back from my walk, Travis was at the pool. After a few minutes there, he was going to to the track to catch a couple of races. I went to the beach for about an hour. It’s not that the horse track isn’t my thing, but the beach in 75 degree weather is!

I hung out and …

started a new book…

before getting ready for dinner. Right before the trip, I was at Target with Hayden, and picked up this dress on a whim. It was perfect for dinner…

…with a view. A racing group from Trav’s farm hosted clients at Pacific Coast Grill. The views and the food were amazing.

We could hear the waves while enjoying champagne and seafood!

Saturday

Saturday morning, Travis was up early and at the track. When he returned, we had one more hotel breakfast before going to the beach for a couple hours.

Then it was time to pack up, and get ready for the track. Again, they were hosting clients for the races that afternoon. We arrived around 1:30 before the races started at 2:00.

Trav’s co-workers really knocked it out of the park with the attention to detail, gift baskets, food, hospitality, and more!

We were able to see other clients and friends who I usually just get to see when they come to Lex for the sales or racing. The track is so pretty and right off the ocean.

Once the races were over, we snapped a couple of selfies before leaving.

We had about an hour and a half before we needed to be at the airport, so we weren’t sure we’d have time for a nice sit down dinner. Well, we drove right past an In-N-Out Burger, and our dinner decision was made 😉 Travis has dined there a few times, but I never have! The burger was really good!

When planning our return flight, we weighed the pros and cons of taking the Saturday red eye or early Sunday morning. With school starting back on Monday for me and since air travel is so unpredictable right now, we decided on the red eye. We arrived at the airport around 9 PM for our 11:00 flight. We returned our car, changed our clothes, checked in and had plenty of time before boarding. Once in the air, it was about 3.5 hours to Chicago, and we slept hard! We landed in Chicago at 5:30 and had a two hour layover before taking the quick flight to Lex. We were home by 10 am! I took two naps that day and went to bed early, but was glad with the decision to go ahead and get home.

It was a really great trip, nice to have time with just the two of us, and I’m glad I said, “yes,” to join him.

Hotel:

While in Del Mar, we stayed at Hotel Indigo.

It was super cute and felt very much like a California hotel.

Have you ever been to Southern California? I always say if I win the lottery, I’d moved to Charleston, SC or So Cal! I just need to cash that winning ticket!

I hope you have a great week! We are continuing to ease back into school with a four day week this week! See you back here tomorrow for Tuesday Talk.

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