California Recap

Hello and happy Thursday!

Shew…it’s already Thursday. I swear the summer weeks flew by, but I’ve been so busy this week that it’s flown by as well.

Yesterday, I shared about what the kids did while in KC, and today, I’m sharing a recap of my trip to California with Travis.

Most years Travis heads to Del Mar the end of July/early August for work. He has clients in California that he checks in on and some of them have horses running at Del Mar. The Del Mar racing meet for the summer is the end of July to around Labor Day.

So, the timing with back to school isn’t ideal, but I try to tag along the years that I can.

Wednesday:

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I drove the kids to KC last Sunday and then I flew out of KC on Wednesday (and Travis flew out of Lex) and we met in San Diego.

My dad dropped me off at the (new and improved) KCI airport around 8:15 for my 9:45 flight. Since I had a carry-on suitcase (yay!) and security was a breeze, I was at my gate by 8:30.

I flew from KC to Denver and made a sprint through the Denver airport to make my connecting flight to San Diego.

While it would have been nice to have a few extra minutes in the airport, I was very thankful everything was on time and smooth sailing. I arrived around 12:30.

Travis arrived about an hour and a half before me which gave him time to pick up the rental car and do some work.

Since we were in downtown San Diego, we parked and walked around Little Italy. We ate lunch at the Farmer’s Table. My gnocchi was delish.

Then, we drove about thirty minutes to Del Mar. Travis booked our place on Airbnb. It was a vacation rental called Wave Crest. It was really nice, and the 90’s kid in me kept thinking about the tv show Melrose Place. haha

I will say the only “down side” was that the train tracks were busy, and those trains honk their horns. I never heard it at night…I know they went by, but I didn’t hear the honking then.

Our room wasn’t ready yet, so they gave us a key to the pool, and we hung out for about thirty minutes. This was the view from the pool area:

Our place was a one bedroom that was really spacious. There was enough space and pull out couch that I truly think we would have been comfortable there, space-wise, if we had the kids with us.

Our place overlooked Seagrove Park.

Once we unpacked, we headed to the beach for a bit. The water is definitely colder, but you can’t beat the air temps!

When we went back to the resort, we realized it was “Wine Night,” so we had a glass of wine along with some cheese and crackers while enjoying the view.

Then, Trav ran to store for a few things like water, strawberries, beer, wine and a few snacks.

We got dressed, and walked…

…to a restaurant on the beach called Poseidon. We eat there most every time we go to Del Mar. We ended up seeing one of Trav’s clients, and some Lexington people. I had fish tacos for dinner, and the sunset over the ocean was pretty.

Around 9, we headed back to room and watched some tv before bed. The only thing I don’t like about travelling out west…the time change!

Thursday:

I woke up around 6, but made myself go back to sleep. When I woke up at 7, Travis was gone, but he’d left me a large coffee from Starbucks.

While he was at the track watching the horses workout, I just relaxed, watched tv, and hung out.

We went to breakfast at one of Trav’s favorite spots in Solano Beach…Claire’s on Cedros. I got the avocado toast, and it was so good.

Once we got back, I went to the pool while Travis went to watch some of the races. I started Five Star Weekend.

I went back to the room and ate lunch before heading to the beach for a couple of hours.

I went back to the room to clean up and take a quick nap before dinner.

We were meeting a few of Trav’s clients (who have truly become friends) at Ken’s Sushi. One of the clients did all the ordering for us, and we ate so much delicious sushi. Cali sushi can’t be beat!

We got back to our place around 7:30 just in time to catch the 7:45 sunset.

It was a great full day of relaxation.

Friday:

I had another easy going morning while Travis went and watched the horses work out.

Then, I did a work out in room before going to the pool for a bit.

I had the whole pool to myself.

Then, Travis and I walked to Del Mar pizza for lunch.

Then, we both went to the beach for a bit…

…before heading to Del Mar Race Track. The weather was beautiful, and we hung out on the veranda for a bit. Then, we watched some races from a box and even went to the paddock to check on one of the horses before the race. Beer Can Man placed second; he lost by a nose.

I wish we’d gotten a pic together that day since we looked nice…but we were busy, I guess.

Then, we went to dinner at Tony Jacal’s. We’d never been there before, but it was so good!

Back at the room, I packed up a bit and finished my book.

Saturday:

Of course, I adjusted to the time change by the last day…it was nice to sleep in a bit and not be rushed to the airport.

I read for a bit and drank my coffee while enjoying the views one last time.

Trav went for a jog, and I walked on the beach for a bit.

We packed up and checked out by 11.

Since we knew it was going to be a long travel day, we wanted to have a good lunch. Another fave spot is The Brigantine which overlooks the water and race track.

I had one more round of fish tacos.

Since we had a few more minutes to kill, we walked on the beach one more time.

…and then headed to the airport.

Thankfully, everything was on time, and we had a very quick flight to Phoenix.

Since we had a two hour layover in Phoenix, we sat down for dinner before boarding our flight.

The flight was pretty bumpy and the pilot even flew around to try to avoid some bad weather. Our flight was supposed to land at 11:59 pm, but it landed at 12:15am. Honestly, given how travel is these days, that was no big deal.

We caught an Uber to my dad’s house, and finally went to bed at 1:30…before waking up the next day, re-uniting with the kids and driving the 8 1/2 hours back to Lex.

It really was a great trip, and I’m thankful for my KC fam keeping the kids busy.

I have dreams of spending a few weeks in Del Mar in the summer…it may have to wait until I retire, but we’ll see!

Thanks for following along on this trip!

(Also, I haven’t forgotten about the gift card I owe one of you! I will get that figured out and hope to announce in tomorrow’s post!)

Have a great day.