Trip to San Diego - Balboa Park and Beach Hiking at Torrey Pines
At around 4 in the afternoon we went to check in to our Airbnb, then went to Balboa Park, SoCal’s analog of Golden Gate Park. It is similar yet completely different–much more cozy-feeling and warm than Golden Gate, in my opinion.
Here’s the Artists’ Village:
The lily pond at the Botanical Gardens:
The botanical gardens:
Bailey and me on the bridge:
Some sort of festival was happening, so there were a ton of food trucks:
For dinner, I bought a helping of Korean spicy pork fries from this fusion place. Delicious, delicious…so bad for the health, but who cares when they’re on a 2-day vacation?! A view down into the Japanese tea garden:
Anjali and me posing by the well:
A night view of the food truck scene and buildings:
Under the arches with a balloon-loving dog:
At night, we wanted to check out the street scene, so we went to this classy bar called Polite Provisions where they had some pretty cool table lamps!
We retired to the hotel and sat around talking for a while before everyone fell asleep. Brunch seemed like a good idea to the four of us the next morning. Anjali and Jagriti were craving waffles and crepes, while I went for a salsa verde omelette with shredded pork and some of the crispiest, most delicious hash browns I have ever had:
The post-lunch activity was hiking at the Torrey Pines State Reserve in Carmel Valley, my actual hometown. Again, you can see the curious mix of desert, ocean, and woodland that comprises the San Diego habitat:
Group pic at the anticlimatically-named overlook point!
We’re actually in a type of environment called the chaparral, as explained in this sign:
There were some vibrantly-colored plants:
The hike we took consisted of walking up the road along the mountain, then taking an actual hiking trail down to the beach, walking slowly down the cliff/mountain while admiring the beach view:
Lots of grasses and plants, making the terrain seem wild and cozy at the same time:
Finally the trail tapers off to the beach with some very steep and sandy steps!
Beach and cliff view!
We visited my old house for a bit before it was time for some Which Wich and then heading home. It was nice to see the house again–my family has moved up to NorCal now, so I won’t be coming back here in a very long time. Good-bye, San Diego!
Till next time, dear readers.
Anita
