Hi guys! Popping in with a bit more San Diego fun. Now that the Winter Shape Up videos are filmed, I’ve been spending the rest of my trip hanging out with my grad school BFF Lauren! 🙂
This is my last trip of the year (besides going to Pittsburgh for Christmas), so I’ve been soaking up every minute while also trying to squeeze in some work each day so I don’t get too behind. I’ve been really spoiled by lots of travel this year – I feel so lucky to have had so many amazing experiences lately!
So far Lauren and I have enjoyed a phenomenal sunset at La Jolla Cove (the best place to watch the sunset, in my opinion!):
While there for the sunset, we also got to see the sea lions:
And the seals!
We also went to a sunset yoga class the following night, which was phenomenal – restorative yoga with a view of the ocean and the setting sun? Doesn’t get better than that. I’m obsessed with the sunset + ocean combo.
For those who are local, here’s the Facebook page with info about the classes: Sunset Yoga @ Sunset Cliffs – they happen most nights of the week and it’s donation-based, so you pay what you can. It’s also BYOM – bring your own mat. 🙂
Our instructor was a woman named Katya, who was wonderful – really nice zen vibe.
As for dinners, we’ve been having low key meals at Lauren’s place every night which has been really nice after lots of meals out. She pre-made a quinoa Mexican casserole that we have been enjoying with salad, as well as a vegetarian chili. Last night before dinner though we actually went to a wine class! Lauren signed up for a 6 week wine tasting/education class at a nearby community college and this was week 2 of it. She asked the instructor last week if I could come with her this week and the instructor was fine with it so long as we paid a materials/wine fee – sounded good to me! This week the focus was on Italian wine – did you know that Prosecco (my favorite) is a bit lower acid than champagne, and usually cheaper than champagne because it’s faster/easier to make? Interesting! I also learned that when tasting wine with cheese (which we were, because, duh, cheese is awesome), you want to taste the wine first, then the cheese, then the wine again. Interesting how it changes the flavor of the cheese! One last thing: apparently 2012 was a great year for wine around the world, so if you’re choosing a wine, 2012 is usually a good choice. 🙂
Lauren is a wonderful host – she also had all sorts of breakfast stuffed prepped and ready for us too this week! She made Simple Baked Oatmeal (<- recipe that I originally got from her!) as well as a variation of my Smoked Salmon and Vegetable Egg Casserole – I hadn’t had this in way too long! I had a little of both most mornings of the week – great combination! You’ve got your carbs (oatmeal + fruit) plus protein (eggs + salmon) and veggie volume all covered!
Yesterday was our first full day together (Monday and Tuesday Lauren and I both worked during the day – I did blog stuff in the mornings while she was at work and then headed out to film the workout videos, so we just met up in the evenings), and we decided a nice restorative hike was in order.
We hit up Iron Mountain, which is one of Lauren’s favorite local hikes. It was perfect – not too strenuous (uphill the whole way but lots of switchbacks so not crazy steep – although I think my perception of what’s strenuous has changed after hiking Mount St. Helens, lol) and with beautiful views.
Nature is my happy place – loved this hike. It was hot (90 degrees – whoa), but the wind helped a ton. Hold on to your hats! 🙂
Lauren has done this hike a few times before and this was the first time she’s ever been at the summit without other people – we had the place all to ourselves! It was lovely up there – we sat for awhile enjoying the view and some snacks.
The hike took us about 2 and a half or so hours and we hit up Naked Café in Solana Beach for a post-hike refuel lunch. I had the quinoa salad with ginger chicken – it was soooo good. Loved the pesto sauce the quinoa was dressed with! Plus kombucha, of course. 🙂
We spent the rest of the afternoon at the beach! Since it was so hot we figured, why not! The water was FREEZING but that doesn’t stop us – we had a blast playing in the waves. They were pretty crazy – lots of surfers were out enjoying them!
As for this morning, we were up early and out for a run! How gorgeous is this running path in Del Mar?! I can’t believe people get to run on this every day. I’m so jealous!
We did a casual out and back – I didn’t wear my watch but we probably did about 3 miles? Loved soaking in the views on the way.
Can I start every day like this?! 🙂
After our jog, we went to Starbucks for iced lattes and then took a nice long stroll on the beach. 🙂
We’re getting cleaned up now, meeting my friend Meme for lunch, and then having some more adventures this afternoon! I love visiting/going on trips with Lauren because we are super compatible travel buddies – we love being outside and doing tons of active/outdoorsy stuff… and then going to bed early and getting up early to do it all over again. 😉 It’s been so nice to have lots of one-on-one time to catch up with her, too – I wish we lived closer! <3
Have a nice day guys – I’ll be back tomorrow from the plane ride home with a new recipe to share! Stay tuned!
