In case you missed it, I posted about Blogfest here. Now for the rest of the weekend in San Diego, what I did during breaks and my IDEA sessions I took on Saturday.
This was my first trip to California!! I really wish I could have extended my stay and explored more of San Diego, but I was glad I was able to walk along the water and eat some good food. I learned after last year’s blogfest, it was best to eat some real food and not try to live off samples of protein bars through a weekend.
On Thursday, I stepped out of the convention center and headed to MaryJane’s for lunch. That was my first real meal in 24 hours since I hadn’t had a decent meal since lunch the day before. I sat at the counter for lunch since I went solo and enjoyed a burger and side salad.
The Gaslamp Quarter of San Diego was really neat to explore as well. So many shops and restaurants. Not to mention the fact that San Diego’s weather was literally perfect. OK, maybe not perfect if I wanted to head to the beach and swim, but otherwise, perfect for being out and walking at 70-75 degrees with a slight breeze and overcast skies. Meanwhile the East coast was in a 90-100 degree heat wave and I was just soaking up this perfect weather.
My hotel was located in the Gaslamp Quarter as well and while I was a bit bummed to not be in the host hotel, I was also enjoying all the extra walking I was getting and exploring San Diego. Walking back with my roommate Thursday afternoon, we had to stop in the chocolate store, where I loaded up on some dark chocolate pieces. The chocolate did not make it past Saturday by the way…
Thursday night was the IDEA welcome party and I would say it was way better than last year. For one, they had free water (Vegas can’t give you free water apparently) and they had the most delicious Mexican food and dessert choices.
We also had fun at the photo booth.
Friday I also stepped out for lunch. I decided to go to a café in Seaport Village which was next to the host hotel and right on the water. I stuck with a chicken Caesar salad and it was delicious. I also passed a person doing Henna and after filling my belly, I decided to get a quick Henna tattoo.
I ran out of time to find the cupcake place I was looking for in the village, but luckily after the Blogfest Networking fun, I went out to eat with some ladies and we got a bit turned around running into Frost Me Gourmet cupcakes. They are a cupcake wars winner and I can see why. Walking into the bakery convinced all the ladies to get a cupcake and we each got a different flavor. I had the hibiscus pineapple orange cupcake. A flavor I would not normally pick, but it did not disappoint. It was delicious!!
On Saturday I had an early morning PiYo session, which was about an hour and a half of PiYo. I was finally a sweaty mess from a workout. I then stepped outside onto the convention center balcony for some beautiful views.
After a nice Trigger Point massage session, I grabbed a veggie wrap and ate while walking back to my hotel to shower and get ready for my afternoon sessions.
I passed by this coffee shop advertising purple tea and couldn’t resist. The sign totally sold me. I mean Instagram picture right? It’s an organic herbal berry tisane with pineapple and organic cane sugar. It was definitely super sweet, but really delicious.
My first afternoon session was one I was really looking forward to. I did Yoga Tune Up with Jill Miller, herself. I have been using the products for about 5 years since I was introduced to them in a yoga class at my home gym and absolutely love them. I was so excited to get a picture with her after class and also I felt like a giant.
I had one last session on alignment in pilates. To be honest I clearly didn’t read the description when signing up, I just read alignment but it was an interesting hour session. After I was done, it was a beautiful evening to take a walk in the village again. I grabbed some tacos for dinner followed by a smores cupcake. I think that has to be my most favorite cupcake yet. It had a graham cracker crust, chocolate cake, filled with ooeey gooey marshmallow and topped with frosting and a nice toasted marshmallow.
I took a nice long walk, my feet hurting, but worth it. I found the famous statue and then walked back to my hotel to pack my bags.
Sunday morning started at an early 4:45am. A man was kind enough to share his Uber to the airport so I lucked out on that one. Although the Uber driver had been driving all night so he was tired and first took us to arrivals. Thank goodness he stopped the ride so the man didn’t have to pay extra for his loop back around to departures. Other than that, the airport process was smooth since I checked in ahead of time and have pre check. I made some oatmeal at the airport with oats I brought and got some hot water and an iced tea (because I feel bad buying nothing) before boarding my flight.
Also can we just admire these views from the air, because they were incredible and I just smiled to myself as I stared out the window thinking this is why I fly and travel because look at this incredible world we get to be a part of. Despite all the anxiety I can have with flying, yes, this is why I continue to travel and explore. There is so much to see and every time I travel I am more and more grateful.
That sums up my short California visit. I hope to get back again someday. Oh and I should add, my dad continues to remind me I visited California when I was like 8 months old and then maybe a couple years old as there is a picture of me on a pony somewhere. I don’t count trips before like 6 years old when I can somewhat remember them lol.
Do you like to travel?
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