First Anniversary

I can't believe it's already been an entire year since we walked down that aisle! It couldn't of been a more beautiful day. I'm so thankful for all the memories we have to look back on from this day.
It was a wild year and didn't look anything like I would have predicted. It has also been more fun and adventurous than I ever could have imagined. I can't wait to see how the next year unfolds. Happy Anniversary Eric <3 

Exploring San Diego - Swami's Beach and Meditation Gardens

Valentine's day is pretty low-key for Eric and I, especially on years like this where it falls in the middle of the week. However we do love to take advantage of any time we have together by exploring new places. So the weekend after Valentine's day we went to check out Swami's Beach. Apparently it is an internationally known surfing spot.

As with pretty much every beach in San Diego, it was absolutely beautiful.




We hope to try surfing one day while we're still in California.


There were many tide pools, which we always love to check out.




The water was pretty calm. There were a few surfers out, but there weren't many people here. I'm curious if it's this quiet during the summer too - we may have to come here more often when the weather is warmer.


We were almost about to turn back before Eric spotted this random swing on the beach!

I feel like swings and hammocks should be a normal thing on beaches. This was my favorite spot.


I don't know if you can see me in the picture below but Eric wanted to get a picture from out in the water.

Such a beautiful place to spend part of the day. I don't know if there is anything more peaceful or relaxing than being near water.

We heard right next to Swami's Beach were Meditation Gardens that were a must-see. So when we left the beach we walked over to check it out.



They were gorgeous and had so many different types of flowers, trees, cactus, succulents, and tropical plants.


They overlooked the beach we just walked up from.


Truthfully, it was a little crowded and busy to imagine trying to meditate here. But it certainly was beautiful.





There were a lot of secret benches scattered around and if you were lucky, you could find your own little spot to hide away and meditate.




It was such a fun day exploring together. I'll take a day like this over a heart-shaped box of chocolates any time! Living in an area with so many beaches to explore certainly fills my water-loving heart.

Exploring San Diego - Kayaking in La Jolla

This past weekend my cousin Colby was in town celebrating a couple birthdays with a group of friends. We got to meet up a few times and hang out with them. We were especially excited to go kayaking with them in La Jolla!


It was a gorgeous sunny day, but thankfully we got wet suits to keep us comfortable in the cold water.

The water was so blue!


It truly was so beautiful and peaceful. I would love to have a kayak one day to have more of these moments.

We were with a great group of people on the tour with us.


We got to see various wildlife like seals, fish, sea turtles, etc. The black spots on the cliff walls in these pictures are all birds. 

So many little caves and hidden places to explore! Understandably, we weren't allowed to go wandering too far.


Fun fact: Eric and I have been up on the cliffs in the picture above and inside the cave in the picture below (written about in this post). It was so cool to see it from the other side!

Although we weren't able to stray too far into various caves, we did get the opportunity to go into one.


Once again, I felt like I was back in a tropical paradise like Costa Rica.


It was breathtaking and the water was so clear! I would have loved to spend more time here.



Straight ahead you can see the other side of La Jolla Cove.


Colby and her friend Haden coming out of the cave.



Of course we also got to see some fancy multi-million dollar homes on the water.


Time to head back to shore. It was such a fun adventure, I'm so glad they invited us!

Colby and her friends continued sight-seeing while Eric and I headed home to get cleaned up and so Eric could study. Later that afternoon we met up with her and one of her friends at a brewery.

Then we headed back to our place to order food and watch Olympics the rest of the night. They were already checked out of their rental house so the two of them stayed with us their last night.

The next morning they headed out to see the San Diego Zoo before getting on an airplane back to Sacramento that afternoon. It was so good to see Colby and meet some of her friends.

Eric and I may need to look into renting some kayaks near us!