lately léna

The Old Town is considered to be the ‘birthplace’ of California. It was here that the fist permanent Spanish settlement lived in the late 1700s.

Tempted by the smells of cumin, garlic, and bacon, we parked ourselves at Cafe Coyote for something to eat…

…and drink….we were on vacation, ok???

Our meals were served with flower tortillas that were being made literally in front of our eyes and they were so so good. Fluffy and soft, but chewy and savory. I want more!

After stuffing ourselves, we walked around the Old Town a little more, enjoying the slightly touristy attraction.

 By the time we decided to leave, the sun had come out, and we decided it was BEACH TIME!

We drove to Coronado Island, a small resort community across the San Diego Bay. We went up onto the bridge…

 And descended into paradise!!

Well, we had to drive a little to get to the beach, but you know what I mean 🙂

This was Silver Strand state beach, and it was breathtaking. It was secluded and quiet and very relaxing.

We jumped right into the waves. I can’t even describe to you how good it felt. It had been soooo long since I was in the ocean! We finally emerged, salty and wet, but so happy.

We spent a little more time hanging out, reading and chatting as the waves rolled by. Oh, and getting HORRIBLY SUNBURNED. But we’re trying to forget that part.

 I got some selfies in (v. important).

Finally, after enough sand in places you don’t ever want sand, we decided to explore Coronado, which is an insanely cute (and expensive!) little town. Very picturesque, and very fun to walk around in. If I had a spare million dollars lying around, I’d definitely buy something there!

 Finally, we decided to head to our hotel, which was in Oceanside, another small beach town, though not as fancy as Coronado (meaning we could actually afford to go out). We checked in, jumped in the shower, and headed right back out again to get to know our new town and find more food.

 I even found an H&M guys!! #obsessed

We finally decided on Joe Manana’s a teeny tiny little taco joint with cheap drinks and a gorgeous back patio.

 Chips and margs for the win!

After dinner, we took a short walk through the downtown. There was a food bazaar the night we arrived, so we wandered through it, wishing we weren’t so stuffed! We made mental notes of things we wanted to eat later and made our way home for a quick dip in the hot tub and then bed, sweet, glorious bed.

An amazing first day! Stay tuned for day two, in which we almost ended up in Mexico and met a wombat named Conrad…

xxxLena