Smile for the camera.

Well folks, we finally made it safe and sound to San Francisco. Before we delve into all things Bay City, we wanted to introduce you to the newest member of our family…and not it’s not a baby, dog, cat, or anything living thing for that matter.

A couple weeks ago, when Justin’s family was visiting, I dropped our camera. On concrete. There’s just no recovery from that. I still don’t quite know how I managed to drop it, but the damage was done.

I was pretty upset because I adore taking pictures. We were moving to San Fran in a week, and I wouldn’t be able to document. I have to document. I want to be able to look back 20 years from now and say “oh I remember that”. In all fairness I probably won’t remember everything, but maybe a photo will jog my memory :).

Anyway, our relationship with our camera had already been on the fence. It wouldn’t take pictures at night, without the flash, or simply when it didn’t feel like it. We had been drooling over the amazing  SLR cameras, but they were always out of our price range. Once we realized our camera was broken and it wasn’t worth the cost to repair it, we decided to take the plunge.

We are SO happy we did. It takes pictures a MILLION times better than our old camera. We haven’t had time to really learn how to use it, but it works great on the AUTO mode, hehe. We’re planning to take a couple classes to learn more about what the camera can do.

We got the camera right before we left San Diego, so we had the opportunity to take a few pics before we left. We took about 200 but I’ll only share a few. I mean, who wants to see that many pictures from people learning how to take photos? You can thank me later :). Oh, and we took turns using the camera so this is a mix of both of our photos :).

Well, there you have it. Hope you enjoyed the photos. Check back tomorrow to hear all about our trek up the California Coast!

-Jenn

San Diego Superlatives.

Before we leave San Diego, we thought we’d compile a list of our favorite things…high school style. Anyone remember the superlatives from back then?? Enjoy!

• Favorite Breakfast: Super Biscuits ‘N Gravy at Cafe 222
• Favorite Pizza: Sammy’s Woodfired Pizza
• Favorite Barbeque: Phil’s BBQ
• Favorite Cupcake: Heavenly Cupcakes
• Favorite Burger: Tie between Smashburger and O’Brothers Organic Burgers
• Favorite Place to Relax: La Jolla
• Best View: Cabrillo National Monument (at Point Loma)
• Best Shopping Place: Tie between Horton Plaza and Gaslamp District
• Favorite Touristy Spot: Seaport Village
• Favorite Museum: Midway Museum
• Best Park: Balboa Park
• Best Hotel: Hotel del Coronado
• Top Must-See: San Diego Zoo
• Favorite Day Trip: Julian to get the apple pie
• Favorite Side Trip: Disneyland
• Best Tour: Petco Park Tour
• Best Spot for a Kissing Picture: The giant kissing sailor (see above!)

Well, there you have it. Our favorites of San Diego. We’re going to miss this place!

Smith Family Tour Welcomes the Smith Family.

Last week we hosted my Mom and brother from Wednesday to Sunday and had a great time. They got in on Wednesday around mid afternoon and Jennifer took them to their hotel while I finished up work. After I got off work we picked them up and took them to one of our favorite spots in San Diego, La Jolla (pronounced La Hoya). We spent a while there watching the seals, sea lions, and sunset. Austin brought his awesome camera and we took several really good pictures. Afterwards, we left La Jolla and went to Jennifer’s favorite restaurant, Sammy’s Woodfired Pizza. Mmmm, delicioso.

The next day my Mom and brother walked around the city and took a tour while I worked and Jennifer did some preliminary packing for San Francisco. After I got off work we met up again and headed over the beautiful Coronado bridge, which has San Diego on one side and Mexico on the other, to Coronado Island. There we walked around the Hotel del Coronado for a while and took some more pictures along the rocks on the beach.

Friday, Jennifer took my Mom and Austin up to the San Diego Zoo after lunch. After work, we met up with them at the zoo to see the Polar Bear exhibit that had just opened that day. Somehow, we missed celebrities yet again as Tori Spelling and Denise Richards were there earlier in the day. The Zoo here is incredible and I would recommend it to anyone. If you live in San Diego, then I suggest an annual pass as it can be a relaxing place to go for a walk (if you don’t walk around the whole park).

Helicopter by the polar bear exhibit.

Mom and Austin were tired from all the walking.

Saturday, we tried to head up to Point Loma, but there was a water main break blocking traffic, so we changed plans and headed up to Balboa Park. We walked around there for a while and Austin took some really good pictures of the scenery.

Inside the botanical garden.

We then headed over to Seaport Village to walk around and my Mom wanted to do some shopping there. One awesome thing we saw there was the Navy ship my Dad was on in the 70s (the USS Nimitz). It had just docked in San Diego and it’s something I had never seen, which was really cool for me and my family.

Posing in front of the USS Nimetz

Looking out at the USS Nimitz.

For dinner, we headed over to the Fish Market, which had some really nice views. After dinner, we walked around the Gaslamp district for a bit and did some shopping (thanks Mom for the new clothes) and walked over to Heavenly Cupcakes for a late dessert before retiring for the night.

Sunday, we met up in the morning and headed across the street to Cafe 222. Jennifer had been there twice already and I had been there once. We all got the biscuits and gravy this time and it was probably one of the best breakfasts I have ever had. If you come to San Diego then I highly recommend going to Cafe 222 and getting the Super Biscuits ‘N Gravy.

Petco Park

After breakfast, we walked over to Petco Park where the Padres play. That is one of the prettiest baseball parks I’ve ever seen. The facilities were extremely nice and it was cool to get to go in the press box and down on the field where our Braves will be playing in a few weeks (they play the Padres April 12, 14, and 15.) We also met a guy who had just gotten off the USS Nimitz and talked with him for a bit. We then headed on up to Point Loma to see the incredible views one last time.

Inside the dugout.

Afterwards, we headed back over to Phil’s BBQ. You would never expect great BBQ in San Diego, but this place is definitely legit with some of the best sandwiches you’ve ever tasted. We then came back to the apartment and hung out for a little while before driving them back to the airport.

We had an amazing visit with them and had a ton of fun. We’re glad our families have had the opportunity to visit us in this awesome city and we miss them dearly when they are not here.

-Justin

1) Weird and 2) Creepy.

Somebody had a craving for Chick-fil-a….

Family.

Last week I got the opportunity to see my cousin Carrie and her two adorable little girls, Hannah and Abby. Carrie is my mom’s brother’s daughter. Ya follow?

Me and Carrie.

Hannah, me, and Abby.

They moved to California (from Florida) about a week before we did, which was incredibly random. They live about 3 1/2 hours from San Diego, so this was the first chance we had to see them. It was so great to see them and have a little time to catch-up!

Unfortunately, Justin had to work, but he did get to say hello for a couple minutes. After lunch, we walked over to the bay to enjoy the gorgeous afternoon. There was a guy there who had several parrots and would put them on your arm for you to take pics with. I didn’t manage to get any with my camera, but Carrie did, so when I see them I’ll share. I’m sure they are hilarious. I seriously had a bird on my head attacking my hair! And poor Abby actually got pooped on!

Anyways, it was great to see them. We love seeing family and friends out here! Luckily, we get to see them again in October for my other cousin’s wedding! We found out we have THREE weddings to go to in 4 months. It’s gonna be a busy fall, but we love it :).

Jenn