On our second and last day in San Diego (and final day of the trip) we did a mini road trip along the coast! We drove through Del Mar and Encinitas and explored the beach towns. This was so much fun and the weather was gorgeous!
We popped into Whole Foods for a quick bite to eat along the way:
I don`t know what was better, the meal, or when we realized how much cheaper the Whole Foods bar is compared to here in Ontario. Our bill was at least 40% less than it normally is. Tears of joy, tears of joy.
I didn’t do a great job documenting our road trip, but the sights were beautiful.
Maybe it’s a good thing I didn’t attempt many pics…those “shooting from the car pictures” never seem to pan out! I try to take a shot of the ocean and all I get is a concrete highway median.
We made it back for the sunset in La Jolla again! This time we took pictures from the beach (instead of up on the cliff) and we had a totally different perspective.
Om.
I told you the people here are chill.
After relaxing in the hotel room for a bit, we drove to Encinitas to try out The Lotus Cafe that we came across earlier in the day.
Similar to Rancho’s, Lotus cafe offers a wide variety of omnivore, vegetarian, gluten-free, and vegan options. If only more restaurants made it this easy! I immediately loved the menu in this cafe. Check out the legend…
After discovering our obsession for vegan nachos the night before, we had to try the vegan nachos at Lotus made with organic blue corn chips topped with vegan cheese, salsa, and guacamole.
The nachos were great, but Rancho`s still has the win!
Eric ordered the lasagne made up of spinach pasta, ricotta cheese, fresh veggies, and marinara sauce. He said it was great.
I wanted something spicy to warm me up, so I ordered the Indian Curry Bowl made up of fresh steamed veggies with an Indian curry sauce served over organic brown rice. It was light, low on the oil, and fresh, but it wasn’t as spicy as I expected it to be. It could have used a bit more curry in my opinion. All in all though, it was a nice light meal and a nice change up from a few heavy ones while traveling!
As we were finishing up our meal, this beautiful California girl walked up to us and introduced herself as Sarah, an avid blog reader. Small world! Sarah if you’re reading this please shoot me an email as I have a question for you…I’m not as awkward over email, I promise. ;)
Since my meal was so light there was obviously room for their vegan dessert bar.
This vegan peanut butter chocolate fudge cupcake was anything but light, but it was the perfect ending to our vacation. The peanut butter frosting was so buttery and not super sweet. A great way to end the trip!
Our stay in California was short and sweet, but that just means we’ll have to go back soon! Thanks to everyone who provided us with suggestions on what to see and do. We actually got home last weekend (and were already gone before I posted), so we’ll have to take you up on your suggestions next time.
When I got home, I edited some of my favourite photos in HDR format (high dynamic range imaging) which is when image files of differing exposures are merged together. The HDR format is new to me, but very fun to learn. I set my DSLR so it took 3 pictures at once (one at –2 exposure, one at normal exposure, and one at +2 exposure) and then post-processing I merged the images together. It creates a fun 3-D effect and works great for travel photos.
Anyways, here are some of my favs!
NYC:
Love love love the 3-D look of this one:
San Diego:
I’m hoping to create a few more and frame some of them.
Have a great Friday!
Wow – I’ve never seen the HDR format before, those are beautiful. I’m going to have to learn more about that and try it out myself!
I LOVE those HDR pictures too…definitely blow up and frame some of them – they’re gorgeous! And so is So Cal…I think I would be a much more zen person if I lived there:)
Your HDR pictures are awesome. I have a DSLR and have taken the pictures like that (3 at a time), but I don’t know how to combine them. How did you do it??? Photoshop?
thanks! I used Photomatix Pro software
The HDR pics are great! Looks almost like a painting rather than a photo. Your trip sounds totally fantatic. So glad you had a great time!
All these photos have been so beautiful. Thanks for sharing your vacation with us!
It looks like you had an absolutely wonderful time! I love love LOVE california and the people there really are drinking some other sort of cool-aid… they are so… reeeeeeeeelaxed. Your outings to dinner also looked wonderful. After browsing the menu, I realized that there would be absolutely no possibility that such a menu would exist in North Carolina. Sad day. Wonderful vacation recap, Angela!
must find special cool-aid mix…
those sunsets are siiick! haha. i love love love sun set pictures. hope you have/had a safe trip home :)
That tree picture is real? Definitely needs a huge frame. Geez, you could probably sell some of those.
Those pictures are absolutely gorgeous. If you decide to sell some of those, definitely let us know. They are much better than any picture I took while in San Diego! The look like art!
Thanks Sarah!
I’ve never heard of the HDR format before but the effect looks so cool!!!
The pictures are beautiful and definitely need to be framed.
Those pics in HDR are AMAZING! I so want a nice camera now!!! :-(
Wow, as everyone else has said, BEAUTIFUL pictures! I definately wish I could go to some of those restaurants you’ve been to, or even some LIKE it. I live in rural Northern Illinois, so none of those to be found around me! + all of these nacho pictures are realllly making me crave nachos… :)
I love HDR photos. They are so colorful and brilliant! One of my favorite things about the new iPhone is that it has HDR capabilities on the camera. It obviously doesn’t do anything as awesome as these, but it definitely helps to make some better-than-average cell phone photos. :)
Does it really? Wow that’s cool!
All of those pictures are amazing! California and NY are two of my all time favorite places.
I love that one your readers spotted you on vacation — I’m thinking you’re just a wee bit famous Ange :-D
Glad you had a great trip – welcome home to Ontario — however we are getting snow as I type this, so maybe we should just pack up and head right back down south!
hah yea we got back last weekend and I was going through sun withdrawal…3-4 days of clouds once home. Missing the sun! Although I hear it’s supposed to be sunny this weekend? Here’s hoping.
PLEASE tell me what kind of camera you have. I have been searching for a new one and adore the quality of your photos. Thank you!!! :)
The HDR images are so cool! I think my favorite is the first, in the park. I’ll have to try those out sometime. :)
Just had to tell you I made the biscotti last night – Oh MY GOODNESS! DELICIOUS! I’ve been dipping and eating all morning. I used 1/2 ww all purpose flour, 1/2 ww pastry flour, because I don’t use white flour – and they were still wonderful. Thanks for another fantastic recipe.
That’s so great to hear! Tea time is a lot more fun this week. ;) Im happy to know that they worked with the flour change, as sometimes they can act a bit funny. What is the ww all purpose flour? Is it whole wheat but processed fine like ap?
Del Mar and Encinitas are great beach towns and before I had Skylar, I did yoga every.day.in. Encinitas at the best, most amazing yoga studio…ever. Cherished memories. If I could hang out in Encinitas doing yoga and being hippy dippy all day and then clean up and hit the town in Del Mar in the evening, I’d be a very happy camper..ahh, but I have a few memories like that and I can dream, right? :)
You pretty much can’t go wrong with cute and quaint little cafes and foodie spots in La Jolla, Del Mar and Encinitas, or really anywhere in the San Diego area. So happy you explored and had this time and next time I hope I’m at home when you’re in my hometown!
“those “shooting from the car pictures” never seem to pan out! I try to take a shot of the ocean and all I get is a concrete highway median.” <– Lol and it's the same for me.
The HDR images are so cool!! I need to try my hand at those. Wow!
Well fell in LOVE with Encinitas…could honestly imagine moving there someday! I laughed at the yoga studio thing because I saw a bunch of yoga studios while there.
Wow Ange, the HDR images are amazing! Totally need to learn that trick with my camera! And San Diego.. you’ve convinced me that I need to go. Gorgeous sunsets, the food (especially that cupcake).. looks like a perfect trip.