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!
Hi Angela! LOVE the HDR format! You should try taking some photos of your home and deck and putting them in HDR – notice how your photos with angels and architechture/structures change in HDR and create amazing features never imagined possible in 2-D?!!
Angela, you’re awesome
Oh, this post made me so happy! We lived in Carlsbad for a year and would eat at Lotus all the time! We definitely miss it and would love to move back one of these days. Happy you enjoyed your trip!
WOW those HDR photos are SO amazing!! I haven’t heard of that. My favourite is the NYC one. You should frame those. :) I love when restaurants can easily serve vegans and omnivores, which is really rare here.
Those HDR pictures are so cool! Looks like you had a great time in San Diego!
This HDR stuff sounds intense!! I wanna learn too now~:) And whooooaaa such gorgeous photos! I always can’t help but think how small we really are in light of all creation! But still so significant…
It still boggles my mind that Cali is cheaper than Canada!! After my fiance (who’s from Kansas) told me that you can buy a huge house in Kansas with the money you pay for apartment rent in Cali, I thought nothing would beat that. :P
oh btw! Hehe…perhaps you can do a giveaway with your beautiful photos!!!! :D
Those sunset pictures are so beautiful, and I’m glad you had a great time! I would like to visit California one day :)
Great HDR pics.
That cupcake looks amazing! Great photos as usual.
Gorgeous photos Angela!
Hi Angela, thank you for this website. I’m new to this way of eating and I have to say I really love it! I was wondering when we can expect to see a cookbook from you? Also, I was wondering what a typical day of meals looks like for you….and how often do you indulge on the yummy treats found on your recipage!?! Thanks!
I scrolled through the comments to see if someone answered but didn’t see it; if I missed it I apologize for the double post.
Your beach ‘roadrunners’ look like Sanderlings.
They breed in the high Arctic and winter on pretty much every beach in the world. It seems they like to play tag with the tide. :)
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/sanderling/lifehistory
WOW those HDR shots are amazing! I didn’t even know you could do that. They’re beautiful!
You have so much fun on vacation and go to such fantastic looking eateries….I would love to travel with you….I never thought of New York as somewhere I wanted to go, but it is on my bucket list now! Thanks for sharing!
Oh you found my neighborhood cafe!! Hope you had a fun visit to Encinitas!
How do you get the 3D effect on your photos. …. You’ve done an awesome job … I certainly would be framing some of these :).
I love what you do!!