After over a year, we are finally back on the road!
Because of busy work schedules & the COVID-19 pandemic, Joseph & I spent the last year mostly in our homes, waiting for the opportune time to resume our travels. When it came time to plan our honeymoon, it didn’t seem there was any question in what we would do. Now given the opportunity to splurge a little, we decided to book a flight to one of the distant states that would be most difficult to cross off of our 50-state bucket list. To make the most of it, we planned a two-week road trip to knock three west coast states off of our list: California, Oregon & Washington.
Joseph & I awoke far too early Monday morning, less than two full days after we tied the knot. A two-week road trip & a DIY wedding both require a lot of forethought & planning, which meant we were up late Sunday night packing our bags & making sure we had everything we needed. Around 10:30 that night, I finally crashed & took myself to bed, & Joseph joined me an hour & a half later, meaning when we awoke, I had gained a mere three hours of sleep, & Joseph had just half of that. Despite this, our excitement pulled us out of bed & tackling our first to-do’s.
I absolutely hate flying. I’m not as afraid of it as I used to be, but I just find it immensely uncomfortable. I’m not the type of person who can sit in one place for very long, so sitting for hours on end in an uncomfortable chair flying in the sky is not my idea of a luxury vacation. To get all of my jitters out, I went for a short three-mile run our street-lamp lit neighborhood. Meanwhile, Joseph drove to a nearby Wawa to buy coffee & breakfast for our awesome best man & brother, Jon, who was getting up far too early after a very busy weekend to drive us to the airport.
Checking our bags & security went smoothly. I haven’t flown much in my life, but, thankfully, I remembered everything I needed from my family trip to Arizona last year & I was able to guide us through our first checkpoints. Joseph ordered some Chick-fil-A for breakfast, & we sat together, butterflies in our stomach, waiting to board our flight.
Our first flight was four-and-a-half hours long. For the first hour, we tried in vain to get some sleep. When that proved fruitless, I got out my computer to enter our road trip itinerary into my calendar, & to open a new document & write down absolutely everything I remembered from our wedding day. Joseph pulled out his laptop as well to sort through hours of precious footage from our the same day. We had not payed for a videographer; instead, we had asked members of our wedding party & family to capture videos from our day to compile our own vlog (stay tuned for that!). Everyone we asked went above & beyond what we ever expected or even dreamed of, & I was brought to tears multiple times peering over Joseph’s shoulder at the screen.
We had a two-and-a-half hour layover in Phoenix, where we got some brunch. With the time change & how early we woke up, we were both bleary-eyed, exhausted & very hungry at what was now 8:00 in the morning. To eat what we both figured would be our final healthy meal of the trip, we ordered some salads from Panera Bread & sat down next to some fellow travelers, one of whom now lived in Phoenix after traveling for years in her camper! Traveling full-time is something that comes up frequently in Joseph’s & my conversations, but for now, I think we are content just making it a regular part of our life together while continuing to live close to family & pursuing our respective careers.
Our second flight was just a little over an hour. We sat down next to a woman named Melissa, who was traveling home from sending one of her daughters to college & watching the other daughter get engaged! We spent a good portion of the flight chatting about weddings & things to do in San Diego. She recommended to us a restaurant in Old Town San Diego called Casa de Reyes for some authentic Mexican food, which we immediately added to our notes, & she also gave us the name of a biking trail off of the boardwalk that sounded like fun.
We finally arrived in sunny San Diego in the early afternoon. We stepped out into the warm, summer air with excited smiles on our faces. We called for an Uber to take us to an Airbnb, a cozy loft apartment over our host’s home that featured a balcony overlooking a neatly manicured yard with a thick palm tree growing up through the center.
We changed into our bathing suits & headed first to Mission Beach. Our first look at the West Coast was exhilarating. The ocean waves crashed deafeningly against the sand, sending a wind up to the boardwalk that blew back our hair & clothes.
The one thing we didn’t expect was how chilly the beach & water would be. I knew the California coast would be cooler than Maryland, but the water was absolutely freezing. Coupling that with the cooler, low-humidity California air made for a much chillier beach experience than I was expecting. We both ran into the waves to at least be able to say that we plunged into the Pacific Ocean, & then we decided to walk along the boardwalk instead.
For dinner, we had reservations at Bandar Restaurant in the Gaslamp Quarter, a Persian restaurant that we found excellent reviews for online. Globe lights hung from the awning, while dim light filled the dining room. Since it was our first fancy night out of our honeymoon, we ordered a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon to enjoy with our meal. For starters, we ordered the best spanakopita I have ever tasted (salty, creamy & with a perfectly balanced herby, spinach & feta flavor) & a basil pesto hummus with thin, crispy, pita bread squares. For dinner, Joseph ordered Barg, a marinated & charbroiled filet mignon served with basmati & saffron rice, & I ordered the Wild King Salmon, which was also charbroiled & seasoned with garlic, lemon & saffron & served with grilled vegetables. Both dishes were good, but I wish we had shared. It was so much food – I would have preferred smaller dishes with more variety of flavors rather than the large slab of meat. But it was still delicious & gave us lots of leftovers.
We headed back to our Airbnb & finally crashed in bed around 11:00. We had been awake for a full 24 hours after only a few hours rest & were desperately in need for a good night’s sleep.
Despite the lack of rest, we still woke up at a decent time Tuesday morning feeling ready to explore. We headed first to Mission Beach, where we rented bikes & explored the trail Melissa had recommended. We ended up biking about 13 miles, & although it was tiring, we had a blast. The water was gorgeous, & our trail led us around the entirety of Mission Bay & through the streets of busy San Diego.
Famished from our long ride, we headed to Old Town San Diego for lunch. Again, per Melissa’s suggestion, we went to Casa de Reyes, & we were not disappointed. For a starter, we had chips with homemade salsa & fresh guacamole topped with chopped tomatoes & queso fresco. Within seconds of our starter being served, our main dish was also brought to our table on large warm plates. I ordered ‘Armadillo’ shrimp, which were bacon wrapped shrimp stuffed with crab & pepperjack cheese & drizzled with a creamy & spicy chipotle aioli. On the side was black beans with cheese & a zesty & fresh-tasting corn salad. Joseph ordered Mar y Tierra, which included the ‘Armadillo’ shrimp as well as succulent grilled skirt steak, frijoles puercos served in a corn tortilla, ensalada de nopales, guacamole, & pico de gallo served with warm flour tortillas. I have never had more delicious Mexican food. It was the perfect balance of salt, spice, & subtle sweetness that delighted our taste buds. To drink, Joseph ordered an El Rey Mojito made with Matusalem rum & agave nectar instead of sugar, & I ordered a specialty margarita called La Riviera Maya, which was a refreshing yet sweet blend of Frida Kahlo blanco tequila, Matusalem rum, coconut, strawberry, & pineapple juice.
Stuffed from lunch, we decided to stroll around the town. Surrounding the restaurant were a number of small shops filled with items shipped from Mexico or made by local artisans. We stumbled into a vegan chocolate shop, & despite still being full, we couldn’t help ourselves from ordering a small truffle each & a hot latte. Nibble Chocolate is a healthy chocolate store that makes its candy with just two ingredients: fresh cacao & sugar. There is no added milk or additives for preservation or added creaminess. Despite this, it is some of the creamiest, most delicious chocolate I have ever tasted. I ordered a lemon truffle, which had just the perfect amount of fresh lemon flavor to not be overbearing but to add just a touch of acid to the normally sweet treat. Joseph ordered a coffee truffle, & we both ordered lattes to go.
We continued walking into the nearby state park, where we visited Cousin’s Candy Shop to buy some freshly pulled salt water taffy for later (Joseph had never tried salt water taffy before!), & then continued window shopping until we were ready to go back to the Airbnb. We walked over a mile to a nearby grocery store to pick up some essentials for our upcoming road trip, & then took an Uber back to our Airbnb to rest after another long day.
For our third & final day in San Diego, we woke up early & headed to Balboa Park, where we hiked the Florida Canyon Trail. I have never seen succulents so big! They were just as large as the cacti we passed. I wish the ones in my pots at home grew to that size.
After completing the short trek, it was time to visit one of the spots I was most looking forward to – the San Diego Zoo. I love animals, & I bought us tickets to the zoo months ago. As always, the elephants were my favorite, & we spent a large chunk of our time watching them walk around & eat. I got a little sad when I saw the polar bears in the summer heat, but a quick search online assured me that they are comfortable in the San Diego climate. The San Diego Zoo is committed to animal care & conservation of endangered species around the world, which is why I felt at ease visiting. As Joseph & I walked around, it was apparent that the zoo had made large efforts to keep the animals as comfortable & content as possible. Every section of the zoo was like walking into a new habitat, & all of the different animal homes were spacious, some of which even extending over top of the trail & into large rooms we had to carefully enter to not let them escape by accident.
We ate a semi-satisfactory meal at the Treetop Cafe (the food was good, but over-priced, as zoo food tends to be), & then we headed back into Balboa Park to explore. We went into the Spanish Village Art Center, where a number of local artisans had created shops filled with detailed paintings, delicate pottery, life-size statues, & more. We stopped by Daniel’s Coffee for some refreshments, & then walked around Balboa Park, stopping to stroll around the botanical gardens, admired the architecture, & listen to musicians.
As the afternoon waned, we called an Uber & headed to the Gaslamp Quarter, where we perused the shops until it was time for our reservation at The Lion’s Share. We had made the reservation when we saw that the restaurant offered charcuterie, the meal we served at our wedding. Because we ate very little at our reception, we wanted to have the chance to eat this delicious dish again. We sat down at our table & were surprised when our server brought us two glasses of champagne to toast our nuptials. We ordered the charcuterie, a starter on the menu, & enjoyed it with our sparkling wine. The charcuterie board changes daily at The Lion’s Share to feature whatever is most fresh – on this day, it had goat cheese, honey, strawberry compote, pickled mushrooms & cauliflower, whole-grain mustard, imported meats from Italy, & even more mouth-watering foods to create endless delicious combinations.
We were still hungry after finishing, so we ordered Duck in a Hole (another starter) & the Seared Scallops to share for an entreé. To drink, I ordered the Treehouse Realtor, a fruity mix of tequila, Campari, passionfruit, lime & soda, & Joseph ordered the St. Elizabeth Sexy Party, a much more bitter drink made with bourbon, cinnamon, chocolate bitters, & allspice dram. The Duck in a Hole could easily be my new favorite brunch dip. The runny egg yolk was tamed with creamy gravy & the savory duck, while the herb salad on the side gave a touch of earthiness. We sopped up the leftovers with the thick, perfectly buttered & toasted slice of bread. The seared scallops were served over a bed of soft couscous with a pool of creamy garlic sauce, & the result was a dreamy combination of saltiness & tang that was balanced by the delicate starchy flavor of the couscous. We cleared our plates &, despite our stomachs being full, still stared longingly at the menu, wanting to try more.
We took an Uber home & spent the evening organizing & re-packing our bags for the adventure ahead. Tomorrow, we will be renting a truck & heading to Los Angeles to officially begin the road trip portion of our honeymoon.
It feels so good to be back on the road. After over a year-long hiatus, Joseph & I both immediately feel back at home. Traveling is one of the things we do best together. Working together & exploring new cultures & experiences brings us closer, making it the perfect activity to do for our honeymoon. It’s ironic to me that we began our travels together just after the proposal, & now here we are, resuming our travels just after our wedding. I simply cannot thank enough all of the people who have supported us & helped to get us to this moment. We would not be who we are without you.
Now, let’s go on another (long-awaited) adventure together.
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