California
Girls Weekend Getaway
My momma turned 70 this spring, so my sister, daughter and I decided we needed to take a little trip to celebrate her. The four of us booked a weekend getaway to LA and we had the absolute best time! We drove our way through California and saw everything we could. I'd recommend not spending too much time in one place for every vacation after experiencing one like this. Each day brings you something new and exciting!
Day one: We arrived at LAX, rented a car and headed straight toward our first destination: Laguna Beach. We took the 405 to Long Beach and ate lunch at Saint & Second. The Cobb salad was fantastic.
After lunch, we continued our way to Laguna Beach, taking the coast all the way down. The drive was one of the most beautiful scenic routes. The homes were nothing short of impressive. So much to look at!
We rented a little apartment Airbnb right across the street from the Montage Resort which has public beach access to one of the most gorgeous beaches I've ever been to. The views are absolutely stunning. Major European vibes.
The evening was capped off with a private harbor cruise up in Newport Beach. It was an hour and a half of pure relaxation and joy on the water. The hosts were so gracious and kind, and their sailboat was so beautiful. We brought with a charcuterie style dinner and a bottle of wine to enjoy from the grocery store a block from our place. Best start to the weekend! 10/10
Day two: We packed up and continued down the coast until we reached Oceanside. We hopped out to stretch our legs and walked the pier. The sand and water had actual gold flecks in it. It was mind-blowingly beautiful. I’d never seen sand like that before. We enjoyed sorbet from a street vendor while we walked the beach and pier.
Then we headed northeast on 15 to Temecula: Wine Country. I wanted to unpack my bags for forever in Temecula. The community is everything you could want. Gorgeous vineyards everywhere, endless shopping, attractive neighborhoods... It. was. perfect.
(Be sure to pack a cooler bag and ice packs for buying a bottle of wine, or keeping food cold in the hot car.)
We decided to head straight to Wilson Creek winery. A personal choice flight of 6, 1-2oz pours was $25. That was such a fun experience! The grounds were stunning and the service was outstanding. 10/10
There's a new winery in town we were told to check it out by a couple locals. Altisima has one of the best views out there overlooking vineyards and mountains. We ordered lunch and had a wine flight before heading back to check in to our next Airbnb.
After relaxing a bit at the new house, we decided to check out Old Town. It. was. hoppin' - the bars and restaurants were packed. Parking was difficult so when we finally got a spot we just got some ice cream, walked the streets, and then headed back to crash.
Day three: Before heading out, we woke up at 6am to grab coffee and hoped to see the local hot air balloons take off. The Grape Escape was the closest place to our stay so we headed that way when we saw one in the sky! Then pulled over to watch them fly when we felt close enough. It was one of the coolest things I've ever seen at sunrise. So magical. Wish I was brave enough to go up in one!
After a quick stop to Bruegger's, we headed to Chino Hills for church at Calvary Chapel Chino Hills to see Jack Hibbs preach. If you've never watched him on YouTube, please do. It's such a blessing to hear his messages. He’s an amazing teacher.
After church, we headed into the LA area for the day. A lot more traffic in this area! We only wanted a light lunch at this point so we stopped into Joe's Pizza on Hollywood Blvd for a quick slice. Cheap and delicious. We tried looking for our favorite actors names on the street stars but they went on forever. We didn’t see many we knew, oddly enough.
We booked a Hollywood Bus Tour that afternoon to get a guided glimpse of the area. I feel like it was worth it - our driver was great and we got to see things that would have taken a lot of map planning to do on our own. She pointed out celebrity homes and we learned some history of LA. This wasn't the intended highlight area of the trip, so it was nice to buzz through but still getting the gist.
After the tour, we hopped in our car and drove to Marina del Ray area to check into our last Airbnb. It was a gorgeous and quiet neighborhood on the marina. It seemed like people vs dogs was an equal ratio. The entire community was populated with dogs - stunk like a toilet in some areas with faux grass around the buildings, but it was beautiful nonetheless.
We walked over to the Marriott for dinner at their Brizo bar and restaurant. Their lobby was gorgeous. More dogs under everyone's table. Interesting community we're just not used to living in. The food, drinks and atmosphere on the water was just perfect.
After dinner, we saw electric Bird scooters so we hopped on them and rode around for a while. That was so much fun! Even my mom had a go - we could not stop laughing! Highly recommend it.
Day four: We checked out and headed up the coast to Malibu. It's fascinating how each direction has something different to offer for sights. Many of the houses along the beach had security guards standing in front of the garage and gate. Someone important lives in those homes! We tried to spot a celebrity the entire trip but no avail.
The Santa Monica Pier was on the way to Malibu. We only stopped to look around, and didn't stay to play. We came, we saw, we left.
The sightseeing in Malibu is breathtaking. We pulled off at a random spot and couldn't believe our eyes. The day was overcast and moody - so beautiful! We walked down the bluffs to the ocean and strolled the beach for a while.
We kept on our way through Malibu and drove up into the mountains to look at all of the beautiful homes. Those cliffs are no joke! Quite nerve racking to drive around them. Incredible country out there. The skies cleared up the higher we went, then became overcast when we came back down again. Fascinating.
On our way to the airport, we grabbed lunch at the iconic In-N-Out Burger. Love the company morals, but it was you basic fast food. You can’t go to California and not eat there!
This was such a fantastic trip, and I highly recommend trying to see a lot of a large area instead of spending all of your time in one place. We all feel fully refreshed and can't pick just one favorite highlight - each day brought us something new and we loved it all!
