Carlsbad, CA {with a touch of San Diego}

I can't way we actually went to "San Diego" because we only spent one night there, in the Gaslamp Quarters. We spent most of our time in Carlsbad, visiting with my cousin and his family. Carlsbad is the suburb of San Diego with easy access to the city and nearby beaches. We went shopping at the Carlsbad Outlets {Austin took me on a photo shoot}, went to the Carlsbad State beach, and had pizza and beer at Pizza Porto, a local brewpub in downtown Carlsbad, which was delish!

In the evening time, we went to La Jolla to visit the Children's Pool, where families of sea lions have taken up residence. It was a beautiful night to watch the sea lions play and the tide roll in as the sun set. The weather in San Diego was perfect, and I hear it's like that year round. We were able to soak in some sun during the day and enjoy a nice breeze in the evening. 

The following day, Gerald and I headed to San Diego's Gaslamp quarters to finish off our Thanksgiving weekend down south. We stayed at the W Hotel, which was very pleasant and cheap {for a W Hotel}, I might add. What sucked though, was the valet! Another $25 on top of the $120 room rate. I swear, California gets you with their valet parking. We need to do a bit more research when booking hotels now {check valet parking rate}. It was located closer to Little Italy than the Gaslamp, so we had to cab it to dinner that night, but still close enough. We were a bit hesitant walking around the streets of downtown SD. Gosh, how I miss Aberdeen's safety.

Anyhow, we found a local eatery called, Neighborhood, to dine in and then enjoyed some beers at another bar called, The Hopping Pig.  Gaslamp is like 4th, 5th and 6th street Austin, with lots of bars, restaurants, and shops all within walking distance of each other. It was actually quite a busy night so it was fun to people watch.

We barely touched the surface of SD, so will definitely be coming back some time in the near future. Of course, we will always make a stop in Carlsbad so Gerald can get some more iPad lessons from Sophie =)