Instagram-worthy fun in the San Diego sun

ashleynritchie

Oct 9, 20185 min read

If you follow me on Instagram (@ashleynritchie), you know my sister Alyssa and I took a mini-vacation to California last week. Well, we were mainly there because she had to accept a national award, the 2018 AOF LEAD Scholar Award, at The American Osteopathic Foundation’s Annual Honors Gala (a separate post coming soon). Yay! So, we hopped on a plane and spent three days of fun in the San Diego sun. Check out 10 Instagram-worthy hot spots we found in America's Finest City.

Old Town

Old Town, the birthplace of California, was my favorite stop in San Diego. Old Town State Historic Park is full of historic sites and traditional Mexican restaurants. We ventured into the Fiesta de Reyes plaza and had dinner at Casa de Reyes. We both enjoyed delicious tacos, rice and beans, as well as complimentary chips and salsa. Adjacent to the restaurant is a stage that features free, live music every single night of the week. A variety of specialty shops are located in the courtyard and also line the streets, selling unique gifts and souvenirs to tourists from all over the world. On our way out we made sure to stop by Old Town Market. The market has over 40 stores filled with Mexican ceramics, San Diego souvenirs, jewelry, art and more. Fiesta forever!

4002 Wallace Street San Diego, CA 92110

Pigment

Pigment is a cute little shop located in North Park. From decorative art, succulents and kitchen supplies, to jewelry, stationary and graphic tees, this gem has a little bit of everything. Shoppers can snap a photo in front of the giant pink striped wall or cute 70's banner that reads hugs and high fives outside the store or take a break from browsing and jump into the store's photo booth inside. Isn't that the most lovely photo booth backdrop you've ever seen?

3801 30th Street

San Diego, CA 92104

Greetings from San Diego mural

My second Greetings from mural — San Diego! After spotting my first mural in Orlando earlier this year, I decided to do some research. Here's what I found out: Greetings Tour is a cross country mural project. Victor Ving (a muralist) and Lisa Beggs (a photographer) started traveling out of their RV in 2015, creating landmarks through public art. Using the classic large letter postcard style, the pair have completed 30 murals in 15 different states. Their mission is to paint in every state in the United States — so cool!

4223 30th Street San Diego, CA 92104

Hammond's Gourmet Ice Cream

What's better than an ice cream cone? Flights of ice cream! So here's the scoop: San Diego's unique ice cream shop, Hammond's Gourmet Ice Cream, is known for their miniature ice cream flights. They have over 300 flavors of Tropical Dreams super premium, Hawaiian ice cream and sorbet. They offer flights of 2 to 6 or a flight of 32 in sugar or waffle cones — and feel free to mix and match. We went with a flight of 6 and chose the following flavors: Blueberry Freckle, Butter Pecan, Chocolate Chocolate Chip, Mango Sorbet, Peanut Butter Oreos and Strawberry. My favorite flavor was Blueberry Freckle — truly happiness on a cone!

3077 University Avenue San Diego, CA 92104

Favorite Color mural

What's your favorite color baby? As a child, Roy McMakin enjoyed childhood discussions centered around color preference. He found, as an adult, that most people still enjoy sharing what their favorite color is. So, he began asking people their favorite color, presenting them with a selection of 4 to 6 colors, and having them choose the one that was closest to the color they liked best. The end result: the Favorite Color mural in La Jolla. How could this fun mural not brighten up someone's day?

7596 Eads Avenue La Jolla, CA 92037

La Jolla

La Jolla is one of the top beach destinations in the world and I now see why — it is beautiful! Home to La Jolla Cove and the Children’s Pool Beach, it’s surrounded by cliffs and is a popular viewing spot for harbor seals. I found out that almost 250 seals and sea lions call La Jolla home and they love to sun bathe on the beach – now that’s the life! Just remember, no selfies with the seals. North of the cove are sea caves. Although we did not have time to explore, Sunny Jim Cave is actually easy to get to through The Cave Store. Just pay a small fee and you’ll get access to a staircase that leads right to the cave.

834 Coast Boulevard South

La Jolla, CA 92037

Atypical Waffle Company

Located next to a hipster laundromat, Atypical Waffle Company is not your normal eatery. They only sell waffles and are located in an alley with backyard style seating. And if that's not interesting enough, check out their signage, Star Wars skateboard benches, and funny tabletop napkin dispensers. Alyssa and I both had the Nutella Chocolate Lovers waffle. It was topped with hazelnut Nutella, strawberries and cream. In addition to sweet waffles, they also sell not as sweet and savory waffles. This unusual little place is definitely worth checking out if you're in Southern California and it's sure to satisfy your sweet (or savory) tooth.

3519 30th Street San Diego, CA 92104

Little Italy

Take me to Little Italy, per favore. On our last day in San Diego we strolled the streets of Little Italy. The area offers so many cafes, restaurants, boutiques and art galleries. We grabbed a slice of San Diego’s best wood-fired pizza at Isola Pizza Bar and shopped til’ we dropped at local shops Love & Aesthetics, Rosamariposa and Vitreum. Our hotel, Porto Vista Hotel, was also located in Little Italy. We ate breakfast each morning at the hotel’s restaurant, The Glass Door, and took full advantage of the all you can eat lemon poppy seed muffins. Plus, check out that view!

1835 Columbia Street San Diego, CA 92101

Peace, Love & Pizza mural

While walking the streets of North Park we stumbled upon another eye-catching mural. And this one cannot be topped! Peace, love & pizza. Enough said.

Pacific Beach

Okay, I'm not going to lie. We came for The Baked Bear but we stayed for the beach! Baked Bear Pacific Beach was the custom ice cream sandwich shop's first location. Creating your ice cream sandwich is easy peasy:

1. Choose your top and bottom cookie flavor

2. Choose your ice cream

3. Choose your toppings

4. Choose to get your sandwich warmed up

I chose funfetti cookies with birthday cake ice cream. Alyssa picked cookies and cream cookies with old fashioned vanilla ice cream. One word: delicious. After our dessert binge, we shopped next door at Brandy Melville and Urban Outfitters. I snagged a pair of tortoise shell hoops and gold snake studs for under $10.

Then, we hit the beach! San Diego is sunny and in the seventies year-round. I thought it may be chilly but it's actually perfect beach weather — not too hot, not too cold. Pacific Beach was gorgeous and full of hustle and bustle. My favorite part was discovering Crystal Pier Hotel's Cape Cod style cottages. People can stay overnight in these cottages and park their cars right outside on the pier. If I ever make it back to San Diego, I know where I'm sleeping — over the ocean!