Kenzie and I took an 18-day trip to Southern California, and had the best time. We got to spend time with each other, with Jeff, and with extended family, and still had time to explore and do all the things. I figured I’d share our itinerary, because it was logistical perfection and I hope we get a chance to do it all over again.
Day 1 – July 28 – Costa Mesa
Flew from O’Hare to John Wayne airport in Orange County, CA. Checked into the Voco Hotel and headed straight over to South Coast Plaza for soup dumpling action at Din Tai Fung. Spent the rest of the day window shopping and visiting the brick-and-mortar location of one of my favorite brands, Topologie. Hong Kong-based Topologie was founded in 2018 by rock-climbing enthusiasts, and you can see their passion reflected in all their products. Their bags feature climbing-rope accents and carabiners, and much of the system is designed to be modular and interchangeable. What I really love, though, is how smart the designs are. For example, I have one of their large Sacoche bags, and between the two pouches that hold your things, there’s an external space defined by bungee cords where you can slip a water bottle or umbrella. It’s like they looked at the negative space between the compartments and thought, “Why shouldn’t that be storage, too?” I’ve even slipped my cell phone in there, it’s so handy.
Day 2 – July 29 – Whittier
We drove from Costa Mesa to Whittier to visit my amazing Aunt Vivian. I had a work call first thing, and due to timing, I had to park in downtown Whittier and Zoom in from the car. I rewarded Kenzie’s patience with a trip to the Wishing Well to shop their squishy section. Absolutely a fair trade! Then over to Aunt Vivian’s where we got to tour her garden, her mosaic art installations, and her glass studio.
Day 3 – July 30 – Irvine
Booked a ring making class at Gem Studio, located at Irvine Spectrum Mall. That was so much fun! We got to do everything from shaping, to welding, to polishing. Conveniently, TuTuFun had a squishy drop, so Kenzie got the joy of waiting in line for a drop. I also managed to get completely turned around, so we spent an hour trying to find the car, but then we were rewarded with a yummy lunch at Melt.
Day 4 – July 31 – Catalina Island
Drove to San Clemente to return the car, and on the way, found the Rainbow Sandals Factory Outlet! I have wanted a pair of their leather flip flops for awhile, and was so happy to find some. At the outlet, they have a whole wall of flip flops that were refurbished or with small blemishes, and I found an amazing pair that Kenzie subsequently stole from me. Then we caught a Lyft to the Catalina Express, and ferried over to Catalina Island. Kenzie was a little seasick, but managed to hold it together. Once we got to the islance, we checked into Hotel Catalina (now known as Studio 9), then ventured out to Vons to pick up water and snacks. We walked around, then back to the hotel to eat microwave meals and watch Devil Wears Prada 1 and 2.
Day 5 – August 1 – Catalina Island
Bought a bag of fish food for $3, and fed fish from the Yellow Dock. It was so awesome to see them swarm! Then took the submarine tour, where Kenzie got to push a button to torpedo food out to the fishies. Saw a bunch of garibaldi, calico bass, and even a turtle! After that, we got lunch, then I surprised her with a snorkel tour under the Casino. Such an amazing day, and it didn’t feel rushed or packed.
Day 6 – August 2 – Catalina Island
Golf cart rental! Woke up early to grab a golf cart, then headed into the mountains for breakfast at the Sandtrap. Then we went shopping and found Kenzie the most beautiful floral dress.
Day 7 – August 3 – Catalina Island/San Diego
I had four hours of back to back meetings in the morning, so I gave Kenzie $50 and told her she could go shopping. She was back in 30 minutes, and ended up spending the rest of the time on her phone. Afterwards, we did our last bit of souvenier shopping and I found a great sweatshirt for myself! Then we walked to the ferry landing, Kenzie took a dramamine, and the ride back to the mainland was easy peasy. From the Dana Point stop, we grabbed a Lyft and headed to the Amtrak station in San Juan Capistrano to catch the train down to San Diego. While we waited, we had snacks at Trevor’s at the Tracks (awesome whipped feta dip!). In San Diego, my parents picked us up and we went straight to In and Out before checking into Ayers Hotel in Alpine.
Day 8 – August 4 – La Jolla, UTC Mall
We had reservations at Din Tai Fung at UTC (University Town Center), so went there and did some shopping after. It’s so strange, as this is the mall I grew up with, but the only building that stayed the same is the ice rink. The Sears is gone, the Crown Books and Radio Shack are no longer. The little store where I’d get 12 pieces of licorice (loved the chocolate one) for $1 is gone. Now it’s a beautiful, meandering destination with higher end stores and lovely places to sit and people watch.
Day 9 – August 5 – Coronado
A nice easy day. We headed to Coronado Island (which is actually not an island, but I grew up saying Coronado Island, so it’s stuck in my system), and had a nice late lunch at Little Frenchie’s. This is an incredible, tiny restaurant best known for Parisian hot chocolate served in a croissant cup. That was delicious, but what was really impressive were the perfectly ripe strawberries that actually tasted like strawberries, and the mouth-filling, tummy satisfying raclette served tableside. Kenzie also ran into a popular YouTuber, FazeRug…and we made the background of one of his videos, lolol! For dinner, we met up with Dad at Hana Sushi in El Cajon, a family-run restaurant that has incredibly fresh sushi, and my favorite grilled yellowtail collar.
Day 10 – August 6 – Whittier
Took mom up to Whittier to visit with Aunt Vivian and Uncle Bobby. Then met up with Uncle Peter for dim sum.
Day 11 – August 7 – Carlsbad
If I could afford it, we’d be living in Carlsbad now. This small, beachside town reminds me of what La Jolla was like when I was growing up. A gentle, warm, beachside town covered in dappled sunshine. We went to Comman Goods and then Wildland for lunch. Anything served on their homemade woodfired pizza bread is incredible. Later that night, delicious carne asada burrito takout from Manana’s in Alpine on my parents’ patio.
Day 12 – August 8 – San Diego
Lunch at Anthony’s Grotto where I had a calamari steak sandwich, and we fed the ducks, fish, and turtles! Padres game with my cousin Ting! Who knew there was primo parking with private entrance at the Omni? Absolutely worth the extra dime. Then we hit Benihana’s for dinner on the way home. So fun.
Day 13 – August 9 – Mission Beach
Jeff arrived! We met him at Fashion Valley mall, where we had lunch. Then we checked into our AirBnB and walked over to Belmont Park. Found my new favorite San Diego restaurant, Nico’s Fish Market, where I had the best calamari steak sandwich ever. Even better than Anthony’s Grotto.
Day 14 – August 10 – Old Town
Meetings in the morning while Jeff and Kenzie hit the beach. I joined them, then we went to Old Town for dinner with Ting.
Day 15 – August 11 – Los Angeles
For our anniversary, I surprised Jeff with tickets to Universal Studio. We decided to head up to LA a day early to sightsee. Went to Newport Needlework (wouldn’t reccomend, old school attitude, landed genrty snobbery), the Ferris Bueller house, the Hollywood sign, and the Walk of Fame. Takeout ramen for dinner and Door Dash popsicles and blister kits for dessert.
Day 16 – August 12 – Los Angeles
Universal Studios is spectacular! Used ChatGPT to help plot rides and activities, and it worked like a charm. CityWalk for dinner before the long drive home.
Day 17 – August 13 – La Jolla
Took the local route through La Jolla to show Kenzie my childhood home (736 Fern Glen), Muirlands Jr High, and LJHS. Nautilus Street borders both MJHS and LJHS, and heads right to the water. It was the inspiration for my tattoo. Lunch at DTF, then I took mom into La Jolla to browse antiques, and into Mission Bay to show her my dream house. Back to Hana Sushi for dinner.
Day 18 – August 14 – Shelter Island
Tried to hit up Mitch’s Seafood, but it was too early, so just walked around before having lunch at In and Out. Kenzie and my flight was delayed, but Expedia treated us to a manicure and a massage, so it was actually really nice. Easy flight home, then we waited for Jeff at ORD!
