Mini Vacation~ San Diego [picture heavy]

So, I guess if you follow me on my other social networks, you might know my friends and I went on our yearly San Diego stay for a small summer vacation type thing.

It's the one trip I look forward too since, a bunch of us gals pile into a car and pretend we're room mates for a week and just relax at the beach and pool.

This year, we had a bit more of an adventure, and it was well worth it.

Our first day we drove out to Coronado Island, which we were told was extremely picturesque and had so many beautiful and unique houses. 

So, I put together a beachy OOTD consisting of all Brandy Melville and my JC Litas.

Our first stop was the Coronado Hotel, which was HUGE and really swanky. The hotel opened up to the long stretch of white sand and blue ocean.  They were even setting up for a wedding, how pretty would that be at night? Right?

You can rent bikes or surrey bikes to explore the beach, and it was just so picturesque.

This is what the Coronado Hotel looks like, or at least part of it. The inside is all wood and feels very rich.

They also have their own garden, which I thought was really lovely.

The hotel has different parts, so we went in, and there was a beautiful courtyard with a gazebo. The hotel really felt like an old mansion and it was pretty magical. Also, a great reprieve from the heat, haha~

We then went out to walk around the main kind of shopping area/ tourist area, and all the shops were so cute and unique. Same with the surrounding houses. Each house, along with business had their own personality and flair.. I ended up feeling weird taking pictures of someone else's house, I felt it was stepping on someone's privacy, so I didn't end up doing so.
After all the walking around we went to this cute malt shop and bought some malts and ice cream to enjoy before heading home. On a random note, getting a mint malt isn't as great as it might sound.

After settling in, we drove around to find good food and came across Native Foods Cafe, which became our obsession during the trip. It's basically all vegan food, at an affordable price, it's just amazingly delicious! We ended up ordering Native every night for dinner. Seriously, I would go vegan if I could cook like they do.

The following day, we went to the San Diego Zoo. Basically, it was the one thing we all wanted to do as a group so we all saved up to finally do so.

The day previous we went to Brandy Melville and I went on a shopping spree and bought more BM items, so I wore a comfy outfit with my new pieces. Then, finished off with comfortable tennis shoes.

If you plan on going to the zoo, we went right at opening and stayed till closing and still felt rushed and didn't see everything. But what we did see was well worth it.

Napping flamingos, I thought they were quite endearing.

This cute capuchin, that made me really sad it was in a cage. He looked so forlorn.

A pretty amethyst bird, that for some reason reminded me of my friend Lorina, aprilfoolromance on blogspot. I thought it was so gorgeous.

Some kind of king fisher??? He looked pretty chill, and his colouring was pretty.

We saw the gorillas, and one kept vomiting into her hand then eating it... Over and over...

A really cute fluffy bird. At this point, I hope you can tell I love birds.

This is a hanging parrot, and they all like chilling upside down and playing like acrobats on the branches, they were so entertaining!

This super fluffy dove was so cute also~

I also really like reptiles, I had a lot of pictures of snakes and other reptiles, but I loved the picture of this crocodile I took. The eyes are so pretty, I couldn't resist sharing it.

The one thing I love at the zoo is that their peacocks roam around the entrance and hang out like they own the place. They're so pretty, but I find them pretty intimidating, so I'm glad this time, they stayed up in the trees.

Now for the reason we went to the zoo, at least my highlight, the koalas!!

Of course I roped my friend into snapping pictures of me playing around the koala photo spot.
But, I had to, especially since my friends insist that if I were to look similar to any animal, it would be a koala.

The moms around me were chuckling because I was climbing on the tree like a kid.

I thought the secretary bird looked really similar to a griffin. They were just so regal and gorgeous.

Happy surprise, the zoo had a sloth! Which is my friend's favourite animal.

For my other friend we spend time in the panda section for her to enjoy all the pandas, her favourite.

Peekaboo~ I see the panda baby.

By the time we left the panda section, all the shops were sadly closed, my friend wanted some panda merch. So we took pictures in front of the cherry blossom trees that were made of glass.

Also, a pic with my cousin~ Such polar opposites, but fun fact; Our parents are best friends and we were born 3 days apart in the same hospital and were basically raised together.

Exhausted after a long day.

The day following, we walked to the San Diego Fair. Which thankfully isn't far from our hotel so we got to avoid the crazy traffic and parking.

Another Brandy Melville OOTD. New wedges from ASOS.

We spent a lot of time in the botanical and garden section of the fair, close to three hours. But it ends up all of us really enjoy that kind of thing.

They even had wedding displays to show off some of the flora and talent.

I also fell in love with lavender roses, sadly since it was so hot, they did look a tad droopy.

One of the dahlias had a little ladybug hiding out in it's petals.

There was also tons of mini flowers and arrangements on top of beautiful landscaping in a theme of 'The Beetles'

Sadly after that, my camera died~ 

Soo, the rest is using my phone. We went to see the animals and went on a few rides, yummy artichoke and some corn, then finished the day with a scenic ride overlooking the whole fair.

Our last day we sent to eat brunch at Cafe 222, which is what we do every year. We really love it.

My outfit was a the Unif Bummer sweater with another Brandy Melville dress under and my Litas. Comfy, yet stylish.

Every time we go, I always take pictures of the teacup lighting, but I am just so obsessed with it. It's too cute.

Pesto + eggs with hash.

Banana bread french toast.

Cornbread waffle.

After brunch, we went back to the hotel, swam at the pool for the last time, packed our things and set off home.

I can't wait for next year's trip, and the fun that will be had.

<3CarisseIris