beach

SoCal SoFun!

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New Jersey has been my home my whole life and pretty much the same county even. Our journey traveling around the US has really opened my eyes to what could be. Even knowing NJ, especially our area, is one of the most expensive places in the country to live, it’s home. However, I think I have found where my heart would love to call home…the Santa Barbara area.

Needless to say it also shares the title of one of the most expensive places to live in the US. Worse off, it’s on the opposite coast from all of the people I love. What draws me to this area of SoCal? The salt life, the perfect year round weather, you’re within reach of everything you could need, want, and not know you wanted, there is so much to do, and it’s just perfect all of the time!

We were originally camping up in the mountains (pix above) of Oso (for those moms tortured by Agent Oso sorry for the memories this rehashes for you). Being up there in the mountains provided some killer hiking but we were so secluded from all of the good stuff. So we moved to the beach (if you didn’t know this yet…IG!) and are LOVING it!

So, I did what any right-minded woman would do and called a realtor to put our NJ sticks and bricks up on the market and started looking for a new sticks and bricks here. Just kidding! For our time here, I am just going to soak in all of the beauty, weather, salty air, great stuff, culture, and perfectness. The girls are definitely enjoying it here and Shaun is off paragliding and getting certified and there is four very happy Hammans 24 hours a day! We checked out the Santa Barbara pier and Channel Islands National Park, both gorgeous!

Currently, I am sitting outside, listening to the waves crash, every so often getting a light sea spray, soaking in the Vitamin D, watching the girls explore their findings from the beach this morning, all while the palm trees sway above, the boats and surfers sail by and I savor it all!

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California…no doubt about it

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We arrived on Wednesday to San Diego and it was beautiful! I get why people live there without a doubt. We loved the KOA there with their beautiful pool, jumping pillows, huge laundry room, book exchange, and handy store. However, the San Diego zoo was the highlight of that location.

Not being a huge zoo person, but still so excited to hit this iconic place. We spent the whole day there. Starting with the guided bus tour we made our list of what we must-see because I read it’s almost impossible to see the whole thing in one day. Most of our time was spent in the new Africa Rocks area. The whole place is just beautiful! Wish we could’ve seen the Safari Park area but we chose the zoo portion as the #1.

Friday we chilled poolside during the AM and then ventured out for the evening. We went to the Cabrillo National Monument. The tide pools there are super cool! This was the girls first time ever and our first time on this journey touching the Pacific Ocean…MONUMENTAL! After splashing, finding shells, touching all of the cool sea creatures, we headed into the visitor center to get our Junior Ranger books and earn our badges.

After slaying the badge earning we headed to Liberty Market for their First Friday Arts night. Soon I was made aware of everyone’s starving status and commencing whining. Shaun wanted to eat at a local brewery and we quickly found one of our favorites by some dumb luck. If you’ve never had anything from Stone Brewery it’s pretty rad stuff. Yummy food, good libations, outdoor beauty and then we hit the market.

This market is a must see for anyone in the area! In hindsight we wished we had gone there first and ate. Inside were individual store/stands with all local vendors. Some of the cool stops there are artisanal cheeses, ramen, fish/oyster bar, jewelery, good olive oils & aged balsamic, gelato and desserts, and much more. Then we went onto the big lawn to check out some local art, music, a museum and more. It was such a great, outdoors, local stop.

img_2067The next day we were waiting for a package to arrive at the campground so we decided on a pool/campground day. The package came earlier than expected and the campground got really busy to the point that the pool was too much for us. Family decision…we packed up in under an hour and head to the beach.

We arrived within three hours to Dockweiler Beach in LA County. It’s basically parking in a parking lot with hook ups and you’re feet from the beach. The view, the location, the beach is amazing! Bonus, we also made amazing friends with the family next to us. One of the best parts of the journey is the people we meet! We beached, we campfired, we watched the most amazing sunsets, we biked the path along the beach, and we beached some more! It was an amazing few days!

Today, Tuesday we galivanted to Santa Monica Pier. There we played in the arcade, ate some ice cream, people watched, and putzed. Then we headed down the PCH and I was so intrigued with seeing Muscle Beach in Venice Beach that Shaun stopped so we could check it out. It was everything I wanted it to be sans the muscley dudes. There was a great strip of shops, skaters/skater park, more people watching and so much more. After we went to the beach and chilled.

Now we are off to see more of Cali…