We were really spoiled with eating out for breakfast on this trip. I think my usual morning yogurt is going to taste lame in comparison. We ate at Pannikin during our last two mornings in San Deigo. This place is super cute because it used to be a train station, and now it’s a coffee shop/bakery. The first time we went, the line was out the door and down the sidewalk. I always feel good about places with lines like this. You know it has to be good. Now, Eric’s parents had warned us that the muffins at this place were enormous. I thought they might be overestimating the size of the muffin and underestimating the size of my stomach. I can eat a whole lot of muffin. But this was no exaggeration. These were the biggest muffins I’ve ever seen. I don’t think I even ate half of mine. But the real breakfast star at Pannikin is the equally enormous raspberry scone. Ordering a scone involves a lot of risk, in my opinion. It could be dry. It could be bland. It could be an assortment of terrible things. This scone was incredible. Moist, yet crumbly. The perfect balance of sweetness. I wanted it to last forever. I did manage to make it last through 3 different snacking periods throughout the day, so I’ll consider that a display of incredible self-control.
Anywho, enough about breakfast. Let’s talk about the beach. Southern California is all about the beach. We drove up the coast to Laguna Beach on our last full day of vacation. If you’re like me, the name “Laguna Beach” conjures up images of spoiled MTV teenagers and horrible surf fashion. I’m happy to report that I saw no reality show cameras or ridiculously wealthy high schoolers. It was mostly just a beautiful, beautiful beach. The beach had an equally beautiful walking path running alongside it, lined with palm trees and bright flowers.
We stumbled upon a marine reserve (heavily guarded by a hippie telling people not to touch anything but the rocks and the sand), which we climbed and photographed, of course. I guess the thing that makes Laguna Beach extra beautiful is the huge amount of rocks everywhere. It’s just unlike any beach I’ve ever seen.
But what solidified Laguna’s place in my heart was the gelato. Gelato Paradiso is a little shop with a beautiful display of a zillion varieties of gelato. After taste-testing a dozen of them, I settled on a flavor combination of espresso, hazelnut, and dark chocolate hazelnut. Can we just take a moment and imagine how wonderful that would taste? It was incredible. I’m a sucker for coffee flavored ice cream (and have even been known to pour some coffee into my ice cream, if given the opportunity), but this was just perfection in a bowl (a neon green one, in fact). If you ever find yourself in Laguna, hit up Gelato Paradiso. Tell them Ally sent you.
Our day in Laguna Beach was followed up with an evening of Dutch Blitz. I am ashamed to say that Eric whooped us all, and that I finished my first game ever with a negative score. So, so sad.
Of course, for our last morning in San Diego, the weather pulled out all the stops. It was beautiful with crystal clear skies, so we drove up to Double Peak Park again to get a better view of the ocean and mountains. It really is an incredible view.
Now we’re back in ol’ Kentucky. Within the last week, we’ve experienced tornadoes, followed by several inches of snow, followed by 65 degree days. Maybe San Diego really is the best place to live…We’ll have to visit you again soon, Rich and Betsy!
-Ally
Betsy Ringer says
We LOVED having you here! You are welcome to come anytime!! We love love LOVE living here!! But miss seeing you!
Kongo says
It is indeed the very best place to live. Glad you enjoyed our wonderful city.