St. Augustine Sunflower

February 24, 2024
Spotted this artistic automotive statement on our way to the rooftop of River & Fort to celebrate a friend's birthday on a cool Saturday night in St. Augustine, Florida.

Washington Oaks Gardens State Park in Palm Coast, Florida

February 10, 2024

Note that a selection of photos were taken by my significant other. This was his first time visiting the lush state park and my second time since 2015. We are planning to return in the late spring or summer to see the 3,000 sq ft rose garden in bloom. The clean air and scenery are well worth the hour-long drive from Jacksonville—two hours if you take the coastal scenic route along A1A. 

Dazzling Nights at the Jacksonville Arboretum

 November 24, 2023

Balboa Park in San Diego, California

Spanish Baroque architecture featured throughout Balboa Park. My parents brought me here as a child and although I have no recollection of visiting, I found the park absolutely gorgeous. 

Inez Grant Parker Memorial Rose Garden, featuring more than 130 varieties of roses 

Desert Garden, a collection of 1,300 succulents and drought-resistant plants from around the world

San Diego, California

Backseat views during the drive from Pasadena to San Diego

The Cosmopolitan Hotel, complete with a covered wagon in front (not pictured). Our friend and co-host booked this historic hotel for the four of us in the heart of Old Town San Diego.                 

A Viva la Vida mural outside Urban Market in Old Town San Diego, commonly known as the Birthplace of California

El Cajon, Spanish for "The Box," is a suburb of San Diego where my parents lived while my father was stationed at the naval base in San Diego. This Downtown El Cajon sign was constructed several years later in 2009. 

At a naval memorial rose garden on the hospital grounds where I was born. This summer marks the first time I returned to San Diego since we moved to the East Coast when I was a toddler.

Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcalá. Note: The Mission system is not without a dark past, enslaving tribes of Native Americans who burned the first mission to the ground during an uprising in 1775—one year after it was relocated closer to the San Diego River. The Mission has since been rebuilt a total of five times due to various natural disasters. My interest is mostly in its gorgeous architecture and gardens. 

Ordering dinner at a trendy joint called The Rose Wine Bar. I will never not try a drink named after the artist formerly known as Prince. The deep purple gin cocktail was floral to its core and adorned with miniature dried roses.

Stopped into Vinyl Junkies to browse their expansive collection of new and vintage records. 

All aboard Mothership, San Diego's space-themed tiki bar. Highly recommend it for the otherwordly cocktails, atmosphere, and service. Note that the first photo is taken by my long-time friend and partner's brother, who co-hosted us with his wife during their own extended trip to Southern California.

El Campo Santo Cemetery in Old Town San Diego, which represents just a small part of the original grounds

Late lunch at Hodad's, a popular joint featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives and recommended by my partner's boss, along the Ocean Beach strip

Closing our Ocean Beach trip visit by dipping our toes into the Pacific Ocean, in all its salty, summer glory.