Earlier this month, we spent a week in San Diego visiting our best friends who recently moved there. Jared is currently stationed at the Naval Hospital in San Diego completing his residency training! We have never been to San Diego before so on top of getting to spend the week with these four, we were super excited to explore the city and enjoy some warmer temps (prior to this, Wisconsin had been in below zero temps for about three weeks straight! Yikes!).

We had the BEST time in San Diego and plan to go back MANY times while these guys are living there : ) First up on our must-see list was the San Diego Zoo. This has been on Caleb’s bucket list since he was a kid and I’m so glad we could finally cross it off!

This baby giraffe was just a few weeks old!!

A personal favorite was Balboa Park. I quickly fell in LOVE with this charming spot in busy San Diego, filled with lush gardens, colorful art, and incredible Spanish architecture! All I kept thinking was how pretty of a location it would be for an engagement session! I’m convinced my brain will never think the same now that I’m a photographer! HA!

My favorite part of Balboa Park was the botanical garden inside of this giant cage-like building! You will see what I’m talking about below. It was absolutely stunning!!

Another day was spent hiking in Torrey Pines. I think it’s safe to say this was Caleb’s favorite part of the trip! From the views to the winding trails, we could have spent all day here. We were just blown away by how beautiful the San Diego coastline was!

Over Christmas, we were telling Caleb’s family how we were going to visit our friends in San Diego and we found out that Caleb’s brother was going to be there over the SAME time for work! It was so fun to get to meet up with him several days and spend so much time with some of our favorite people in the entire world … all in San Diego!

A pit stop at one of the boys’ favorite breweries, Ballast Point, was a must! Who knew San Diego had SO MANY breweries!?!?

A different day was spent exploring Coronado Island. We loved walking the main strip of Orange Avenue and checking out the many coffee shops, ice cream parlors, and little shops! We also spent some time at the stunning Hotel del Coronado. We ended the day with a picnic lunch at Breakers Beach on the navy base!

Our last day in the city, we biked the Mission Bay and Pacific Beach areas. There was an awesome boardwalk/bike path that we were able to take following all along the coastline! It made for some breathtaking views : ) We ended this day with lunch at the famous Oscar’s Mexican Seafood and I must say, it did not disappoint!

For our last night, we watched the sunset at Sunset Cliff’s Natural Park. This is a MUST in my opinion! It was absolutely BEAUTIFUL and I cannot wait to watch another sunset here again in the future!

When we were laying in bed the final night, Caleb and I shared our favorite parts of the trip with each other. It was easy for both of us to agree that as much as we loved Torrey Pines or the California sunshine, our favorite “part” was, by far, spending time with the people in the photos below. What a gift they are to us and we seriously thank God a thousand times over for their friendship!

So until next time, California! You take good care of the Widders for us! XO <3