My Travel Blog : Bay Area California

Hiii, dolls! If you don’t follow me on my Instagram: @thebeautyjournalsxo, you might not know that I have been traveling back to Northern California for the past two weeks, hence my long absence from blogging. Now that I’m finally home in beautiful, yet scorching hot Arizona, I wanted to share with you some highlights from my trip!

PHOENIX, ARIZONA —> SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA

San Jose, my hometown, is only an hour and a half flight from Phoenix, where I reside now, so I try to visit every 3-4 months to spend time with my family and friends. Despite my frequent travels and having an organized routine, I’m still an anxious flier, but having my two pups, Roo (left) and Otter (right) onboard grounds me. They are unbelievably well behaved going through airport security (which can make anyone stress out) and sit quietly on my lap during the entire flight, either sleeping or looking out the window. After every single flight, at least one person has approached us and remarked how well behaved they are. I play it cool, thanking them quietly, but inside I’m screaming, because I’m one proud dog mom 😎

OAKLAND ZOO, OAKLAND

My husband and I are very close to my sister and her three daughters, our nieces. They’ve known us their whole lives as Auntie Mary and Uncle Adam. It’s adorable. To spend some quality time and let them burn off all that energy, we took a day trip to the Oakland Zoo. It was my first time there, and I was easily the most excited kid there. I LOVE animals! This giraffe was way closer to me than I anticipated. Sun’s out, tongues out! 😁Le Tigre. The Oakland Zoo recently debuted a new California Trails exhibit, which is accessible through a 4 minute gondola ride up the mountain. I have a terrible fear of heights, but I didn’t want to miss out on seeing some CA native wildlife. Can you tell I’m faking this grin here? 😂These California Condors are birds of prey with a terrifyingly long wingspan. They could make off with my pups easily 😅I was sooo sore at the end of the day after carrying the baby and chasing around these little muffins, but it was totally worth it. Kids grow up so fast and it’s a joy for me to spend precious time with them.

OLD FISHERMAN’S WHARF, MONTEREY BAY

My family LOVES the beach, so when it came time for a reunion, we planned for a day in Monterey Bay, about 70 miles south of San Jose. It was no easy feat getting my entire family together, but somehow after 3 hours in traffic (ughhh), we managed to make it to the beach and captured a family photo. Adam looks like he’s adopting all of us 😂We picnicked next to the pier and walked over to the The Monterey Old Fisherman’s Wharf. It’s a historical wharf with cute little shops, yummy seafood restaurants, and a port where you can depart to go whale watching. It just so happens to be my favorite destination for the best clam chowder.

GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE, SAN FRANCISCO

I was born and raised in the Bay Area so you would be shocked to find how rarely I ever venture into San Francisco. Alcatraz, the Painted Ladies, Lombard Street? Never been 🙈 The fear of traffic and struggling to find parking is enough to scare me far away. However, to thank my mom for hosting us, Adam and I took her for a car ride throughout San Francisco, being typical tourists for the day. Karl the Fog (yes, they named their fog) took the day off and we were blessed with a rare, gorgeously sunny day. I have not been to the City in years, but I must admit, the view of the Bay while driving over the Golden Gate Bridge still took my breath away. Ta-ta, Calfornia! Until next time!