Since I was a child, I have been in love with Southern California - and really, who isn't? You can take LA with its smog and glamour. Give me a nice warm day in Mission Valley, with a hole-in-the-wall Mexican joint and freeway car fires.
We only got to spend two days in sunny San Diego this year, and I'm so thankful one of them was spent in the waves and the sand. First things first - a stop at one of my favorite breakfast places. Being an official East Coaster now, I have an affinity for diners. The first time Sharaya and I stumbled upon this chain, we found ourselves in a stylish little diner. After learning there was a location close to our hotel, we dragged the family there after church.
(I feel like you can really tell how great the food and ambience was by these photos.)
When we finally finished stuffing our faces with alcohol and acai bowls, we headed to paradise: La Jolla shores. I've spent many a summer day playing in this sand and jumping the waves (very small waves - being as I was afraid of drowning and never quite figured out how to swim). I've enjoyed bonfires and acquiring sunburns on this nice stretch of land, but this time was different.
Being the youngest in the family meant I grew up often feeling either like a novelty or like an outcast. Aside from my sister and one cousin, we were literally in different generations, and it showed. I remember spending most visits as a bystander because I wasn't quite Old Enough to hang out or be privy to their conversations. Up until recently, I never understood the importance of extended family because I didn't feel like I really had one. I mean, sure I had one. We share DNA and I would hear about their lives via my mother, but after being surrounded by an Italian extended family, I knew I was missing something.
Last year, when Sharaya and I did a Girls Trip to California, I got to sit at the big kids table. We did small, every-day things with our cousins but I finally started to get it. We bonded over our crazy grandma and laughed over the misconceptions of childhood, and how we were all made to feel like the outcast at one point or another.
This time around, it seemed we all needed a dose of true cousin time.
Our beach day was spent jumping waves, getting tan, hanging out with lifeguards, sage older cousin advice, and watching the next generation form familial bonds. At one point I was jumping waves with two of my cousin's kids that I've only met a handful of times and I called one by name. Her sister piped up and asked how I knew it. I feel like we have a lot of lost time to make up for but I am very excited to get going.
Oh San Diego, you never disappoint...
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