It's a doggy dog world out here.

If you've ever ventured out to the Redondo/Hermosa area one of the first things you'll notice other than the vast, and beautiful ocean is the abundance of dogs. DOGS ARE EVERY WHERE. In fact, there are so many dogs, that it is not uncommon to see them piled up 3 to a long board (see pic for reference) .Now, this in my opinion, is a fantastic thing, EXCEPT the fact that I have been craving to get a dog since I left my prior dog sitting gig in Georgia (Man, I still miss those pups-that were in fact not pups and instead two beautiful black labs...I digress).
If I had the option, I'd go to my nearest pup adoption agency (which here is literally a block away) and grab a yellow lab or french bull dog, or whichever pup gives me those eyes that I can't resist. You know who you are.

I'll likely change up the format to my postings these days. I've been on many adventures that I have yet to talk about, but I feel that keeping my posts and pics a bit shorter might be more realistic in the long term.

Needless to say, (and admittedly by my own mother's petition) I'll keep 'em coming.

Happy 4th y'all!

Watch some 'works, drink some lemonade, and eat some hot dogs (with the bun for the gluten tolerant) and all that jazz.

The ZOO! (exclamation point necessary).

There are few things I deem worthy of all caps and an exclamation point. The zoo is one of them. Something about animals, the smell of dirt, and watching kid's faces when they see a lion for the first time really elates me.

Now, let me preface this post by stating that I took a lot of pictures, I mean A LOT. However, after evaluating my now busier schedule and sifting through pictures, I have narrowed it down to some of the bigger attractions (and ones I got semi-decent pictures of).

After taking on this task of picture sifting I have come to the realization of two things:
A) I take waaaay too many pictures.
and
B) I need a better camera at some point in the future if I continue to get these urges to document my experiences.

Without further ado, the Adventure Peach San Diego Zoo experience (abridged version):

Here's where the adventure began, waiting in line to grab some tickets.

I'm obviously pretty stoked about having tickets, and ready to take on some lions, tigers, and bears...all of which were here.

Side note: this zoo is HUGE. At least 4X the size of Atlanta, little did I know what a treat I was in for...

There were lots of lively animals...

"Well, hello Mr. Turtle."

"Come at me Bro."

Slithering snakes...

some that were housekeeping...

and

the usual bear fights.

Peaceful bears:

Curious elephants, and

caution signs. (Yikes!)

There was one other ferocious animal that was out to play: 

I'm referring to the one in the yellow, of course.

After all the hard work of modeling for humans, some animals were ready to call it a day.

Koala, sleeping in a tree.

A Rhino resting in the rays.

And a Camel collapsed in the shade.

Other animals, were simply tired of being observed:

"If I don't see you, you don't exist"

this was exhibited by Mama Panda as well.

P.s. the line to see the Pandas was ludicrous. It was about an hours wait. Although Mama wasn't having it, I'm glad the baby was out to play.

My favorite? Although not highly exciting to all, I really loved watching the giraffes. They just had this innate grace and it was sweet to watch the community interation (lunch time).

Momma feeding baby.

Alright folks, that's all for the day time. All in all, it was a blast. If you like animals, lots of walking, and kid-like excitement--I would highly recommend the San Diego Zoo. 

Night Life: San Diego Edition

After some time at Del Mar beach, and an admittedly a long nap, I decided to check out the night life that I'd heard so much about. Destination: DT, Gas lamp district.

I captured the ride in, as the sun was going down. A bit hazy on the weather, but still lively in the streets.

I didn't capture all the historic essence of the DT architecture, but there were a lot of traditional style buildings mixed in with modern flair. Needless to say, I loved it. A bit cleaner than the dt I grew up in, no offense ATL.

No, I didn't eat here, but I captured it any way. 

and of course you have your "backpack sign"man--for the lazier sign holders.

Passed this and couldn't resist checking out what was going on inside for happy hour...something crazy??

Nope. It was Monday night, but the deals were great any way. No LIVE entertainment unfortunately, false advertising.

Then I "hopped"on over to the hopping pig. I just thought it was a neat name, so I headed in for some pre-dinner fare.

I liked the rustic look it had going on...Then, finally onto the main event--DINNER.

We stopped at a cozy place with rustic design as well called "Cafe 21" Despite it's numeric title, people of all ages eat here, no I.D.'s necessary.

The whole ideo of Cafe21 was organic, home grown fare--even the lemonade selection was legit.

and what?! A flourless gluten free chocolate cake with soft serve on top? I was in adventure peach Heaven.

and then this happened... yes, that is a shake weight.

To add to the delightful after dinner surprise, I came into a live music joint to relax and listen to some classic covers. Dude was pretty good!

The lively crowd.

To finish off the night I went to a dance joint, where I utilized my awesome moves and line dancing maneuvers to get those who were shy out onto the dance floor. If I could embarrass myself, they certainly could.

All in all, it was a really fun night with lots of great things to see, hear, eat, and enjoy. 

DT San Diego, you did not disappoint. 

Scenic San Diego

The "scenic route" is practically ANY route to San Diego.
 I couldn't resist pulling out my camera to take pictures of the rolling hills and ocean views. I caught a few cars in the process, but that's just an added bonus.

Apparently, I wasn't the only one who thought this place was too beautiful NOT to capture. Even the local institution constructed a site for people to pull off the highway and soak it all in.

"Las Flores View Point" and...some Toms. 

I even met some furry and feathered friends. (And no, I'm not referring to the adjacent tourists).

You can watch them in action here.

All this picture taking, helped me work up quite the appetite, so I set off to satisfy my hunger in Del Mar                                  

I found this local gem, notorious for it's view and delicious eats.

This ^^ was the incredible view from our table. 

This ^^ was the incredible view to the bathroom...

And this? This is the view of the restaurant patio. Hi locals!

I was also tickled to see they had a drink called the "Georgia Peach" (reminds me of home). 

BUT, the best part of course was the food (always thinking about my tummy). Grilled swordfish tacos and house made potato chips and slaw. So delish.

After filling my belly, I set off to check out the local beach in Del Mar. 

Along, the way, I did what an adventure peach often does and I took lots of pictures. 

View from the window...and....

view of what was behind the camera--all sorts of silliness. 

I also captured some video evidence that I did in fact ride through San Diego, while simultaneously listening to "Glow" by Donavon Frankenreiter (what a mouthful).

After much shenanigans and view absorption, we finally made it to the beach!

There were lots of families and surfers out ready to take on the Pacific.

Me? Well, let's just say my wardrobe wasn't right for the occasion. 

However, I did get some awesome footage of a tree...

...with it's gnarly (double entendre?) branches.

Well, that's all for now... Next on the docket? Downtown SD.Night life edition.

Youngblood Hawke and the Hollywood Night Scene

If a person were to ask, what is one thing you are most passionate about? I wouldn't flinch to reply, "music".
Dancing, singing, observing, pretending to play, semi playing, poorly playing, naming, lyricing, karaoking, you name it--there's hardly a thing that I don't love about music. Except for screamo--that's just not my jam.

Needless to say, I was eager to have my first California concert experience. On the way there, I experienced what I'm learning is the norm around here: crazy, crazy traffic.

When I first came out to LA, I joked with my sister that there's so much to look at along the roads in SoCal, she replied, "that's because people need something to look at in THIS kind of traffic." LA didn't let me down. On the way to the concert I experienced enough traffic to capture some art work:

Nifty benches created from skateboards. 

Eventually, I arrived in Hollywood, ready to take on some concerting at the Avalon. I made friends with the security man, a tall black guy with the friendliest smile I'd ever seen. I looked up at him chest high, and being the brazen, petite female I am said, "you know, you don't look that intimidating..." and with that started a short, and sweet friendship.

Unfortunately, due to my absorption in the music scene, conversations with the security guard, and forgetfulness to use my camera, I have limited footage of this particular adventure. 

Nonetheless, I did capture this shot of Youngblood Hawke (Good live performers by the way):

An epic shot of the two leads, AND the back of someone's head--story of my concert viewing experiences.

I also caught some footage of a ridiculously graffitied bathroom, in which I was torn between feeling grossed out or in awe:

Caught a little elbow action there too.

By the end of the night, I had worked up quite the appetite. I ventured to one of the only places still open at 11:30 on a Wednesday night: Hole-in-the-wall Thai food:

I don't know if it was the late hour, or my ravenous appetite, but this was some of the BEST food I've ever had. I also added lots of red spice on the side and proceeded to "glisten" while I ate.  Though I'm kind of a weirdo, because I really enjoyed that.

Until next time,

Adventure peach out!

Local Deliciousness

If you ask anyone I've lived with, I'm really good at being up in the morning. In fact, I'm so good at it, that I often get up early even when my game plan is to sleep in (and trust me, that bites). Despite my reluctance to wake up so early, there's one thing I look forward to every, single morning:

Breakfast.

So much so, that I may even go so far as to call it my FAVORITE meal of the day. Especially when it's shared with others in the ritual we Americans call "brunch".

Now, little did I know that I would have the fortune of moving within walking distance of two of the neatest brunch places I've ever eaten at.

The first, a hole in the wall cafe, appropriately titled "Cozy Cafe". Initially, I thought this tiny square box was a super sketch place to walk into, but I'm glad I didn't let it's small size dissuade me.

Good things do come in small packages at the Cozy Cafe, where Carlos and his sidekick whip up some of the best hotcakes and eggs I've ever laid eyes on.

The front room has a "pull up to the table" kind of feel, where people are all seated in a circle, as if waiting for breakfast like kids in a family, while mom & dad (in this case Carlos and Hugo) are frying up things as fast as they can.

The walls also offer some entertainment as you wait to feast, dawning all sorts of vintage pictures and funny sayings from corner to corner. And to coffee enthusiasts like me, my cup is always filled by Carlos the moment it gets too empty. He's the best.

It's delicious, friendly, and did I mention delicious?
The prices are great as well.

One of the best deals is their 2 by 4, which includes hotcakes, eggs, sausage, and bacon--all for the awesome price of 5 bucks! However, for those who can't digest gluten well (me unfortunately), their AMAZING omelettes and potato cutlets will definitely do the trick.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/cozy-cafe-redondo-beach

Okay, if that wasn't neat enough, another joint called the Wild flower cafe is also a 5 minute walk from my door step..

Here, you will be greeted by the great smelling aroma of fresh food and flowers. Since the weather is 80% always awesome, I highly recommend the patio.

Ahhh, sitting in the breeze under an umbrella, it's just heavenly.

Their menu had all sorts of goodie's and even had such diverse options as to offer gluten free bread (which is unheard of). http://www.yelp.com/biz/wildflower-cafe-redondo-beach (to check out their menu further)

So, onto the more important part, the actual food.

I had the wild flower Omelette, which consisted of egg whites, shredded cheese, diced tomatoes, and fresh slices of avocado--so good. It came with fruit, roasted pototoes, and brown rice bread (woohoo! It's the little things...).

Needless to say, I will be back for more soon.

Until the next meal or adventure (the first being inevitably soon), catch ya later.