SATURDAY, JULY 2, 2016

Hi there! Finally, here is a longer blog post about my first real summer 2016 adventure. Since I go to a university on a quarter system, my summer starts pretty late, toward the end of June in fact. However, that’s never stopped me from making the most out of it. To start July off, I really wanted to go to the San Diego County Fair. We’d never been before, so my mom, brother, and I packed up our bags for a mini two-day vacation in sunny San Diego. For some reason on the way there, there was a lot of traffic and our usually two-hour drive turned into a three-hour drive. Thus, we had to make a quick pit-stop… and while the bathrooms weren’t the nicest, at least we had a pretty view of the ocean.

When we finally made it to the fair, it was pretty packed and we had to park far away and take the shuttle that was being offered. The shuttle was decorated like the Cheshire cat, as the whole fair consisted of an Alice in Wonderland theme, making me more excited to finally reach our destination. Luckily, the line for tickets wasn’t too long and we entered the San Diego County Fair with great anticipation. We took in all the sights, smells, and people. Where to start? After grabbing a few pizza slices for a quick lunch, we decided to start with the the barn. It was full of pigs, sheep, and cows… but mostly pigs. And boy, were the pigs loud. They were screeching almost the whole time we were in there and it’s really a sound unlike any other. Also, they were huge! They even had pig races going on outside. It was a very interesting and oink-y experience.

After looking at all the different farm animals, we continued on our journey through the fair. My brother and I went on a couple of the small rides that were set up on one side of the fair while my mom took pictures of us. We also got to try out AT&T’s virtual reality game for free, and their booth was giving out free sun glasses, too. Next, I really wanted to go on the ferris wheel. The line for that wasn’t very long and it was the perfect time of day for this ride. The sun was just starting to set and the view from up above was gorgeous with the ocean on one side and the fair on the other. It was a perfect moment to spend with my mom and brother.

Our last stop was for some more food, of course. It was dinner time and I knew exactly what I wanted. I had seen people walking around with hollowed-out pineapples, full of rice and meat, and I knew I had to have that for dinner. When we found the booth that was selling them, it was crowded with people. This just made me more excited! The meat options were shrimp and chicken, so I went with a pineapple full of rice and shrimp and my mom went with one full of rice and chicken. Let me tell you, it was delicious! It was made up of some of my favorite foods, so how could it not be? After dinner, we walked around a little more before the fair started to close and we made our way back to the Cheshire cat shuttle. It was time to head to our hotel room and rest for our next day of adventuring…

Outfit:
Sunglasses: Tag Envy // Choker: Forever 21 // Top: Irene’s Story // Bottoms: Brandy Melville

SUNDAY, JULY 3, 2016

On our second and last day in San Diego, my mom, brother, and I woke up bright and early. Today we were going to the San Diego Zoo! The zoo is recognized globally, and it’s gigantic. There’s so much to do and see and experience that it would probably take someone a full three days to get through the entire park. With so much to see and only a day to do it, the first thing we did was decide which animals were the ones we really wanted to find. Soon after studying the zoo’s map, we were off.

Entering the zoo, we were already faced with a bunch of different paths to choose from. In one direction there was the flamingo exhibit and in another there was a house full of reptiles. I didn’t know how we were going to see all the animals, but we sure tried. I think seeing the orangutan was my favorite because he was really close to the glass and starting rolling around in front of everyone. We also saw other types of monkeys, birds, tortoises, and fish. My mom was rushing us through the zoo, trying to make sure we got to see as much as possible!

Before heading to explore more exhibits, we made a stop at a concession stand. I obviously wanted something sweet and headed straight for the cotton candy. We also got some water and I think my brother got frozen lemonade. Next, we took the airway tram to the other side of the zoo. It was really cool being above all the animal exhibits and looking down to see lots of greenery everywhere. It was also just a really beautiful day out. A few of the last animals we saw were the elephants, lions, and gazelles. I’d say we saw almost all of the best animals before heading home to beat traffic. An adventure in San Diego was the perfect way to start off my summer.

Outfit:
Sunglasses: Tag Envy // Choker: Forever 21 // Top+Bottoms: Brandy Melville // Shoes: Target

xo, Rachel