Fourth of July Weekend in San Diego

 As we once again try to deal with the extreme summer heat that is Phoenix, I begged my husband for a respite over the holiday weekend. San Diego was perfect! Temps so low I had to go out and buy a jacket! We did some whale watching, city exploring, dog beaches, and, of course, the Big Bang Boom! I hope you enjoy the photos!

Hotel Z - A Staypineapple Hotel

Small but cute!

And EXTREMELY dog friendly

And dog approved!

Exterior of our room door

We walked around Little Italy and took in the sights:

We drove to Coronado Island - where I will retire when I win the lottery!

Piano for anyone to play - lots of talented people!!

This is STILL making me crazy! to, too, two

Wonderful little Italian spot where we had lunch and live music

We did some whale watching where we got to see our first blue whale!!

Overcast day but we still got windburned!

Picking out the boat we're going to purchase. HA!

Greeted by Marie onto The America

Navy ship

Submarine the Navy is working on - trying to shield it from public view

Captain Troy with Marie behind him and Tammy at his feet

Getting a lesson about whales!

Fin of a blue whale

They are called blue whales because when they dive down, the water turns an iridescent blue

The crew hard at work #girlpower

Back on Coronado Island, Zara got her first taste of a leash-free dog beach and LOVED it!  
If you don't like dogs you're going to be bored!

New friends everywhere!

Hey, why aren't you playing?!

Hey, why aren't YOU playing?!

This girl was introducing her pup to the ocean...

He didn't love it!

These handsome guys!

Hi! Will you be my friend?!

Hi! Will you be my friend?!

How about you? Will you be my friend?

Can we all be friends?!

Lady down!

Finally, we went to the rooftop of the InterContinental to enjoy the Big Bang Boom!

Looking out to the bay

Vistal bar

Live music by the fantastic Rebecca Jade

Watching the sunset

Loved the buildings next door

Especially the rainbow-colored one!

And then we started noticing people inside preparing to watch the fireworks

And what a show it was!

A perfect ending to a wonderful escape!

"[Photography] ties back into this feeling of wanting to watch things fall and the moment before they break. Fireworks are that way for me - this lovely thing that blows up and is gone. It all goes back to this desire to record things before they disappear - the original reason we take pictures, right?"  ~ Laurel Nakadate

"We are all like fireworks. We climb, shine and always go our separate ways and become further apart. But even if that time comes, let's not disappear like a firework, and continue to shine... forever."  ~ Tite Kubo