Yesterday was my first anniversary at Microsoft and I took the week off to travel from LA all the way down to San Diego, stopped by small beach towns, swam in the ocean and enjoyed the sun.

As a Seattleite, I’m fairly impressed by the fact that it is still summer down there in October whereas it was raining and stormy in Seattle meanwhile. I seriously started to consider moving to the South after this trip.

Here are the beaches I visited, listed from North to South:

I randomly spotted the HQ of Snapchat app by their logo on Venice Beach. I guess that’s the coolest startup HQ I have ever seen:

Snapchat HQ

I’m fairly impressed that how tech startups made things easier on my trip. I used Airbnb to book the rooms I stayed, I used Kayak to book a hotel once. Yelp was extremely helpful discovering best restaurants in every single town accurately.

I believe I can recommend a few authentic restaurants and bars in those towns:

  • Café Crêpe, Santa Monica. Good Nutella crepe and mimosa breakfast.
  • Las Brisas, Laguna. Awesome sunset view and fantastic Mexican cuisine.
  • Wilma’s Patio, Balboa. A lovely diner for brunch.
  • Leroy’s Kitchen, Coronado. Nice American food.
  • Altitude Sky Lounge, San Diego. A rooftop lounge at 22nd floor. Has a mediocre downtown view.
  • The Cottage, La Jolla. They make great sandwiches, check their specials.
  • WaveHouse Beach Club, Mission Beach. Nice bar with tropical drinks right on the beach boardwalk.
  • Cafe 21, San Diego. Nice Turkish/American brunch options.

Besides these, I got a chance to pay a visit to some of my friends in the area from college. Unfortunately, I missed some of them, but I promise I will visit again soon.