So let me just tell you, staycations are where it’s at. Sam and I always laugh when people tell us ‘enjoy your vacation, I hope you can get some rest!”. Because if you are a parent you know that vacations are usually way less restful than just staying home. BUT….that’s not the point of them for us (or at least not the point of FAMILY vacations). The point is to get out of our normal work/life grind and routines and spend quality time with our kids. Some of my favorite memories growing up are while on vacation with my family, and Sam and I want to be able to create those experiences for our kids as well. What I love about staycations is that you get all the same benefits of a vacation, but without the dreaded travel part. I am a little high anxiety when it comes to travel so a road trip is much more up my alley, and even better, a 20 minute trip down the coast! Which is what we did a few weeks ago when we visited the newly renovated La Jolla Shores Hotel. The hotel sits right on the sand overlooking the coastline. Our room was one of the best in the house with it’s own private balcony and oceanfront view. Not only was the beach just a few steps away, but the hotel also has an awesome kid-friendly pool as well. My kids have grown up by the ocean so in all honesty, they probably prefer the pool over the beach! Where I on the other hand would choose the beach any day. But I love that this hotel has the best of both worlds.
Every breakfast and dinner we ate at The Shores Restaurant. It’s conveniently located in the hotel and opened early at 7am which was nice because my kids wake up early and HANGRY! haha. They also offered this amazing beach BBQ cookout one night on the sand which we did, and the kids LOVED. Amazing fresh food and our own BBQ and smores kit for after. The kids had fun chasing around all the seagulls and we got to watch the most beautiful sunset. Life gets so busy that I often forget what a beautiful city we live in. It was nice to be able to really savor our town and all that it has to offer with my family on this trip. And I could not recommend The Shores Hotel more. It was our first time there, and won’t be our last. A great place to bring the whole family if you are looking for a family-friendly beach getaway!