Full Moon Beach Party & Jason and Shannon's Visit!

Since Friday, John and I have had a very exciting weekend, and we’ve certainly been living it up during my last few days of freedom!  On Friday, John and I started off the weekend by accompanying our friends Heather and John to a full moon beach party.  It was pretty awesome.  We hiked down to this beach where everyone gathers each full moon around a giant bonfire.  Around the bonfire there were hundreds of people, many dancing and participating in a giant drum circle.  There were also flamethrowers, hula hoopers, and yoga masters.  Although probably one of the most stereotypical Southern California activities, it was really interesting and a cool experience!

One of the Flamethrowers 

Around the bonfire

On Saturday morning John and I went to a bar called The Field to watch the Champions League soccer final.  Jed and Jamile met up with us at the bar for lunch, and John was pumped when his favorite team, Bayern Munich, won the game!  After lunch, we met up with Jason and Shannon, our friends from San Francisco that were visiting San Diego for the weekend!  They were our first official visitors!  We had a great time with them over the weekend and were able to do so many fun things.

We started off their visit with a trip to Balboa park, where we enjoyed walking around the park, exploring areas like the cactus garden and rose gardens.  They really liked the park, and with it being one of John and my favorite places, we enjoyed showing it to them!  

After our Balboa tour, we were getting hungry so decided to eat at Hodad’s.  After standing in quite a long line, we were finally able to get in for dinner, and man, was it worth the wait!  The hamburgers were the best I’ve ever had (I ate my entire giant burger), the fries were wedged and extra crispy, and the onion rings were spectacular.  We were all stuffed afterwards, and with good reason – none of us could stop eating! 

After we finished dinner, it was the perfect time to head over to Sunset Cliffs in Ocean Beach to catch the sunset.  Unfortunately, there were a few too many clouds, so the sunset wasn’t too spectacular, but we still had a great time enjoying the sights at Sunset Cliffs.  We finished off Saturday night but going to a Hookah bar in the Gaslamp, which was a relaxing and enjoyable way to finish off a busy day.

On Sunday we decided to soak up the sun at Ocean Beach and spent our morning and early afternoon there!  It was a gorgeous day and the beach was packed for Memorial Day!  At around three, we began to get hungry and decided to check out one of our newest favorites, Blue Water Fish Market and Grill – I’ve written about it on here before – it’s incredible!  All the fish is caught fresh the morning of, never frozen, and is served to customers in sandwich, taco, salad, or plate portions.  Jason and Shannon loved it, too and we were all stuffed by the time we finished! 

We followed up our afternoon dinner with a beer tasting at Stone Brewing Company, one of San Diego’s most famous breweries.  San Diego is considered to be one of the best beer cities in the US.  We were able to try four different beers in a little keepsake souvenir glass.  It was really fun and something John and I haven’t done since we’ve been here, so it was a new experience for us as well!  After Stone Brewing, we decided to check out a place called Monkey Paw for some snacks.  John and I shared some really great waffle fries and a pretzel, while Shannon and Jason enjoyed Beer candied chicken wings. 

Coincidentally, Jason and John matched, and so did Shannon 

and I so we took weird prom pose pictures to capture the moment.  

After Monkey Paw, we decided to meet up with Jed, Jamile, and Brian at a really awesome place called the Shout! House.  This place was really cool, as the main entertainment was dueling pianos that play the crowd’s requests.  It was a neat place with a cool vibe, and it was definitely entertaining!  The piano players were so talented – not only could they play piano, but would also switch on and off of the guitar and drums, and could also sing beautifully.  And remember all the lyrics to the songs!  We finished off the night at the Shout! House and said our goodbyes to Jason and Shannon.

The Shout! House

Today John and I are enjoying our Memorial Day by getting some errands done before I start work tomorrow!  I also have some reading to do for my new job.  It’s my last day of freedom before I’m back to reality!  Enjoy your Memorial Day, readers, don’t forget to thank a Veteran!  :-)