Hwy 1 Road Trip – Part 3 (San Diego Zoo) – The Adventures of Nick and Pam

All good things must come to an end, and it was now the tail end of our amazing SoCal road trip. We left Anaheim in the morning, and headed down to San Diego for the final two nights of our tour.

This is the spot where Highway 1 ends, and turns into highway 5, about halfway between L.A. and San Diego. We did it - big check off the list!! — This is the spot where Highway 1 ends, and turns into highway 5, about halfway between L.A. and San Diego. We did it – big check off the list!!

We stopped at Balboa Island for a frozen banana and walked all around the island, but unfortunately I forgot to take pictures (wtf). You can read about Balboa Island here though, and look at some nice pictures that other people took.

The view from our AirBnB rental in San Diego! Right in the middle of the historic Gas Lamp district.

We arrived fairly late the first day, so only had time to grab some dinner and sleep. The next day though, it was off to the San Diego zoo! We spent the whole day walking around the zoo, and got to see a lot of animals up close, as well as learn about the neat programs the zoo has in place to help animals.

One of the coolest things we saw were two of the animals in the animal ambassador program – you can learn some more about this program by watching the video below:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvD6R0lT1Kw]

A bear having a nice dip in his private pool.

Brand new baby giraffe – so cute!

These two are "animal ambassadors". — These two are “animal ambassadors”.

Up close and personal with a polar bear.

He looks so innocent.... — He looks so innocent….

Beautiful big cats...it was very hot that day so many of them were sleeping. — Beautiful big cats…it was very hot that day so many of them were sleeping.

Not this guy though - he spotted a zoo employee walking by with some meat. — Not this guy though – he spotted a zoo employee walking by with some meat.

This one flew right at my head after letting me take a portrait of him.

The koalas were also all quite sleepy. — The koalas were also all quite sleepy too.

At the end of our day at the zoo, the best thing we did was take margaritas on the gondolas…we were able to sip and just quietly check out the whole zoo from above.

For dinner that night, we walked all along the harbourfront, and stopped at each restaurant for a drink and an appetizer before moving on. Nick didn’t let me order the maple bacon jar though.

The next day, we had a long day of driving ahead of us, so we only had time for a long walk along Pacific Beach and then had to head home. We’d both love to go back to San Diego – next time, we’ll check out the beaches and breweries! Stay classy San Diego, and we’ll be back.

Pacific Beach...beaches and beaches and beaches — Pacific Beach…beaches and beaches and beaches

And the sun sets on our epic SoCal road trip as we head home for a rest.