Hoku Explores Malibu

Even though we're total homebodies at heart, we love it when family comes to town because it's the perfect excuse to explore a new part of our city. This past Saturday, we drove all the way out to the ocean and up the Pacific Coast Highway to the scenic, coastal town of Malibu, passing surfers and other early risers along the way. First stop, pup-friendly* Malibu Farm for breakfast on Malibu Pier! (For parking, you can pay the big bucks to park in the convenient lot next door or just find street parking on the highway, like us.)

The eatery has two parts, Malibu Farm Restaurant located at the beginning of the pier and Malibu Farm Cafe located at the end of the pier, with a 180 degree view of the ocean. We made our way down the pier to the Cafe and headed up to the second story dining area to take in the views before settling for a shadier spot at the side of the restaurant on the first level. 

↑ Can you tell that Hoku really loves stairs?

We enjoyed the Swedish mini pancakes with whipped cream and berries, the fried egg sandwich and the multigrain pancake with maple syrup and bacon bits, along with coffees and fresh-squeezed orange juice. Hoku nibbled on arugula leaves and entertained himself by keeping a watchful eye on the seabirds flying by. To be honest, we tend to be skeptical of the quality of menu located in primo locations like this, but let me tell you, this one little cafe has seriously amazing food AND atmosphere. The fact that they welcome dogs is just the icing (er, maple syrup) on an already delicious (pan)cake. 

↑ The view from our table. 

With breakfast in our bellies, we continued our drive up the coast to Leo Carillo State Beach, where pups are allowed on leash. We explored the rocky cliffs before heading down to the beach to walk along the sand and waves. It wasn't the sunniest of days in LA, but being near the ocean always feels like home. 

*Malibu Farm is technically located on a State Beach that does not allow dogs. However, the restaurant itself welcomes dogs so bring your pup at your own discretion. 

Find Hoku: The Sicillian Court at Scripps College

Hoku's hiding somewhere on the gorgeous Scripps College campus, the eye candy college of the Claremont Consortium. (Find Hoku was inspired by the super fun Find Momo blog. We heart Momo!)

A Sunset Walk at La Jolla Shores

We found ourselves back in San Diego for a few hours last week and naturally, headed straight for the beach! I never knew I could miss seeing the ocean this much but there’s just something about it that just feels very homey and comforting and just melts all the stress away.

While David was in a meeting (sorry David), Hoku and I walked the entire stretch of La Jolla Shores, past the park, under Scripps Pier and along the cliffs. Dogs are allowed on most San Diego beaches after 6pm until 9am (summer hours) and luckily for us, there weren’t too many other dogs around so we practically had the place to ourselves. It was beyond gorgeous and relaxing and if I could take Hoku for a walk on the beach every day, I think I might just live a few more years. 

And let me tell you, there must be something about sunset at the beach because Hoku was totally copacetic with getting his paws wet this time. He didn’t jump in the water or anything like that, but I think he might have actually enjoyed walking along the edge of the sand and having the tide wash up on his paws. MAGIC hour.