July 14th, 2020

Wether you are looking for a beer pong table on the sand, a family-friendly oceanside BBQ, or a bike ride along the coast in Mission Bay, this place is the place you want to be to celebrate ‘Merica.

San Diego is the perfect beach town party for the Fourth of July.

I suggest staying in Pacific or Mission Beach for the ultimate beach town vibes mixed with patriotic energy. Getting as close to the water as you can makes exploring easy by foot or bike, avoiding the need for an Uber. Pacific Beach is a walking and biking-friendly community where you will see people cruising down residential streets in bikinis and swim trunks.

What to Wear

No matter what street you turn down, everyone is donning red, white, and blue. You might feel a little left out if you don’t have the chance to show off your own patriotic outfit. You can get away with something that is probably already in your own closet.

A solid, primary colored top and an American Flag bandana or headband also works perfectly, like my girlfriend Sonja and I wore.

Don’t forget to wear or bring your swimsuit with you on your way out! It is HOT in San Diego this time of year. You’ll be happy being able to strip down and jump in the ocean for a mid-afternoon cool down.

If you value your skin health, puhlease bring a bottle of sunscreen with you.

My favorite is this Sun Bum SPF 50 Sunscreen Spray and After Sun Cool Down. Sun Bum’s sunscreen products have an incredible scent and I never get over! I’m absolutely obsessed with their SPF Lip Balm too.

What To Do

Chris and I decided to rent bikes for the day which was one of our best decisions. For $20/day, it is so much fun cruising down the beach boardwalk from Mission Bay to Pacific Beach, soaking up the sun, sight-seeing, and watching all the beachside festivities taking place.

The beaches fill up quickly in the early morning with people setting up their easy-ups, coolers, blankets, chairs, and beach games preparing for a day-long celebration. We slightly regretted not waking up and getting down to the sand earlier to grab a spot of sand and set up a day party BBQ for ourselves.

Where to Eat

While most of the casual, trendy bars are completely packed on this holiday weekend, you can find a few places for a more chill vibe. We grabbed lunch and cocktails at JRDN. It’s a little more high-end with beautiful ocean views compared to the madness of party-centric bars, like El Prez. I recommend the Cadillac Margarita and the Garlic Mussels as an appetizer!

A great place to grab a more casual bite is Fat Fish, where you won’t find a long waitlist for a table as it’s a block or two from the beachfront.

Fat Fish’s chips are fresh and perfectly salted, the salsa has a mild spice and refreshing hint of lime. If you like fish, get the Fat Fish Burrito. SO GOOD!

I can’t go without mentioning that we started every day with the Avocado Greens smoothie at Qwench Juice Bar. In fact, we loved it so much that the moment we got back to LA, we decided to recreate our new favorite smoothie at home in the Vitamix!

Overall, we loved spending our American holiday in SD and were lucky enough to have spent it with some of our good friends! We can’t wait to visit again next year for another weekend celebration, beach cruising, and good old fashioned fun.

With love,

Ashley Jo