Restaurants on the beach.

This August I took a little road trip to Pacifica, California (near San Francisco) with my best friend Jamie. Her aunt lives in a beach house there, so we drove up one morning, spent the night there one night, and drove back home the next night. It was quite the relaxing vacation. We drove around all day taking pictures, exploring all the different beaches in the different towns, and body boarding and enjoying the sun in our spare time. Jamie and I love to explore places together and look for good photoshoot locations, and also, good food locations. We tested out 3 different restaurants while on our trip, but one was the most memorable. This restaurant is called Miramar Beach Restaurant. It is right up next to the shore and has an amazing view! The service was great, and the food was also great. It was pretty expensive, which we weren't expecting, but considering the amazing view, we should have expected it. The portions were great, which made up for the price. Jamie and I shared some popcorn shrimp and chicken noodle soup, and it was the perfect amount for each of us. The total came out to only about $8 for each of us. So, if you love the beach, and good food (mostly seafood) like Jamie and I, then you would love this restaurant.

Dog Restaurant

There is a restaurant in Carmel, California called Forge in the Forest. It is not just your typical restaurant. From the outside, it looks like it could be a little green garden, or a friendly sidewalk cafe on a street corner in Paris. There is seating inside and outside, but the most surprising feature of all is the dog section. The seating is outside of course, you just walk through a little gate and into a quaint area filled with trees, flowers and all different kinds of plants. There are plenty of tables around and plenty of space between them. And the best part of it is.... you can bring your dog with you! My family just recently become dog fans when we made the decision to get a cocker spaniel in 2005. So we enjoyed having our little puppy with us in the restaurant. They even have a cute menu just for your dog! My family chose to treat Macey, our dog, with the "Hot Diggity Dog", and she devoured it within minutes. She was one happy puppy.

Taqueria Salsa

I live in a town called Antioch, about 45 minutes from San Francisco. We have this Mexican restaurant that is only in Antioch, and it is the best Mexican food you will ever taste. I don't know if I'm just biased because I grew up on it, but I love it, and everyone that I take there for the first time loves it. My favorite thing there is the little bean and cheese burritos and the crunchy beef tacos. You have to get the little bean and cheese burrito though, not the big one. There is just too much bean and cheese in the big ones. The little ones have the perfect ratio of bean, cheese, and tortilla, and it tastes amazing. The tacos are also pretty small, but they are extremely good too. But the BEST thing there, by far, is the chips and salsa. The chips are freshly made every day, along with the salsa. Some days the salsa tastes extra good, and it just makes my day. Personally, I like to squeeze a little bit of lime juice onto my chips and it gives the chips and salsa that much more flavor. My family and I go to this restaurant so often that all the workers know and love us. They know us as "the chip family", because we always go back and ask for multiple baskets of chips. This place is good, and the service is great. If you ever stop by Antioch, California, you should definitely stop in to Taqueria Salsa.