I’m not going to lie: I’ve been burned out. Working three jobs, planning a round-the-world trip, and racing around working on all these other projects I have going on (trust me, there are too many) while trying to maintain my health, sanity, and spirits is….exhausting.

When I found myself nearly yelling at a patient at the office on Thursday, I knew it was time to escape and get some R&R. Luckily, it came just in time for a visit to my uncle’s beach house in Malibu, CA.

I worked extra hours on Thursday to get everything set up and ready in the office so I could be absent on Friday, and then my parents and I took off Friday morning.

We only spent two days at the gorgeous Malibu house, high up on the cliffs with a private staircase straight down to the sand, but it was enough to recharge my batteries. When you spend 48 hours doing nothing but sleeping, reading and tanning, and walking along the beach, it’s easy to recharge.

Despite overcast mornings, the clouds burned off by early afternoon and the glowing sun saturated the ritzy beach town, leaving this California girl drunk on its golden rays.

Plus, my trusty Canon came along for the journey – and Malibu rewarded me with some excellent photo ops.

Enjoy.