We decided to explore San Diego for about a week over the fourth of July. We stayed at the Embassy Suites in La Jolla which was nice and roomy (and a good value), complete with a complimentary happy hour every night with unlimited drinks, which I couldn't partake in...and a full made-to-order breakfast. The hotel was definitely targeted for families. Collin loved the Koi fish in the pond and pressing the elevator button. I think he would've been happy doing that all day. He also had fun swimming in the pool and dipping his feet in the hot tub. The downside of the hotel was the location. While we could drive about 15 minutes into town, we were in the middle of a bunch of businesses and there was nothing close we could walk to. We also had to barricade the couch against the door to make sure Collin didn't escape.
La Jolla is beautiful and expensive. We drove around the bluffs and million dollar houses. We had some gut bomb pizza and I got my Mexican fix. We also walked by the ocean though didn't really hang at the beach too much. When you're used to Hawaii beaches where you can actually swim it just doesn't compare.
Tom and Virginia met up with us and we walked around the boardwalk in downtown San Diego and explored the maritime museum complete with submarines, old fashioned sailing ships and a pirate who gave him his own doubloon. We also checked out the USS Midway Museum, the longest-serving Navy aircraft carrier of the 20th century. It was massive and had lots of cool aircraft and sights for Collin to explore.
We got our moneys worth at the San Diego zoo and spent almost the whole day there! It was crazy busy (mental note, don't plan trips around the 4th) but still fun. Collin seemed to enjoy the flamingos and the koalas. The pandas were also out for us to see after waiting in a long line.
That evening, we ended up at a park where we feasted on double double animal style In-N-Out Burgers (plus a milkshake and fries). So not healthy but sometimes you just crave a cheap, good old fashioned burger!
The 4th was a nice change of pace (no crowds, no craziness!) and we met up with Collin's new buddy Saul and my friend Robin. Collin and Saul got along great and chased each other around, swam in the pool and followed Saul's older brother around.
Then that night we saw an awesome fireworks display at Robin's synagogue. The view was amazing with the fireworks coming from over the hill and literally felt like they were spilling down on us. I managed to get a few cool shots.
Finally we made it to Sea World. It was HOT when we got there. Poor Mike, who doesn't take heat well was dripping bowls of sweat while we waited for our first show. It was also crowded but the shows, while cheesy (I don't really need the story lines or music, just show me the animals doing tricks) were definitely worthwhile. We didn't make it to too many exhibits but Mike chased Collin around a giant kids area where he had to hoist Collin up a huge net. We stayed about four hours and then were ready to leave.
One of my favorite parts of our trip was Balboa Park, where the Zoo and a bunch of other museums are. It was really beautiful and we hiked around a palm forest, walked around the gardens and just took in all the sights. We went back there twice and I could've spent another full day there.
Unfortunately the last day of our trip wasn't so fun. Mike, who has seriously bad vacation juju when it comes to getting sick, ended up shivering and running a fever. You know Mike's not well when he wants to wear a hoodie and it's 90 degrees out. I was also feeling pretty crappy as I was hitting those lovely first trimester blahs. And Collin was a tornado running around and trying to kill himself in traffic. The highlight was back at PDX while I was trying to grab a bag and Mike looked like he was about to pass out, Collin ran through the big rotating glass doors. Luckily airport security stopped him. Ah yes, never a dull moment.
We made it home ready to pass out and it turned out Mike had strep throat which luckily Collin and I didn't catch. Besides that last day, our summer vacation was pretty fun, though not what you'd call relaxing with a 3-year old wild-man.
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