For our family vacation and to celebrate Joe's homecoming, we decided to go to Southern California. We experienced San Diego with Legoland, Sea World, the Wild Animal Park, and the beaches of Coronado Island. It has been 3 years since we have been to that area and we were excited to go back.
We arrived on Tuesday and met up with Carrie, Matt and kids. They were in San Diego for the week as well but were heading north the next day. We went to Old Towne for a yummy dinner at a Mexican restaurant, walked around a park, and then headed back to their hotel for swimming and s'mores at the fire pits on the roof. It was so fun to see them. We tried to convince them to stay and go to Legoland with us, but to no avail. Next time...
Eight is Enough! Stuart and Hansen Cousins
Katelyn and McKell
Carlee and Megan
What an angel! (sometimes)
Wednesday we went to Legoland. It was a great day--a little drizzly and overcast but nothing severe enough to make us go home or shut the park down. The kids had a blast and I still think the "Build and Test" is one of the favorites there. Unfortunately, Carlee was a little too small to go on a lot of the rides but the few that she could go on were done multiple times. Another favorite is the Volvo Driving School where the kids actually drive Lego cars around and follow traffic rules. There were a couple of new areas open this time--Land of Adventure and Pirate Lagoon. There were some fun rides there and we can't wait until those sections are completed. It just gives us an excuse to go back in a couple of years!
Thursday we went to Sea World. It had been years since Joe and I had visited this Sea World. We had gone as kids but didn't remember it very well. Let me just say that San Antonio Sea World is so much better. There are a lot more kiddie rides, 2 big roller coasters, and the Cirque du Soleil/Dolphin Show is really great. It's one of our favorites. The best thing about San Diego was the Journey to Atlantis ride. It is a lot better than San Antonio's. We still had a great time, however. Who doesn't like seeing Shamu do flips in the air and splash the crowd with his tail?
The dolphin show was pretty good in that they totally tricked the audience by having a trainer dressed casually and acting like they got pulled out of the audience. She was helping feed the dolphins with her "fake" daughter and husband and then fell into the water. The audience totally panicked. When she started treading water like a synchronized swimmer, we figured out that she was a pro but it was a pretty good trick.
Friday was the Wild Animal Park. It was a new place for us. We enjoyed it and loved hiking along the trails. It is a glorified zoo. It is huge. Some of the animals were hiding or sleeping so we didn't get to see the tigers, cheetahs, or some monkeys but it was a good day, nevertheless. The kids loved Dino Mountain--an area where there are automated dinosaurs that roar and move and stare at you while you are walking around. They even got special passports that they could stamp when they saw all the different dinosaur species. My favorite part was taking pics of the kids while they were playing on the playground and climbing tree trunks. I love taking pictures when they are willing to pose!
Saturday we headed to Coronado Island for a delicious breakfast and fun in the surf and sand. The kids enjoyed playing in the ocean, making sand castles, and searching for seashells and sand dollars. The water was too cold for me so I was happy being the photographer, as usual. We then cleaned off the best we could and headed home.
Look out! A new generation of Baywatch!
Check out this Baywatch babe! She's even got the run down!
My other Baywatch beauty answering a distress call...
The studliest life-saver on the beach
Carrie and Matt called us while on the road and we realized they were about 20 miles behind us so they spent the night at our place before continuing home the next day. The kids had a fun night-time swim and we enjoyed late-night pizza and talking until 2:00 in the morning. Thanks, cousins, for making our house an extended pit-stop! You're always welcome!
All in all, a great vacation with greater memories. Now back to reality...
