Fall Vacation: San Diego

Dave says: When fall break arrived, it was time to head to San Diego for a few days. We hitched up the trailer and headed to Campland on the Bay. We pulled in on a Saturday and found the campground quite busy. By mid-week it was much quieter. On Saturday night we rode our bikes to the beach on Mission Bay and grabbed some take out. Skye played in the sand and got very dirty.

On Sunday morning, we went to Balboa Park. The park was having a Maker event where we could walk around and see lots of things including a giant robot. The highlight for Skye was this wooden tunnel that she liked to stand right in the middle of. Eventually, she realized that you are supposed to keep walking through it and then did a few laps. We also did the super old/super long/super cool carousel from 1918 and a ride on the mini train. Finally, it was time for lunch at one of the food trucks. It was a little cooler in the afternoon when we rode our bikes to the beach. In the evening, we went to Old Town for some average Mexican food but some good music and sights.

On Monday, we went hiking at Torry Pines Park to the north where there are some rare pine trees and some nice views of the ocean. Skye liked playing with the hiking poles but wasn't always as keen on being in the pack. We played on the beach afterwards and even had the blankets get hit by a wave. On the way back, we got a taste of busy California driving by making a half dozen turns and wasting a half an hour trying to get in and out of a drive through. In the afternoon, we headed to La Jolla where there is a nice waterfront walk with seals and ocean cliffs. Skye was more excited about walking on the rocks near the seals than the seals themselves. We grabbed some take out pizza and ate it on the park by the beach.

We figured Tuesday would be the least busy day and so we went to Sea World. This worked out well because the park was about the emptiest we had ever seen an amusement park. Skye walked right onto rides like Elmo's Flying Fish, something that resembled tea cups, and Oscar's flying eel that goes from side to side. We did an attempt at a dolphin show and discovered that Skye preferred running around in the bleachers to actually watching what was happening. However, she did really like all the aquariums with fish and other ocean creatures. We thought she would really like the penguins but her favorite part of this exhibit was running around in the back on an angled floor in front of video screens. Alisha bought us some tickets online that included "free all day food" and so this meant we had a snack at one place when we arrived, a big lunch somewhere else, and then an early dinner at a third location. The food was your typical amusement park fare but I delighted in gorging myself. Skye was getting cranky by mid-afternoon and so we found a quiet patch of grass and tried to get her to sleep. I had almost given up when she finally fell asleep and this rejuvenated her for a final push through the rest of the park.

Wednesday was our final day and we did a longer bike ride around Mission Bay followed by a stop to play at the playground. In the afternoon, it was off to Ocean Beach and the farmer's market. We went out on the pier, had some ice cream, saw some really big bubbles and a kite, and ran on the sand near the waves (but not in the water too much). The farmer's market had good food but was crowded and we tried to eat while containing Skye at a nearby park where people were hoola hooping, having drum circles, practicing acrobatics, and doing all other types of unusual things. On Thursday morning, it was back to Phoenix. Overall, it was a nice escape with pleasant weather and a lot of things for Skye to do.