San Diego

After our Spring Break visit, I loved Los Angeles and the Pacific Coast and really wanted to return to see some more.  So, we booked a week long trip to San Diego, right after Christmas.

Here is my photo blog of that trip...

Mary wanted to ride the airport shuttle train back and forth, alone.  

"It just makes me feel so independent".

Aw, sleepy baby on the flight

We were a little tired of regular hotels, and we couldn't find a cute little B & B, so we decided instead to rent a sailboat!  The boat was the perfect size and had most of the amenities we needed.  After four days, however, it did feel a little like we were glamping.  I do recommend this boat; it was beautiful inside, very clean, and well located on Harbor Island.

Finley enjoyed watching the water and other boats in the marina.

(glass was pre-smashed)

 

Around day three we noticed a boat pull up, loaded with sea lions.  The keepers unloaded the sea lions and took them for a walk around our marina.  We assumed these were from Sea World and this was their daily exercise/training.  Sure enough, this was a daily occurrence and we got to watch them every morning as they swam around our boat and took walks around the jetty.  The keepers were even kind enough to bring them close up to Finley so that she could see them.

So many places to play peek-a-boo on a sailboat.

No trip to San Diego is complete without a visit to the USS Midway; the longest serving Navy aircraft carrier.

We took a drive out to Cabrillo National Monument and Point Loma Tide Pools, hoping to see some wildlife.  

From here, you can drive up to Point Loma, which offers great 360 views on San Diego and surroundings.   There is also an old lighthouse and some trails.

Ocean Beach lies right on the Entrance Channel to Mission Bay.  We liked Ocean Beach, although it was obviously not the fanciest residential area in the San Diego area.  We ate at Wonderland Ocean Pub; a great place with ocean views, good service and yummy food.

Their pretzel balls and cheese dip are gooood

Mary rented a bike for an hour and Andrew got lots of exercise trying to ride it on the beach.

When riding a bike in the drizzling rain, it's imperative that you stop in a cosy, warm coffee shop for some hot chocolate.  It's in those sidelines that you discover cool finger tricks.

Ocean Beach has a long pier where you can go to fish, or just hang out at the little semi run-down cafe that stays open into the wee hours.  We liked this pier; it wasn't overrun by tourists and there were no themed attractions.  It was just a nice, relaxing pier with friendly neighborhood pelicans.

We had read that the San Diego Zoo was the best in the world.  Of course, we had to take Mary, the budding zoo keeper.  The zoo is huge but there is plenty of free and frequent transportation.  For the overall size of the zoo, some of the animal enclosures were a little small and the observation areas somewhat inadequate so I wasn't overly impressed.  I prefer the Houston zoo.  However, if you like convenience, lots of amenities (bathrooms, cafes, souvenir stores), then this is a great day out and we certainly had lots of fun!  

"Petite and ladylike"

Finley was amazed by some of the animals that she had, so far, only seen in books.

The aerial tramway is a great way to return to the exit at the end of the day.

A visit to La Jolla is an absolute must for anyone visiting this area.  Just ask TripAdvisor.  There is limited free parking, but it can be found with enough driving down backstreets.  We walked along the cliffs and got to see tens of seals basking in the sun on the beaches.  We saw one seal which looked as if it had been attacked by a shark.  The seal was washed up on the shore and we weren't optimistic about its chances.  

Cleverly avoiding the injured seal to the left of the camera shot

A short drive further north on the coast will bring you to Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve.  On the way, just a short drive past the University of California, San Diego, is Torrey Pines Gliderport.  We stopped for a bite to eat and watched the gliders taking off to sail over the ocean.  

This looks like so much fun!

Torrey Pines is a popular hiking destination and the trails were busy.  There were lots of photography shoots going on.  This is a beautiful place so it was no surprise.

The hike back was long so we played a running word game to keep Mary moving.

 

Another popular destination in the San Diego area is Coronado Beach.  To get to the Coronado Island, you can either take the longer driving route from the south, or you can take the Coronado Bridge which is a pretty neat drive over Sand Diego Bay.

 

My girls love the beach!

Christmas toes in the Pacific Ocean

We took the long drive south to get back to our sailboat, and stopped off at Imperial Beach, not far from the border to Mexico.  Imperial Beach is not a popular destination so parking is easy and so is access to the beach.  

A nice little diner in Pine Valley.  Mary, always has her nose in a book.  Or Minecraft.

We took a drive up to Mt. Laguna...

The International Car Show was in San Diego December 29th to January 2nd so, of course, we had to visit.  The girls had way more fun than we anticipated.  

My baby was the grubby, wet, one-socked, homeless looking child running around in hysterics, smearing apple-sauced hands on the perfectly polished car doors.  You're welcome, Audi.

Mary found the car she wants to own in a few years.  

We always try to find the best Indian restaurant whenever we visit a new place.  However, this time we found a highly rated Thai restaurant for New Year's Eve.  

We took a trip to the Gaslamp Quarter, downtown San Diego.  I apparently only took photos of Andrew and Mary having a slap-fight in an Irish bar.

Time to head home!  San Diego, you did not disappoint!

Just when I thought my week had been perfect, someone served me this cup of tea on the plane.  You should never, ever serve an English person a cup of hot milky water with a packaged tea bag on the side.  It's kinda like serving a Texan an overcooked burger with a packet of Jack-in-the-Box BBQ sauce on the side and calling it brisket.