SoCal

Austin and I were in San Diego about 6 years ago. Last week we went back with the kids. Austin had a conference in Long Beach so he was already out there. The kids and I flew out a few days later to join him. Flying by oneself with 2 small children across the country is not for the faint of heart. Ainsleigh, to her great credit, did an amazing job. I got her a bunch of new coloring things and sticker books (hooray for the $1 section at Target!) and she was so excited to use them for hours on end. Ripken, on the other hand, was not nearly as impressed with his new travel gifts, with the exception of a small Curious George plush toy (he has a large one he sleeps with and totes around, but I didn't want him dragging the big one through the airport, getting it all nasty, and likely losing it, so the miniature version was great for him to hold...however it wasn't exactly anything to do and he wasn't interested in any of the things I got for him). Layered on top of the fact that he is just plain squirmy was that we were delayed both in RDU and ATL and didn't end up with a plane in ATL until after the kids' bedtime. We left ATL at 8pm and still had to fly across the country--yikes! Ainslegih stuck it out and eventually slept a little on the plane, but Ripken was not having any of it. He screamed almost the entire flight. It was a full flight so he had to sit on my lap which he did not like at all. After not too long we were standing back by the flight attendants' jump seats, where we remained for several hours, screaming louder the later it went (him, not me, although I was considering joining in). Now I know why moms travel with benadryl. All told, it took 16 hours to get from RDU to LAX. My apologies to all the other passengers who had to endure the screaming and crying.

We arrived very late in LA. The next morning we drove to San Diego and went to Sea World. It was mildly disappointing compared to the Sea World in Orlando, where we went just 2 months ago. The one in CA is quite a bit smaller. Still, Ainsleigh got to see "Shamu's brother," as she called him. This time I took some pictures of the show; the trainers don't get in the water now.

After Sea World we got some food and headed to Balboa Park for a little picnic-esque dinner.

Checking into the hotel in San Diego. Gotta love Doubletree with their chocolate chip cookies. And no, it wasn't my kids who got chocolate on the white bedspreads...

Day 2: San Diego Zoo!

Ainsleigh working on her paleontology skills:

Ainsleigh loved that all of the flowers were already in bloom. Throughout the trip she kept asking me to take her picture with various plants. The one on the bottom right is with a whole lotta cacti, which she loves.

Day 3: Wild Animal Park (which is also run by the zoo).

Petting zoo:

There were tons of birds around this pond area. Rippy went nuts.

Above: A&A looking out over the savanna. There are many kinds of animals all together in the gigantic enclosure. We rode a tram through this area to look at the animals up close.

A&R on the tram. Giraffes, antelopes, and rhinos, to name a few:

The highlight of the Wild Animal Park was feeding lorikeets. You get a cup of nectar and they land right on your arm and drink it. Austin got attacked as soon as he walked in with the nectar, spilling most of it before he could hand it over to Ainsleigh. I wish I had a picture of him trying to duck and cover as he got swarmed, but these are cuter:

All that walkin' + no naps = 2 tired kids:

After the zoo we went to the beach at Coronado. This was the first time the kids saw the Pacific Ocean. Ainsleigh was very excited about this and kept telling people she was going to go swimming in the Pacific Ocean before the trip. Um, can you say wet suit?

Enjoying the beach: Ripken running away, Ainsleigh collecting shells, and the moment of truth--bottom right--Ainsleigh gets wet, screams, and runs to dry ground. Yes it really was cold like we said!

Digging in the sand:

Day 4: Back to the zoo! We still hadn't seen about half of it.

Some of the many animals: Pelican, lions, elephant with huge tusks, 7 mo old panda cub (in the hammock) and mother, and two bears wrestling.

One of Ainsleigh's favorite parts of the zoo was the skyfari, the thing you see in the top left picture (she and Austin are in the car at the very top...trust me). She rode it once the first day and twice this day. Rippy and Austin on the bus ride around the park (bottom right).

Ainsleigh with some rhinos and giraffes (Rippy was taking a much-needed stroller nap).

Rippy liked all of the aviaries:

Saying goodbye to the San Diego Zoo:

That evening Ainsleigh wanted to go back to the beach. We convinced her to drive along the beach instead. Sunset Cliffs at sunset (shocker).

At some point on the first day Ainsleigh said she wanted to live in San Diego "when I get big." I can hardly blame her, it was 73 degrees the entire time we were there. She continued telling us this throughout the trip and has done so every day since we've been back: "Mom, I miss San Diego!...Mom, we have to go back!...Mom, it was so pretty there!" We explained she will need to live with a lot of friends to be able to live in San Diego, but she still persists. Ainsleigh's current life plan is to be a scuba-diving paleontologist who lives in San Diego.

The flight back went much better with Austin there to walk Rippy up and down the aisle for hours on end. Also we sat behind another family with a toddler on the last leg and she and Rippy kept each other amused by passing things back and forth and sharing toys. Phew!

Until next time, San Diego! xxoo