Moving Day

Tuesday was moving day. We spent the morning at Downtown Disney eating breakfast at the Rain Forest Cafe and blowing a wad at World of Disney.

Then we waved goodbye to Mickey and headed south the San Diego. We thought we left late enough to miss traffic but we didn't account for an accident in San Clemente that shut down I-5 or for a fire on Camp Pendleton that might as well have shut the freeway down. A.J. got car sick on the way down and we had to make another unscheduled stop to take care of that.

Our first stop in San Diego was Old Town. James and I discovered the Old Town Mexican Cantina on our first trip to San Diego and have been back each time we've gone. They have fresh homemade tortillas that you can watch being made right in the front window. The only problem, somewhere in the last ten years, they decided they need to put cilantro in everything. Who came up with that idea anyway?

Then we checked in at the Bahia Resort. The resort is a bit on the old side, but we were extremely pleased with the size of the room and the location. I would stay there again. They have their own private beach on Mission Bay and it is just a short walk to Mission Beach as well.

That evening, A.J. and I walked to Mission Beach to watch the sun set. It was so beautiful. It ended up being the only time we spent on the beach. A.J. enjoyed putting his feet in the water and I enjoyed watching him and watching the sun slip behind the Pacific Ocean. Here are some pictures:

Shamu! Shamu!

Wednesday meant Sea World. James and I went to Sea World years ago and didn't really enjoy it. Let me just say, it is sooooooo much better with a kid in tow. Even though he was whiny and told us he wasn't going to have any fun.

James favorite show was the Dolphins but A.J. and I loved the Shamu show, Believe. Even though we sat in the "Wet zone" and didn't get a drop of water on us, it was spectacular.

There are only three "adult" rides at Sea World. Wild Arctic is a helicopter simulator ride that is kind of like a weak version of Star Tours. I got a bit sick, but not too bad. We got drenched on Shipwreck rapids (just fine since it was very warm that day). Then there is Journey to Atlantis. I don't even know how to explain it except that I read it is Splash Mountain meets the Matterhorn. Very different ride. Lots of fun and pretty wet. Here's A.J. and I on it:

They also have a new area with a Sesame Street theme with some kiddie rides and a big play area. And of course, a character greeting area where we got to give Burt, Ernie and Cookie a big hug!
All in all, a fun day. We will be going back to Sea World again someday, but not too soon.

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

Thursday was our San Diego Zoo day. I love this zoo! So many cool animals to see that our local zoo either doesn't have anymore (polar bears and hippos) or never had to begin with (Pandas and Koalas). The exhibits are amazing and you can just tell the animals are well taken care of.

This was my third time at the zoo and we actually got to see the Pandas this time. The first time we went, the line was too long. The second time we went, the exhibit was closed because there was a new Panda cub. I've seen them other places, but this time, there was no line and all the Pandas were out frolicking and eating.

A.J.'s favorites were the hippos. They were really active when we saw them, swimming around and playing with each other. We had to wait a few minutes to see the polar bears, but it was worth it when they came out and started eating and walking around. And of course, who doesn't love the Koalas. We even got to see a mommy and her little joey.

Here's some fun pictures from our day:

Just monkeying around

We warned A.J. to never smile at a crocodile.

It was a great day, with great weather and our feet weren't too worse for the wear. We went back to the hotel to swim and hang out and get to bed early to be ready for another day of adventure.

Come On Let Me Take You on a Habor Cruise

Friday was all about the San Diego Harbor and Beach.

We started the day on the USS Midway, a decommissioned air craft carrier that has been turned into a museum. This was all for James who loves military history. It was very interesting though and A.J. enjoyed it too. The tour goes through the bunking quarters to see how the sailors lived when they were on board. Can't believe how little *personal* space there is on such a big ship.

We took our turn being locked up in the brig:

A.J. took a turn in the *Boss* chair in the air traffic control center of the tour:



And a turn at the wheel: The hanger and the flight deck also have a few dozen aircraft. Of course, A.J. and James both loved that part. Here's A.J., ready for take off:

Next, it was on to the Harbor Cruise. Last time James and I visited San Diego, this was the favorite part of our trip. We took the two hour cruise that features both the North Bay and the South Bay. I love the North Bay with it's views of Downtown and Shelter Island and Point Loma. James loves the South Bay with it's views of the ship yards and Coronado. We also saw sea lions, lots of birds and several different airplanes and helicopters taking off from the US Naval airbase. A.J. thought the whole thing was great until we didn't get off the boat after the first half. Here we are at the front of the boat headed out toward Shelter Island:The USS Tarawa was coming into port while we were out on the cruise. We got to see it come all the way from the entrance to the bay, all the way down to where it went into the pier. We even got to see a Navy patrol boat push a sail boat out of the way that got too close to the ship. Here's James checking out the Tarawa.


After the Harbor Cruise, we went back to our hotel and walked to Belmont Park -- an old fashioned amusement park right at Mission Beach. We rode the old fashioned wooden roller coaster a couple of times and the bumper cars a few times. But A.J.'s favorite ride was this one that went up and down randomly called the vertical plunge:

They really made what out of Legos?

The last day of our trip was spent at Legoland. We had heard a lot of mixed reviews of this place. We put it on and off our agenda several times but in the end we went. No regrets from me. I think A.J. might have liked it better than Disneyland.

I felt like I was at a serious disadvantage here, because I know how to do Disneyland. I know what rides to hit first thing in the morning (before the crowds) and I know what is just not worth waiting in any line for. Not so at Legoland. It's all new and no one has written an "unofficial guide" yet. But we did our best. We started out the day going to the right (because I'd heard most people go to the left first).

The best ride there is the Technic Coaster -- a great little coaster that is tame enough that A.J. didn't hide, but with a bit of a "wild mouse" flavor to it. The worst ride was Treasure Falls -- a log flume ride that was too short, too wimpy and too slow loading. Of course, the degree to which we liked these rides is almost directly propotionate to how long we spent in line waiting for them. We hit the coaster first and walked straight on. We hit the Log Flume ride around noon and waited 45 minutes for a 30 second ride. When I saw the sign that said it would be 45 minutes from this point, I thought it couldn't be possible. You could see the loading point for the ride and it wasn't that far from the end. But it's about the slowest loading ride I have ever seen!

But my most favorite part of the day was running into (well, actually she ran into me) my *old* friend Ali Paxton (or as I like to call her, my friend formally known as Alice-Marie) who was also in Legoland with her family. We were waiting in line for the Knight's Joust and I heard this "Excuse me, can I get up there with my family." I knew that voice sounded too familiar and her kids looked familiar to me too. How ironic. We grew up together in Martinez and now we both live in the general Salt Lake area, but we had to go to Southern Cali to run into eachother. I wish I had thought to take a picture.

The thing that I loved the most about the park though was Miniland USA. I wasn't prepared for how much I would love to see some of USA's great cities and landmarks made entirely out of Legos. New York, San Francisco, Washington D.C., Las Vegas etc. I just couldn't stop taking pictures of all the little buildings and all the details put into them. Here's my beloved San Fran:

Over all, I would recommend Legoland to anyone with little kids who have had any exposure to Legos. The rides are geared for younger kids (very little for the true thrill seeker) and there are lots of places to get really wet if that is on your agenda. Here are some more pictures:
A.J. fighting Lego Darth Vadar with a Lego light saber with Lego R2D2 standing watch.

A.J. and James with Lego Indy.

One of many water themed areas of the park.


A.J. got eaten by a Lego Lion!

We stayed the last night in Santa Ana, very near the John Wayne Airport. Not fun to have to move again, but we still had to get up before 6:00 a.m. to make our flight this morning and any earlier might not have been worth going to bed for. It's good to be home though. We have lots to do this week!