San Diego, California...

Chris called me from work Wednesday and asked if I wanted to go to the beach. I love the beach so I said yes and we began our planning. I called to make arrangements for the kiddies and Chris got our plane tickets, the hotel booked and a rental car arranged.

The travel

We flew into L.A., then to San Diego on this 30 seater. It's the smallest plane I have ever been on.

As you can see, it was a tight fit for the two of us. The flight was only about 35-40 minutes, though. And we were glad to be starting our vacation.

 

This was our beautiful rental car. It was great cruising around in a convertible, totally worth the extra $$$!



(Chris likes taking pictures of me.)

Day 1

Our hotel, Extended Stay America. It's cheaper, but there is no pool, hot tub, fitness room, or maid service. I think next time we will pay a bit more for those things.

Our first lunch was in Ocean Beach at a great Mexican spot: Bravo's. Yummy food, neat atmosphere, and only a few minutes walking distance from the beach. There are also some great shops in the area.

 (Chris doesn't like his picture taken, and he thinks I'm a crazy blogger.)

 After lunch, we headed for the beach, I'm sparing everyone photos of us in our swimsuits. :)

 

Oh crap! Chris got me in mine! Luckily I had my cover-up on, sort of. I'm such a dork!

 We found these great cliffs in Ocean Beach called Sunset Cliffs. It was beautiful and part of it let us walk right down to the water. Next time I want to go watch the sunset from here!

View from the cliffs.

We decided to pick up some produce and drinks and found this great market, Vons. Chris, being a Chef, was very impressed with the organization and presentation of the market so I took a few photos for him to show his students.



Later that night we drove around town and I took photos here and there.

That night we ordered in Chinese from City Wok. It was alright, I've had much better.

This stadium is where the Padres (baseball) play.

Interesting art off the side of the road.

Day 2

First thing in the morning we went to the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park. They have a sort of mini safari you go on to see the animals in their natural habitat. There are also petting zoos, and all types of animal shows. It was pretty neat, but they are trying to conserve the animals. They have 1 of the only 8 white rhinos in the world.

I thought Richard would like this of his Daddy with Sponge Bob.

Cheetah in the grass.

Eating time. there was a gorilla named Dari, but I couldn't get a photo of her from the front, so I got the daddy.

 

I guess this is the rock that the father lion, king of the jungle, will come and roar on each evening. During the day, the lion cub likes to sit there. Too cute!NBC has a studio in San Diego, I never knew that.



We drove past this beautiful vineyard on the way to the Wild Animal Park.

Driving North on I-5 we suddenly came across the San Diego Temple. It looks like a castle, it is so beautiful!

That day for lunch we went to Del Mar to find the Fish Market. It has won many awards and accolades. Chris loves seafood, but I do not. I am a good sport, and since most fish eateries have steak or chicken I told him we should go. I had a great herb chicken, tasty steamed veggies, and a wonderful serving of Au gratin potatoes-the best I have ever had! Chris had sword fish and said it was one of the best he has ever had, he even complimented the server. I believe there are 4 Fish Market locations, we were just closest to this one.

 

Then we headed to the beach, less than 5 minutes from the Fish Market. We caught a few waves and saw some dolphins about 50-80 yards from us. It was so exciting!

 

Lots of dogs at this beach!


Then we headed over to Balboa Park, the zoo and a ton of museums are over there. They were all closed but it was neat to see the area.

This amazing tree was just in front of the Museum of Natural History. Absolutely incredible!

Downtown, while waiting for dinner, a ton of emergency vehicles showed up for a fire at the mall. We never did see it, but could smell the smoke. It was prom or something, so a ton of people were out there watching with us.

Then we ate at the Hard Rock Cafe. We got the kids bears, I got a shirt, and Chris got a hat. We also bought his Dad a military bear pin for his birthday. Happy Birthday Bryce!

Day 3

We went on a Harbor Dining Cruise for brunch. It was a 2 hour tour, not 3 like Gilligan's Island cast. :) They had a buffet of breakfast food, seafood, salads, omelets, Mexican food, and desserts. Including a chocolate fountain with pineapple and strawberries!!! Yum. I ate soooo much, but I had to get my $50 worth, ya know? It was nice, and a beautiful day. It was neat to see the city from a different perspective.

 

California Spirit. They served champagne and mamosa's to everyone, over 21 to get on the ship. Chris and I, of course, declined the alcohol, but I was carded. It felt pretty good to be 30 and be carded. It made my day that the server thought I was younger. :)

Chris chillin' on the back of the ship.

Afterward, we were just exhausted and hot. We had to be at the airport in a few hours and had checked-out from our hotel, so we found shade at the edge of Balboa Park and rested up for a bit. Then we ran to Wal-mart, we needed another bag for souveniers, and headed to the airport.


While we were resting, the airplanes were coming in almost over us. It was fun to watch.

In the LAX, we ate at the L.A. Roadhouse. It was alright.


All-in-all, I had a wonderful time and would go again in a heartbeat! I love San Diego!!! Thanks, babe, for the great weekend. And thank you Bonnie& family and Bryce & Donnell for watching our kids! They had a lot of fun, too.