The last two and half years have been rough. I didn't really realize just how stressful they were until The last couple weeks, when things finally calmed down and our to-do list was whittled down to a few loose ends that have to wait until spring. It has been all house projects, all the time. I haven't even done the majority of the work, and I'm pretty good at ignoring my stress, so I can only imagine how Tim has been feeling as the primarily responsible party.
All that said, we needed a vacation. So when tickets so San Diego went on sale for under $100, I pounced. We planned a five day trip, Tuesday through Saturday, just before Halloween.We got there just in time for one of their two annual heat waves. And it was HOT.
Tuesday was Ava's and Eric's first time on an airplane. Bus didn't really know what to expect, but Ava was pretty nervous for it. Once we got on the plane she was not about to let go of my hand. The whole flight went perfectly and they loved it. We rented a minivan and headed to the hotel. We stayed at the North Island Navy Lodge on the Navy base on Coronado. It was right on the most beautiful white, then gold and back sand beach. So we checked in and went right to the water.
Wednesday we got up and headed to Sea World. The park was pretty empty - I'm guessing because of the heat. We watched a dolphin show that was very cool, and tried out all the rides that were open. We rented two-seater stroller to add to the one we brought, so we pushed the kids around all day, but they still pooped out pretty early. It was really cool, but after tickets and stroller rental and food, we left feeling like we had just spent a lot of money for very little return. So we went back to the hotel and spent the rest of the day at the beach.
On Thursday I wanted to go see the Cabrillo National Monument. I read that there is a cool lighthouse and tidepools in the same area. We went up there and saw the monument, but by then it was getting hot. The kids didn't want to hike to the lighthouse so we drove down to the tidepool area. The tide was too high to see anything, so we played around for a few minutes and decided it was time to head home. We went back to the hotel and spent the rest of the day at the beach. That night we went downtown and went out to dinner, which was pretty nice.
On Friday morning we got up bright and early to get to the zoo right when it opened. It was supposed to be kids get in free, which they did, but then you had to buy passes to go on the bus tour. Which we did. We didn't have to wait in line for too long, thankfully! I thought it was great just riding through the zoo, seeing the animals. I was the only one. We got off the bus, looked around for a while...tried to see the pandas and failed. Then left. The kids were miserable and complaining about everything. So we went back to the hotel and spent the rest of the afternoon at the pool and the beach. Then we ordered pizza and rented a movie.
Saturday morning we walked along the beach one last time and then decided to drive around and see some sights. We visited the San Diego temple and went to lunch, and then just made our way back to the airport for our flight. Bus didn't want to sit in a seat, but other than that, everything went perfectly again.
It was so beautiful at the beach. Mason and Ava took straight to the water and wanted to swim and play in the waves the whole time. The sand was perfect for digging or building castles. The weather was warm enough that the beach wasn't uncomfortable at all. It was seriously everything you could ask for.
I'm glad we went, and the break and the beach and the sunshine was so good. But I'm never taking my kids on vacation again.
