California March 9-16, 2009. This is the first trip we have taken other than to see family in a few years and our first ever family vacation.
Day 1- We (Jamie, I, Guy & Kael, along with Jamie’s parents Dan & Brenda) left Saturday afternoon for our week long stay in CA.Our flight had a lay-over in Las Vegas. Jamie gave Brenda a $20 to play the slots with and she won $211. They split the winnings which basically paid for our first nights stay in San Diego. The boys did amazing traveling, as always. I am so incredibly proud of them.
Day 2- After breakfast, the boys wandered down to the harbor with Brenda & Dan while Jamie & I printed out tickets for the next few days; loaded trips, destinations, etc into the GPS; and packed up. We had given Guy an old digital camera that’s screen is broken to use for vacation. He took some pretty good pics throughout the trip. Once everyone was loaded, we drove up to Carlsbad & checked into the Sheraton Resort at Legoland. Our first stop was the SeaLife Aquarium that’s attached to Legoland. We got our first glimpse of what was to come. The aquarium had a bunch of really neat Lego figures like: lots of divers, silly bathers, crazy sunbathing crabs and, oh yeah, there was sea life there, too.
That afternoon, Jamie took the boys swimming. It was 58 degrees! Yes, that’s right, 58 and he got in the water. I don’t care how heated the pool (90) or hot tub (100) are, the air is still cold when you get out. Crazy boys!
That night we ran down to South Carlsbad State Beach for a little bit. It was the first time the boys had been to the ocean. They had a blast throwing rocks at the waves and Jamie got a shot of the lifeguard tower that I absolutely love!
Day 3- LEGOLAND!!! Finally, the much-anticipated pinnacle (at least for the boys) of the trip. Whoever designed the various figures throughout has a wonderful sense of humor. One of my favorites was the granny feeding the pigeons with the “Pigeon Recipes” cookbook poking out of her basket and the net behind her back. Kael got a big kick out of the Dalmatian peeing on the fire hydrant but I think Guy’s favorite was the Diva. That picture is one of the funniest from the whole trip! His face says it all.
The Volvo Driving School was a big hit for both of them, as were most of the other rides as well. Miniland was fascinating. I can only begin to imagine how much time went into something like that. It would be the perfect job for Jamie. He could use his brains to design and then spend hours upon hours building and get paid for it. Sounds like a dream to me!
The boys picked out a few toys at the Lego store. I chose a sword and shield for each of them so they could play the Red Knight and Blue Knight from Castle Crashers. I think it was one of the best investments from the trip. The boys have continued to have a blast with them. I pity the fool that stands too close unaware.
Day 4- I love zoos and have heard wonderful things about the San Diego Zoo. It was the one thing I wanted to see on our trip but as we were driving on the first day, we passed a city bench with a Body Worlds ad on it. I was more than willing to give up the zoo for that. So instead of the zoo, we headed to the San Diego Natural History Museum. Kael LOVES dinosaurs so that was, without a doubt, his favorite part of it. I think the park next door was Guy’s. I was somewhat surprised that he wasn’t more interested in the bodies since he is always asking “what’s this?” and “how does that work?” or “what does this look like?” I think I speak for us both when I say that Brenda and I found it absolutely amazing! I could have spent all day looking. The only one that creeped out a little was the dancer with her hair. The hair made it seem too personal. The rest were just cadavers. Amazing, incredible, awesome but still just cadavers.
That afternoon, we met up with Susan at Dog Beach. Jamie used to work with Susan when we lived in Cincinnati. It was too cold to swim but that did not stop the boys from getting drenched. Dog beach sits right next to Ocean Beach so we played on the people side for a while until Susan got there then we went over to the doggy side. The boys loved the water as much as the dogs! Two negatives to Dog Beach: dog poo and lost shoes. We left our shoes in a pile on the beach while we wandered in the surf. Mind you, Dog Beach is not that big. I looked over and some big ole sheep dog was squatting over the shoes. He managed to miss most of the shoes but did hit part of one of Jamie’s. A quick rinse in the ocean and some hand sanitizer when we reached the car and they were good as new. Kael’s shoes unfortunately, did not fare so well. When we got ready to leave we discovered that some dog had a really nice new chew toy. We had bought the boys each a pair of Keen’s so that they would have really comfy and versatile shoes for the trip. Kael only had a one left. We all searched around for a while but to no avail.Mind you, Kael was really excited about what he calls his “fire Luigi shoes” so we hunted down an REI and picked up another pair. Tragedy averted.
We hit Joe’s Crab Shack for dinner. I know, we’re on the CA coast and we’re hitting Joe’s instead of “real” seafood joint but it was kid-friendly and the boys loved the atmosphere and the toy sharks that came in mom’s drink. The waitress was even kind enough to give us an extra shark so that they each had their own. The sharks get a lot of tub time.
Day 5- The start of our trip up the coast. We stopped briefly at the Santa Monica Pier to let everyone stretch their legs and get some wiggles out. The boys worked on a sand castle with Brenda for a bit and then we were on our way up Highway 1. We stopped for the night in Morro Bay. Overall, a pretty uneventful day.
Day 6- Our first stop was at Hearst Castle, an amazingly over-indulgent piece of paradise that belonged to William Randolf Hearst. The estate was amazing and the boys loved seeing the real castle, “pirates chest”, secret paneled doors and gold swimming pool. We made a few stops along Hwy 1 to take pictures of the scenery and the wildlife. There was a beach with hundreds of sea lions and elephant seals. If you’ve haven’t seen one, they are HUGE! We also stopped in a little fishing village,Moss Landing, that has a large family of sea otters. What funny little critters they are. There were also a ton of seals all piled on a pier, literally piled one on top of the other.
For those of you that have never been up Hwy 1, it is beautiful but I would not recommend it for anyone that gets carsick; lots of up and downs, back and forths and curves every which way. Luckily the boys did great and even Brenda managed to handle the ride without too much of a problem. We arrived that night at the Courtyard Marriot in San Francisco.
Day 7- Friday, we met up with Jenny, a lady that Brenda used to work with. We went out to the Jelly Belly Factory in Fairfield.The tour explains how Jelly Belly’s are made and everyone got a sample. There are portraits made of Jelly Belly’s that hang throughout the building; very neat and I’m sure very time consuming. You can view the Bean Art Gallery at their site.
We went back to Benicia for lunch and ate at Kinder’s deli. While we were there, a group of Coast Guards came in. The boys got a big kick out this. We had seen a number of C.G. ships and helicopters throughout the trip so the boys (mostly Guy) thought it was great to actually see the guys. As we finished up, a group of motorcycle police came down the street so I took the boys down to see the bikes but they were too shy to introduce themselves. However, they were heading to the same deli we had just eaten at so as we wandered back that way, one of the officers spoke to the boys and gave them “badge” stickers. Again, they were quite excited.
Back in San Francisco, we walked to Borders to grab a few books but since it was starting to get dark on the way back we opted to take a taxi back. It was the boys’ first time in a cab and the cabby was really cool about it. He made a big deal out of it for the boys and let Guy do a radio check on the CB.
That night Brenda and Dan kept the boys while Jamie and I went out to dinner. We ate at this great little Indian restaurant calledMehfil Indian Cuisine. The food was delicious, the wine great and the dessert was phenomenal! It was called gulab jamun and was unbelievable. I am definitely going to have to find a place around here that has it.
Day 8- Muir Woods and our first time seeing the Giant Redwoods. Guy thought it was pretty cool that the trees were even taller than the building we were staying in (we were on the 12th floor). After the first few trees though, they were pretty much ready to be done. We had told the boys we were going hiking but at this time Guy pointed out that “This isn’t hiking. It’s walking”. He was right, of course. We were following a very clear boardwalk and path. Peanut (a.k.a. Joan) met up with us here. She is a lifelong friend of Brenda’s and Jamie’s godmother. The rest of the day she came along.
Point Reyes Lighthouse was our next stop. Jamie and the boys had never seen a lighthouse and I think they are beautiful. It was a neat place to stop but the 300+ steps were a strong reminder that I need to get back to running. While we were there, we saw a whale. All I saw was the tail of a little one but Jamie actually got to see one crest. He managed to get some pictures of it along with some great shots of the view.
One the way back, Brenda and Dan rode with Peanut and Jamie and I took the boys to head back. We went up to Hawk Hillwhich has an amazing view overlooking San Francisco. The boys pretty much slept for the ride back so by the time we hit the room they were more than ready to eat. We ordered grilled cheese from room service which was a huge hit with Guy. He thought it was great that they would actually bring your food right up to your room!
Day 9- Jamie took the boys swimming (finally an indoor pool) while Brenda and I went to see Alcatraz. It was a very interesting and educational tour. I wish Jamie had chosen to come with us as there were some great photo ops. When we got back, we wandered around Fisherman’s Wharf a bit and checked out all the touristy stuff. Then we grabbed a cab up to Coit Tower to take a look around. From there we walked down to Lombard Street and then Ghirardelli Square. Here, we treated ourselves to the most amazing sundaes. There was a Schooner in the harbor near the square which the boys thought was an awesome pirate ship.Guy wanted to know if we could see real pirates.
Back at the hotel, Jamie and I took the boys swimming.
Day 10- It was time to go home. We were flying out of San Jose in the afternoon so we took a leisurely drive towards the airport and stopped at this great grille which happened to be right next to a comic book store. Needless to say, the boys (big and little) ended up with comics for the trip home. The boys did great as usual and we all arrived home late but safe and exhausted.
Day 11- Though technically not part of the trip I’m going to include it. I let the boys stay home one more day from school so they could sleep in and get caught back up since we didn’t get in until late. I unpacked, did a bit of laundry and lounged until Jamie called to say “Can you find a sitter for tonight?” I did and we ended up heading out with a great group from his work in a limo to have a few drinks before heading to the Nickelback concert. Overall, a great Spring Break, wonderful family trip and much needed mental break.