Point Loma, Cabrillo Monument and the tide pools

We went to Point Loma and Cabrillo National Monument today. It was definitely a highlight of the trip. The Point was very nice, it juts out into the bay and you can see Navy ships leaving port. We saw this Amphibious something or other (Drew or my dad can tell you) leaving today. We also went hiking around nearby tide pools which was very exticiting. For dinner, we had Drew’s favorite meal so far – he keeps asking to go back for Mona Lisa’s Pizza in Little Italy.

Animal Safari

We went to the Wild Animal Park today. This is a part of the same organization as the zoo but more oriented to keeping the animals in a natural habitat to promote breeding. They have helped bring some species back from the brink of extinction and introduced some back into the wild where they had been completely hunted out (presumably with some sort of security). It was neat to see the animals, especially the babies including gazelles, giraffes, ostrich eggs and more. We also saw a cheetah up close which Alex loved – who knows maybe someday he will be here at the zoo training wild animals …

Strawberries, strawberries everywhere

We spent a laid back day exploring a nearby Strawberry festival and picking fresh strawberries. Check out Drew and Alex in the strawberry pie eating contest. Sadly they didn’t win!

Off to the zoo

We went to the San Diego zoo today. Drew’s favorite thing was the elephant we saw getting its hoof cleaned – another trainer was feeding it celery and it would use its trunk to take the food. Molly’s favorite thing was posing at every animal statue she saw. Alex’s favorite thing was the Skyfari (gondola). Andy and Diane’s favorite thing was seeing a polar bear right against the glass eating carrots.

Cuyamaca hiking and camping

We decided to go camping at the last minute today. Planning might have been better but it worked out pretty well. Rented equipment at REI and drove over to Cuyamaca Rancho State Park. This is a (still) beautiful park that was wiped out by forest fires in 2003. What remains is a ghost forest of still standing dead trees and an understory of mountain laurel, wildflowers and meadows. We went on a super long 4 mile hike in perfect weather. Afterwards we grilled hot dogs and marshmallows over the fire – the best dinner ever! Sleeping in the tent with the kids was not “the best ever” but still fun. Drew slept like a rock, Alex was a little worried about another fire, Molly tucked her feet under and over me and generally flopped around for the entire night but it was cuddly.

After waking up with the sun, we headed over for a short stop in Julian, Calif. It is an old mining town that seems to be somewhat of a tourist destination. We ate at the Julian Café and had the hugest pancakes ever and headed home to chill.

Busy, busy day

Super busy day today. We went to the Scripps Birch Aquarium in the morning and learned about local marine life. This was fun but even more fun was going down to the water at La Jolla Cove and Children’s Beach. There was a lovely grassy area for lunch and tree climbing, then we walked down to children’s beach which is not a children’s beach at all! No it’s not a nude beach either … it’s been taken over by seals who like to raise their babies there.

After seeing the seals, we went to another part of the La Jolla coast and climbed on the rocks until it was time to go to the Padres game. Drew went down to the bullpen to say hi to his hitting and pitching coach, Griffin, (not kidding) who is a bullpen coach for the Padres. Griffin was fantastic and even got Drew a baseball from the bullpen.

Moonlight Beach

Alex wasn’t feeling too great today but Drew, Molly and I went to Moonlight beach. About a mile down the road, it is a white sandy beach with a playground and volleyball courts. We played in the sand and water and then tried out some beach volleyball.

Off to the USS Midway

Today we went to the USS Midway. It’s an aircraft carrier that’s retired and docked in the harbor and turned into a museum. The pictures don’t do it justice but I highly recommend the audio tour. It was geared towards kids, interesting and everyone from Drew to Molly loved it. We saw everything in the ship … pretty cool. Weather was a little cold and rainy but that really didn’t matter since we were inside most of the time.

Here are the kids in the brig...

...and the kids listening to the audio tour.

Arrived in San Diego

We’ve arrived! Here are some shots of our house.

A view of the house from the front steps...


The view from the patio...