Party of Five: San Diego Day 1

San Diego

Traveling - Sunday

Up through Saturday evening we were working on wrapping up and filing tax returns. I was able to wash all the clothes but not yet pack anything. Our 3 1/2 hr. flight left from Minneapolis at 3PM. The plan was to leave by 10 AM to ensure we got there safely, on time and ate lunch before the flight. The kids did a wonderful job helping to pack the suitcases and take care of Karina in the morning. They also helped with getting the luggage to the car, airport and the rental car in California. They were so very excited. Cecilia had a great nap on the flight. Karina struggled a bit on the plane. Thankfully, there was an empty seat between us and the next person. Also, the women in the window seat was very friendly and patient with the baby. Eventually, Karina fell asleep. We arrived in the evening and found our rental home and grocery store with ease. We went to the local beach (Solana Beach) and learned the area is extremely dog friendly. Mario, Danny and Cecilia climbed a path up the mountain while Karina became acclimated to walking in the sand (she had a big face plant in the sand). We were initially concerned about the cool weather and the clothes that we packed - but the weather stayed in the high 60's all week, which was perfect!!

Day 1 - Monday

Late Monday morning we drove along the coast to La Jolla. We drove around La Jolla first and checked it out, it looked like a great place to explore on foot. We walked around just a bit until we found a restaurant recommended by one of Mario's co-workers. We ate lunch at George's, we ate outside, up on a cliff over looking the ocean - what an amazing view! I had my first fish taco's. They are a specialty of the area and super yummy - I had them 4-5 times during the trip. We walked around the shore and showed the kids seals swimming, playing and sun bathing. We explored a rocky shore and found crabs scurrying around. We saw the filming of a new A&E show "Big Mike" and recognized one of the actors from the Sopranos. Mario and I took turns with our "zones". Karina is one zone and Danny and Cecilia is the other zone (no more man to man for us - we are definitely out numbered).

During the drives and hikes, I had fun pointing out the differences in the landscape here vs at home. Flowers everywhere, trees are very different (smooth bark), tall and thin (not very full). We see lots of green where at home everything is still fairly gray from the long winter. The kids didn't have any issue being squished in a full sized car vs. the SUV or Minivan that they are used to - I was surprised - they actually had fun being closer together.