California Dreaming...

Last week we were lucky to spend five days in San Diego. There is so much to see and do in San Diego that we were on the go much of our trip. I realized how hard it is to travel with a toddler. Here's how it went down.

Day 1: Ruby did great on the airplane. Arrived in San Diego very early in the morning and got our rental car. We couldn't check into our hotel until late afternoon so we had several hours to kill. We spent the morning at the harbor where we ate breakfast and window shopped. Then with still more time to kill, we went to the Children's pool in La Jolla to watch the seals and sat there and sat some more and yet some more. Might I mention it is very hard to entertain a toddler who has just sat on an airplane for a couple hours with no nap. Finally we checked into our hotel, Ruby threw up twice (we think from teething), and we were all in bed by 7... a very exhausting day.

Airplane fun...

Carrying her Magnadoodle around the harbor

La Jolla Children's Pool

Sweet Face

Day 2: We all woke up refreshed bright and early (and not used to the time difference). We headed to the San Diego Zoo. The minute we walked in we knew that this zoo was going to put our zoo to shame. It is huge! They have so many different animals. We really loved seeing the koalas, pandas, tortoises, and many more. Ruby's favorite of the day were the camels. She thought they were so funny. Our feet were very sore by the end of the zoo trip but it was awesome to see the different habitats they have for the many animals. We didn't even see the entire zoo so we decided now we have an excuse to go back soon. We ended that night with dinner at a great Mexican restaurant by our hotel and a short walk to the beach in La Jolla. Ruby cried the entire time at the beach. I think she was scared of the loud waves, etc. Poor girl, I think we scarred her for life on this trip.

Koalas

Ruby's Favorite

Waited in line 20 min for this... so worth it.

Day 3: We woke up early and headed to Sea World. I was so excited for this outing. We started by feeding the seals, well trying to feed the seals. I bought a tray of fish and as I was about to feed the first seal, I was attack by a seagull. He smacked right into the back of my head and while I stood stunned in midscream, he took off with my tray of fish. I thought I was being mugged (and technically I was). I am calling him a "him" because no lady should act like that. I provided quite the laughs at the seal tank that day, Scott will probably never let me live that down. He felt bad and bought me more fish, but I was too terrified to try it again. Then we headed off to the Shamu show. Ruby really enjoyed watching the whales or "fish" as she likes to call them. She swayed to the music and pointed each time one would leap out of the water. We also watched a great show with pets doing tricks. By about noon, Ruby had had enough of Sea World. She started getting really cranky so we had to quickly look around and head to the hotel for a nap. That evening we went to visit my aunt and uncle who live in San Diego. We ate dinner there and Ruby got to play with her two cousins. Ruby needed that chance to just relax and play. It was so nice seeing my family.

Shamu show

I love this guy.

Cousins

Seals we fed

Day 4: By this day our feet were tired and we were exhausted. I kept telling Scott that we needed a vacation from our vacation. We decided to head to the Wild Animal park in Escondido. We didn't really know what to expect from this trip but were excited to see the park. This day turned out to be fabulous. We went on a tram around part of the park and saw all of these African animals in their natural habitats. It's pretty incredible to see several giraffes running up a huge hill. Ruby was in awe. She was so content sitting on the tram seeing all of these beautiful animals. We walked around for a long time exploring the whole park, played in the discovery zone, we ate lunch, then we headed to petting area. We got to pet some African deer. Ruby was squealing with delight. I loved watching her and Scott explore together... it was adorable. Before we left the parking lot, Ruby was fast asleep. That night we  ate at a quaint little candle-lit restaurant in La Jolla. Ruby loved listening to the pianist play beautiful music. We had amazing seafood and a wonderful time together as a family. It was one of those perfect days that happen once in a blue moon.

Waiting for the safari tram

So wonderful

"Ooooh"

These two are adorable

Here favorite log.

She cried when we had to leave the log.

Having a great day!

Petting the deer

Exhausted.

After our family dinner in La Jolla

Day 5: Our last day in San Diego. We went to the Children's Pool one last time to see the seals. Then we headed to Point Loma to explore the tide pools. As soon as we parked the car, Ruby threw up all over inside the car. Knowing she wasn't feeling good, we only stayed at the tide pools for a short time, although we did get some smiles out of her when we were there. Then we did some last minute San Diego shopping. Our trip was coming to an end. We dropped the very smelly car off and headed to the airport. After some very long flights with a very cranky 18 month old, we finally walked into our house around 2:00am. It felt so nice to be home sweet home!

Tide Pools

Crabs!

Even through all the Ruby tantrums, terrible sleep, throw-up, and stress... I had a fabulous time with the two loves of my life and can't wait to go on another family adventure!