Saturday was our last full day in San Diego and with a rental car, we could go and explore anywhere. We thought about the Safari and seriously about Lego Land 45 minutes north however we decided to take the kids to the USS Midway, the Naval aircraft carrier from just after World War II era. After a yummy breakfast in the Gas Lamp District near our hotel, we boarded the ship and all got our audio tour equipment. The girls lasted a couple of hours and then headed back to the hotel with dad for a nap and Carter and I stayed FIVE hours and had SO MUCH FUN exploring the entire ship end-to-end and top deck to bottom deck! I especially loved the kids getting to meet and hear from actual Naval Vets on board who led the tours. My favorite picture below is Carter getting awarded his "wings" for successfully completing the entire scavenger hunt across the entire ship.
Carter and I started walking back to the hotel, just about a mile away, and they came and picked us up and we headed north to La Jolla Cove to see the seals and snorkel. La Jolla is a beautiful town and the seals are definitely a high light. If you get too close, they loudly bark at you, as Addie found out! We headed down to the actual cove around 5PM, which was high tide. There were people everywhere and the high water made the actual beach area pretty small. The water was exceptionally cold, even at 70 degrees, taking all of our breath away but the kids were adamant about snorkeling so Blake took them out one at a time and they got to see seals swimming below them and big orange fish.
As pretty as the waters are in California, I wouldn't trade them for our much calmer and significantly warmer Gulf of Mexico Texas beaches. I felt much more stressed in the colder waters and having to watch all three kids much much closer with the rougher waters. I never felt like I wanted to sit down at the water's edge and just play in the water and sand, even in early August.
Near The Cove, there were beautiful green lawns that we laid out and played on, in order to warm up before we found a place for dinner. Parking in La Jolla was hard and we had lucked out on a street parking spot near the cove so we just walked to dinner - Bubba's BBQ, in town and it was delicious. We had fun walking a mile or two back to our car that beautiful evening as the sun was setting.
Off to La Jolla, about 25 minutes north of downtown San Diego and our hotel.
The last relaxing morning before packing up and heading home. I loved my morning bed scenes all cuddled up together. We ran around and had a relaxing breakfast before heading to the nearby airport.
Tips to remember about San Diego:
- We loved the Hilton's San Diego Bay location on the bay, Gas Lamp District, PetCo Park, Coranado Island, USS Midway, etc... we didn't need a car at all. It was less than 7-8 minutes from airport too.
- The hotel's pool was great (with a small but fast slide) and had a great group of fellow vacationers and kids. Very clean.
- They gave us bfast upgrade coupons for bfast buffet and the kids ate free so we were able to do a big "brunch" each day for less than $30 including tip, before we left hotel.
- We only got a rental car for the last day or two, to drive to places farther away, and they had a rental car drop off spot at our hotel.
- Bring a wetsuit next time (even in August) if you really want to boogie board or snorkel.
No comments:
Post a Comment