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| Enjoying La Jolla |
Every year, we do something a little different for Easter. This year was no exception. Where could we go to enjoy the beach and was someplace we had not gone before? What better place than San Diego?
Family vacations take a few more considerations these days as we try to balance the entertainment of a tween with what her parents enjoy doing. Fortunately, San Diego had something for everyone. We were able to enjoy beautiful beaches, biking/scootering along the boardwalk, Balboa Park, the San Diego Zoo, La Jolla, and a visit to the USS Midway. This was also Anna's first trip to the West Coast. We also leveraged a lot of technology on this trip, which was fitting for California (we will get to that in a minute). Of course we also enjoyed some great food.
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| Scootering down the boardwalk |
We kicked off Anna's spring break on Good Friday with a celebration of the holiday. The church youth group performed a living stations of the cross on Friday evening. The music, led by her school music teacher, was fantastic. Anna was recruited to sing two solos and did a great job. We left for California the next day, which meant we would spend Easter Sunday in San Diego.
Theresa located a beach cottage in Mission Beach thanks to Airbnb. The 1926 beach cottage was described as a "tiny house" as it was only 1 bedroom plus a futon. You could also refer to it as the $1 million beach cottage as that is how expensive property is in San Diego. The location was perfect as it was one block from the bay and two blocks from the ocean on a pedestrian street. The owners had all sorts of great recommendations. The neighbor across the street was a 92-year old navy veteran from World War II who had lived in the neighborhood for 60 years (we enjoyed talking to him).
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| Easter at Balboa Park |
One of the things that the owners told us is that you really did not need a car. We took them up on that suggestion and used either Uber or bikes as our main transportation for the week. Thus began the technology piece of the trip. One would assume that Joe would be the master of the technology. After all, he is a former IT guy. Alas...that is not the case. While Joe understands the technology, he also understands all of the security risks of the technology. The end result is that he will not download any app that involves any sort of financial or specific personally identifiable information (the fact that he recently completed a cyber security class was not helpful). Theresa, perhaps due to her wholesome and trustworthy Midwestern upbringing, is happy to download said apps if it will make her life easier. Any way, Theresa booked a place to stay with the Airbnb app. She called rides with the Uber app (actually, Joe did download this one). She ordered groceries and had them to delivered to the cottage with the Instacart app. She rented scooters for Anna to ride using the Lime app. The trip was definitely enhanced by technology.
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| Cheetahs at the San Diego zoo |
Thank to our adjustment to the time change, we were up bright and early on Easter sunday - just in time for the early morning mass. We found the local church, which was much different than home. It was very casual (you could wear your Easter Sunday flip flops and shorts) and the people were extremely friendly. In fact, we noticed that about San Diego in general. We assumed the sunny days contribute to the friendly nature. The area had a diverse mixture of retirees, families, college students, and just interesting people. We enjoyed breakfast at an outdoor cafe afterwards before setting out to explore the area.
There is much to do in the San Diego area besides the spectacular beaches. We spent Easter Sunday at Balboa park, a spectacular place that houses flower gardens, hiking trails, museums, and the world's largest outdoor pipe organ. Theresa was particularly excited to see the Spreckles Organ, which was installed in 1915 as part of the Panama-California Exposition and contains 5,017 pipes. There is a free concert every Sunday afternoon. You know it is serious when the city has a "civic organist." What better way to enjoy an Easter Sunday afternoon? (
note - Joe & Anna were not nearly as excited about the organ as Theresa)
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| La Jolla |
We spent a couple of days just enjoying the beach - both on the ocean and the bay side. Anna requested to go paddle boarding. Theresa also wanted to try paddle boarding
and both Anna and Theresa convinced Joe he wanted to try as well. San Diego State University had a boating center within walking distance of the cottage, so we went over one morning to try our hand at it. Unfortunately there are no photos of this event and no videos to record our grace and agility on the water. The 20-year old working at the rental counter assured Joe and Theresa that balancing on a paddle board was just like surfing. This was not helpful. Fortunately Anna is an experienced paddle boarder and was all too happy to give her parents instructions. It turned out well and we even got to see some seals swimming in the bay. Joe and Theresa were not quite up to doing all of Anna's stunts on the board, but the fact that they managed to make it around the bay without falling in was a success.
No trip to San Diego is complete without a visit to the San Diego zoo. The zoo also doubles as a botanical garden. We spent the entire day here and the exhibits were fantastic. Fortunately for us, we made it to see the Giant Panda who was spending his last week at the zoo before returning to China. We enjoyed the giant tortoises ("grandma" was over 100 years old), countless birds, orangutans, monkeys, elephants, koalas, lions.....a many more.
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| Sunset on the Beach |
San Diego experienced its rainiest season is over 15 years, resulting in spectacular flowers. We really enjoyed flowers at La Jolla.....and the sea lions. La Jolla is home to the wealthy of San Diego, beautiful rocky coastline, and sea lions. There is one unfortunate side effect of the sea lions: the smell. Many tourists could be seen holding their noses. The sea lions were fun to watch, as were the tourists. Despite numerous warning signs in multiple languages about staying away from the sea lions, tourists continued to approach them for pictures (we were not these people). There were lots of ways to experience nature at La Jolla. We explored the tidal pools. We hiked along a beautiful, flower-strewn trail. We watched the seals. We watched a giant seagull eat a live squirrel (that was unexpected). Theresa and Anna also saw a whale in the distance (Joe was a bit disbelieving but we think he just had the wrong glasses on). It was truly a beautiful place.
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| Joe with the USS Midway |
Our last day in San Diego was spent at the USS Midway, an aircraft carrier that is now a museum. The ship was filled with volunteers that were retired from the navy, many that served on the ship. It truly was a floating city. We took a tour and learned about the technology for launching and landing planes on the ship as well as the logistics for running a ship. It was impressive.
In between our day trips, we enjoyed spending time on the beach. There were bike rides along the bay side and strolls to watch the sunset at night. We got fresh strawberries from the local farmers market and walked to the local amusement park in the evening. There was something for everyone. Thanks San Diego - we look forward to returning.
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| Sea Lions at La Jolla |
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| A visit with the panda |
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