This year instead of our usual trip to the Catholic Resource Center Conference in Anaheim, we took our escape in San Diego California at the home of Heidi C. and her family. Our first adventure was to drive five and a half hours across the desert to get there. The kids did well and even Max was very cooperative, only fussing for about a half hour or the trip when we had no where to stop. We arrived on Saturday in time for a yummy lunch put together by Heidi.
Sunday we went to mass and took brief trip tot he beach, intending to go back later on in the week for a longer beach day. As it turned out, a couple of hours of sun and sand were plenty. The air was balmy and warm. Our hosts had a nice shade structure for us to take refuge in. The kids and dads waded in the surf for a bit before engaging in some serious sandcastle building. Max was a fussy guy for a quite a while until we discovered that the reason he was mad was because he wanted to be where the action was. We took him down by the ocean and let him feel and see the waves and watch the sand castle-building and he was happy as a clam.
Monday we visited the San Diego Mission. It was so neat to see apiece of the Southwest’s Catholic history. The kids told us it was boring, but they managed to have fun anyway.
The grounds were just beautiful!
After racing around the Mission, we took all the kids bowling. It was a nice idea, but two activities in a row for two tired three year olds was a sure recipe for a meltdown less than halfway through the games.
Monday night Paisley, James, Posy and Jay left to drive up to – wherever Magic Mountain is – to go scare the bejeebers out of themselves on Tuesday. Ben, Tessa, Max, and I stayed at Heidi’s for the low key fun. While they were whirling down rollercoasters at breakneck speed, Heidi and I rambled around a mall (CHILD-FREE!!) and the kids jumped on the trampoline at home with the sprinklers on. (With a trusty babysitter of course.)
Wednesday we wandered around Balboa park a bit. The botanical gardens were especially beautiful! We relaxed in the grass while the kids ran amuck.
Thursday was our Big Day. We packed up a lunch and went to Sea World. Jay says that Sea World is much more the Happiest Place on Earth than Disneyland… Sea World serves Beer.
We went to lots of shows and attractions, including two of the Shamoo shows. Max was put off by the crowd noise. He seems to be sensitive to that. We even were able to feed the dolphins, which was the highlight of the trip for me.
Friday we sadly said goodbye to our friends and headed back across the desert back home. But there was a surprise waiting for us there!