San Diego

So I finally made it through all the photos from our jaunt to "the lower 48" as they're called up here. We first made a fabulous stop in SLC (see post below) to see family and then we were off to San Diego. We did have to take a detour through San Francisco but eventually made it to what has to be one of the best places on the entire planet. Warm...sunny...paradise!

We spent most of the trip sleeping in, going to the pool, going to the beach and eating lots of ice cream. The Hotel del Coronado is just down the road from where we stay and has become a favorite ice cream spot. They even have sorbet for little O. They also have a great Christmas tree over the holidays and an ice skating rink, but these were pretty much gone by the time we arrived.

The girls had started playing a little tennis up here over the summer, so we brought their rackets and played a little. The courts are close by and they had a great time. If anyone out there is doing the tennis thing with little tykes, get the superlight balls (basically foam balls). They make things so much easier. Regular balls are way too heavy for them to hit anywhere, but the light ones are relatively easy and keeps the frustration level low. Next time I'll have to get a few more. I only had six which made for lots of ball chasing (the aim part of the swing is still under development for the kids).

A couple of days into our stay, we decided to brave Disneyland. This was the first time Carol and I had gone solo (we usually come armed with very helpful grandparents) and we missed them dearly but still had an incredible time. I don't know what it is about Disneyland, but for kids, it really is magic. The kids walked around in a kind of Disney gaze all day and kept talking about it for weeks afterward (o.k. maybe days). We have been three times now and crowd wise this was by far the best. We first went during the week between Christmas and New Years. Do not do this. Our first ride was Dumbo which took 2 hours to get on (6 minute ride). There was a sea of people we had to wade through all day. They did have a great parade and fireworks show, but WAY too many people. Last year we went the week after New Years and it was MUCH better. Lines were long (30-60min) but manageable. We felt like we had a little space to breathe. They still had a great parade and shows. This year we went two weeks after New Years (yes, the kids missed 3 days of school). Lines were 2-15 minutes (we didn't do Space Mountain which was probably a little longer) and crowds were amazingly low. There wasn't a parade (I guess they only do these when crowds are high), but there was a small show at the end of the day and we got prime seats to a princess extravaganza during the day complete with interactive princess pole weaving (running around a pole with a streamer and Sleeping Beauty). The girls got their face painted and Owen got to go on the space ship ride (like Dumbo but in Tomorrowland) 3 times. The park also closes a little earlier (8PM), but overall it was a great time to go.

My favorite thing about Disneyland is the churros. They sell them at most amusement parks and I'm completely addicted. I told Carol I was going to eat 20 of them and I may have come close (well, maybe 10). I'd learn how to make them at home, but I'm afraid I'd make nothing but churros everyday and I don't see myself being around past age 50 if all I eat everyday is fried flour rolled in sugar, although I'm sure it would be a blissful 50 years.

Post Disneyland we mostly did the beach/swim thing again including a daily hunt for shells at sunset. It was great to see the sun after being in Fairbanks with 4 hours of daylight for the past 6 weeks. I would just sit and stare at those sunsets everyday and try to make them last for another 6 weeks.

Oh, Isabel also lost her first tooth and we found out that the Tooth Fairy does know when you're on vacation!

The kids have now fully adopted one of the longstanding rituals of San Diego which is the fight to push the elevator button. This is not a hard ritual to adopt and they had begun to catch on in previous visits, but the button pushing was in full force this time. The other ritual that I remember is jumping up and down in the elevator as it accelerates. You can do an unusually high jump if you time it just right and it's quite a thrill for a 10 year old. The kids haven't done much of this yet and they may not ever get to as apparently I was not the only kid to jump on the elevator. I guess so many kids (maybe a few adults?) did it that the elevator was damaged! A sign now hangs in the elevator at one of the buildings in the complex we stay in (La Playa) forbidding jumping in the elevator. Bummer!

Carol and I both experienced something very familiar to me as we were leaving. Some of my best memories growing up were at San Diego. I'd usually go down with my family around Christmas and come back a couple of weeks later. While these memories are great, I also have memories of some very sad days. That feeling you get when you realize you have to leave this paradise is not good. I'd been through it many times before and it still came (usually 24-36 hours prior to the flight/drive). Carol got it a little too. It's just a really hard place to leave. We're already looking forward to the next time we can make it down there.

More photos here.