Our Very Own California Adventure!! July 30th-August 11th, 2008

[SoonerGirl]

Great update! I adore those koala pictures! Your poor ds and his arm. I see that you have trained him well though. He kept posing and smiling!

UGH, from hotel kitchen to trains...I guess sleep did NOT come easy.

I am really enjoying this trip report!!

DS was laughing and saying ouch all at the same time, he wasn't hurt badly, so it was pretty funny.

I couldn't believe the trains!! When they started at about 3am, DH and I just looked at each other and said "seriously??????"

I just noticed your ticker too, I knew your trip was coming up fast, but you leave in 2 DAYS!!!!!! Can you hurry up and get back and get started on that report - I think I'm as excited for your trip as you are!

I LOVE that zoo but it sure kicked my butt..... too many hills.

I am sooooo excited to sit out by the pool reading my book under a palm tree, sipping cocktails. I've been putting off reading the last book in my favorite series just so I can do so. It's going to be wonderful.

I'm still enjoying your TR, I love looking at all your wonderful pictures!

There were a lot of hills, but the only one that got me was the one leading back to the polar bears - that was one heck of a hill!

Are you all packed and ready to go - you leave tomorrow right? What am I going to do, all my readers are going on vacation???

Love the latest update. That zoo looks amazing. I'll definately have to plan a visit there if we ever get to Disneyland.

The zoo is right up your alley Marna! They even had some big creepy spiders, although I didn't see one that looked like the Charlotte living in your garden. *shudder*

 

[mommaU4]

I love your TR so far. And you are right, there is so much to do in CA that you could spend months there and still not do it all. Heck, I grew up there and there are still things I never got around to doing. LOL


I love seeing your San Diego pics. My husband and I used to go there every chance we got for a weekend get away. I miss it.

Keep up the great work!!

 

[reyasmommy]

We do leave tomorrow!

I'm going to be taking my laptop and I'm going to try to do a LIVE trip report. So I'll still be reading yours before I go to bed each night!

 

[SoonerGirl]

I love your TR so far. And you are right, there is so much to do in CA that you could spend months there and still not do it all. Heck, I grew up there and there are still things I never got around to doing. LOL


I love seeing your San Diego pics. My husband and I used to go there every chance we got for a weekend get away. I miss it.

Keep up the great work!!

Man, that would really stink to be so close to San Diego that you could just go for the weekend! (sarcastically said, of course - I'm jealous!! )

Thanks! There's more coming up soon!

We do leave tomorrow!

I'm going to be taking my laptop and I'm going to try to do a LIVE trip report. So I'll still be reading yours before I go to bed each night!

Have a great trip!!! I'm looking forward to hearing about it.

I'm almost done with mine, just two days left.

 

[SoonerGirl]

Day 11, Saturday August 9th

Today we were going to tour the USS Midway. I knew that this would be something that DH would really enjoy, which was my main goal in chosing it. We also come from a family with a bit of military history, so this kind of stuff is always interesting to us, and we want the boys to take pride in it as well.

It was a beautiful morning, and the Midway was within walking distance from our hotel, so we decided to leave the car at the hotel and walk.

There was this HUGE statue next to the Midway, this thing was so large, the picture really doesn't show it, I thought it was really cool!

A tribute to Bob Hope

And the Midway herself

We got in line to purchase our tickets, and as we were waiting for our turn a young boy came up to us and asked if we wanted a coupon for a free child admission. We thankfully took it, and it actually got both kids in free, so it was a great deal! Thanks so much to the stranger who gave it to us!!!

As you board the carrier, they take your picture. I had to thank DH afterwards for not telling me about my windblown hair! I couldn't believe he let me get my picture taken like this!!

The USS Midway has an audio tour just like Alcatraz, but this tour is a little different. The Alcatraz tour was ongoing, you just pushed play and followed directions. For this one, you typed in the number of the point of interest you wanted to hear about. It gave you a lot of freedom to explore different areas at your own pace. If I remember correctly there were 62 points of interest!

Here's a picture of the boys in one of the enlisted men's bunking areas - can you imagine being a full grown man trying to get comfortably into these bunks?!

When we were in the area with the chain for the anchors (they were amazingly huge!) there was a Navy veteran there showing kids how to make different kinds of knots. He made the boys these bracelets, they loved them!

Later they were misbehaving, so we threw them in the brig!

Hard at work

One of our favorite parts of the tour was looking at all the old fighter planes and helicopters that were on deck.

Not sure if you can tell, but DS12 is in the cockpit on this one

I love this picture of DS with the bridge in the background

While we were up on the deck we also got an opportunity to talk to some other Navy vets who were there demonstrating how the planes take off and land on the deck of the carrier. That was very interesting, the boys really soaked all that up, I think they were sufficiently impressed!

Future fighter pilots????

The boys also loved the parts that were hands on, they got a kick out of all the buttons and switches!

We ended up spending about 5 hours on the Midway, I never imagined that we would be there that long, but it was a great tour and so informative. We all really enjoyed it!! If you like that kind of stuff, it is definitely time well spent.

When we left the Midway we walked over to Seaport Village (it was on the way back to our hotel) and did a little shopping and had some Ben & Jerry's ice cream - yum!!!

Then we went back to the hotel and swam for awhile until dinner time. We went back to Seaport Village for dinner. We chose a pizza place, and it was soooooo good. Let me give you a little background here, many years ago, DH & I went to Chicago for a long weekend. While we were there we had the BEST pizza we had ever eaten! Ever since then, when we see a place that advertises Chicago style pizza we give it a try, and it's never even been close, but this place was! It was just like we remembered in Chicago, just oooey, gooey yummyness (my made up word ) So, if you like Chicago style pizza I highly recommend Asaggio's in Seaport Village! They also have New York Style, if that is more to your liking.

That's it for today, we hung around Seaport Village for awhile longer and took our time walking along the bay back to our hotel, and then called it a night!

Coming up, our last day of vacation

 

[pperfectmom]

The battleship tour looked like fun(imagine...battleship and fun in the same sentence ). I hate to see you finish your TR because it has been so entertaining.

 

[Ferry Joy]

Just found your trip report today and I am only at page 5 and I have to go to work Can't wait to read more!

 

[travelmel]

I love the Midway update! I didn't know there were so many fun things to do on that tour. I couldn't find much info about it when I was researching the area attractions so we didn't end up going while we were there in July.

I'm still behind on finishing my TR and haven't gotten to posting our stuff about SD yet but your TR might give me some motivation!

Also cute was your DS smiling in agony... BUT SMILING, none the less!

Poor guy!

 

[Spartangirl]

LOVE your updates!

Chris and I were definitely planning on visiting the SD zoo on our trip and now have added the Midway for sure too! Your pics helped to confirm that one for us! The tour sounds really fun and interesting! I can't believe you spent 5 hours there!!!

 

[SoonerGirl]

The battleship tour looked like fun(imagine...battleship and fun in the same sentence ). I hate to see you finish your TR because it has been so entertaining.

Thanks, Marna! I'm so glad you came over to support me in my TR writing, you're a great wench!

Just found your trip report today and I am only at page 5 and I have to go to work Can't wait to read more!

Hi, and welcome to my trippee! I hope you enjoy it!

I love the Midway update! I didn't know there were so many fun things to do on that tour. I couldn't find much info about it when I was researching the area attractions so we didn't end up going while we were there in July.

I'm still behind on finishing my TR and haven't gotten to posting our stuff about SD yet but your TR might give me some motivation!

Also cute was your DS smiling in agony... BUT SMILING, none the less!

Poor guy!

There was so much more to the Midway than what we were expecting, they even had simulators that you could ride (for an extra fee, of course! ).

I started reading your TR the other day, but got interrupted and never got back to it. It's on my list though, I'll get over there soon!

LOVE your updates!

Chris and I were definitely planning on visiting the SD zoo on our trip and now have added the Midway for sure too! Your pics helped to confirm that one for us! The tour sounds really fun and interesting! I can't believe you spent 5 hours there!!!

Oh good, I was able to help you with something!! We NEVER planned on being there for 5 hours, I was amazed when I looked at my watch and saw how long it had been. They have a counter service restaurant on the boat (seems funny calling that huge thing a boat, maybe ship is a better word......) so we did eat lunch there, and we listened to everyone of the 62 points of interest. A lot of them also included extra commentary from former seamen and pilots that you can listen to or skip - of course, we listened to everything. Also, they had Navy vets at various locations throughout the ship that gave demonstrations and insight into what their former jobs were like. We listened and talked to about 4 different ones, they were facinating! Not to mention that thing is gigantic - it takes awhile to walk the whole thing!

 

[SoonerGirl]

Day 12, Sunday August 10th

Our last day I was so looking forward to today, because today we had a big surprise for the boys, but I was also sad because I knew tomorrow we would be going home.

I have to apologize up front here, because I have zero (yes, I said zero) pictures from this day. I relaxed and soaked it all in, and never once took my camera out of my bag - now I'm kicking myself for it, but at the time I just wasn't thinking.

I will post one more from yesterday though, so I won't have a completely photo-less update!

The boys had known for months that we had a surprise planned for our last day in San Diego, but they had no idea what it was and had been dying to find out. Well, today was the day! We were spending the day on a boat and at the beach! DH has a co-worker that lives in So Cal and he has a 55' boat that he keeps docked in San Diego. He had graciously invited us to join his family for the day.

After we got ready to go, we headed over to a grocery store that was a couple of blocks from our hotel. We bought some snacks, drinks and a fruit tray to take with us on the boat, then we headed over to the harbor where DHs co-worker kept his boat. He has 3 girls, ages almost 13, and twins that were just turning 10 that week. The boys (and girls) were very bashful at first, but it didn't take them long to get over it.

We started out just cruising around the bay, he took us right up next to the Midway and she looked even bigger being right next to her in the water! It's seriously amazing that those things can actually float! Eventually, we anchored at Glorietta Bay. His girls immediately got into the water, but my boys were a bit more tentative. They hadn't been near the ocean in a VERY long time (DS7 was 18 mos the last time he had been in the ocean - so he didn't even remember it!) and wouldn't you know it, they had been watching Shark Week on the Discovery Channel all week! They were just a bit apprehensive! DS12 soon took the plunge and jumped in, but DS7 took more coaxing, he was pretty nervous! Eventually he got in. The kids decided that they wanted to go to the beach to play in the sand, but it was a pretty good distance. The girls usually just swim it, but they have a motorized dingy, so two of the girls and DS7 took the dingy to shore, while DS12 and the other girl swam it.

We sat on the deck of the boat just watching the kids play on the beach. We snacked on our fruit tray (It was so good! I don't know if it's the fact that California has great weather for growing fruit or what, but every piece of fruit we ate there was so sweet and juicy!) and on some fresh vegis, and DHs friend made us some margaritas. They were different than any I had had before. He said he learned how to make them in Ensenada, Mexico. It's simply the juice of a fresh lime, tequilla and diet 7up. They were great!

This was simply a fabulous day! The weather was perfect, the kids had so much fun, it was just so relaxing - an absolutely perfect ending to our trip! I can't thank DHs co-worker enough!

We reluctantly headed back to the harbor when evening set in and they decided that they would take us to their favorite Italian restaurant for dinner that night. We went back to the hotel and got cleaned up and then met them in Little Italy for dinner. We went to a place called Filippis and oh my goodness was it good! We had the antipasto which was yummy! Then DS7 and I shared the Fettucini Alfredo, my mouth is watering just thinking about it, it was so yummy! DS12 had lasagne, it was enough to feed a small army, but my almost teenage boy nearly ate the whole thing (I can't imagine what it's going to be like to feed him in a couple of years ) I can't remember what DH had, but I know he liked it. We all had cannoli for dessert, which was also really, really good! If you like Italian food, then put this restaurant on your list, it doesn't look like much (in fact the front of it is an Italian market, you can hardly tell it's even a restaurant) but the food is great! And, be prepared to wait a little while - it was the only place I saw with a line out the door!

After dinner we said our good-byes and thanked them again for an amazing day, then we headed back to the hotel to pack since we were leaving in the morning, well the kids and I were anyway - DH was getting to stay!

 

[SoonerGirl]

Day 13 - Monday, August 11th

Going home day is always a bummer! And we didn't even have time to enjoy one more thing that day because our flight was leaving at 10am, which meant we needed to be at the airport around 8:30.

I had finished up the bulk of our packing the night before, and all I had to put away this morning was our swimsuits that I had left out to dry and our pjs, so it didn't take long at all to pack up and head to the car. DH was taking the kids and I to the airport, but he wasn't coming home with us. Lucky guy got to stay in So Cal for another week! He had a meeting that week in LA and he wouldn't be coming home until Friday. If the kids hadn't had to start school on Thursday, we would have just stayed with him, but I needed to get home and get them ready to start school, and I didn't want to miss DS12s open house on Tuesday night because it is his first year in jr high! (how did he get so big, so fast????)

Anyway, our travel home was uneventful, which is always good. We got back and got to my mom's to pick up my very spoiled dog at around 6-6:30. My mom had cooked dinner for us, which was wonderful - it kept me from having to grab fast food, as we had NO groceries in the house at home!

We were still on California time and all had a hard time falling asleep that night, but I finally drifted off thinking about the wonderful trip we had just had, and how blessed I felt to be able to do that for our kids. I never got to take vacations like that when I was little, and it really pleases me to be able to share different experiences with my kids!

Thanks so much to all of you who read and responded to my trip report. I really had a great time reliving it and sharing with all of you!! I mentioned a couple of times in my report that DS7 and I had gone to WDW in July before this trip, I think I'll post some bonus photos from that trip if anyone is interested in seeing them!

 

[travelmel]

Woo Hoo Bonus Photo's!

What a great day on the boat ... Darn that Shark Week!

(adding pics for you! )

Your own private 3 hour tour!

I bet that would have been great to be upclose to the midway.. did you remind the boys that it is the same ship that is in the Soarin' movie? At least I think it is...

Hate to see your TR come to an end but I am definitely interested in some bonus pics... Thank you for sharing all of your memories with us DL dis'ers...the runts of the dis-world.

Melissa

 

[pperfectmom]

Oh, Michelle, it sounds like your last day was just lovely from start to finish. Even without photos, I'm sure you will always remember it.

 

[Disneygrl36]

What a great way to end your trip with a day on a boat. Your time in San Diego sounded great & I wrote down the italian restaurants name so I can remember it in December.
Thanks so much for sharing your wonderful trip with us. I have really enjoyed your trip report.
Can't wait for the bonus photos...........

 

[Spartangirl]

Michelle~ Your last day sounded so fun and relaxing....what a way to end your trip! I bet it's a trip your boys will remember always.....that's great that you're able to build and share so many wonderful moments with them!

Can't wait for the bonus photos.....

 

[MrsTomMorrow]

It's over? Thanks so much for sharing your trip with us, Michelle!! I have loved reading about it and seeing all your wonderful pictures! I can't wait until my boys are a bit older and we can take a trip like that!

 

[Laneychris]

Great report thanks

 

[SoonerGirl]

Woo Hoo Bonus Photo's!

What a great day on the boat ... Darn that Shark Week!

(adding pics for you! )

Your own private 3 hour tour!

I bet that would have been great to be upclose to the midway.. did you remind the boys that it is the same ship that is in the Soarin' movie? At least I think it is...

Hate to see your TR come to an end but I am definitely interested in some bonus pics... Thank you for sharing all of your memories with us DL dis'ers...the runts of the dis-world.

Melissa

Thanks for helping me out with the pictures

I did tell the kids that the part in the Soarin' movie with the carrier was done in San Diego, I wasn't sure if it was the same ship or not though.

Thanks for reading along! I've been hanging out over here on the DL side for about a year or so, as soon as I knew we would definitely be going to California for vacation, and I found all of you DL dis'ers to be a great group!!

Oh, Michelle, it sounds like your last day was just lovely from start to finish. Even without photos, I'm sure you will always remember it.

It was a perfect day!

What a great way to end your trip with a day on a boat. Your time in San Diego sounded great & I wrote down the italian restaurants name so I can remember it in December.
Thanks so much for sharing your wonderful trip with us. I have really enjoyed your trip report.
Can't wait for the bonus photos...........

Thank you! We had a great last day. If you are around Little Italy at all when you are in San Diego give that restaurant a try - it's yummy!

Michelle~ Your last day sounded so fun and relaxing....what a way to end your trip! I bet it's a trip your boys will remember always.....that's great that you're able to build and share so many wonderful moments with them!

Can't wait for the bonus photos.....

Thanks Lynne! We had grandparents over for dinner last night for DS7s birthday (who's 8 now!!) and the boys hadn't seen them since we've been back from vacation and they were going on and on telling them all about it! I think it is a trip they will remember for a long time!

I've got some WDW photos uploaded and resized, I'll get them posted later today!

It's over? Thanks so much for sharing your trip with us, Michelle!! I have loved reading about it and seeing all your wonderful pictures! I can't wait until my boys are a bit older and we can take a trip like that!

Thanks for reading along Alicia! You wenches are the best!

Your little guys will be bigger before you know it, they grow up so fast!!

Great report thanks

Thanks so much!

 

[weslovesauntmeg]

Amazing trip report!!! Well done for your very first one...sounds like you guys had a very relaxing time in San Diego...I believe that flower picture from the zoo is called a honeysuckle..I'm almost 100% positive cause our neighbors used to have them..

The Midway is def a must see when you go to SD..I'm not that into boats and planes and stuff..but i really enjoyed this and have been on it at least 3 times!!!

Can't wait to see your bonus pics!!

Great Job!!