San Diego - Day 4

We made reservations earlier in the week to do a whale watching tour. This time of the year, the California Gray whales are migrating from as far north as Vancouver to Baja, California to the shallow warm lagoons where they mate and bear their young. Their travels bring them really close to the coast line so they can be easily seen. However, as a result of their close travels, they became vulnerable to whalers and have came close to extinction (two times in the past 1o0 years).  They have made a rebound in the past 50 years to 30,000 animals.  On average, they travel 1o0 miles a day, and we were lucky enough to see one on our cruise.  The cruise was a 3 hour tour and I was worried about Dylan getting sea sick. He slept most of the time and we were lucky enough to snag a covered area with 3 glass walls to sit in, so he wasn't cold. We also saw sea lions and dolphins.  It was a great time as well as a great photo op. 

After the tour, we stayed in the harbor to snag a few pics of the statute that was inspired by the solider kissing the nurse. It's a traveling statue, so it's moving to a new city soon.

Next we headed to Old Town to grab some mexican for lunch. We had been to Old Town earlier in the week and one restaurant seemed to be pretty popular so we wanted to try it. It was yummy. We got way too much to eat...and to date it was our most expensive meal with apps and stuff. It was worth it. Dylan even enjoyed some guacamole.
 

We headed over the the Whaley house while in Old Town. It's said to be the most haunted house in the United States according to the travel channel. We did the tour and we didn't see or feel any spirits. They also say that a lot of people come back time and time again as they feel drawn to it. This will be my only trip there.

Next we went to check out the light house, but we got to the park a little late. We didn't get to see very much and my Mom, Dylan and I stayed in the car for the most part. I did see a hawk hovering looking for some grub.

To finish the day, we headed over to Coronado, but our time was limited there as D man started pitching a fit. This was the only time he was really "bad" during the whole trip. We headed back to the hotel. 

San Diego - Day 3

I was so excited for this day. On today's schedule, the wild life park. Everyone boasted that this was the best time to be had in San Diego. First, we decided to go to the car museum in Balboa park, and while we were there, we decided to go to the air and space museum as well since they were next door to each other. I thought that's cool, the park stays open til 9:00. 

First, we went to the Air and Space Museum. They had lots of artifacts from space travel, airline travel, and aviation history.  Dylan slept through the whole museum. I wish I could have ;)  Okay, so it was okay, just not my cup of tea. At the museum, they had a special exhibit for Star Trek. It cost extra, so my Mom and I sat it out as my Dad and Damien did the tour. 

Bonnie and Clyde's car...not really sure how this fit in at the Air and Space Museum but I thought it was one of the coolest things

Next, we headed over to the car museum, which wasn't that big, but it had a Ferrari exhibit and that was enough to make Damien's eyes bulge out of his head. Seriously, he looked like a kid in the candy store. Of course, we played the game, if you could have any car in here, what would it be. Mine was a convertible vintage one! No pic of that one though, Damien had the camera.

one of the Ferrari's

 Off to the Wild Life park we go. It was a bit away, and by the time we got there, we decided we should eat lunch before going to the park. To my delight, we found Red Robin...yummm. By far, one of my favorite restaurants. I love burgers, and I love fries. How could you go wrong here...especially with bottom less fries.  When we got to the park, we really realized how big it was. We felt like we walked forever. It was truly amazing though. We did the safari ride and it took us through Africa. I snapped some really cool shots. My hope was to make an animal book for Dylan from the pictures I took. However, we were inspired to do a book on the entire vacation and all vacations going forward. Kind of like Dylan does San Diego.  Any who, we got some really cool shots of the animals. We did the tour right at sunset which was really cool as the animals were up and about, very active. After we got off the tour, dusk was setting in. While the park was still open for their festival of lights, we couldn't see any animals. All the exhibits were dark and I am pretty sure the animals were sleeping either in their exhibit or behind the scenes. One day, I hope to go back and see the rest of the park.

in a fight

very endangered northern rhino

We did eat a late lunch, but Damien wanted to eat tonight since we really didn't eat the night before. We stopped at a place near our hotel called Sammy's Wood Fired Pizza. We ordered a huge salad and 2 small pizzas. This dinner was my favorite. The BBQ chicken pizza was delicious as well as the salad. 

I can't buy used clothing or toys

My San Diego vacation blogging has been put on hold for a very important message.

In August of 2008, important legislation passed that was intended to protect children from harmful lead in toys, equipment and clothing. Although the intention is good, the bill that was passed is poorly written. Thus, it will prohibit the resale of ANY used clothing, toys, equipment for children unless you can PROVE it is lead free. This means that stores such as Goodwill, Salvation Army, Kid to Kid, Once Upon a Child, any thrift store, all children's consignment sales, Ebay sales, Craigslist and GARAGE SALES are prohibited from selling children's clothing, toys or equipment after FEB. 10, 2009 unless they have had the item tested for lead and can provide verification that it is lead free. 

This is SO detrimental to young families who depend on buying used clothing at consignment sales or thrift stores. This is also a problem for middle income families who sell their children's outgrown clothing at garage sales, consignment stores or ebay to provide the funds for the next season of clothing. Also, take into consideration what this will do to our landfills!!!! Can you imagine everyone throwing their toys away because the government says you are not allowed to sell them??? That's crazy! Anyway, below is a link to a news story in the LA Times regarding this new law that will take effect on February 10, 2009. Also, there is a link to a form you can fill out (takes less than 1 minute) and it will automatically send it to your state representatives regarding rewriting this legislation.

Contact Your Representatives!

LA Times Article

San Diego - Day 2

Where shall we eat breakfast?  Damien suggested a muffin place down the road and a smoothie place. "I don't want juice and muffins." I was starving. We went to bed pretty early and now it's 8:00 which is 10:00 our time.  Juice and muffins wouldn't cut it. We drove down some side roads to see what we could see and nada. We remembered there was a Denny's nearby, so we stopped in for some chow. It proved to be a mistake as service was slow and the food was okay. We felt like we were there over an hour....lesson learned. Although, they do have these new things called Pancake Puppies that remind me of a funnel cake, YUMMY!

On today's itinerary...Legoland which was about 30 minutes north. I was so excited as the website boasted rides, roller coasters and what not. Since I missed out on the rides at Disney last year, being preggers and all, I was looking forward to the park.  Bummer. The park had rides, but they were more geared to kids. Damien and I did ride one ride. It had different levels of intensity (1-5), we choose 5 - extreme. You sat in a chair and it jolted you all around doing flips and stuff. Legoland did have some cool sights though, like a car made of legos, tons of characters, Christmas tree, Santa and the reindeer, Washington DC, NYC, Vegas, etc. Although, I think I would have liked it better if Dylan were older. 

Dylan and lego dino

Dylan and lego Bob the Builder

Volvo made of legos (they sponsor the park so if you drive a volvo you get premier parking)

Next, we grabbed a bite at the Rock Bottom Grill and Brewery. I got their chicken mac and cheese with a side salad and it was okay. I should've gone for something juicer and more fattening. 

Since we still had most of the day left, we went by the aquarium. They had some really cool looking fish and a really nice view. We spent some time there and Dylan got a case of the giggles when I showed him a plastic octopus. 

The entrance

cool jelly fish shot

We enjoyed a nice scenic drive along the beach front in La Jolla as we made our way home. Since we ate a big late lunch, we ate small for dinner. The men drove to subway and juice it up and got us a sandwich and smoothie. Yummy.

San Diego - Day 1

I was anxious about leaving for vacation. The part that made me nervous was the flight. We flew from Nashville to Phoenix, had a lay over, and then flew to San Diego. That's a long flight for a little guy. How was he to handle it? 

Luckily, I ran in to our pediatrician at Target a few days before we left and I told her that I was nervous. She said to give him benadryl. I laughed. She said, seriously, it will help with the ear congestion. I said, I thought you were telling me to knock him out. With a smile, she said that would help too. Right before the flight, I gave him a small dosage. He slept for the first 2 hours of the flight as it was his nap time and I am sure the meds helped too. On the second leg of the flight, he slept 30 minutes. He did great. He got a little antsy at one point. I brought along my computer and a baby Einstein DVD, and he watched that. 

Nothing to exciting happened when we got to San Diego. We hit up Target to buy some baby necessities as I did not want to pack diapers, food, etc. Then we checked in to our hotel, which I was pleasantly surprised with.It was located on Shelter Island, so we had water in front of us and behind us. In front of us was the harbor where boats came in and out. Behind us, was a private marina for 188 boats. It was beautiful. 

the harbor side at sunset

After we checked in and rested for a bit, we made our way out for dinner. My mom was wanting a salad and I had already researched to see if Sweet Tomato was in San Diego. It was there, but it was called Souplantation. I love it. They have an all you can eat salad bar, soup bar, pasta bar, bread and dessert for like $9. The chili was so good!  After dinner, we went back to the room to settle in for the night. We have a big week ahead of us!

Little Man bundled up by the harbor

Oh and I should mention, that San Diego was so gorgeous, that I said to Damien and my parents, it's so nice here, I could live here until next year. Damien laughed and said, you are going to live here until next year. 

1st post of the year

We made it back from our vacation last night. While it's nice to be at home, I sure do miss not having all my responsibilities.  I told my friend today that momma's don't get full vacations. I still have to nurse, feed the baby, etc. Over the next few days, I will post a series covering our vacation.  

In the meantime, I wanted to wish everyone a Happy New Year. I hope that your year is blessed and full of joy.  I can't believe that it's 2009!!! I feel old when I think about it from a school perspective. I graduate high school in 96 and college in 2000. YIKES!  

This year, some of the things I look forward to are: 

- Dylan's 1st birthday

- wearing a normal bra

- hopefully going to Malawi Africa

- a flat stomach

- deeper relationships with friends

- painting my rooms in the house

- TTC 

- vacation in Hawaii next December

I resolve to:

- be more patient and kinder

- listen more

- try to make my own baby food

- get Dylan to sleep through the night all the time

- be healthier

What are your resolutions?  What are you looking forward to?

Happy New Year Ya'll!