Part 2... off to the Zoo!

Aloha.

While I lived in San Diego for a short time SO long ago, I was living there. So I didn't do the tourist bits. This trip, I got to be a tourist. We tried to balance the busy with the relaxing, while seeing our family. Here's what happened when we headed to Balboa park -- the San Diego Zoo!

Posing for a pic at a koi pond. These fish were HUGE!


Ava in the car with a monkey and other animals. No, not mama and daddy!


Look at the very hungry caterpillar and the beautiful butterfly!


Ava couldn't decide whether she liked the sky-tram ride. But at least she didn't push me out.


Asleep at the wheel. Man, we wear her out!


See? We were there!


And then Aunt Kimmy stopped by. Yep, she drinks when she's with me. Weird.


So on one of those days where we wanted to do something specifically for Ava (cause she's so good at doing what we say, mostly) ... we tried for a children's museum that's supposed to be just down the road from where we stayed. We found the Coyote Grill (karaoke) and Starbucks. We found surf shops and Fish House Vera Cruz. We even found the sewing shop where the museum is supposed to be. But no museum. But Ava managed to take it all in stride...

Searching high and low for the children's museum...

Look at that "shaka." Hang loose baby, no worries.

Since it wasn't high, low or in-between, we took little one to a playground. And yep, it was chilly. This was the first day of the high winds and rain. But it's still warmer than a snowdrift.


Throw that leg over the saddle girl!


Just-a-swingin'!!


Daredevil. Not the bad movie, the fun 2-year-old.


And that's the payoff. "Whoosh!"


I love's it


Let's end the post the way we ended most of our days. A sunset on the ocean. And people wonder why I'm obsessed.


Next time: our trip downtown to a local Christmas celebration... and enjoying the season. With pool toys.

Cheers.

California Dreamin'

Aloha.

So we're back from a 2 week vacation to San Diego, California. I can still feel the sun. Oh wait, maybe that's the frostbite from our welcome home present: snow. We spent 2 weeks in Carlsbad, at a time share courtesy of Becky's folks. It was a cute 1 bedroom unit with an ocean view, right on Highway 101, Coast Highway. And just down the (outside) hallway was the sunset. It was perfect. Oh, Starbucks was across the street. Nice.

So I'll share pictures with you now, leading up to Christmas. I have about 60 to get through, so this will come in a few installments. Here's round 1.

Keeping a 2-year-old busy on a plane is a task. Mama did a fantastic job with the "presents."


San Diego Airport! Ava's taking a rest. She took her carry-on there (it's Dora) and went around a column from us.


She sat there people-watching. It was too cute.


Then she promptly fell asleep. You may notice a pattern in the blogs to come. This is on the drive from the airport to our condo in Carlsbad. We rented a Chevy HHR.


Here's a pic of the car, not from my camera.


This is the view from our room. Yep, the ocean is across the street from us. The sun set just behind the building, but we could see it from the end of our floor. We stayed at the Carlsbad Inn Beach Resort.


One of our first trips was down to La Jolla (luh HOY-uh). The walkway was right above the water.


Side note here. When we pulled up, one of the local news stations was there doing a live shot for a newscast. They were reporting on the HUGE surf coming in the next couple of days. A storm in the north Pacific brought 10-20 foot swells and bigger to the area. I got to meet the photojournalist. It was cool. Back to the pictures, I know.

It's a beautiful area, with this cool park. Enough room for mama and Ava to CHASE! (it's Ava's favorite)


Look at the glee. I love the unbridled giggle from the pure joy of being alive. It reminds to "let it go" and live. Maybe that's the lesson...


Time to rest, or frustrated? You decide.


In La Jolla there are a lot of beaches to explore. This little piece of paradise we're at was made by people. They put up a sea wall, making a nice little cove for the kids. It was donated by the Scripps family. It's called Children's Pool.


Only now the children who play there are sea lions. It's a topic of great controversy. Google it, you'll see what I mean.


In fact right after I took this picture...

... a Canadian journalist interviewed Becky on her thoughts of the situation. The sea lions now call the beach home, and people can't go on the beach. But some people want to kick the animals off the beach. Environmentalists (and people like Becky and me) want to leave it, as a preserve for these beautiful creatures. Again, Google it and you'll see what I mean. We think it's very interesting.

I mean come on, doesn't this face deserve a home?!


There are plenty of beaches to play on, we found this beach 20 feet away. And Ava discovered seaweed!


My budding artist.


She made this design on her own. I thought it was beautiful. Then she destroyed it. Hey, she's 2!


I hope you enjoyed. I'll try to post more soon. If not, have a Merry Christmas.

Next time: Ava in a car with a giraffe and monkey, and two ladies turn into insects. Trust me, you'll "loves" it. Every delicious, delectable moment of it. (that's an ode to Aunt Kimmy)

Cheers.