Last Day

7.7.12

Day 5 -Last Day In San Diego

On our last day of our trip we decided to drive to Temecula to check out a few model homes. We knew that Temecula was a bit of a drive from Poway {where my husbands job is located} about an hour and thirty minutes and even further out from San Diego ... about an hour and forty five minutes depending on traffic then you could possibly be stuck on the freeway for a bit longer. We had talked about where we would like to buy a home once we moved back to the San Diego area and my 1st choice would be Poway but honestly it is very expensive there. There are plenty of affordable homes in Chula Vista {a San Diego suburb} but I'm not really interested living there so that's why we had considered Temecula.
Well once we were on the freeway and drove past Poway we timed the drive to the new communites in Temecula and Hemet. Jacob was not liking the distance at all and neither was I. If we lived in Temecula that would mean that Jacob would be commuting for a total of about 3 hours daily. That's just too long plus I also worry about him constantly when he's on the freeway and driving for that long would totally have me stressed.
So now we have to rethink this entire process of choosing where to live from square one ... with the priority being school districts. What I look for in a school district are test scores, curriculum and the arts. I have to make sure that the high school my daughter would be attending has an orchestra program.

Oh, it also gets pretty hot in Temecula BUT the good thing is that the beach is about a 45 minute drive. Not too bad. We can escape the heat by going to the beach or to the mountains or to San Diego. There's definitely several options to ponder upon. Not to mention that these places are all fun and there's tons to do.

Anyway, here's Riley happy as can be having free reign of the sidewalk.

There were two models that we really liked. Not sure if finding a nice home and living in Temecula is worth commuting 3 hours daily. Would you do it? {would really appreciate it if you left me a comment or email with your input, thanks}

Once we left the community and we were driving down the street for about fifteen minutes we noticed smoke then we saw several cars pulled over and people throwing dirt on landscape that was on fire. There were three different spots up in flames. There is no doubt they were set up on purpose. That's so sad and scary. Good thing that regular passers by stopped to help put the fires out. The fire trucks were barely coming up the street as the citizens were working hard to distinguish the fires. God bless them.

We are always driven to be near water ... not done intentionally it just happens. I'm not talking about lakes. We have never been the type to splash in lakes we prefer the ocean.

Typical afternoon sky. The marine layer rolling in.

We wanted to go to the tidepools in Point Loma but the entrance gate to drive down to the tidepools was closed. Boo Hoo! So we drove around Point Loma for a bit. It is so nice here. There's nothing but established neighborhoods with extremely wonderful tall trees. I love trees! Shops and restaurants. Point Loma is way expensive similar to Coronado. The houses are so pretty ... most of them are.

Part of San Diego bay ... the start of it actually. The open ocean is to the right.

Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery.

When we came upon the top of this street I had Jacob pull over. Oh, such an awesome view!

Then we made a quick stop at one of the grassy lookout areas on North Harbor Drive where there were restrooms. I had to tinkle {TMI  I know ... but I'm keeping it real}.

Relieved after emptying my bladder we continued on N Harbor Dr .....

Shortly after Sydna was born {15 years ago}Jacob and I went on a Hornblower dinner cruise. It was such a neat experience and very romantic. If you're ever in San Diego or any port you should go on a dinner cruise. You'll enjoy it.

.... on the bridge making our way into Coronado.

It was 7:40pm when we got to the beach and we were surprised on how bright the sun still was. Gosh, this proves I've been away from home way too long.

I don't remember to ever have seen so much seaweed on the shore before. It was ridiculous ... so much so that you had to walk in a zigzag pattern in some areas to avoid slipping on it.

That long stretch of land back there is where we were at ... Point Loma/Lighthouse.

At first Riley didn't want to walk on the wet sand. He just stared at the seaweed.

But since my child is such full of wonder and after us reassuring him that it was ok he began following daddy.

The sun had begun to set. Hence the orange glow on Riley's face.

The Hotel del Coronado ... better known as The "Del". This hotel holds a special place in my heart.

Even captured this.

... and thankfully she said Yes!

Tongue sticking out.

Mmm ... gorgeous!

Four attempts on getting a decent picture of Riley looking at me with the Del in the background.

Finally!

Jacob had to hold on to his arm because Riley was standing on a rocky ledge.

As we all mentally bid farewell to the ocean and salty sea air and the evening quickly becoming colder it was time to leave this wonderful place behind.

This really concludes our San Diego trip. Five full days was really enough time for us to do what we had planned to do. We can always come back and do more. The kids and I could have stayed with my parents for the entire summer break but I don't think I could stand being away from Jacob for that long. We would all miss him so much.

I'm thankful we got to do all that we did. Got to eat some wonderful food, experience fun places and enjoyed the weather to the fullest ... and we got to see and spend time with my parents and sister. We are definitely busy bodies ... always have been and I hope we continue to be adventurous. I like being spontaneous as routine always ends up being a thorn in my side. That's why we sometimes seem to plan our destinations at the last minute. Fine by me as long as I get to do everything on my to do list.

I hope you enjoyed our trip ... chuckled at least a couple of times at Riley's funny faces.

The trips we are blessed to experience, enjoying the small things like simply walking on the beach, taking a walk overlooking the bay, window shopping, laughing at our sillyness, and enjoying each others company is what I know my children will remember most of all and not just the big things that we get to do.

Life is all about enjoying the simple pleasures ... and this we know all too well ... because of Him. Thank you God for allowing us to have fun in each others company and to experience wonderful things and places.

Until then San Diego. You're so much fun and we love you!