Road Trip - Days 11 & 12

Oh San Diego. Why you gotta be so hot and humid! Anyone that tells me that summer's in San Diego are mild has got to have a loose screw in their head because the weather here has gotten very gross since we left back in 2003.
Anyway, we really try our best not to let the humidity and heat get the best of us or our plans so out we went to do a bit of sightseeing.

We first stopped by Balboa Park. The architecture here is so pretty. The cream color of the buildings against the blue overcast sky looks beautiful. Riley wasn't too fond in observing the detail of the architecture, lol. He kept saying how boring it was. Maybe for him but us grown ups sure enjoyed ourselves.

This picture perfect spot is very popular, naturally.

It was sooo humid. Sure makes one feel all yucky. This is why I don't understand people that love the humid summer weather.

We stopped by our favorite Greek restaurant, got it to go and then stopped at Seaport Village and had a picnic. Seriously! This is how authentic Greek food should look like especially the salad dressing. It should be creamy and NOT a vinaigrette. We have yet to find a Greek restaurant in Seattle that sells Greek food like this one in San Diego. Really, if their salad dressing is not a creamy one we don't eat there.
This is my favorite combo. Chicken kabobs with rice, Greek salad and a pita. Superbly delicious!!!! I get this every single time we visit.

After we ate we did some shopping and took in the views. Just looking around made me feel like I never left. Some things have changed but for the most part Seaport Village looks the same. So pretty here although they have plans to make improvements in the near future.
Riley wouldn't part from his Raphael balloon he got at the fair. He carried it everywhere we went, lol.

We got some ice cream to cool off and found a table under a large shady tree. We finally found a spot where the wind blew and kept us cool. It was so fresh here I didn't want to leave. There was also a lady singing oldies and Sinatra songs which made this experience a lovely one.

We left Seaport Village and headed back to my parents. We hung out with my dad for a bit  then around 5:00 pm we headed back out and met up at Hodad's with another one of my good friends Brenda, which I've known since the 7th grade.

There's 4 restaurants that we MUST eat at whenever we're here in San Diego and this is one of them.

Their milkshakes {or malts if you like that kind of thing, not me} are soooo darn good and also their onion rings. Their burgers are decent.

This is Brenda.

We always end up taking the milkshake to go. They serve you so much. I love old fashioned vanilla, sure beats vanilla bean. Can't stand that one.

It was nice seeing Brenda {and Moira the day before}. Two great friends. Seems like I've known them forever. Sure miss them.
Me and Brenda said our goodbyes then Jacob, me and Riley headed towards the beach to breathe in some fresh ocean air ... plus we gotta keep this kid of ours happy and he wanted to run around for a bit.

We headed back to mom's and watched Frozen to end the day. Went to bed a bit early and mentally prepared myself for the following day.



Day 12
We met up with my brother and family in Old Town. There's like a million Mexican restaurants here which makes it extremely difficult where to eat. This place HAS changed a lot since we've been gone. Most restaurants serve Mexican American style food and I hate it!!! My brother picked a restaurant that we had never eaten at before. He claimed it was delicious. We took his word for it. First of all service was extremely slow. It shouldn't matter that they were super busy, they should be used to this by now. It took our waiter about 25 minutes just to get our drinks. We ordered our food and there was a lot of fat on the carne asada, another negative. I ate what I could. Wasn't satisfied ... but it was sure nice talking with my brother and his two boys and my dad. His sons are very outgoing and talkative. I sure miss my brother a lot too.
Here I am with my dad and brother, oh and it was Father's Day. So it was extra special that I got to spend time with both of them because it had been years that we hadn't celebrated this special day together.

After eating my brother, dad and his family went their own way and we went to the Whaley House. The Ghost Adventures investigated this place. Cool right? But I don't think that episode was scary at all. Another show I also watch is The Haunting Of and the host Kim Russo who's a medium also did an investigation with Regis Philbin. Now, her show was a lot more interesting than Ghost Adventures since she's a medium and finds out a lot more information. Oh, I wish I could meet Kim. I would love for her to read my aura.

Of course we didn't see or sense anything paranormal. I guess it's good because we would have freaked out. Still fun though.

Next was the San Diego Zoo.

A little nervous about riding the skyfari but we had to because there was no way I was gonna walk this huge zoo on such a hot and HUMID day. Riley's face was so red I began to worry. Whenever I would see a restroom I would go in and get wet paper towels to put on his face and head.

So we took the Skyfari because we mainly wanted to see the polar bears. Well we had to walk down the steep hill a bit in the hot sun then as soon as we got to the polar bear exhibit there was a sign that said it was closed. That's great. They should have a sign next to the skyfari so people can see it and not have to walk down that steep hill. So there we are walking back up the steep hill which is a hundred times more of an inconvenience because of how hot it was.
This picture cracked me up because of the look of exhaustion on Riley's face.

We visited with the elephants which if I remember correctly are the ones from the Woodland Park Zoo here in Seattle. There's no elephants there anymore {not sure if the Point Defiance Zoo has any, that zoo is kinda lame if I'm being honest.}

After we were done here we took the guided tour bus back to the zoo entrance. The humidity was so uncomfortable that our clothes was sticking to our bodies and no amount of water was keeping us hydrated. Even Jacob complained about how awful it felt and he's rarely sensitive about the hot and humid weather like I am.

As soon as we got in the car and turned on the a/c Riley passed out. He was just DONE!

We went back to my mom's place and took a much needed shower. Then we watched the Warriors game with my dad.
For dinner we went to Victoria's {a taco shop} and I totally pigged out on rolled tacos with lots of salsa and an ice cold horchata. SO freaking good!
I've told Jacob that if I ever become overweight it'll be because of tortillas and pasta dishes. Those are my downfall. I can live without sweets but when it comes to indulging on my favorite foods it's gotta be Italian and Mexican food. Need to constantly practice self-control, lol.

Destination: Tucson, But First .....

9.3.12

Day 4 -Monday

..... we had one more stop to make before hitting the road.

Our last day in San Diego.
Riley spending a little time outside with grandpa before leaving. In the meantime Jacob was loading up the car.

 

After we left my parents place we drove to Balboa Park.

 

It was such a hot and humid day that playing with water was so welcoming.

 

After all these years we had never gotten on the miniature train or on the carousel in Balboa Park so I wanted to make sure to do that this time ... because kiddie trains are always so much fun.

 

I sat next to the little guy. Sydna and Nathan sat all the way in the back of the train and Jacob sat two seats infront of us.

 

As soon as the train was in motion Riley began to point out at the animal statues. You know he just loves animals.

 

I liked the tunnel. Shade.

 pic courtesy of Nathan

 

 

Riley was actually pretty good during the entire train ride. He didn't try to stand up until the end when the train had already stopped.

 

On our way to the big fountain.

 

Balboa Park is so beautiful. Great architecture and history.

 

 

The fountain.

 

You bet the little guy wanted to get wet. Boy, did he get upset when we wouldn't let him.

 

 

Not a happy camper but I still wanted a picture taken ... that way ten years from now he can see what a cute little brat he was.

 

Then we made one last stop at the carousel. Jacob had first sat Riley on a horse but the little guy had his eye on this zebra so Jacob had to move him to it.

 

 

We were on the road by 11:00 am. I love San Diego but as crazy as this sounds I was looking forward to going home because we do have a/c. There's a lot of homes in San Diego that don't have a/c, obviously the older homes and that would be horrible if we bought a home with no a/c and had to endure hot and humid weather.

 

Keeping Riley busy. We sang along his little lantern and sounded out all the animals on his see n say toy. Then we read several books and sang more songs ... and would repeat this same process when  he became fussy.

 

Just looking out at nothing ... contemplating and reflecting on several things we need to make choices on in the near future.

 

 

We stopped in Yuma for a late lunch. I complain about Tucson being hot but Yuma is hotter plus there's nothing to do there other than visit the mall. You know what I can't understand? How some people choose to live out in the middle of nowhere. Like when we make this drive, {or when we used to drive back to TX} how you will see a single house and not see anything for miles and miles. It's just so weird. I just can't understand how someone can be happy with literally NOTHING to do day after day. Can't go to the library, stores, parks, museums, etc. Whenever I see a house in the middle of nowhere I get an eerie feeling and the thought of crazy people come to mind like in Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Something's just not right.

 

As we got closer to Tucson we began seeing dark clouds and that brought a smile to my face. I love and know them so well.

 

We arrived home close to 8:00 pm. My mom even called me because she had not heard from me and it was getting late. I guess we took our time when we stopped in Yuma for lunch. Thanks to God we made it home safely.

 

Libby was so happy we were home. She kept on rubbing up against our legs. I missed her. I always miss her when we go on road trips but I don't like to travel with pets. It's such an inconvenience.

 

As soon as I was showered I unpacked and began washing clothes. I like to tackle the dirty laudry as soon as possible. I just like a tidy house that's all.

 

This trip to San Diego was our third road trip home this year. I do like the fact that it takes us half the day to get there and obviously I love to visit all of our favorite places. Even explore and do new things but as the years have gone by and the weather in San Diego has changed and even some areas that I used to like now look run down or they're just too congested I really wonder if I would be truly happy living back home. I would have to get reaquainted with my home town and visiting friends and family on a regular basis would be something to get used to as well.

We are SO set in our ways ... we're conservative people and hanging out with others of different views especially family would be challenging. It may sound silly but it does matter and it shows in the way people raise their kids.

Some people I know are too much into material things and they constantly talk about money which is so darn irritating. One time they even have the nerve to ask how much Jacob makes or how much we paid for this or that. No one should be asking those things ... not even if it's close friends or family. That's just bad manners, plain rude.

 

I do appreciate everyone in my life but I'm not big on hanging out with friends. Never really have been. I was never the one to hang out and party in my teenage years. I'm married and all I wish to do is spend time with my husband and kids. Because we're a family that's always on the go. And if one day I happen to want to see a friend then we make it a point to go out as a family whether it's out to lunch or dinner at a restaurant or having them over at our place or we go to theirs.

When I need time to myself I go to my room and watch a movie or I read. When I'm fed up of being home all day I like to hang out with Jacob and the kids. We either go grab an ice cream or coffee or walk around Target which we usually end up buying a few things. That's always good therapy right? So thankfully I don't always need to be around people other than with my family to be happy. I like things simple and quiet ... and obviously this is what works for me.

This is why living in a different state and not having many friends has never been a problem for me or for Jacob. We are each others best friend.

 

Hopefully when we finally settle down somewhere I would like to come to know a family with similar principles and values.