Road Trip - Day 10

Felt so good sleeping at my mom's place. Not having to worry about housekeeping knocking at our door or having to walk through a big lobby full of tourists.
We had breakfast then got started on our day. By now Riley was fully recovered and back to his strong willed child ways.

We first made a stop at Mt. Soledad in La Jolla. We've been up to see this cross since forever.

Then we went to the San Diego Fair. So much traffic getting there but we took the back way and moved along just fine. This year's theme was Mad About the Fair {Alice in Wonderland theme}. Pretty neat.

Since Riley was not able to get on any rides in Santa Cruz we made sure that's mostly what he did here. He loved it! I just love the faces Riley makes ... what can I say, I'm biased, I think he's the cutest little boy ever!

These next two pictures are my favorites. His face is just hilarious. He loved having the front seat on this rollercoaster. I was a bit nervous. We kept reminding him not to stand up or move around. We told him to hold on to the bar super tight. Seriously, after taking these two pictures I had to look away, I was a nervous-wreck.

We're huge roasted corn fans. Love them! and that's the only way Riley will eat and usually finish the corn.

It was a warm day at the fair. We left the fair after a few hours then headed out to grab some fish tacos then went back to my mom's to freshen up. Then we got Riley ready for the beach and off we went.

We met up with one of my good friends and her two daughters. So happy Riley likes the beach.

My friends daughters both play soccer, Riley immediately began playing with them. He even kicks with his left leg. My boy, the only lefty in the family. He can run and kick the ball pretty good.

Smelling the ocean air ... hanging out at the beach in the late afternoon is the best time, the sun isn't so annoying. Plus watching the sunset is the best part.

With my friend Moira. We've been friends since the end of the 8th grade.

This beach has stingrays. This is the same beach that Sydna got stung at several years ago. The lifeguards had to drive her to the lifeguard station and immerse her foot in very hot water. Poor thing.

With my little boy. So sweet but such a handful!

It was such a nice way to end the day. No rush.

We sure miss hanging out in Coronado and doing all the other fun things we used to do when we lived here. It was nice being back.

La Jolla

We're always so busy when we come home to visit. We have sightseeing to do every single day of our stay, usually. I guess all this busyness was catching up with the kids and it was challenging for Jacob and I at times. Kids can wear a parent down.

We were at a taco shop and there was a ball machine. Naturally, Riley wanted a ball. Thankfully we had a quarter so he got an orange ball but he also wanted a green ball. Well, we didn't have any more quarters and so he broke down. This was his first time crying over something since we began our vacation ... eight days later. I wouldn't call it a meltdown because he didn't scream or cried in an obnoxious way, he just cried. But once Jacob gave him reign over his horchata drink he stopped crying.

Jacob and I split rolled tacos and a carne asada burrito. So good and not one fatty piece in my burrito. The salsa was on the spicy side, yum! I can't believe we only ate here once during our time here. Horrible.

After we ate we drove to La Jolla. I probably sound like a broken record but San Diego and its surrounding cities have such pretty views.

As we were driving along a lifeguard vehicle with his emergency lights and siren stopped across from us and a lifeguard ran across the street to the water. Well since Jacob is very nosy he had the kids get out and see what was going on. We couldn't stop to wait for them so we continued driving. Good thing Sydna had her cell phone with her. We drove several blocks and finally found parking.
While we waited for the kids to catch up Jacob called his dad. Here I am, trying to keep my feet elevated so they wouldn't get super swollen.

It was a lot fresher here by the beach than at my mom's. The breeze helped a lot but it was still a hot day. I wore a dress with thin straps and in order to protect my extremely sunburned arms I had to wear a cardigan. Ugh, I was hot! But I really had no other choice.     ...  Still waiting for the kids, lol.

When they finally reached us, we asked them what had happened and Sydna said that the lifeguard swam to a guy out in the water but that she couldn't tell what the emergency was. That was weird. Since they walked quite a bit and it was hot Sydna and Nathan had the lamest look on their faces.
The strong sun really affects us I guess. We don't handle it well. We're always seeking shelter from it, lol.

We walked over to the children's pool. This area in La Jolla used to be a little swimming area/beach but then seals began arriving some time ago and have permanently made it their home. Now, no one is allowed to swim here. One can walk on this small strip and see the seals basking in the sun but beware to be standing here on a windy or stormy day, you'll get soaked. That almost happened to us years ago.

After hanging out by the water we went back to my parents. Riley found my dad's binoculars and began bird watching. He looked so funny and cute doing it too.

My mom made pozole. My favorite mexican soup of all time. I'm surprised I didn't have seconds. I usually do but for some reason I wasn't in the mood to eat. Probably because it was so darn hot and muggy.

My brother and his sons came over to visit. It was nice seeing them. These guys have gotten SO tall. They're even taller than my brother. One is 14 and the other one is 16. Just crazy how big they are.

Riley was very outgoing during our vacation. He would strike up conversations with anyone. I guess that's a good thing but sometimes it does get a bit awkward especially when he's trying to talk to someone that doesn't look friendly.
Sydna and Nathan enjoyed seeing their cousins. I didn't see them talk much to each other. I guess it's a bit strange for all of them because they're really not close and we've been away for so long. Its understandable.

We would typically go to sleep before 10:00 pm each night and my internal clock would wake me up at 6:30 am. I just can't explain it. It was weird. One is supposed to sleep in when they're on vacation right? Psh! not us.

Mt. Soledad & Our Fish

July 24, 2011 - Part 2

On our second half of our day which was a Sunday and after having had stopped at the taco shop to eat some delicious rolled tacos with lots of guacamole, sour cream and salsa we went back to my parents to freshen up and rest a bit.  We headed towards La Jolla at around 4:45 pm. I wanted to stop at Mt. Soledad since we didn't get the opportunity to visit when we were there two weeks before.

Mt. Soledad is special in alot of different ways to people.

It's special to the patriotic ones, to the religious ones, to the ones that appreciate landmarks, and to those that enjoy a great view. To us it is special exactly for these same reasons. I have been visiting Mt. Soledad since I was in high school and we continue to do so (or try to) every time we visit San Diego.

On a clear day the view is phenomenal but do bundle up because it does get quite chilly and windy up here.

There's also some controversy about this landmark. If interested in reading about it click HERE.

There is a 360 degree view

These plaques are of the veterans who we honor at Mt. Soledad for serving our country.

The kids at the foot of the cross. Riley sleeping as usual.

And here's Jacob (being silly ... never fails) showing his liking to former President Reagan.

still eating those takis

Here's another president for ya.

This is a very neat place to visit and reading those plaque's is quite interesting.

After we left Mt. Soledad we went to visit a sweet friend of mine and her family. I first met her when I worked at the Hotel Del Coronado ... we lost touch for almost a decade and last year found each other on facebook and have been in touch since. She is now married and has twins.

Here we are, Riley and I with Claudia and Jason and their precious twins. These two little guys were supposed to be born in early January but they decided they wanted to come into this world a bit early. They were born on October 8th, 2010. Their names are Nicholas and Emma ... and after many hurdles in the NICU they are now two very sweet healthy babies, thank God. If we lived in San Diego I'm sure our babies would have had countless playdates and fun trips to the beach since they live only blocks away.

We left San Diego on Monday, July 25, 2011

On our first San Diego trip post I mentioned that we had to bring our pet fish along with us because we had no one to care for it and so we put Chance (that's its name) in a pickle jar with holes on the lid. He traveled well on our last trip and on this trip but I did something different that had a bit of a sad  outcome. Just before we left my parents I cleaned its water but I failed to put Chance in a baggie and let him get used to the water temperature. I instead placed him in a cup, cleaned out the dirty water in its jar, filled it with clean tap water and put the fish immediately back in its jar ... bad mistake.

Several hours into our drive back to Tucson Sydna happened to look at the fish jar and saw this:

 Poor Chance ... it had been with us since Nathan won it at the fair in March. We were a bit sad because in this short time Chance became part of our family. He would swim the direction that we would walk to. When we stopped to talk to it Chance would look at us as if he was enjoying our conversation. We sadly said our goodbyes at one of the rest stops and flushed him down the toilet. That's the best burial for a fish you know.

It was a hot day ... we were already somewhere in Arizona by this time. The sprinklers were on and so I let the kids get a little wet. Sydna held Riley right in the direction of a spray and his face got all wet. He liked it though as you can see.

Again we arrived in Tucson during mid afternoon.

This would make it our last trip to San Diego for the remainder of the year.

I've got other plans in mind ☺