We loved it there. Our first day was mostly flights, but we settled into our hotel in a suburb, let the kids swim in the outdoor pool and ate our first seafood dinner.
Swimming at the hotel
San Diego Zoo
We dedicated all of day two to the zoo, spending more than five hours visiting animals and enjoying the weather. We hopped on the tour bus first, heading to the upper deck for a better view. A man sitting in front of me took a tree branch to the head (and was OK, thankfully), but everything else was enjoyable.
Dwain and Benita at the flamingos
Our guided tour bus
We made sure to see the Masai giraffes (which Natalie and I had just studied during our Kenya unit), rhino, orangutan, koalas and the giant pandas. Normally very excited to see zoos, the kids were a little under-impressed, so we chalked it up to over-tiredness from travel. The rest of us, on the other hand, were so excited to see these unique creatures.
Koalas are only awake for about two hours each day. We caught them at the perfect time.
They were so cozy all tucked in their trees.
Gosh, I love how good Natalie is getting with the camera. I can even hand her the DSLR and know that she's going to take a great photo. (I also didn't know Gavin sneaked in this shot until just now!)
Rhinos are incredible. What an animal. (Though I wish this guy had a friend.)
San Diego has four of only 16 giant pandas in the country, all on loan from China.
The zoo has several animal ambassadors who work closely with trainers to educate the public. All day we saw wolves, like this one, on leash walking the zoo.
We drove to Sunset Cliffs Natural Park for our first look at the Pacific. Natalie and Gavin hoped for a sandy beach they could run along and collect shells, but the cliff view was spectacular. We stood near the top, looking down on the winding path, a short strip of beach and the pounding waves. We realized the tiny black specks in the water were surfers, trying to catch the tremendous waves crashing toward shore. As we watched, several surfers passed us on the trail, donning wet suits and carrying their boards, hurrying down the path to the water.
It was so cloudy the water blends right into the sky.
Those tiny specks are surfers!
We parked on a cul-de-sac in a neighborhood and walked just a few feet to this. I can't even imagine living next to this view.
To top off the evening, we dined at Anthony's Fish Grotto on the water. Ready to try something different, I ordered us oysters on the half shell. None of us had tried them before and we sort of peer-pressured ourselves into doing it now. I love it!
Hmmm...we weren't too excited about this part.
But we did it anyway! (Verdict: tasteless, but better to gulp than chew.)
Sea World
Our day at Sea World was one of our favorite. We spent almost eight hours at the park, seeing nearly every show and exhibit. We even hit the ground running. As soon as we were admitted, we sped to the open dolphin pool for an educational presentation and chance to see the dolphins up close. Natalie and Gavin slipped right up to the edge of the pool and touched their first dolphin. So exciting! Both of them love marine animals and I know they will remember that moment forever.
So close to such a magnificent animal
After reading so much about dolphins, it's amazing to finally see one.
After that, we coordinated our schedule to fit in as much as possible. Natalie and I pet/fed rays while Jason took Gavin on his first roller coaster, Manta. He loved it but complained about his tummy afterward! It couldn't have been too bad since he joined Jason for a water raft ride later in the day. They went under a waterfall and came out a little soggy.
Jason and Gavin take on the rapids
Gavin's first roller coaster (Yes, we took off his glasses before the upside-down ride.)
Bottle-nosed dolphins
Pilot whales
Beluga whales
Sea stars (formerly known as starfish)
Orca
Not ready to leave San Diego without some authentic Mexican food, we drove to La Playa Taco Shop, picked up a bag of tacos and burritos, got stuck in traffic for 45 minutes and headed back to the hotel. What a great day!
On the Road
Just as we were getting settled in San Diego, it was time to hit the road. We took our time driving up 5 and 101 to San Luis Obispo, spending about seven hours enjoying the beautiful sites. We stopped in Hollywood to get a photo with the sign. Driving up the tight, steep, winding streets of a neighborhood was incredibly exciting. Around every turn I was sure I was going to take out a small car zipping past, but we somehow made it. And it was worth it!
We also, quite accidentally (thank you GPS) took Highway 154 through the Los Padres National Forest. It's not Highway 1 with stunning turns on the edges of drop offs, but it's a winding two-lane road between mountains with very little chance to see what's coming next. These are the sorts of roads I literally had nightmares about as we prepared for the trip. I did NOT want to be driving a minivan at 60 mph through dangerous roads! But once we turned onto the road, there was no turning back. I white-knuckled it for several miles before relaxing into it a bit. And I was glad I did. It was beautiful.
This is the only photo we have on 154, in a very calm section of the road. (I was too busy freaking out earlier to ask Jason to grab the camera. I do regret not getting a photo of one of the Danger: Rock Slide signs.)
The entire drive up the coast was gorgeous. I loved looking out at the mountains, hillsides, vineyards, cities/towns and even, occasionally, the ocean.
Then, we were in San Luis Obispo, ready for the next leg of our journey.
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