Well, we took our first vacation as a family. The summer days here are just too hot to bear sometimes so we've been daydreaming of days with our feet in the sand drifting in and out of a lazy day nap to the sounds of the waves crashing in the ocean.
So, on August 19th we loaded up every square inch of our car (no kidding) and headed to San Diego. I have to be honest though....the drive there and the drive home were the two parts of the trip I was dreading most. Everyone knows that making a long distance driving trip with a toddler can be very challenging when their little minds get bored and their little bodies start wiggling all over the place. Well, it seems all that stress was for nothing because little LB did such a great job. Every few hours we would make a stop for this or that so we would let him out to run around and that really seemed to make the difference for him.
We arrived in San Diego by early afternoon and we were very pleased to see that our hotel was right off of the harbor. After we unloaded the car and loaded up our belly's with some lunch we took the long stroll down to Seaport Village.
The boardwalk was lined with all kind of local artwork so we helped ourselves to this one for a photo-op.
Little LB has become fascinated with every kind of farm animal. In fact I believe on the drive to San Diego I was telling Daddy when LB gets older we should take him for a pony ride. It's one of those things that I think he would really enjoy but it could also turn out to be a total disaster.
When I saw that Seaport Village had a carousel I quickly became on a mission to track it down. As soon as I found it I asked LB if he wanted to go on a horse ride. Holy smokes did his little tired face light up! Mind you, he has never even seen a carousel nor has he ever seen someone in real life riding a horse for him to understand that you ride them.
LB and I hopped on while Daddy stood on the sidelines to be the photographer. As soon as LB was saddled up a huge grin took over his face and then as soon as the ride started the grin I didn't think could get bigger--did!
He had such a great time on the ride. Never once did he get scared! Of course as any new, first-time parent would do---I asked how much I could buy the carousel for so LB could be this happy every day! Okay, I was kidding about that but the thought did cross my mind.
After the ride we took a break in the courtyard and watched LB chase the local wildlife around.
I am pretty sure the pigeon chasing came in a close second for the most enjoyable thing of the day next to the horse ride on the carousel.
After a brief rest at the hotel we all piled in the car and headed out for the evening to get a better feel for San Diego. Recently, I have heard a lot about Mission Beach so I wanted to stop by and check it out. After all, I think it was only 10 or so minutes from where we were staying.
So there is LB's very first trip to a beach and ocean and....he SLEPT through the whole visit. To give him so credit though we were only there 10 minutes. It was dinner time and we were hungry. Plus, I was surprised to see just how crowded the beach still was. I am glad we stopped there though because I was quickly able to determine that this wasn't a good seashell picking place.
The following day we headed out early in the morning to find a secret beach on Coronado that Daddy had read about on the Internet. However, the directions weren't real thorough to me and we drove past the apparent turn off and eventually stumbled upon Silver Strand State Beach. This beach was a GREAT find! At 9:30 on a Friday morning we were pretty much the only ones there.
We really expected for LB to love playing in the sand and the ocean but it didn't happen. The water turned out to be too cold for him and then after a little wave knocked him on his tush he wasn't having anything more to do with the water.
Daddy did convince him to play in the sand a little bit but he didn't seem to enjoy that either. He really didn't like the fact that the sand just stuck to you.
I love this next picture. I imagine he's just watching the ocean making sure it doesn't come anywhere near him. Almost like making a truce---If I stay over here then you stay way over there.
After a long while LB slowly, and I mean slowly, warmed up to the idea of us stepping foot into the water as long as he was securely in our arms and the water didn't come past our ankles.
Okay...cheesy family picture time!
After I convinced LB the sand and the ocean weren't out to get him and that there were all sorts of cool sea shells to collect...he quickly warmed up and took to the mission of collecting every sea shell he came upon.
Okay...I know to you there is essentially a lot of the same pictures but to me they were all so adorable. I love seeing the innocence in him. Seeing him do something new and learn something new. Mostly, I loved watching him sling that bucket over his shoulder as he walked up down the beach on a mission. I just LOVED watching MY son!
So there is part 1 of our vacation. I have a lot more picture to share and I don't want to keep you too long in one sitting. If you are anything like me then your tush is getting a little sore and you could use the break.
Stay tuned for part 2 and maybe part 3!
Lots of Love~SL
