Driving into San Diego was TERRIFYING! Remember how I told you NM drivers were awesome? Well, anyone west of the Grand Canyon drives like a maniac! Oh, and no one in Cali uses their turn signals. We saw several cars cross four lanes of traffic without letting anyone else know their intentions. I realize my fear of flying is unfounded and what I should really be afraid of it driving!
As we got closer to San Diego, PALM TREES WERE EVERYWHERE! You must understand, this is very exciting for me.
The only time I saw palm trees was three years ago when we drove through Santa Cruz.
After a long drive, we were so excited to get to Best Western Mission Bay. The hotel was at a great location, but we did not feel welcomed when we arrived. We got there 13 minutes before check in time (3pm). Our room was not ready yet. No big deal, we were a little early. They told us it would be 10 minutes. You can already tell where this is going, right? We didn't get the keys to our room until 3:50pm!!!!!!!! I WAS LIVID! We had to wait in the tiny lobby the whole time. It was ridiculous. Don't worry, I already left a bad review on TripAdvisor.
Once we finally got in our room and calmed down, we headed straight for the coast!
The first thing we did was head down to Mission Bay and Mission Beach. Hellooooooo West Coast!
We walked the Mission Beach Boardwalk for a bit.
Not a Grand Canyon sunset, but still gorgeous!
The next day we went to the San Diego Zoo. We got there right when it opened, which means we got to do the opening countdown with the crowd and see the release of 5 Macaws! They were trained to fly straight to their trainer on the other side of the zoo. When they were released, they were so beautiful!
We don't mess around, so we followed the map STRAIGHT to the pandas so we wouldn't have to wait in line later. It was a good thing we did. We had lots of time to visit with Mr. Yu!
Then we checked out the gorillas because that was something else we really wanted to see!
It was Maka's birthday, so their environment was decorated with crepe paper. The workers threw boxes full of food down for the gorillas to open. It was so cute!
The orangutans cracked me up!
Funny zoo story:
We were looking at the kangaroos and there was a 2-3 year old kid being held by his mom. Their conversation went as follows: (by the way, the kid was screaming)
Mom: You see he has feet like you.
Kid: Yeah! And he has a butt.
Mom: Yes.
Kid: Does he have a penis?
Mom: Yes I think he has a penis.
Hahahaha. I do like that kids use the correct terminology!
After the zoo, we hung out on Pacific Beach for a few hours.
My new favorite book! And I did take my first dip in the Pacific!
West Coast beaches are a lot different from East Coast beaches. On the West Coast, it seems like EVERYONE is being active. It made me want to run, jump, bike, and roller blade!
We walked the boardwalk for a bit! I am calling it a boardwalk but it is clearly not made of boards! Cali peeps, what is it called?
The next day we had a disc golf/running date at Balboa Park!
This is a very popular disc golf course. There were a TON of people there!
I was looking for a trail I saw online, but I couldn't find it, so I ended up in a ritzy neighborhood. Soon I did end up finding the trail!
I didn't want to miss the opportunity to have a Cali run!
That afternoon, we hiked at Torrey Pines State Reserve... GORGEOUS!!! Here are a bunch of pictures I took.
Torrey Pine Trees.
They only grow here and on a small island a little farther north.
We were then going to visit La Jolla but it was soooooo busy. We drove through the town and it was packed. There was absolutely no parking anywhere. I looked at Paul and said, "Do you just want to go home?" He replied, "I love you baby." Hahaha. We were VACATIONED OUT by the last day. We stopped for Mexican food on the way back to our hotel and spent the rest of the afternoon chilling/packing... FAR away from crowds!
Adios, San Diego!
Have you ever been to the West Coast?
If you live on the West Coast, please tell me what is up with the drivers!?
Do you like going to the zoo?
How fun! It looks just wonderful. I have been to the west coast (CA, OR) a few times. I really love San Diego. We stayed in Mission Beach, too. One of the fun things we did when we went to San Francisco was a tour through Sonoma wine country. A van took a group of 6 couples to about 7 different wineries and we stopped for lunch, etc. So much fun. The copious amounts of wine would make almost anything fun!! I am glad you had an awesome trip and that you are home safe and sound. BTW, how is the knee doing? Did the running feel OK while on vacation?
ReplyDeleteKnee is no worse nor better. Hip isn't BETTER but it is doing better! We went to san fran 3 years ago and LOVED it. We didn't do the wine thing there was just too much to do and not enough time! I would love to go to OR. I believe a Washington/Oregon trip will happen in the next couple years.
DeleteI am glad nothing is worse and that you did get to vacation run. We really want to go back to San Fran. It's a fun city. Oregon is so nice. Rick is from there and we desperately need to go back and visit :)
DeleteBeautiful pictures. Makes me miss California. That hike looks gorgeous but I think I would have been frighten to see a coyote up there. Yea, that's something I would have never worried about seeing before but one of my Cali friends posted twice already about seeing them on her runs up there!
ReplyDeleteOh my it never occurred to me that I might see a coyote! All we saw were little newts scurrying across the trail. Cute little buggers!
DeleteI have been to the west coast a lot. My hubby's job is always "threatening" to move out there. I am such an east coast girl, it would be hard. My husband is there now. The crowds get to me easily! Being from NH, I get overwhelmed when I go to the busy grocery store by my parents in MA!!
ReplyDeleteI am definitely an east coast girl too. Everyone is so relaxed out there, and while I wish I was that way, I am too high strung to fit in, I think!
DeleteWe use turn signals in Cali…I think you just had a stroke of bad luck there. However, they drive fast and aggressive. When I moved from Washington State (where everyone drives slow) I felt like I was in Nascar on the freeways in LA. You do get very used to it though. I love SD and Mission Beach, and we call it The Strand instead of a boardwalk.
ReplyDeleteIn PA, the fastest speed limit is either 65 or 70, and that is only on the few "straight" sections of the turnpike. Three days wan't long enough for me to get used to the fast speed. However, on Route 40, a lot of it was 75 but since it was so straight and I had a big 'ol rental Jeep Cherokee (not my tiny Chevy Cobalt), 75 felt fine.
DeleteThe Strand- thanks for that info! Loved seeing all the active people on the west coast. Everyone was so healthy.
I'm so glad you saw the pandas! That's a rare opportunity. I'm cracking up at that conversation...I like when kids don't use cutesy body part names, too.
ReplyDeleteIt was very refreshing! I have a hard time at school on that front though. I have had kids say "penis" and then other kids tattle on them and say that they said a bad word. My brain is thinking, "Penis is NOT a bad word, it's the name of a body part." But then do I want 7 year olds just dropping the word "penis" all the time? haha.
DeleteI went to California when I was a senior in college- we flew into San Francisco and drove to LA and San Diego. I also went to San Diego with Rob a few years ago. Everyone is so active there! I would love to go back someday.
ReplyDeleteThey sure are! It's like you're in the minority if you're not active. So many runners and bikers.
DeleteThank you!
ReplyDeleteThe animals amaze me too! The placard said that humans and gorillas share all but 3% of their DNA. That is just soooooo cool to me. Whenever I see gorillas I seriously think they are just people in monkey suits. The way they move like us is so uncanny!
I think it is more of a southern California thing… at least, we don’t experience a lot of that in Oregon (however, our speed limit is 55 in most places). Every time I have been down to California the driving has been pretty intense. I always let my husband drive and hold on for dear life. :)
ReplyDeleteI would agree with you that there are A LOT of active people in the San Diego area.
Intense is a great way to describe it! :) I bet there are a lot of active people in OR too. We can't wait to visit someday.
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