San Diego 2024

We started our 5 hour road trip from Gilbert to San Diego on the Sunday, and were very excited to see my parents. The drive went surprisingly well with the kids and it was fun to drive somewhere new and see the desert turn into hills. We drove to my parents apartment and stayed with them. They have an extra bedroom, and then we laid mattresses out on the floor in the living room as well and made it work. I think we switched up where we slept every night, but it was great to be right with my parents and not have to drive to get to them each day. We stayed for just 3 nights. 

When we first arrived they had a roast beef dinner waiting for us. We have missed their dinners and hospitality so much so it was really nice! Afterwards we decided to go see the beach. We went to Torrey Pines thinking we might do a small hike too, but had too much fun finding shells and sea glass at the beach that we didn't need to. 

The next day we went to the Mormon Battalion Center to see where my parents spend most of their time working and to get the full guided tour. It was a lot of fun! We really liked it and the kids especially liked the gold mining at the end where Grandpa would "squish the little pieces of gold together to make a big one." We also met lots of the sister missionaries that all love my parents. 

Afterwards we headed to Sea World for the rest of the day. We saw all three shows and especially loved the Orcas. Bentley got chosen as a volunteer for the dolphin show, though, which was really neat! She got to pet the dolphin and stand right up front, although I kind of missed the photo opportunity and didn't get there quick enough, but I got a semi-good shot. We also loved seeing the animals. They had fish that would eat your dead skin, and huge walruses that would swim right up and bump the glass. Boston was a little scared at first, but very fascinated! All the exhibits were really well done and fun to go through. I always love going under the tunnel of sea life and seeing sharks swim above. The rides were also lots of fun. We did all the little kid rides and then a couple of big roller coasters, which Deacon wanted to do over and over. We also had the food pass that got us food every hour, so we ate our hearts out whenever we saw a restaurant. We left as it was closing and then headed back for a nice hot tub and swim in my parents pool before bed. 

The next day we decided to explore Old Town San Diego. It was fun to learn of some of the history and explore the shops. The kids had been saving up their money for the rock store, so they spent a bunch on cool rocks there. We also hit the candy store to share some fudge, and bought a bunch of flavors of Root Beer to taste test that night. Afterwards to went to La Jolla Cove to see the Sea Lions that are always right there. We had a nice walk and then played at the beach again, this time finding sand dollars and shells. For lunch we tried out Hodads, which was such a fun atmosphere, and had really good burgers, onion rings, and shakes. Then we hit one last beach - Ocean Beach - which was actually a favorite of ours just because of the tide pools. Deacon could have stayed there forever finding snails and other creatures. When we went back home we weren't too hungry, but we had guacamole and chips, root beer tasting, and then swam in the pool and did crafts with grandma. It was another perfect day! 

The next morning we basically just had to pack up and leave. My dad took the kids to the train track right by their place and had them put pennies on the track to see them get crushed and leave marks. That actually turned out really well and they each kept a penny! Then we hung out in the game room playing ping-pong and foosball until we had to leave. Everything with the rental car and flight went pretty well and it was a very successful trip! I'm so glad we got to visit them there, and the kids are counting down the days until they come home.