Weekend in San Diego

For our 6th wedding anniversary this year we were originally planning on going to Hawaii, but funds ran short, so we altered our agenda for some beach fun in San Diego, California.  We left early in the morning Thursday, and came back Sunday evening.  We used all our respite hours for the month for Kai, and Zuri stayed with my mom, so we were kid free for the weekend!

The trip started out with a rainbow, and ended with a rainbow, and although we brought along three audiobooks to listen to for the long drive (it is just over ten hours each way), we only ended up listening to the audiobook for about half an hour and talked the rest of the time.  I absolutely love road trips for just that reason.  I absolutely love that I have a husband who will carry conversations for that amount of time (for those of you who know J, you know he loves to talk)--and all weekend.

San Diego was a beautiful 75 degrees during our stay.  It was overcast the majority of the time we were there, with a slight drizzle now and then, but it didn't stop us from enjoying ourselves and taking advantage of being outside.

Our resort was located in downtown San Diego, so after we checked in, we spent the evening wandering downtown and looking for a good place to eat.  We went to a nice restaurant in Little Italy and enjoyed a relaxing meal.

After our meal, we headed back to our hotel and ended up falling asleep before ten, but we were up bright and early just after seven.  We walked to Balboa park and spent the day there.  We debated whether or not to go to the zoo (for those of you who don't know, the San Diego zoo is pretty fantastic), but in the end, we opted against it.  Instead, we wandered around Balboa Park (even after spending the day there we didn't even cover a quarter of it).  The architecture at Balboa Park is amazing!  It was so beautiful and intricate.  We saw several botanical gardens, not limited to, but including, the Japanese Tea garden, the Casa Del Rey Moro garden, and the rose and desert gardens.






As we walked the Japanese Tea Garden, we could hear the organ from a nearby organ pavilion.  It was really pretty and added to the atmosphere.









This multi-colored flower reminds me of Georgia!



Fire and ice roses used to be my favorite flower.  They are still beautiful--and among my top three, although orchids and lilies are my top two.  :-)


For dinner we went to Anthony's Fish Grotto and had some fabulous sea food as we looked out over the harbor.  We had a beautiful bay view from our table (below).



Some neat ships.




What trip to San Diego would be complete without going through a session at the gorgeous San Diego temple?  After the temple session we tried to get some frozen yogurt, but it was late enough that it was closed.  At that point we called it a night and went back to our hotel.


Saturday was spent at the beach.  We went to La Jolla Cove to see the tidal pools and watch the seals.  We wandered the beach, but didn't get in the water because the air was still a bit on the cool side.

We saw some snorkelers right next to the seals.  It was amazing how unaffected the seals were by all the people.



The kids actually got in the water and were playing all around that rock formation and the seals didn't even pay them any mind at all. 

This seal was injured on its tail, looked like something tried to take a bite, but otherwise the seal was fine.  The people around kept creeping in closer.  In this picture (I was on the pier above them) the seal is lifting its head, but mostly it ignored the people.  By the time we left, there was a crowd literally less than a dozen feet away (despite all the signs that clearly state to leave the wildlife alone).  I hope the seal is okay.


We went to lunch, stopped in at a local Bizarre and then headed to Encinitas Beach, where we took advantage of the surf and played in the water.  The beach was relatively deserted; just enough people not to make you nervous.  It was a rather large beach, and I had fun watching the lifeguard travel from one end to the other in his 4-wheeler (really, what a cushy job?).



When we had our fill of Encinitas Beach, we went over to WindanSea Beach.  Wow, that one was just beautiful--too bad we didn't go to that one first!  We weren't going to get back in the water, but the waves were just fun enough that we couldn't resist.  J was the first one to get in, and as I was following closely, the force of the outgoing tide knocked me off my feet and the incoming wave pushed me right into J, which tipped him over as well.  I got up, laughing and a little sand-burned on my thigh.  Wow, that was unexpected!  You definitely don't get waves/tides like that in Tahoe! ;-)





Sunday morning we got up early again and made the trek back home.  We had so much fun, but with all the walking and swimming we did, we were sore!  It sure felt good to get out and away though!  It was a great anniversary, and I am so grateful for J and to be married to my best friend.  It makes this roller-coaster of life a little more fun.  :-)