GCV Part 3: Pt. Loma

After the zoo we were still up for an adventure, so we drove to Cabrillo National Monument, which was near our beach house. We had been told there were some great tide pools there at Pt. Loma. Unfortunately it wasn't the right time of day, so the tide was coming in, not out. Oh well, we saw a couple of crabs, some sea urchins, and got to play in the water. The scenery was beautiful, so we didn't feel too badly about the adventure.

After we got back to the house, we took the boogie boards to the beach and played until we couldn't play anymore. I was too busy having fun in the ocean, to take any pictures, so you will just have to imagine it. Adia actually proved to be pretty good at the boogie board, and rode long after everyone else had given up. Ethan had a great time burying people in the sand, and picking up shells. We could have stayed there forever, but sadly I nearly drowned my best friend Liam, (not really, but the water actually touched him, which to him was nearly the same thing) so we had to go back to the house. He forgave me, (After I gave wrapped him in my nice, warm towel and carried him back to the house) and Levi grilled us some super good steaks for dinner. It was the perfect end to our first full day in San Diego.

GCV Part 2: San Diego Zoo

The second day of vacation we decided to head to the San Diego Zoo. I wasn't super excited about the Zoo, for two reasons. One, you know how I feel about animals (and HERE, and HERE). And two, even with my compromised sense of smell (and HERE), zoos are still not the place for a super sniffer. Surprisingly enough the zoo was one of my favorite places of the entire vacation! It was clean and not as smelly as most zoos. It was easy to navigate, and even though it is HUGE (100 acres with over 3,700 animals) we were able to see most of it - at least everything we wanted to see. The park had a LOT of people in it, but it is set up in such a way that we very rarely felt over crowded or rushed. I think the key to enjoying our day was that we had a game plan of what we wanted to see most, and planned out a very efficient route to fit in everyone's interests. I took a bazillion pictures, and here are my favorites.

seriously, this picture doesn't do it justice, but the polar bear's foot is HUGE, way bigger than my whole head. It was incredible!

They had a really cool sky tram that gave you a great view of the whole park, and even the city in the distance. These are a couple of pictures that I took while we rode it.

Near the Zoo, Balboa Park, there are tons of museums to go to. I really wanted to go there, but sadly, we just ran out of time. Next time I would really like to spend a day there. I think my kids would love it.