Waiting at the airport.
It was Olivia's first flight ever, and Madeline's first that she might actually remember (her last one was before 2). The girls did remarkably well, especially considering that the flight to CA was almost 4 hours long.
The trip was wonderful. It was warm (60s, compared to sub-zero back home), sunny, green (Plants! Grass! Flowers! Oh how we missed you!), and - most importantly - NO SNOW. We stayed at a hotel with a pool and hot-tub, which Madeline visited daily.
And of course, what trip to San Diego is complete without visiting the zoo?
At one point, we saw two peacocks roaming around the zoo! (With a zoo keeper close by to keep an eye on them) We heard their cries, and saw as one flew onto the roof!
Madeline's favorite part was probably the Skyfari Ride - a gondola that takes you across over the whole zoo. What a view!
We visited Point Loma and saw the lighthouse.
San Diego is on the other side of the bay!
The kids absolutely loved exploring the tide pool we found.
(Olivia still preferred to hold onto someone's hand while walking, and on slippery rocks that was a-okay with Mommy and Daddy!)
Happiness is a pile of rocks. :)
There were all sorts of great finds - tiny sea urchins, snails, crabs, shells, cool rocks...
We also visited a beach, but knew it was too cold to swim. It didn't matter, though, because the girls were having way too much fun wading in the water, collecting tons of shells (Madeline), and watching the birds.
Unfortunately, Madeline ended up taking an unexpected dip! She was wading in the water with Caleb when a wave came and pushed her over. Head to toe soaking wet! Lucky for you, we caught it on film. :)
And for her part, Olivia kept eating sand! It was hilarious. I guess it's good that she'll try something many times before deciding she doesn't like it. That's good, right?
"Mom, I'm not so sure about this stuff..."
We went to the Science Museum in Balboa Park. They had a pirate theme going on, complete with extra exhibits that you had to pay extra $$ to see. There were still things for the kids to look at and enjoy, though.
We couldn't help but sing, "Barbara Manatee... You are the one for me...."
We saw a 3-D movie about dinosaurs! Madeline's favorite dinosaur was "the one that pooped."
We saw a playground in Balboa Park and simply had to play there. We realized it was Olivia's first time at a park! In the fall, she was too little to climb around - plus our park has wood chips, while this one had a smooth rubber ground. Both of the kids had SO MUCH fun, no one wanted to leave.
Olivia quickly became so daring that she would climb up the equipment herself and just dive down the slides. Caleb had to literally dive after her once before we realized she would do that!
On the last day we visited the New Children's Museum, which turned out to be a disappointment. It was basically a glorified play area that they charged a lot for. Regardless, we were able to get some enjoyment out of it, and it certainly helped pass the time.
Madeline made some creations out of clay, but the sensory aspect was a little much for her so it didn't last long.
They had a pretend giant sink with giant play food. It was great for little ones like Olivia (and, truth be told, Madeline enjoyed it too).
Our flight home was pretty rough. We learned the hard way that it's too risky to schedule a flight that arrives around bedtime (certainly for a preschooler). Despite many tears, though, we made it home safely and all slept soundly that night. Caleb and I noticed that going to CA really helped as far as (mentally) surviving the winter goes, so we will probably make a similar trip during the winter from now on.
Looks like a lot of fun! Thanks for sharing the pictures... Glad you guys had a great time and made it back safely. :)
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