The Monson’s took San Diego by storm last week. I had (what I thought was) a great plan for our stay. I found an ad on craigslist (yes, this is where it starts to go bad) for a timeshare in the Gaslamp District in downtown San Diego. The room was available from the 15th-22nd but we were only able to use it from the 18th-22nd, so we got an amazing deal. And to top it off, the nice man who rented it to us at a discounted rate told me that we could come earlier if possible. So we changed our plans, and drove the LONG drive from Mammoth to San Diego. I got to the hotel to check in and the woman at the desk could not find me in the computer. She looked under my name, under the name of the man who rented it to me, by my confirmation number. Nothing. Then she tried the confirmation number again and told me that yes, I did have the room rented for July 15-22 only it was for NEXT YEAR!!! Oh my goodness! With nothing available at that hotel, we went in search of a place to stay….. It all worked out in the end. And we did have a really good time. I just had to put the price tag of each of the 4 different hotels that we got to visit out of my mind. I may die from a heart attack when I get the credit card bills, but at least we had fun in San Diego.
So we arrived late on Saturday night – even survived ‘Carmageddon’ and driving through LA wasn’t bad at all. We let the boys play at a park and Ben believed that since there was sand on the playground, we had to be at the beach. We spent a small fortune to stay at a crummy Days Inn and in the morning packed up and drove back to downtown San Diego. We took the boys to their very first professional baseball game. Padres vs. Giants. There were so many Giants fans in attendance that it didn’t even feel like an away game. It was awesome! We made it to the beginning of the 8th inning, which is far better than we anticipated with a 5 and 3 year old. The game ended up going into extra innings and the Giants even won for me!!
My mom flew down to San Diego at the spur of the moment to spend a few days with us. It was so great having her there with us.
Monday, we went to the San Diego Zoo and our good friends Scott and Elisa met us there with their newborn daughter, Charlotte. It was a great time. Jack especially loved looking at the map of the zoo and figuring out where we were going next.
That night, Wayne and I got to go out on a hot date with Scott, Elisa and baby Charlotte. We walked to the Yardhouse and had a wonderful time.
The hotel we stayed at for a couple of the nights offered a continental breakfast on the rooftop. It was pretty incredible (the views, not the food)! We also had our friend, Dave, from our Sierra College days meet us up on the rooftop for some beers and some good company on our second night there. He offered to let us crash his pad in La Jolla for an extra day on our trip. What a great guy!
Tuesday, we went to Sea World for some more fun in the sun. The boys really liked watching the shows. Ben especially liked the big splashes that were made by the killer whales and dolphins. About halfway through the day, we ran into Will Farrell (the actor, duh). He also went to Legoland with us the next day. I think he has a man crush on Wayne. It was fun vacationing with the stars.
Wednesday was the big finale of our trip. We made it to Legoland and ALL of my boys (Wayne, included) were in absolute hog heaven. It was so much fun watching the excitement in their expressions. Ben was so funny because he had no idea what he was excited about, he just got excited by watching his dad and brother. I just love that boy!
Thursday morning, we took my mom to the airport and then made our way to La Jolla and spent a much needed day of relaxation at the beach. Our friend, Dave and his lovely wife, Tawny took us in for the night. It was exactly what we needed. Their house is only blocks from the beach, so we changed at their house and then took a nice little walk down to the beach. We had a picnic, made sand castles, and a bed of sand for Ben, while Jack and Wayne played in the ocean. Jack ran from the waves for hours. The waves were crashing pretty hard, so we didn’t get in past our knees but it was still a lot of fun.
