On a side note, we just wanted to make sure that you all know that you can click on these pictures to enlarge them. This is helpful considering several of these pictures are taken from a distance....
So on with the trip...
The drive down to San Diego was pretty uneventful. Although we did pass through some beautiful places neither of us had ever seen. We stopped and had lunch about an hour or so outside of San Diego in San Juan Capistrano. I’m 
only mentioning this small side trip because Landon had a few firsts worth mentioning. We all sat and had lunch outside at a cute little patio café. No high chairs! Landon sat in his very own chair like a big boy and munched away on his chicken fingers, fruit and fries. He ate off of a normal (glass) plate and not once did he try to pick it up and chuck it across the restaurant. What an accomplishment. We’ve been afraid to try him on actual plates at home (glass or plastic) in the fear that this might happen. We normally just dump his food on his high chair tray. We were both pleasantly surprised at his manners. The other first which I wanted to mention was Landon’s new found love of ranch dressing. He was so amused watching Dustin dip his French fries in ranch and decided he had to try it as well. He ended up dipping more of his hand in the ranch than the actual food, but he sure had fun and boy does he love Ranch! What kid doesn’t?
Once we made it to SD and checked into our hotel we all immediately put on swim suits and
sunscreen and walked out our front patio onto Mission Bay. Landon had a lot of fun playing in the bay w/o having to deal with the waves. We only stayed a short while before jumping in the BOB and walking two blocks to the beach. It was crowded, but Landon didn’t seem to notice. He had fun chasing seagulls and stopping to watch a couple play Frisbee. We walked on the beach and just enjoyed the weather and people watching! Afterwards, it was back to the hotel to freshen up before heading out to a favorite pizza place in Mission Beach – Luigi’s Home of the Giant Slice! These slices were huge, so one piece each and a salad filled up all three of us. At one point during dinner Landon thought it would be fun to knock over a full glass of water on to Daddy's shorts...needless to say, Daddy wasn't quite so thrilled.
Tuesday morning we woke up bright and early, enjoyed a nice breakfast at the hotel and then got ready for Landon’s 1st trip to SEA WORLD. Anyone who knows me knows it’s one of my favorite places, so I was more excited then anyone. Landon had a lot of fun watching the Shamu show, Sea Lion & Otter show and petting sting rays and sea stars. I’d say he had the most fun seeing the giant fish in the aquiariums, seeing the sharks and his FAVORITE had to be the Penguin Exhibit. He giggled and pointed each time a Penguin waddled over to the edge of the ice and dove into the water. When we left, he had a choice between a Shamu stuffed toy, Dolphin, Sea Lion and a Penguin and he immediately latched onto the penguin and kissed and squeezed it with all the energy he had left. It was a lot of fun! We decided to name the Penguin Sandy, in honor of San Diego...get it? ;) 
After Sea World we went back and took a much needed nap before heading out to dinner at another all time family favorite – Taco Surf. After stopping by to see Grama Carol’s old house, we rounded the corner and headed into the familiar little taco shop. Dustin and I joked that this is not normally a place I would like to eat, just from the looks of it. But looks can be deceiving and it was every bit as yummy as I remembered. Landon enjoyed it too!! Another new thing he’s been into is eating whatever it is we’re eating. He just wants bites of our food instead of his own. So he had a rolled taco, bites of Dustin’s beef burrito and endless bites of refried beans and cheese. We also let him sample our Diet Coke (yes, I know, we’re terrible) and luckily he hated it. He made a pretty funny face to let us know his displeasure in it.
After dinner we strolled on the beach and over to Crystal Pier where we walked to the end to watch the sun dip a little and see the fisherman. Landon was pretty fascinated by the fish and one little local fisherman (boy) let Landon touch one of the fish he had caught. He thought it was pretty funny! Another fisherman ended up catching a shark while we were there! A big one too! It had to be at least 5-6 feet. And no, it wasn’t a sand shark or anything like that – it was a SHARK. Landon of course, could care less about the shark and wanted to chase after the seagull who was stealing bait from the unattended poles left by the other fisherman who were helping out the guy with the shark.
Wednesday morning we woke up early to beat the crowds that line up for Kono’s breakfast (another favorite...are you sensing a theme?). We had a wonderful breakfast and much needed
coffee on the pier looking out on to the water. It was perfect. After breakfast we took another stroll down to the beach and I showed Landon how much fun it was to look for sea shells. He had a lot of fun finding them and tasting them before bringing them over to show me his newest treasure to put in the bag. My Gram has passed on a wonderful tradition of collecting sand from vacations and trips, so I saved all of Landon’s seashells and sand to place in a glass jar from his first family vacation and trip to SD.
After breakfast, we headed back to the hotel, swam for a little in the hotel pool and then showered up and got ready for the last leg of our trip to Dana Point – Laguna Niguel, CA where we were meeting up with the McIntier’s and Morris’. Which, for today, is where we will leave you…
only mentioning this small side trip because Landon had a few firsts worth mentioning. We all sat and had lunch outside at a cute little patio café. No high chairs! Landon sat in his very own chair like a big boy and munched away on his chicken fingers, fruit and fries. He ate off of a normal (glass) plate and not once did he try to pick it up and chuck it across the restaurant. What an accomplishment. We’ve been afraid to try him on actual plates at home (glass or plastic) in the fear that this might happen. We normally just dump his food on his high chair tray. We were both pleasantly surprised at his manners. The other first which I wanted to mention was Landon’s new found love of ranch dressing. He was so amused watching Dustin dip his French fries in ranch and decided he had to try it as well. He ended up dipping more of his hand in the ranch than the actual food, but he sure had fun and boy does he love Ranch! What kid doesn’t?Once we made it to SD and checked into our hotel we all immediately put on swim suits and
sunscreen and walked out our front patio onto Mission Bay. Landon had a lot of fun playing in the bay w/o having to deal with the waves. We only stayed a short while before jumping in the BOB and walking two blocks to the beach. It was crowded, but Landon didn’t seem to notice. He had fun chasing seagulls and stopping to watch a couple play Frisbee. We walked on the beach and just enjoyed the weather and people watching! Afterwards, it was back to the hotel to freshen up before heading out to a favorite pizza place in Mission Beach – Luigi’s Home of the Giant Slice! These slices were huge, so one piece each and a salad filled up all three of us. At one point during dinner Landon thought it would be fun to knock over a full glass of water on to Daddy's shorts...needless to say, Daddy wasn't quite so thrilled.
Tuesday morning we woke up bright and early, enjoyed a nice breakfast at the hotel and then got ready for Landon’s 1st trip to SEA WORLD. Anyone who knows me knows it’s one of my favorite places, so I was more excited then anyone. Landon had a lot of fun watching the Shamu show, Sea Lion & Otter show and petting sting rays and sea stars. I’d say he had the most fun seeing the giant fish in the aquiariums, seeing the sharks and his FAVORITE had to be the Penguin Exhibit. He giggled and pointed each time a Penguin waddled over to the edge of the ice and dove into the water. When we left, he had a choice between a Shamu stuffed toy, Dolphin, Sea Lion and a Penguin and he immediately latched onto the penguin and kissed and squeezed it with all the energy he had left. It was a lot of fun! We decided to name the Penguin Sandy, in honor of San Diego...get it? ;) 
After Sea World we went back and took a much needed nap before heading out to dinner at another all time family favorite – Taco Surf. After stopping by to see Grama Carol’s old house, we rounded the corner and headed into the familiar little taco shop. Dustin and I joked that this is not normally a place I would like to eat, just from the looks of it. But looks can be deceiving and it was every bit as yummy as I remembered. Landon enjoyed it too!! Another new thing he’s been into is eating whatever it is we’re eating. He just wants bites of our food instead of his own. So he had a rolled taco, bites of Dustin’s beef burrito and endless bites of refried beans and cheese. We also let him sample our Diet Coke (yes, I know, we’re terrible) and luckily he hated it. He made a pretty funny face to let us know his displeasure in it.
After dinner we strolled on the beach and over to Crystal Pier where we walked to the end to watch the sun dip a little and see the fisherman. Landon was pretty fascinated by the fish and one little local fisherman (boy) let Landon touch one of the fish he had caught. He thought it was pretty funny! Another fisherman ended up catching a shark while we were there! A big one too! It had to be at least 5-6 feet. And no, it wasn’t a sand shark or anything like that – it was a SHARK. Landon of course, could care less about the shark and wanted to chase after the seagull who was stealing bait from the unattended poles left by the other fisherman who were helping out the guy with the shark.
Wednesday morning we woke up early to beat the crowds that line up for Kono’s breakfast (another favorite...are you sensing a theme?). We had a wonderful breakfast and much needed
coffee on the pier looking out on to the water. It was perfect. After breakfast we took another stroll down to the beach and I showed Landon how much fun it was to look for sea shells. He had a lot of fun finding them and tasting them before bringing them over to show me his newest treasure to put in the bag. My Gram has passed on a wonderful tradition of collecting sand from vacations and trips, so I saved all of Landon’s seashells and sand to place in a glass jar from his first family vacation and trip to SD.After breakfast, we headed back to the hotel, swam for a little in the hotel pool and then showered up and got ready for the last leg of our trip to Dana Point – Laguna Niguel, CA where we were meeting up with the McIntier’s and Morris’. Which, for today, is where we will leave you…
And here are some more of our favorite pictures from our San Diego adventure...
Landon with Mommy riding the Carousel in Mission Beach...
Landon and Daddy watching the Sea Lion and Otter show at Sea World...
It's freaking Shamu!!!
This was a fun one that Michaela took....
I think that the title of this next picture should be "Mommy, Daddy, and the Sand Monster who does NOT want to leave the beach"...(I mean, just look at the face that Landon has in this picture!!)..
And probably my favorite picture from the San Diego trip, and one that will definitely find its way into a picture frame around this house...
Please check back for Part III later this week...have a great one!
1 comment:
Hey guys -- looks like you had a GREAT vacation!! I'm glad Landon enjoyed Sea World and the beach so much. It's too bad we missed out on seeing you, but we get it. Hope you have a fun end to your summer :)
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