San Diego!

We are back from San Diego! Had a great time at Sea World, Legoland, and Mission Beach. The worst part was the drive there. Everyone was cranky after a day of school and Maggie got a little car sick and we had to stop often because Max kept getting upset. And once we arrived, Sean couldn't settle down enough to sleep and so we didn't really get to bed until about 2 a.m. Bleh! But the rest of the trip went great.

Day One: Sea World. Our hotel was on Hotel Circle Drive which was about 5 minutes or less to Sea World. So it was very easy to get there. We arrived just as they opened the gates (10a.m.) and stayed until about 7pm. Maggie wasn't too interested in riding the roller coasters or any of the rides except for one. Which was good because Sean was to little to ride anything. And of course so was Max. The ride of choice was the river ride where you float and get splashed. I rode it once with Maggie and Glen rode it twice with Maggie. Sean slept in the stroller during that time so he didn't notice. He would have wanted to go too. Favorite highlights of the day included the Shamu show. We were sitting in the soak zone (against my protests as I didn't think Sean and Max would appreciate getting soaked) but we came out unscathed. Can't say the same of the people 5 feet down and 10 ft up from us though. Also enjoyed feeding the dolphins and watching the flamingos. Did not enjoy how everything cost extra, from feeding the dolphins to riding the rides. Sea World gets a "Boo!" from us for not including these in the admission price. However, we did enjoy the large Sesame Street playground area. We also ran out of time and missed the shark exhibit.

A flamingo checking for bugs in Maggie's hair.

Waiting for Shamu.

Naptime!

Feeding dolphins.

Day Two: Legoland. Wasn't sure what to expect with Legoland. I didn't think Sean would be old enough to ride any rides, and wasn't sure Maggie would be too excited about legos in general. But we had a fantastic time. I would describe Legoland as a smaller scale Disneyland, perhaps better planned to include the wee tots, with less people and lines. Not as grand in scale, but certainly fun. There were 4 cut-offs for heights for rides, and Sean made 2 of the cut-offs so there was a lot he could ride. Maggie made the tallest cut off which meant she could ride anything without a parent, so we were able to get everyone riding at the same time. Max and I rode the slow boat rides through scenic lego landscapes with everyone else. Sean was content when Maggie was riding something he was too little for because there were buttons he could push to squirt water at people on the ride or buttons that did other things. So waiting for Maggie was no problem. We watched one show and Maggie and Sean participated as Egyptian Dancers. We also saw Dan Marjale, ex-Suns player and current assistant coach. He is one of Glen's favorites because they are the same age, height, and have the same hair. We thought it was funny he was spending his Valentine's day at Legoland like the rest of us family folk. Hee hee!

Hey! Thats not mommy!!!

It was so funny watching Sean try to drive his little car the first time. He pushed the pedal down and the car started forward, which startled him and he turned around to see who was pushing him. After the third "startle" he put it all together and was able to drive his little car around.

Here is Maggie at the big kids version of the car driving ride. A definate favorite for both kids. Maggie even has an official drivers license with her photo on it.

Here is Glen showing Sean how to get the helicopter to rise up.

Everybody loved the water cannon ride. Don't stand too close or you will get squirted while taking a picture!

Here is Maggie as an Egyptian Dancer. Can you see Sean on the far left? Not dancing, just watching the mummy get her groove on. :)

Although you can't tell, Sean is splashing Maggie while she is on the ride by pushing this button.

Taking a boar cruise through "miniland". Here is the Sydney Opera house made of legos.

Day Three: Mission Beach. We had breakfast and dinner at our hotel each night since kids ate free. Lunch was out and about. On our last day, we headed down to Mission Beach and Belmont Park. We couldn't stay as long as we wanted as we had to hit the rode by 3pm in order to get home by 10pm. Maggie loved the beach, playing in the waves. Sean loved getting chased by the waves, until he ventured too close, couldn't outrun it and fell getting all sandy and wet. After that, he stayed faaaar away from the water. I ended up sitting on the grass by the boardwalk with Sean and Max while Glen and Maggie jumped the waves. We were right next to Belmont Park but didn't go exploring the rides there as we were having too much fun on the sand. Ate a late lunch at the Wave House, which was a restaurant right on the beach. In fact, the floor was sand and we could watch the ocean while we ate our lunch. After that, we had to get the kids de-sanded and pack into the car for the drive home. We had lots of fun, and can't wait to go back. But next time, we will stay longer and and spend more time at the beach. Glen wanted to go to Coronado Island, which we didn't have time for, I wanted to check out the lighthouse and Maggie wanted to look for seashells, all of which we didn't have time for. We had also reserved a spot on a bay cruise to look at sea lions, but we skipped it as we were having too much fun on the beach. We will have to bring out bikes and trikes for the boardwalk as well and visit some of the attractions we missed, like the San Diego Zoo. So much vacationing to do, so little time. :)