Justin spoke at a conference in San Diego, CA about 6 months ago and was asked to return to speak at a different conference in October. That would mean precious time away from his family in a fun city on the opposite side of the country, so I said "Maybe they could pay for us to come out there with you?" Doesn't hurt to ask... so we got plane tickets covered for our family to take a trip to the West Coast!
Our days were packed with public transportation, walking, exploring, playing. Right away we found this playground, and it was fun to watch all the kids play (including Justin, see him at the top??).
The first time Justin was in San Diego he came home raving about a rock stacker. I couldn't wait to find the balanced rocks Justin had described, since it is similar to work by one of my favorite artists. The Rock Stacker took this picture of us in front of his work. He gave us a little lesson on how to stack rocks, though none of us were very good. I got an oval rock to stand upright for about 5 seconds. If you are ever in San Diego, check this guy out in Sea Village!
The other magical moment in Sea Village was playing chase with a kite flyer. This was the most skilled kite flyer and kite I have ever witnessed. He could direct the kite directly over our heads and hover it there... even bring it gently down to tap our head! And then he could whisk it away in a series of flips and jumps. He RAN my kids back and forth chasing the kite with peals of laughter. He would tease them by hovering the kite until they almost had a hand on it and then pulling it away. He even flew it full speed towards me and then brought it to a halt about a foot away (I had witnessed his skill by this point and chose to trust him... it worked).
We loved some of the simple, fun, beautiful parks around the city.
On day 2 we went to the zoo, of course. Because how could we not go to the "San Diego Zoo." It was very nice, but we only had enough energy to see about half of it. We had a little mishap with Patrick's clothes, which required us to purchase a little zoo onsie so we wouldn't be walking around with a naked 18 month old.
Day 3 we went to church at St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church. I met a wonderful family there that works with an orphanage in Mexico; I hope to return to San Diego for the purpose of driving down to their orphanage to serve and spend time with these instant friends we made.
After church we caught the bus up the coast to La Jolla beach. See the sea lion behind William? They were everywhere! You really had to pay attention to not stumble too close to them. The water was crystal clear and cold. Patrick was giddy with excitement splashing around in the forceful waves (I held on tight!).
The sunset was beautiful. The bus ride back (with waits and connections) was long and very late for us Eastern Coasters. But eventually our heads hit the pillows.
Day 4 was the day Justin had to speak at his conference. I took the kids to see the USS Midway aircraft carrier... way too early. It opened at 10am, but since we were still a bit on Georgia time I got there around 8:40am. These amazing trees entertained us as we waited for the carrier to open up.
The USS Midway was a wonderful museum. We spent 4 hours there and still didn't see it all. The kids practiced tying sailor knots, climbed into one of the small bunks the engineers would have slept in, picked out which foods they would have eaten if they had lived on the ship, and climbed into many aircraft seats.
This day was dampened during our lunch when I choked on a tiny piece of a chip. I have a condition that makes my esophagus tiny, and I get things stuck quite a lot (like... a grain of rice), but usually I can still breathe as I try to get the object up or down. This time I couldn't breathe because of a sip of water I had taken, which for some reason I couldn't get out when I ran over to the trashcan. An older gentleman who volunteered on the ship noticed I was choking and asked if I needed help. I motioned "YES!". He did the Heimlich about 5 times before I finally got a gasp of air and my throat was clear. (I think it was mostly removing the water... maybe if I wasn't feeling panicky I could have thrown it up, but it was all a bit bizarre on the deck of a ship with diners watching me as I was trying to get the water out of my throat over a trashcan.) I gave Jim a big hug (thanks volunteer Jim!). It was difficult to not be shaken up by all of that the rest of the afternoon, but I'm fine. Thanking God all is well. Going to the doctor in a few weeks to revisit possible solutions.
Ok! Day 5. The Tesla Model X. This is the one day we rented a vehicle, and Justin found this amazing deal for a Tesla from an guy who is trying out renting his car. The doors opened "back to the future style." The seats were white leather so we stayed a bit paranoid about not ruining them. We were amazed to use the auto pilot feature... seriously the car can accelerate, brake, change lanes, and steer on its own. William loved asking periodically who was driving, "Daddy or the car?"
We used the extra freedom of mobility to drive out to the countryside and hike up Iron Mountain. 6 miles round trip made for an intense but gratifying day. Parts of the trail found Justin carrying Patrick and Silas at the same time. I gave piggy backs and hauled Patrick for parts of it as well.
The views were amazing, and the arid landscape was fun to explore. We love getting into nature and seeing what the land is like without all those buildings in the way. :) These kids were proud to reach the summit, where they established forts and played hide and seek.
Thankful for this time of adventure our family had together.
The one drawback? As a doula, I missed being at a birth for the first time. My dear friend was expecting and wanted me with her at her birth, and we knew this trip was not in an ideal time frame, but birth is hard to predict. Baby girl was born the second day of our trip, and my heart missed being there with my friend. Thankfully I got to hold the sweet baby as soon as we got back and give the mama a hug.
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