We went in 2005 with Bradley (3 years old) and while pregnant with Olivia. So Olivia has had this complex about never going to a beach while she was born. Even though when we last went we spent a total of maybe 20 minutes on the beach, because it was hot, Bradley did not like the waves, and I was very uncomfortable. Plus I really don't believe Bradley remembers anything more than the pictures we took. But he could claim he had been to the beach, and Olivia saw this as unfair.
We decided to not tell the kids until we were actually on the road. The last day of school they got home, the car was packed, (unbeknown to them) and went to lunch. After lunch we started driving south, Bradley caught on that something was not quite right before we even hit the freeway, but we kept dodging his questions until right before Lehi. We told them by giving them Vacation Journals that I had made for them. The vacation journals included pictures of Shamu, the zoo and of course the beach. When they saw the journal pictures and put it together they were yelling and hollering. They were amazed we were able to keep it a secret, hey so was I. Also they were so excited that we packed everything, even their swimsuits (that is one of the first questions Olivia asked).
We stopped in Las Vegas the first night and stayed at the Treasure Island. We saw their pirate show out front where they sink a boat. The kids really enjoyed that.
Lego Land
It is a lot like Lagoon, but with a lot of Lego exhibits, and an aquarium. But boy did the kids just love it.
Lego Poseidon outside the aquarium
Sea World
Breakfast with Shamu
Besides seeing all the different shows and displays we had Breakfast with Shamu, and went on a Behind the Scenes Tour. On the tour we got to feed Sea Turtles, feed moray eels and pet and feed dolphins and give them hand signals to do tricks.
San Diego Wild Animal Park
Here the animals are in a safari like setting. We fed lorakeets, and saw a cheetah run at full speed, but best of all we rode in a hot air balloon.
San Diego Zoo
Besides seeing all the animals, we rode their sky ride and a double decker bus.
Mission Bay Beach
We spent many hours at the beach this time. Both the kids loved the water, we bought them boogie boards, and they loved to ride the waves. Both the kids and Richard got buried in the sand, we actually couldn't keep Olivia from burring herself over and over.
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| Olivia as a sand mermaid |
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| Bradley burried |
Our Hotel was right on Mission Bay, we had wonderful views of the Ocean and Mission Bay. There was 3 swim pools that the kids swam in every night. One day we rented a motorized lounge chair and took it out on Mission Bay.
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| Our view from the hotel. |
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We didn't take any pictures of us in the chair, just the scenery.
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