Mallory did great, and had a really good time. You could just tell, she was such a happy little girl the entire trip. We had PERFECT, and I mean PERFECT weather the whole week.
Mallory has always been fond of airplanes and gets very excited when she sees them in the sky. Her eyes were the size of saucers when we got the airport and she could see them up close. Once we were on the plane, she was glued to the window through take off and again when we landed. She did great on the plane, both to and fro, not one tear.
Our resort was beautiful, we stayed at the Welk Resorts in Escondido, California, about 30 miles north of San Diego proper. It was a very pretty resort, with two golf courses, eight pools and hot tubs, two with giant water slides and kid splash areas. It was nice and quiet, and very clean. We really enjoyed our stay. There was a lizard living in the brush outside of our room, and Mallory was sure to look for it every day. When she couldn’t find him, or he just wasn’t there, she promptly decided that “wizard sweeping” = lizard sleeping.
We spent our first afternoon there in the pool, per Mallory’s demands, just hanging out and snacking on chips and dip. On Sunday morning, Mallory woke up, walked into the kitchen area of our condo, looked out the window at the pool, pointed at the bag of chips on the counter, grabbed her floatie and said “chip, okay, pool” and headed for the door. She was ready!
Sunday was spent in Old Town having the best Mexican food ever, and at Embarcadero Marina Park, taking a tour on the USS Midway. What was stated in the brochure as an hour or so tour, ended up taking us 4 hours, and we didn’t even see it all! This was the one and only time we had a crabby child on our hands. I can’t blame her, we pushed her through her nap time, and we couldn’t have her stroller in there (going up and down between the levels didn’t accommodate a stroller) so she was beat. She made to the end, but we had to wrap it up a little earlier than planned. That night ended with a drive up the Pacific Coast, checking out the ocean along the way. Wow, was that a sight to see!
Monday we ventured to Coronado and spent a few hours on the way at the Silver Strand State Beach. I have to say, watching my daughter walk along the ocean took my breath away. Mallory was not afraid of the water, but was cautious. She was very careful to move up the beach when the waves were coming in. She really enjoyed looking for shells, and playing in the sand with her bucket and shovel. How fun! We also traveled to Point Loma that afternoon/evening to check out the tide pools. While we only got to see one, as the tide was high, Mallory liked feeling the breeze of the ocean on her face. Christopher was also lucky enough to have seen a whale jump out of the water, and quickly head back in. I only saw the very tail end of the whale, but watched him go along the coast, as you could see his blow hole squirt up every few minutes. Cool just to know the whale was there. Monday ended with supper at the Corvette Diner. Mallory had a BLAST running around this place, playing in the arcade and dancing to the music. Pictures are followed by a little video of that…
Tuesday was spent at the World Famous San Diego Zoo. What can I say about that place? It was truly an amazing experience. That place is so beautiful and every corner is packed with an exhibit. We sure got our exercise walking around that place. Mallory had so much fun seeing new animals, and checking out ones she was already familiar with. I think she was very content with her day at the zoo, she just looked so relaxed during her nap!
Wednesday we spent some time in the pool, and then headed downtown San Diego. We saw all kinds of sites, including the Gateway to San Diego, Horton Plaza and Petco Park (where the Padre’s play baseball). We made a pit stop at Dick’s Last Resort while Mallory took a nap, for a quick cocktail and then up to Oceanside, California to watch the sunset. I have never seen anything so beautiful in nature, in my entire life. Check it out for yourself….
Sea World was our home on Thursday, and in addition to the great shows and creatures, they have a Sesame Street Play Area there. Mallory was in seventh heaven. She got to meet Elmo and Cookie Monster, and took a ride on Elmo’s Flying Fish, Oscar’s Crazy Ell, and Abby’s Teacup Spinners. While checking out the dolphins, we had one swim right up to us, splash a little water on Mallory, say a few things and then I got to pet the dolphin. Mallory was not interested in petting the dolphin, I am guessing the whole splashing her/talking to her experience was enough for Mallory. It was sooooo cool. I also got to pet a sting ray for quite a while, it stayed in the tank right next to me, and I swear it smiled at me. The Shamu show was the highlight of the day, and while we didn’t sit in the soak zone, we still had great seats and really enjoyed the show as a family. We had popcorn for a treat, and Mallory is still enjoying the take home bucket from Shamu stadium.
On Friday we stayed at the resort and swam our little hearts out. I took in a massage and Christopher, a round of golf. It was such a nice and peaceful ending to our crazy, fun filled week. We met a very nice family from Michigan, who were staying at our resort. They had two younger girls, who were very fond of and patient with Mallory. We spent Friday evening around the resort fireplace, saying our goodbyes and soaking in the final moments of our R & R.
Saturday morning was an early morning for all of us. Up, packed, rental car returned, and on a plane home, all by 7:30AM. Mallory napped on the way from San Diego to Denver, but stayed up the rest of the day. No wonder she was asleep by 6:30PM that night, and slept until 9:30AM the following morning. California wiped her out, but I am not that surprised. We had a jam packed week full of adventures and fun. I couldn’t have asked for a better family vacation. I am so blessed and truly happy in life. Thank God for Christopher and Mallory, they made this whole experience so much fun and so rewarding!
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