Oceanside California Vacation!

Mike and I have been very blessed to be able to go on a getaway every February for the last few years. Usually we head someplace sunny and warm, usually we travel with friends, usually we go cheap--but always we go kid-free and have a GREAT time! This year was no different! :)

We hit the road Thursday at 2:59 (or rather, I did).  Mike was picked up from work first, and then we headed to southward and picked up Dave.  We continued our journey, and picked up Ben and Marilyn, then lastly, Lisa.  Then we hit the road!  We enjoyed some of the yummy Beaver Water during our dinner stop, and then pulled into Vegas about midnight.  After checking in, which was sort of a joke, we hit the sack and gloried in a night of uninterrupted sleep!

Circus, Circus--Las Vegas

We hit the road Friday morning and made it to Oceanside CA!!  We all drove together in our van and took naps, rotated drivers, stopped for food, illegally smuggled in fruit (oops!), and rejoiced when we finally saw the ocean.  We checked into our condo and made plans for a lovely dinner in the harbor.  The weather was warm (ish), and ambiance was perfect, the view was breathtaking, the company was glorious, and the fish was even tasty!

One of our first gas stops in California--it was actually warm when we got out of the car! And the sun! Yeah!!

We made it!!  We were about an hour early for check in, so while the other boys did some work/homework, Mike and I hit the beach! So good to finally be here!

Our view--nice!  See that lighthouse on the right? That's where we had dinner, out on the upper deck.  Awesome!

Macadamian Nut encrusted Halibut--it was actually yummy!

Saturday we hit the road early and headed to San Diego.  We spent the day touring Seaport Village, old ships, and Coronado Island.  We found a Diners, Drive-in, and Dive place for dinner and had YUMMY pizza.  We drove back to Oceanside for an evening of games, hot tubing, ice cream and sleep.

Our first morning, we saw this Sea Lion, just hanging out on the docks.  We walked right up to it--it was awesome.    We also walked out on a long, rocky pier.  I wanted to get to the end and take some pictures.  I kept watching the waves, just sure we wouldn't get wet--and wouldn't you know it, a huge wave, out of nowhere, splashed up and soaked me from the knees down.  Serves me right! :) 

Seaport village--a shoppers dream! So many fun shops, so expensive!  Great photo ops though! :)

After seaport village, we walked along the docks and checked out a whole bunch of ships.  We were too cheap to go inside and tour them all, although I was sorely tempted as there were TWO submarines and I've never seen the inside of one.  We had to take a picture of 'Lord Hornblower' to pay respects to old memories--when I met Mike, Tuesday nights were movie nights and when I started attending, they were watching Horatio Hornblower. Awesome. 

Coronado Island. This was the HIT of the day--probably even of the trip.  The 'Del' Hotel reminded me of the movie Somewhere in Time--and so, it felt sort of romantic and 1940's to me the whole day.  I knocked off something from my bucket list--Tandem Bike Riding!  And there is not a better place to do it--! We took a bike ride around the island and enjoyed the quaint scenery, great weather, and who could forget the great photographer! ;)  I. LOVED. IT!

After our bike ride, we returned to the beach to fly our newly purchased kites and find sea shells.  We happened upon this beautiful sand castle of the San Diego temple--commission by a sand castle builder for a proposal. We missed the proposal, but I'm sure it was awesome!

We at Luigi's for pizza...yum!

 Home again, home again, jiggity jig.

Sunday was church. After a lovely lazy morning, including a walk on the beach, we attended church and then drove to the San Diego Temple.  On the way home we stopped at La Jolla and saw seals up close and personal!  We enjoyed a beautiful sunset over the water, then headed 'home' for a steak dinner, cooked by my handsome man. Yum!

Another morning walk...nothing like the ocean!

La Jolla was AWESOME!  Year ago, they built a beach they called the 'Children's Pools.'  They sort of enclosed an area with man-made structures so little kids could play safely.  Funny thing was, the seals and sea lions figured out it was sort of a safe haven--so they invaded! You could technically still bring your children here to swim, but I wouldn't recommend it! ;)

We missed the birth of this seal by literally 2 minutes!  Bummer!

Sunset on the ocean--beautiful!

Monday Ben and Marilyn hoped on the California Cruiser and 'cruised' their way to the San Diego Zoo. Mike and I and Dave and Lisa shopped the outlets and had Wahoo's Tacos for lunch.  We ended up back in San Diego to tour the Mormon Battalion Site and tour Old Town.  Dinner was another Diner, Drive-In and Dive, and once again, a hit!  On the way home we stopped to walk the Oceanside Pier--longest wooden pier in the US--and have treats at Ruby's 50's Diner. Awesome! We headed to bed early so as to be ready for our early  morning departure from the land of the sun!

California Outlets--these are no St. George outlets, my friends. After about 15 stores, $50 bucks for a scarf started to look cheap! 

Next time you are in San Diego, I HIGHLY would suggest hitting up this Historic Site.  It was, hands down, THE BEST church history site I have been to--that I really remember (I don't remember Nauvoo, so I'm not comparing this to that...).  I learned so much, it was creatively interactive.  Well, well, well worth my time.

 Old Town--shopping and creepy mechanical people... :)

 On the pier--good thing we got to this--it was on my must-do list!

Tuesday was drive day. We made it out of the parking garage by 6:00 and made good time--all the way to just past Vegas where we got a flat tire!  We drove to Mesquite on the donut and enjoyed lunch while it was fixed. Pretty soon we were good to go and made it back home to our bambinos and our own comfy bed!

Bye, bye Oceanside.  Such a great time!

Flat tire--lame! Happy to have three studly dudes to fix it for us! Happy Ben is such a good driver and didn't roll the car with the tire literally EXPLODED.  Happy Heavenly Father watches out for Mommies and Daddies who need to get home to their babies.

Once again our trip was a huge success.  It was so fun to get to know everybody better--especially the wives--and to make new memories. The sun and warmth were lovely, the food was fantastic, and the break from the everyday was just what we needed!  Yeah for vacations!