singingpixie
<font color=deeppink>Baby Donor<br><font color=blu
- Joined
- Feb 26, 2004
Hi everyone! I just got back last night from my San Diego trip, and had a great time!
Some Background: I turned 23 on the trip. My grandparents live on Coronado, and when I was little (birth till mid-elementary school) we went to visit them as a family basically yearly. With my dad's frequent flyer miles from work, it was a cheap vacation! That tapered off when my dad changed jobs. The last two times I've been out there, I was 9, and then 13. This trip, my parents flew in on the 22nd from Rochester, NY, and I joined them the 24th from Northern VA. We all left within an hour of one another on the 28th. This way, I got to visit with my parents and grandparents all at once!
Now, the Trip Report:
Friday 8/24: I had a 7am flight out of Dulles (thanks to my wonderful boyfriend who was willing to drive me to the airport at 5am!) and an hour and a half layover in Charlotte, NC with USAir. All went smoothly, and I landed at about 11:30am San Diego time. I met up with my parents, and we went to have lunch at the Ferry Landing Marketplace in Coronado. After walking around a bit there, we went back to the condo and swam, and visited with my Grandparents before dinner (most of our dinners, unless noted, were at home with them). That evening, we went to see Beauty and the Beast at the Starlight Bowl at Balboa Park. It's an interesting experience, because this outdoor ampitheater is right under the landing path of planes flying into the airport. They have "plane spotters" who cue the actors to freeze while loud planes pass by. As someone who works in theater, I thought the show was enjoyable, but not the most professional I've seen. Definitely an interesting experience though! For those of you who are thinking of going, I wasn't sure what to wear because it's an outdoor ampitheater. Jeans are fine. Many people wore jeans and t-shirts. Just make sure to bring a sweatshirt, because it gets cool when the sun goes down!
Sat 8/25: My birthday! We got up and went to breakfast at the Studio Diner (not sure where it is, I can ask my dad if anyone's interested). Food was great but VERY generous! Afterward, we went to Sea World for the day. Arriving at 10:45am on a Saturday, we knew we were in for crowds, but we dealt. We did the Blue Horizons (dolphin) show at 11am (just making it for a seat in the back), and then exited quickly and beat the crowd over to the Shark Encounter. Don't do this unless you can be one of the first 25 people out of the stadium. After checking out the sharks, we stopped by the Pacific Point Preserve to watch the sea lions and seals for a bit. On our way to Shamu Stadium, we walked past Rocky Point Preserve to figure out how to squeeze in the Dolphin Feeding (one of my can't-miss attractions!) and then made it to the 12:15 Believe show. This is really impressive, although it's very scripted and mostly choreographed to a recorded track rather than having live dialogue and interaction. Still very well-done and exciting. After exiting the stadium, we encountered our longest line all day- at the smoothie stand. The poor girl was by herself making food, serving, and running the register. We stood in line for 40 minutes to get 3 smoothies. This ended up making us miss the Sea Lion show (it was full when we got there) which was a bit disappointing. We brought our smoothies and went to check out Manatee Rescue, which was new since I was last there. The manatees are really cute. We backtracked to Rocky Point Preserve and got in line 30 mins ahead of time for the dolphin feeding. We got to watch them clear out the area, and then go through training with the dolphins before opening up feeding time. We bought two trays of fish for $5 each (each contained 4 small fish, but I figure we were paying for the experience of petting the dolphins more than the fish themselves). My dad was allowed in to take pictures. It was a really cool experience, and has always been my favorite part about Sea World. After that, we tried unsuccessfully again to make it in just as a Sea Lion show was starting (dolphin feeding was at 2:30 and the show was at 2:45, so we didn't expect to make it but figured it was worth a shot) and then checked out the exhibits at Wild Arctic (didn't take the ride as the line was an hour). This was packed, and unfortunately we didn't get a chance to see much, but what can you expect on a Saturday in August? We did the Penguin Encounter, bought a necklace that I'd had my eye on, and then finished our day with our free beer samples at the hospitality center.
That evening, we took my grandparents out to dinner to thank them for their hospitality at the Bay Beach Cafe in Coronado. It's right at the Ferry Landing with a beautiful view of the bay and skyline, and the food was delicious.
Sunday 8/26: This morning we went with my grandfather who gave us a private tour of the USS Midway, where he's a docent. The museum is really well done, and my grandfather really enjoyed showing us around- so much, that we got a very in-depth tour that lasted over 3 hours! It was a good experience to be able to see him doing what he loves (he was a fighter pilot with the Air Force in Korea and Vietnam), but 3 hours of an aircraft carrier and a bunch of different airplanes and their respective weapons systems was a bit more detail than my mom and I needed! After all that walking and climbing (there's lots of ladders involved to get up to the bridge), we were ready for lunch, so we drove over to Old Town (Grandpa took the ferry back and left us the car) and got some mexican food and some much-deserved margaritas! We wandered around Old Town for the first part of the afternoon. After we were finished, we tried to stop by Seaport Village to pick up a necklace my mom had wanted when they were there before I arrived. Parking was full, so we decided to come back another day. We spent the evening with my grandparents at the Condo.
Monday 8/27: This morning, we went to Dennys for breakfast before heading out to Point Loma and the Cabrillo National Monument. As far as I can remember, I've never been out there before. The views are GORGEOUS! We happened to time it so that we arrived just as an Aircraft Carrier was coming into port after being deployed (to Guam we think). It was neat to see that. After taking some pictures of the carrier and the beautiful view of the bay, city, and surroundings (you can see all the way to the mountains), we took a look at the Old Point Loma Lighthouse, and the visitors center exhibits. We drove down to the beach area (rocky rather than sandy), and looked at some shells and waded a bit. As far as I'm concerned, the Pacific is too cold for swimming! Then, we went into downtown and picked up mom's necklace at Seaport Village. After some browsing, we decided to wander the Gaslamp for a bit. I'm always interested in reading all of the historical landmark signs. We decided to forgo a healthy lunch, and got a snack at Ghirardellis. Our reciept is a non-expiring coupon for 10% off at any location- lets see if I can keep track of it until our Disney trip next year! The afternoon and evening were spent hanging out at the condo with my grandparents, and walking around Coronado.
Tues 8/28: I had a 10:35 am flight home, and my parents' was at 11:30, so we got to the airport around 9. Security was a breeze, so we got to eat a leisurely breakfast and hang out until I could board. I changed planes in Charlotte again, but all went smoothly, and I landed at Dulles right on time at 9:40PM eastern time.
It was a great trip, and I was glad to be able to spend time with family I hadn't seen in a while! I'd be happy to answer questions about things I did, or even things I didn't do this trip because I might have done them on a previous trip!
Some Background: I turned 23 on the trip. My grandparents live on Coronado, and when I was little (birth till mid-elementary school) we went to visit them as a family basically yearly. With my dad's frequent flyer miles from work, it was a cheap vacation! That tapered off when my dad changed jobs. The last two times I've been out there, I was 9, and then 13. This trip, my parents flew in on the 22nd from Rochester, NY, and I joined them the 24th from Northern VA. We all left within an hour of one another on the 28th. This way, I got to visit with my parents and grandparents all at once!
Now, the Trip Report:
Friday 8/24: I had a 7am flight out of Dulles (thanks to my wonderful boyfriend who was willing to drive me to the airport at 5am!) and an hour and a half layover in Charlotte, NC with USAir. All went smoothly, and I landed at about 11:30am San Diego time. I met up with my parents, and we went to have lunch at the Ferry Landing Marketplace in Coronado. After walking around a bit there, we went back to the condo and swam, and visited with my Grandparents before dinner (most of our dinners, unless noted, were at home with them). That evening, we went to see Beauty and the Beast at the Starlight Bowl at Balboa Park. It's an interesting experience, because this outdoor ampitheater is right under the landing path of planes flying into the airport. They have "plane spotters" who cue the actors to freeze while loud planes pass by. As someone who works in theater, I thought the show was enjoyable, but not the most professional I've seen. Definitely an interesting experience though! For those of you who are thinking of going, I wasn't sure what to wear because it's an outdoor ampitheater. Jeans are fine. Many people wore jeans and t-shirts. Just make sure to bring a sweatshirt, because it gets cool when the sun goes down!
Sat 8/25: My birthday! We got up and went to breakfast at the Studio Diner (not sure where it is, I can ask my dad if anyone's interested). Food was great but VERY generous! Afterward, we went to Sea World for the day. Arriving at 10:45am on a Saturday, we knew we were in for crowds, but we dealt. We did the Blue Horizons (dolphin) show at 11am (just making it for a seat in the back), and then exited quickly and beat the crowd over to the Shark Encounter. Don't do this unless you can be one of the first 25 people out of the stadium. After checking out the sharks, we stopped by the Pacific Point Preserve to watch the sea lions and seals for a bit. On our way to Shamu Stadium, we walked past Rocky Point Preserve to figure out how to squeeze in the Dolphin Feeding (one of my can't-miss attractions!) and then made it to the 12:15 Believe show. This is really impressive, although it's very scripted and mostly choreographed to a recorded track rather than having live dialogue and interaction. Still very well-done and exciting. After exiting the stadium, we encountered our longest line all day- at the smoothie stand. The poor girl was by herself making food, serving, and running the register. We stood in line for 40 minutes to get 3 smoothies. This ended up making us miss the Sea Lion show (it was full when we got there) which was a bit disappointing. We brought our smoothies and went to check out Manatee Rescue, which was new since I was last there. The manatees are really cute. We backtracked to Rocky Point Preserve and got in line 30 mins ahead of time for the dolphin feeding. We got to watch them clear out the area, and then go through training with the dolphins before opening up feeding time. We bought two trays of fish for $5 each (each contained 4 small fish, but I figure we were paying for the experience of petting the dolphins more than the fish themselves). My dad was allowed in to take pictures. It was a really cool experience, and has always been my favorite part about Sea World. After that, we tried unsuccessfully again to make it in just as a Sea Lion show was starting (dolphin feeding was at 2:30 and the show was at 2:45, so we didn't expect to make it but figured it was worth a shot) and then checked out the exhibits at Wild Arctic (didn't take the ride as the line was an hour). This was packed, and unfortunately we didn't get a chance to see much, but what can you expect on a Saturday in August? We did the Penguin Encounter, bought a necklace that I'd had my eye on, and then finished our day with our free beer samples at the hospitality center.
That evening, we took my grandparents out to dinner to thank them for their hospitality at the Bay Beach Cafe in Coronado. It's right at the Ferry Landing with a beautiful view of the bay and skyline, and the food was delicious.
Sunday 8/26: This morning we went with my grandfather who gave us a private tour of the USS Midway, where he's a docent. The museum is really well done, and my grandfather really enjoyed showing us around- so much, that we got a very in-depth tour that lasted over 3 hours! It was a good experience to be able to see him doing what he loves (he was a fighter pilot with the Air Force in Korea and Vietnam), but 3 hours of an aircraft carrier and a bunch of different airplanes and their respective weapons systems was a bit more detail than my mom and I needed! After all that walking and climbing (there's lots of ladders involved to get up to the bridge), we were ready for lunch, so we drove over to Old Town (Grandpa took the ferry back and left us the car) and got some mexican food and some much-deserved margaritas! We wandered around Old Town for the first part of the afternoon. After we were finished, we tried to stop by Seaport Village to pick up a necklace my mom had wanted when they were there before I arrived. Parking was full, so we decided to come back another day. We spent the evening with my grandparents at the Condo.
Monday 8/27: This morning, we went to Dennys for breakfast before heading out to Point Loma and the Cabrillo National Monument. As far as I can remember, I've never been out there before. The views are GORGEOUS! We happened to time it so that we arrived just as an Aircraft Carrier was coming into port after being deployed (to Guam we think). It was neat to see that. After taking some pictures of the carrier and the beautiful view of the bay, city, and surroundings (you can see all the way to the mountains), we took a look at the Old Point Loma Lighthouse, and the visitors center exhibits. We drove down to the beach area (rocky rather than sandy), and looked at some shells and waded a bit. As far as I'm concerned, the Pacific is too cold for swimming! Then, we went into downtown and picked up mom's necklace at Seaport Village. After some browsing, we decided to wander the Gaslamp for a bit. I'm always interested in reading all of the historical landmark signs. We decided to forgo a healthy lunch, and got a snack at Ghirardellis. Our reciept is a non-expiring coupon for 10% off at any location- lets see if I can keep track of it until our Disney trip next year! The afternoon and evening were spent hanging out at the condo with my grandparents, and walking around Coronado.
Tues 8/28: I had a 10:35 am flight home, and my parents' was at 11:30, so we got to the airport around 9. Security was a breeze, so we got to eat a leisurely breakfast and hang out until I could board. I changed planes in Charlotte again, but all went smoothly, and I landed at Dulles right on time at 9:40PM eastern time.
It was a great trip, and I was glad to be able to spend time with family I hadn't seen in a while! I'd be happy to answer questions about things I did, or even things I didn't do this trip because I might have done them on a previous trip!
