San Diego, Oceanside Vacation

Ever since Nick got his Mini Cooper he has talked about having it "tuned" by some dude in Irvine, California that specializes in Mini Coopers, and helping them reach their maximum horsepower potential.
Before I had Cohen I thought that I'd probably be wanting a vacation in the spring; so we made plans to go to California to have the Mini tuned at the beginning of April.
Nick drove his Mini Cooper to California. Nick's Dad also drove his Mini Cooper. And Nick's brother, Brian, tagged along in the car too.
The kids and I flew.
The cheapest tickets I could find were for flights in and out of the Long Beach airport. In hindsight, I should have just ponied up the cash and booked us tickets out of San Diego. Now I know for next time.

Day 1:
Nick left the house at 5:30AM to start his drive to California. He, his Dad, and his brother stopped at the Bellagio buffet in Las Vegas for lunch.
I woke up and should have had plenty of time to get 3 kids, and luggage ready for a short flight. But the "3 kids" aspect of the formula always leaves me running behind.
Reagan woke up sick with a cold. And Cohen was constipated. We had frozen pizza for lunch and Reagan and Elsa managed to get pizza sauce all over their clean clothes.
When we got to the airport I was informed that I couldn't sit on the right side of our Regional Jet, because I had an infant in arms.
With every new "rule" I encounter after each flight (in NYC it was, "kids cannot sit in booster seats on the plane", and in Orlando it was, "kids cannot sit in a row directly in front of, or rear of the emergency exit row") I am convinced that it will only be a short time before kids cannot fly at all.

Anyway, I had to get our seat assignments changed. And Cohen had a few crying jags on the plane because he was still constipated. This drew several "looks" from other passengers.
I wanted to tell those people that my kids are actually excellent air travelers. But whatever. Maybe next time those people will buy ear plugs.

We arrived at the airport; and picked up the rental car. We then had an hour car ride to our destination.
I thought that Nick would beat us there, but he hit the infamous California traffic, and they did the "stop-and-go" for several hours. So, we all arrived at the condo at the same time.

We stayed in Oceanside, CA. Right on the beach. It was amazing.
My Aunt and Uncle do property management for some of the rental condo's in Oceanside, so they cut us a deal on a 3 bedroom condo.

We unpacked, and walked over to the quaint retail area of the beach to get some dinner. We ate at Harbor Fish and Chips. I had deep-friend clams, and deep-friend pineapple. It was delicious, and I was surprised that the girls wanted to eat my clams, rather than the popcorn chicken we purchased for them.
The kids got ready for bed and I ran to the store to pick up items (diapers, formula, etc...).

Day 2:
Nick and his Dad drove their cars to Irvine to get them tuned. The rest of us went to check out the beach.
The water was not warm. But the sand was.

Cohen took a nap in the stroller while we were lounging by the surf.

Elsa sampled the sand. Gross.


The Mini Tune took a LOT longer than Nick had anticipated. Nick realized that his two front tires were in bad shape after the drive to CA and didn't think they'd get him back to UT. He went to a tire store to get new tires, and OF COURSE they only had the most expensive tires in stock. Since we weren't staying long enough for them to order cheaper tires we had to get the pricey ones.

In the evening we went to Trader Joe's and purchased stuff to make for dinner. Then, we took the kids swimming in the (supposedly) heated pool at the resort.


Day 3:
We woke up bright and early and headed to the San Diego Zoo.
We had been debating about going to Sea World? But since we had just been to Sea World Orlando back in November we decided it would be OK to just go to the Zoo this time.

A week before we left my friend, Haley, wrote a blog post about their recent trip to San Diego. I took note of everything she said, and used it to shape our zoo itinerary. Thanks Haley.
We got to the Zoo as soon as it opened. And immediately went to the panda exhibit.

We were able to walk right in. Both panda's were active. We didn't have to hurry through. It was nice to be able to take our time and observe.

Here's Cohen, doing his impersonation of the panda.



We didn't opt to take a bus ride.
Instead, we hiked the hills around the zoo on foot.



Isn't Reagan so photogenic? Years down the road she'll probably hate me for putting the nose picking picture on the blog. Maybe it will teach her not to pick her nose?



In the afternoon it got pretty warm. And we were all tired of trekking around. We didn't end up seeing all of the animals. By the time we made it to the back of the zoo we were all ready to jump on the sky ride that takes you back to the front of the zoo to exit.

We stayed in San Diego and went to lunch at (where else?!) McCormick and Schmick's. Cohen fell asleep in his carseat. I hadn't brought a blanket to drape over him, so I used a napkin instead You can see it in the background of this picture.

That night Elsa and Cohen fell asleep easily. I stayed with them, and Nick took Reagan back to the beach shoppes to get some ice cream.

Day 4:
We went to Ruby's Diner for breakfast.
The diner is located out at the end of the pier. So it's like you're eating in the middle of the ocean.
You can see the pier in the background of this picture. The black dot at the end of the pier is the diner.


After breakfast we all suited up for a day at the beach.
I had purchased wetsuits for Reagan and Elsa to wear at the beach. Elsa didn't want to put hers on. Reagan did. Which is funny because Reagan is my warm-blooded child. She never gets cold. And Elsa will start shivering the second the bathwater starts to turn lukewarm.

I wouldn't have bought wet suits for the kids if I hadn't thought it was a good idea. And it was a good idea. Just not one that I thought through all of the way.
If I had been thorough in my thought process I would have picked up a wetsuit for Nick too. Because none of the adults wanted to go too far in to the cold water in their swimming attire.


Reagan still had fun. And she looked surfer chick cute.


In actuality, she didn't leave the wetsuit on for a long time anyway. I'm glad I bought one that is several sizes too big, so that she can wear it on future occasions. When, exactly, those occasions will be... I don't know? But I have to comfort myself some way. Ha Ha.

Cohen wore the onsie that New Zealand Kris gave him when she was here. It says: "Sweet As New Zealand" on the front. I had several comments about how cute it was, from passersby on the beach.


For the rest of the day we all played in the sand and had a great time!




Here are Cohen's cute little tootsies in the sand.

Cohen has already touched both the Atlantic and Pacific ocean. Not too shabby for a 5 month old! I think this kid is destined to be a world traveller.

That evening Nick took me out for a belated birthday dinner. I had done a ton of research, in an attempt to find the best restaurant in San Diego. I settled on a place called Urban Solace.
We got dressed up, and drove down the coast. We parked in a parking garage across the street from the restaurant. I was giddy with anticipation!
We got to the door of the restaurant, AND... There was a notice. Saying that the restaurant was closed to the public that night, in honor of their annual tasting event.
Just our luck!
I couldn't remember names of any of the other restaurants that had interested me, so Nick and I went back to McCormick & Schmick's and had dinner there. It was (again, and always) delicious.

Day 5:
We headed back to UT. Nick encountered a lot less traffic and made better time going home.
I was not as fortunate. There was traffic on the way to the airport and getting though security with the kids at the tiny LGB airport was awful. They are not family friendly. We were the last ones to board the plane.
The flight home was better. The kids were as good as gold!

The kids took naps when we got home, and when they woke up Nick arrived. We had a relaxing night as a family, and everyone slept well that night, in their own beds.

It was a fun vacation. And I can't wait for the next one. I love being with my little family.