San Diego

San Diego is my favorite city.  It is a city that feels like a small town.  The weather here is always good and the people are friendly.  You rarely hear sirens blaring like in many large cities.  San Diego is always on our list of stops when we head South.  It seems like we generally stay here on the way home from the desert but this year, because Nick, Hayley and Jill were vacationing in the area, we stopped here on our way to the desert. We always stay in South San Diego at the KOA campground in Chula Vista because it is located close to town and the Silver Strand, the road between Coronado and the main land.  We love Coronado! We love to run on the Silver Strand and there is a big dog beach where Cessna can run free and chase balls into the ocean and play with other dogs. The KOA campground itself is also my favorite campground.  It is in the middle of busy freeways but there are huge, yummy smelling eucalyptus trees that drown out the sound of traffic.  The area is made to look like a park in the woods with cabins and trees.  The RV sites are also a little further apart than in most parks.  There is also a swimming pool and spa.  For the kids there is a climbing wall and playground.

I took this picture of our KOA neighbor last year. 

This year we stayed at the Mission Bay RV Resort, which is at the North end of San Diego.  It is a very nice park and we enjoyed our stay.  Next year we will probably go back to the KOA though.

The reason we stopped at San Diego on our way South rather than the way North this year was to be with Jillian when she went to Sea World.  We went to Sea World on a Tuesday and there were no crowds.  The movie 'Black Fish' may have something to do with the fact that there weren't many people here too, however.  I just have to say that no wild animal that is kept in captivity is happy.  This isn't new information.  With that, I have to say, we sure had fun at Sea World.  It was great to see all of the birds, fish and animals.  The first thing we did was feed the flamingos.  I don't think one flamingo got a piece of food though.  The ducks are pretty aggressive.  Here is a flock of pintails...following the food.

A group of kids waited to see a porpoise swim by.  Aren't these girls just adorable!

Their waiting paid off.

There were lots of things to see.  Nick and Jill led the way.

I got to hold Jill and answer her "Why" questions during the shows.

This sea lion was pretty talented.

The porpoise show included acrobats.  The show was very fun to watch.

These divers did incredible stunts from a high platform.

The last time I saw the Orca show, the trainers swam with the whales and did tricks with them.  Trainers are no longer able to get into the water with the whales.  They direct them from the side of the pool.  It is a very different show.  The whales did a lot of splashing and people got very wet.

There is a Sesame Street themed play area at Sea World.  Jill spent the end of her day here and I think this was her favorite part of the day.  There were nets and bouncy cages, and a tea cup ride.  It was a place for kids to play. 

At the end of the day, Nick bought Jill a Shamu bubble machine and she enjoyed shooting bubbles at everything.  When it was time to go, she said, "Why do we have to go to the car when I'm having so much fun?"