Many of us have a specific food that, when brought to mind, elicits less than fond memories for us. For me that is an eclair, that fried doughy dessert with a cream filling (yuck). When I was a kid, I became ill when eating one. Honestly, I think I was already working on getting a ‘bug’ before I ate it and to this day I associate the flu with eclairs. By now you must be wondering what my ramblings have to do with San Diego vacations. Bear with me and I will try to connect the dots.
Terry’s sister and niece had never been to San Diego and with spring break looming, a four-day visit to San Diego seemed to be in order. Given that it was to be a short trip and they were looking at a 3-hour time difference, jet lag was bound to be an issue but no one factored in (or at least me) the daylight savings time change the day before their arrival. The weather in SD, which had been darn near perfect, turned cooler than their home state of Indiana. To add insult to injury, sister Denise contracted a virus shortly after her arrival, which landed her in the clinic and on the sofa for the following day. Even with all this, they seemed to be good sports and were able to enjoy a day at the San Diego Safari Park, giving it a two-thumbs up rating.
We had such a good time kayaking in the La Jolla cove that Terry and niece Sara decided to give it a go. The weather was sunny but breezy, which made paddling a little rougher than what we had experienced earlier. They were hopeful for dolphin sightings and with a feeding frenzy occurring just offshore (good sign of dolphins nearby we were told) they took off.
Alas, no dolphins, just a bunch of barking sea lions to entertain them. They were both smiling when they returned, although they looked a little blue around the lips! I must admit to wondering how warm they were, as I sat on the beach reading. Everyone else in kayaks had donned wetsuits, everyone that is except Terry and Sara.
The water was too choppy for photos and for paddleboarding as well (which was also on the to-do list) but we did grab a few great pics of sea lions from the walkway above and got to catch a glimpse of passing dolphins!
Sara was determined to have a bonfire and s’mores before she left San Diego so Terry stoked the fire that night. Believe it or not, I had never had one before (s’more that is) and had to be guided through the process. Tasty but unfortunately not to be an ongoing part of my diet. Thankfully Denise had recovered enough to join in the fun.
So much to see in San Diego and only one day left so we decided to do a little sightseeing to give them a flavor of the area. Lunch brought us back to Blue Water Seafood Market and Grill for fish tacos and they were just as tasty our second visit.
We all welcomed a stroll along the coastline, providing us a pleasing contrast of colors and shapes.
A playful little grey squirrel caught my attention so I gave him his own photo shoot. He seemed to be enjoying it, posing for the camera. Although these little guys are cute, they have become quite destructive along the coast, adding to bluff erosion.
A quick stroll through Balboa Park and the grounds of Coronado Island rounded out the last day.
So, to finally connect the dots, given jet lag, time changes, cool weather and illness, I hope San Diego does not become an “eclair” for Denise and Sara. I hope they decide to come back at a later date to enjoy all it has to offer.
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Regardless of the “eclair” for Denise, it looks like you did a lot in the four days they were there. It looks like you had fun. Did you guys have to work while they were there?
We didn’t do near as much as we would have liked. Denise’s illness slowed her down a bit, which was a shame. We did have to work a couple of days but with half-day schedules that did not cause a problem.
A bad weather day in SD is probably better than a bad day in most places. It is amazing how warm the midwest has been. My boys were excited to have a warm St. Pat’s day. Not very nice here in Albuquerque. Glad you had the time with family.
It is rare for the rest of the country to have better weather than SD but, wouldn’t you know it, it happened during their vacation. We had fun regardless. I heard the weather in Albuquerque has not been good. We want to explore NM at greater length but our experience this past winter weather-wise was not good either. Perhaps we can find a time in the future to explore it together.