San Diego Adventure, Day 3: The Zoo!

On Wednesday, June 15th, we went to the San Diego Zoo.

Our first stop: the double-decker bus zoo tour. A great overview of the zoo from the comfort of the upper deck!

This Meerkat strikes a pose for Derek.

Giraffes!

This one, taking a break, was 8 days old.

I rented a scooter, like I did at Sea World... but this one had a canopy! Ahhh.

I always wonder how polar bears at zoos tolerate the heat.

Maren and Daddy on the Skyfari aerial tram!

Deacon and Maren on some kind of prehistoric cat.

...and here they are with an extinct hairless Mammoth and cub.

A modern elephant, having a bite to eat!

Deacon and a sleeping lion!

Apparently there was a prehistoric bird THIS BIG.

Another extinct bird statue provides a great photo-op for Deacon.

AHHHHHHH, foot massage stations! Very refreshing after all that walking.

Also refreshing... $7.00 Icees.

Deacon sat and watched these sea turtles for a long, long time.

The highlight of the day may have been the very active, swimming hippos!

And this one was kind enough to pose with my kids!

Last stop of the day... the Galapagos Tortoises! Maren had been waiting all day to see them, and we finally made it over there for the finale. They didn't disappoint. Apparently the oldest is 175 years old. Not sure which one he is - but to me, they all had a youthful glow!

Today we spent the morning at the Safari Park in Escondido. It was quite hot and humid, and we'll go back tomorrow morning for another half day of equal parts animal viewing and gift shop browsing... then we make our triumphant return to Burbank! We'll have full coverage, so check back soon!

San Diego Adventure, Day 2: Downtime and a Visit with Lanaya!

I guess we're not exactly "live blogging" this vacation, but if I can achieve one post a day, I'll feel pretty good.

After a fun day at Sea World on Monday, we decided to spend Tuesday just hanging around the hotel. A little swimming and relaxation... and almost no picture taking during the day, except these:

The kids in their bunkbeds! They have their own space, and they love it.

The big event of the day was dinner with my cousin Lanaya and her fiance Kevin at the famous Corvette Diner in San Diego!

Lanaya and Kevin were kind enough to brave rush-hour traffic coming into San Diego from her home in Carlsbad to meet us, and the kids couldn't wait to meet them. Here they are on the lookout.

Here we are, after a great dinner! It was really, really fun visiting with them. Deacon was extremely impressed with Lanaya, an Environmental Engineer with extensive knowledge of water systems and treatment. She was also an Elite level gymnast in her youth, competing against olympians of her era and at one time ranked 30th in her sport. He said later, "I really enjoyed the conversation."

The Corvette Diner has games, too! Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale... of Deacon playing pinball. Gilligan's Island pinball.

Mommy and Maren square off for some air hockey.

Deacon, ready for Ultimate Air Hockey with Daddy.

Maren raced a motorcycle through Yosemite!

Happy to be on vacation!

Deacon tries the motorcycle race. He's racing against the kid to his left, who won.

Daddy, WWII flying ace!

Maren won 70 tickets from the games. Her prize: chattering teeth!

Today we went to the world-famous (and very, very large) San Diego Zoo. Derek tells me he took 180 pictures... if I can whittle them down to a few blog-worthy pics by tomorrow, I'll have a Day 3 post before the day is over.

San Diego Adventure, Day 1: Sea World!

Hello! We're on vacation this week.

Reporting from our temporary AFB HQ in the fabulous Hotel Circle area of San Diego... here's our full coverage of Day 1: Sea World!

The kids insisted on leaving Burbank at 5:00 AM. They were up at 4:45.

By the time Mom & Dad were ready to go, it was about 6:30.

Underway at Sea World! I'm still in my "resting" time frame following my stem cell transplant... and with the ongoing neuropathy affecting my feet, I rented a scooter. It was awesome. And I made it through the day only hitting objects and walls, not people.

Looking at the map, planning our day!

First stop was the Skytower Ride, a big round elevating room thing which rotates, giving guests a view of the whole park (and, they claim, 100 miles beyond). Didn't get many pics of that, so you'll have to use your imagination. Next stop for Daddy & the kids was the new Manta roller coaster, which was a big hit. Also no pics.

Next, the Shamu show!

Maren made a stop at the ray petting area...

Isn't it Shark Week on the Discovery Channel right now? Appropriately, the next stop was Shark Encounter.

In the shark tube.

Back outside for a fake-beach photo op!

Deacon is real, the turtle is not.

Next ride: Riptide Rescue.

Ready to go!

The kids are somewhere up there.

Maren: "It was awesome!"

At the Sesame Street Bay of Play...

A little later in the afternoon. Deacon had a couple of disappointments during the day; the unavailability of some yummy chicken strips he remembered from a previous class visit to the Shipwreck Cafe, and the absence of the Manatee Rescue (they must have returned Mr. Manatee to his habitat or something!)

The temp reached 90 but felt much, much warmer due to the high humidity.

So we decided to wait in a hot 45 minute line for the Bayside Skyride, a tram on cables that travels over Mission Bay! Wait, is Derek wearing the same shirt he wore last time we came here 3 years ago??

It was great...

Everyone loved it.

A little later... we ran into a St. Paul's family! Sylvia recognized me, even with my silly hat (which I had just soaked in water for a cooling effect) and little-old-lady scooter. It was great to visit with her while our families were off enjoying other activities.

Next stop: Aquarium de la Mer (fun fact: did you know Maren means "of the sea")? Anyway, this octopus was kind enough to pose for a pic.

I guess this is a coral reef or something - it was rather dark in there and Derek always has fun getting the kids to stand still for a shot with a long exposure (so he doesn't have to use the flash).

On our last family trip to Sea World in 2009, the Shamu tank was our first stop. Yesterday, it was our last...

See you next time, Shamu!

Today is Tuesday the 14th, and we're relaxing a bit. Derek was particularly worse for wear yesterday after sustaining a foot blister, bad sunburn and finally an end-of-day FULL drenching on the Shipwreck Rapids ride (Maren insisted). His cell phone is still functioning but his wallet required overnight content removal and air-dry.

He'll need the rest for tomorrow, when we visit the San Diego Zoo! We'll have a full report.