San Diego and Joshua Tree

We have returned from our great San Diego adventure!  Overall it was a good trip, aside from the general whining and crying from  the kids.  We headed out early Friday morning with plans of driving through Joshua Tree on the way.

It wasn't at all what we had imagined it would be.  The landscape there was was dry with bursts of amazingness.  You just have to go there and see for yourself. Perhaps one day when the kids are older, Scott and I will travel there again for a little camping and exploring. 

We once again passed the wind mill 'farm' near Palm Springs.  It's really quite strange driving through there... white, spinning giants everywhere you look.

We encountered rush hour as we were getting closer to San Diego.  I snapped this picture and rolled down the window. I could smell the ocean and feel the cooler, damp air.  I looked over at Scott and told him how much I loved California.  We have now seen this beautiful and amazing state from top to bottom and I hope to return here again some day.

We checked into our 'less than perfect' Ramada hotel and ordered pizza.  I honestly can't remember if we explored the city that evening or not, but after a full day of driving I'm sure we were all ready for a good nights sleep.

The following day we met one of Scott's friends from high school at the San Diego zoo.  Christina had a little girl, Eva, who was a year older than Maria.  After a bit of warming up to one another, they quickly became friends and enjoyed numerous snacks and cotton candy.

They even made friends with the creepy polar bear.

After an exhausting day at the zoo, Scott and I decided to take the girls down to Mission Bay to walk the beach and look for sea shells.  People were everywhere enjoying beach volleyball, barbecues, and icy cold beers on their ocean side decks and patios.

On Sunday we met Christina and her family and friends at the beach for a day of play and relaxation.  Both girls loved playing in the sand and getting wet in that salty sea.

Afterwards we went to the beautiful Stone Brewery for a beer and one last meet up with Christina, her husband Cisco, and Eva.

Monday we spent the entire day at Sea World.  I'm getting exhausted just typing this!  We saw Shamu, dolphins, sharks, and sea turtles.  Maria was so excited to see Shamu that when the show finally started and the whales started swimming out, I got tears in my eyes and looked at Maria to see her excitement.  She was grinning from ear to ear.  It's those times of motherhood that I love the most.  The sea lion show was by far the highlight of our entire day... I was laughing out loud.

We told Maria that at the end of the day, if she was good, we would get her the stuffed dolphin she had been asking for since she had first laid eyes on it upon our arrival.  Both girls did well and each left with their own Sea World souvenir.

It was a fun, and very exhausting trip.  I'm sure I should've taken more pictures and recorded more video, but overall I'm happy.  It just feels so good to be home.