Trip to San Diego

Scott went to San Diego with his work group last week for team building and training.  I thought it would be fun to join Scott at the end of his trip so he bought me a ticket.  He flew to San Diego Monday evening and I met him there Thursday evening.  My flight was Thursday at 11:40am and so I arrived in San Diego at about 2pm.  I took a shuttle to the rent a car facility and picked up our rental car.  It was a red Hyundai Elantra.  Since we already have an Elantra I knew how to drive it and how to work the radio, lights etc.  I typed the address of the San Diego temple into my phone and then followed the GPS to get there.  My windows phone doesn’t have the best GPS but I was able to get there safely.  I arrived at the temple around 3:15 and the session didn’t start until 4 pm so I walked around the temple and took pictures.   The temple is in the shape of 2 hexagons so it was very tricky to find my way around it.  Luckily there were lots of temple workers that I could ask which way to go.  When I came out of my session Scott was waiting outside the temple for me.  He had walked over from his hotel which was just ½ a mile away.  We got some philly cheesesteaks to eat for dinner from a local mall food court and then we headed over to the hotel. 

Friday morning Scott did some work on his computer and then we packed up and headed out to explore San Diego.  We stopped at the temple for pictures.  

Then we headed north to Torrey Pines natural preserve and beach. Our GPS took us a back way that was probably much longer than it needed to be but we made it and there was plenty of parking in the $6 lot.  We enjoyed seeing the Pacific Ocean and picking up some smooth rocks.  The tide was very high so there was no sand to be seen.                              

Then we headed over to La Jolla cove.  Unfortunately it was super crowded and we couldn’t find any street parking. As we drove by I looked down and could see the cove and some of the seals there and we just called that good.  Next we headed to downtown San Diego.   We parked our car in the big $10 parking lot next to the USS Midway aircraft carrier and then walked over to Seaport Village for lunch.  Scott was able to locate a fun Mexican restaurant called Puesto and we bought lunch there.  We each got 3 tacos that were unique flavors and decorated creatively.  It was a pretty hip restaurant but not too crowded since it was lunchtime on Friday.  

We spent the next 3 hours touring the USS Midway.  We entered on the Hanger deck level.  It was so tall and wide and huge.  I guess I never realized that some airplanes were stored below the deck and then lifted up by big outdoor elevators.  Then we went down to the city at sea level which included the cafeteria, kitchen, doctors office, dentist, officers’ quarters, chapel, and soldiers quarters and bathrooms.  It was like a big maze down there but very cool.  The soldiers slept in bunks that were 3 bunks high.  It was a very tight squeeze for me to get onto one of the bunks.  The officers’ bunks were only 2 high and a lot more comfortable.  At the end we went up to the flight deck and checked out some old airplanes and helicopters.  We were too late for a tour of the bridge but we got to enjoy the view from the flight deck.  It was sunny and 70 so perfect weather

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After touring the midway we typed in the address of my Cousin Trevor’s house and began our drive there.  The freeways were packed and unfamiliar to us so it was a bit scary.  I was glad that Scott was driving.  They lived south of San Diego just 6 miles north of the Mexico border.  Their house was in a nice neighborhood and we made it there right before dinner.  My cousin's wife Heather had made us a yummy dinner and their kids Harper and Tanner were there too. They had a nice guest room and bath on their main level that we stayed in.  We all played a card game that Trevor liked, I don’t recall the game, but it was fun to play it with all of them.  After the game we took a tour of house and then chatted in the living room for a while.  They are such a nice friendly family.  Heather took this picture of Scott and I outside her house.

Saturday morning I woke up early and took a 2 mile walk around their neighborhood.  It was fun to see all the big houses and get a feel for where they lived.  Heather had made a yummy breakfast cake and fruit for breakfast.  After breakfast we packed up and headed out. The freeway was crowded and chaotic but we found our way to Cabrillo National monument.  It was $10 to enter but was not crowded which was great.  First we went down to the beach area and walked around on the cool rock formations and watched the surfers in the distance.  Then we toured the visitor’s center at the top and enjoyed the view of San Diego harbor. 

 

 Our next stop was old town San Diego.   We parked at the free Mormon Battalion parking lot and the senior missionaries there gave us a suggestion for lunch.   Scott got pork enchiladas and I got a taco salad which was huge.  I could only eat half of it.  We then went on a tour of the Mormon Battalion.  It was a clever presentation and the Chinese sister missionary that took us on the tour was really young and sweet. 

Finally, we walked around old town San Diego and picked up some souvenirs for the kids.  Our GPS didn’t work to get us back to the airport car return but luckily we found it.  Our Southwest airplane for the flight home was only 2 days old.  It was very clean and nice.  The flight wasn’t very full so Scott and I got a row to ourselves.  The kids were all very excited to have us home and had made a welcome home sign.  My parents did a great job tending our kids and our house was nice and clean when we returned.  All in all we had a good trip.  My parents even volunteered to tend our kids again this summer so we can attend our nephews wedding.