Fun in Oceanside Harbor

Today's adventure was spent exploring the scenic Oceanside Harbor in Northern San Diego. The Harbor is right next to the Camp Pendleton Marine base off of the 5 Fwy. It has so many fun things to do, see and eat! We started our day by walking around the Harbor and admiring all the different boats, dreaming about which one we would love to own some day.

One of the the extra big boats had a live band playing reggae music. People were dancing on the boat and the dock. Some of the dancers had some serious moves. It was definitely entertaining to watch and the music was great. We ate lunch right next to boat at the "Harbor's Fish and Chip".

This place was very popular and with good reason. The food was outstanding. But even better than the fish and chips was the yummy ice cream we snacked on afterwards at "Cascade Glacier Ice Cream".

I think this was Wade's favorite part of the adventure. He got to try cherry ice cream and mint chip. The Ice cream man gave Wade a little behind the scenes demo of scooping cones.

It was pretty cute. This whole adventure was relaxing and easy. It was so nice to be able to take in some beautiful scenery with my little family.

Beautiful La Jolla

Last Saturday we packed up and headed out to spend an adventure day in La Jolla California. Although we had been to La Jolla before neither my husband nor I had ever really explored the beautiful beaches, fun shops and yummy food this little area has to offer. We started the day by getting some lunch at Carl Strauss Brewery. Having a 10 month old in a restaurant can either provide free entertainment or a stressful atmosphere. Luckily we were provided with free entertainment this time around and the people around us seemed to enjoy Wade's outgoing personality. Once we were full we set out to see the baby seals and enjoy some sightseeing and window-shopping along the way.

We stopped to see some birds outside a pet store. Wade couldn't understand why we wouldn't let him grab the birdies and I think it made the pet store a little boring for him.

Down at the cove in La Jolla, seals come to nurse their babies. The beach used to be a nature preserve but now there is some debate over who the beach belongs to. Because of this people were able to roam and swim around the seals. We kept our distance as not to disturb the seals because after all they were there first.

We loved watching them from the cliffside, and we could see everything from where we were standing. Wade really got a kick out of all the seals.

I think he just thought they were weird looking babies, but it was pretty funny to watch him. This is definitely a fun place for young kids. La Jolla was so beautiful and full of fun things to do that we are considering spending a couple days in a hotel and exploring more of what this little cove has to offer.

What a perfect day!

Rochester NY

Over the weekend we braved the 6 hour flight plus a layover to Rochester New York to see Wade’s Auntie Alex graduate from RIT. This was our biggest adventure as a family.

The plane flights weren't too bad. Wade insisted on wearing the neck pillow whenever he was awake, which was pretty funny to us and those around us. He did have one meltdown on the flight to Rochester and one on the way home, understandably. The meltdowns probably only lasted about 5 minutes but seemed to last forever. Thankfully we had some very nice people sitting near us telling us they weren’t bothered by it at all. I think Wade had won them over with his huge blue eyes.

Rochester was beautiful, the weather was perfect and we had such a great time hanging out with the family. Wade got to spend a lot of time playing with his Grandma and Grandpa and Aunties.

We ate out at some fun restaurants including a delicious Tapas place downtown. It was so nice of Grandpa CB to walk Wade around the restaurant while Dave and I enjoyed ourselves. While we were in Rochester we also got a little tour of RIT and saw some of Alex’s photos hanging in the school halls. She is a very talented photographer. We are so proud of Alex! All in all the trip went pretty smoothly and we really enjoyed being around family.

Some things we learned from this trip
1. Save the flights that are longer than 4 hours until you baby is down to 1 nap a day and make them direct.
2. Book a hotel room with a bedroom, so you don’t have to sit outside the hotel room door with the monitor while your baby naps for 2 hours.
3. A 3 hour time difference is huge for small babies and can mess up their schedule completely.

Coronado Island

Last weekend ‘the Adventurers’ headed to Coronado Island via the humungous scary Coronado bay bridge.

We ate lunch at the Ferry Landing and then set out to explore. The exploration was done mostly by car due to a teething 8 month old and some stormy weather, but that didn’t stop us from enjoying the beautiful old neighborhoods and beaches.

On our way off the island we discovered a white sand beach near the famously haunted Hotel Del Coronado.

We had a great time playing in the sand and enjoying having almost the whole beach to ourselves. It was short trip but we will definitely be going back when Wade turns one and we can rent one of those ridiculous tourist bikes!

We have a really big trip coming up so stay tuned for next blog post!

First Airplane Ride to Arizona

Last weekend, little 7 month old Wade got to take his first airplane ride to visit his baby cousin in Arizona. We had decided to fly to Arizona after several previous road trips ended in pure exhaustion and tears. Thank goodness the flight went great. Wade loved it. As we started to take off I introduced a new toy to him which kept him preoccupied for a little bit. He mostly liked starring at the poor girl in the aisle seat next to us. It’s so hard to control an infant’s starring problem. We had preemptively given Wade nasal spray and tried to have him suck on a bottle during takeoff and landing to help him pop his ears. It seemed to work pretty well. Wade was very calm throughout the flight until we landed, when a look of concern took over his face. I never realized how loud an airplane is when it lands. The poor guy looked apprehensive but did not cry. He sat is his daddy’s lap chewing on a pacifier looking at me in wonder.

His little face was so cute. It’s amazing to see things through the eyes of a child. Once we landed everyone commented on how good little Wade was and as usual he made several friends as we waited to de-board. Thank goodness flying from California to Arizona only takes about 50 minutes. Next month we will be flying 5 hours to Rochester New York, and I’m sure I will have a different blog post that time around.

After the flight we met the rest of the family for dinner. Wade was exhausted, and I was worried that his usual blood curdling screams would disrupt the whole restaurant, but thank goodness the poor kid slept through most of it. Once he did wake up Grammy fed him his baby food while Grampy offered him some tortilla chips. Wade loves tortilla chips now. I can always count on Grampy to give Wade the food or drink that I am not quite sure about.

We had made the trip to Arizona because baby G was having a church blessing that weekend and my sister had planned a party afterwards. Just about everyone that came to the party had a small child or a baby, or several of both. The car seats and baby monitors were lined up in one corner of the room while the adults tried to socialize. It was so funny to see these tiny little babies hanging out there like spectators at a sporting event. This new world of juggling baby and adult time was quite entertaining to me. The party was a hit and the guest of honor could not have been any cuter. Baby G is about 2 1/2 months old and every time Wade sees his little cousin he gets so excited that he grabs Baby G’s foot or hand. And the kid is not gentle. He wants baby G to play with him so bad. It is cute to watch. Since the boys are only 5 months apart, I think they will be having a lot of fun together as they get older; but as for now their playing consists of baby G lying on the floor while Wade attacks him. It’s so nice to have such a big and loving family.

After lots of laughter and eating throughout the weekend we headed home. The flight home was smooth and Wade slept through all of it on his daddy’s lap; so cute. All in all this was another successful adventure for this little family of three!

Seaport Village

Thank goodness the rain stopped in time for us to get outside and enjoy the fresh air. Today we headed south to San Diego’s Sea Port Village. We started our adventure at a restaurant called Edgewater grill. (If any of you have small children you know that eating at a restaurant is an adventure in itself). The restaurant was just as the name states, right on the water with beautiful views. We dined on Fish and Chips and Mahi Mahi fish tacos. We ordered avocado slices for Wade as he chomped on his teething biscuit.

Dave and I shared our lunch while taking turns feeding our son and entertaining him long enough to sit still in the highchair. When lunch was over and our tummies were full we headed out to the water’s edge. We walked up and down the embarcadero looking at the ports and beautiful ships.

We found a perfect spot to take some pictures and proceeded to take about 100 pictures. We had to ask 4 different people to take pictures for us because Wade would look away, or Dave and I were unhappy with our appearance. It was pretty comical to watch and I think it wore out Wade pretty good.

When we were finally satisfied with a few pictures we walked towards the area of the village that was lined with booths selling strange crafts and distorted looking self portraits. We really enjoyed the local people. We saw a man with huge colorful rescue Parrots, a couple jewelry booths and a person playing the Didgeridoo. This village had quite the eclectic vibe going for it. As we rounded through the middle of the village we found a live cover band playing under a gazebo. This was a welcomed treat for Wade who was just about to have a meltdown. He loved the music and almost fell asleep. The band played everything from Paul Simon to the Rat Pack. As we listened to the music and watched the locals dance we found a comfy spot and snacked on frozen yogurts from the Candy and Yogurt Shack. One man single handedly stole the show, although I don’t think it was for the reasons he had hoped. He was an older looking man perhaps even a grandpa and he was tearing up the dance floor like they do at the Lipstick Lounge. I kept thinking I hope this man is intoxicated because I am so embarrassed for him. But it sure made us laugh! When the music ended, the yogurt was gone, and the little one was done, we packed up and headed home. Seaport Village had so much to see and do, it was the perfect little adventure for a little family

Torrey Pines

Our recent adventure was a trip to Torrey Pines National Park just south of Del Mar in San Diego. Torrey Pines is a scenic nature preserve that is great for hiking and has breath taking views of Torrey Pines State Beach. There are several hiking trails that range from easy to hard. We took an easy trail called the “beach trail” because we had Wade in the front pack on my husband Dave. We hiked to the edge of the cliff which was a probably ¾ of a mile one way. The views were amazing. The wind was a little biting but it did not seem to bother Wade. He smiled at every hiker that passed by. He loves being outside. When we got to the edge we could see some hot air balloons taking off just south of the beach. I wasn’t able to get a good picture but the colorful balloons hanging over the beach were a sight to be seen. We also saw quite a few dolphins jumping in and out of the waves. After a few minutes of oohing and aahing over the gorgeous ocean and cliffs we slowly headed back to our car. We took the same trail back and enjoyed all the sage bushes and flowers blooming along the trail. I loved appreciating the beauty of the area that I live in and although this was a smaller adventure for us, it was a perfect day spent in a beautiful place with our favorite people.