While researching our trip to San Diego, we made plans and solicited many opinions from people on what attractions, activities, and museums we should do during the visit. As California natives, we were not completely clueless about the other city by the bay, but in the past our trips had been much shorter and, at least in my case, centered on lolling around on the beach and/or eating Mexican food. I hadn't been to Sea World since probably 9th grade. We made a list of some must-sees, but left plenty of unscheduled dates in our trip for just hanging out on the beach (or stalking Comic-Con when it was too overcast), or working in something else big, like Sea World or Legoland. We knew Sea World would be a hit with Alton for its zoo-like qualities, but we'd heard mixed suggestions about Legoland: some people said he was too young, others said not. Some said they didn't like the park, period, and a few said it was stupendous, so we were debating between it and Sea World, but leaning more toward Shamu.
When we visited with my friend Micki, we talked to a friend of hers who had taken his 4 year old son to the land of Legos. He enthused about its features for someone Alton's age, told us helpful hints about what time to arrive and how to navigate the park, and even gave us an extra free adult ticket they had from their visit. Sold!
One of the suggestions from this other parent was to arrive late in the day, which is opposite to our typical MO of awakening early, getting "there" as soon as someplace opens, and then leaving when it gets really crowded by lunchtime. But we were assured that the morning lines for Legoland rides were atrocious, and by afternoon they died way down. It turned out to be true! Tuesday morning we took Alton to a neighborhood park to get some energy out, then put him down for an early nap to get up and drive to Legoland in the afternoon. Not only did we never have to wait more than 15 minutes for a ride (I would sympathize with anyone who had to wait longer with a little one), but we found that Alton's height only allowed him into some of the rides, so the four-ish hours we spent at the park was plenty of time for us.
Our arrival at the parking lot: a sign for the two AJs! We got a great parking spot since many families were already leaving for the day.
Alton's first ride: a fairytale boat cruise floating past Lego versions of fairytale scenes. Except they clearly didn't want to step on the toes of mighty Disney, because the stories they chose were all the obscure, violent ones! Little Red Riding Hood (complete with Lego wolf). The Three Little Pigs (complete with Lego wolf). The Three Billy Goats Gruff (complete with Lego trolls). Luckily, Alton doesn't know many of these stories yet and was not scared!
He had some time to warm up to his first amusement park in Duplo Village, a land that is geared toward younger kids and has a big playground area with little houses, a fire station, and other little businesses made to look like life-size Duplo buildings. Alton went up to this little tower and looked triumphantly down at us, saying "I'm up here!"
Next kiddie ride was the Duplo train! Alton was apprehensive enough to want to ride on my lap instead of his own seat (which let me say they are NOT made for, Weight Watchers or no...), but absorbed the ride positively with his serious little face.
Just a dozen or so rides meant for Alton's height (under 36 inches) and ones for all ages was more than enough for this inaugural amusement park experience. He and Daddy rode a helicopter ride together that had joysticks you could use to fly up and down, left and right!
Many of the "child must be accompanied by an adult" rides were only set up for one parent-child combo, so often Andy and I would switch off with one of us riding with Alton and the other taking pictures. This fire truck ride fit all three of us, and was actually a race in your truck against three other families, which we won!
Next was an airplane ride, an up 'n down thing like Dumbo at Disneyland. We rode another airplane ride later that went so fast, we couldn't get any good pictures of it!
Next up was Alton with Mommy on a boat ride. These didn't run on an underwater track through the little channel, so with Alton in charge of steering we often found our wee craft veering off course, getting passed by other boats, and occasionally floating completely around, 180 degrees. Any attempts on my part to right the rudder were met with, "Mommy, nooo stop turning DA WHEEL!" I mostly just laughed my butt off the whole time.
Our short afternoon hours at the park were enough to ride some rides, but still a lot for little legs to walk! Both to feel secure in the crowds and to save his soles, Alton rode shotgun on Daddy's shoulders for most of the day.
As we walked around, there were many Lego and Duplo vehicles for Alton to jump into! A fire truck...
Police car...
Tractor...
and even a tow truck!
He also posed with Lego-constructed characters, like this Burro,
and Bob the Builder!
We finally ended our superfun day, way late and in need of a real dinner. We went to a burger joint, where they gave Alton a little yellow bracelet as the "prize" with his kids menu item, and he insisted the jewelry belonged to his grandmother. Awww.
When we last left off, we got to spend a Sunday with the Carnines touring the USS Midway and eating pizza--what a great finish to the weekend. They stayed overnight in a nearby downtown San Diego hotel, efficiently enjoying a few more hours of fun with us before they drove up the coast back home.
The first stop was breakfast, of course! We all drove into downtown and parked at the mall to hit Richard Walker's Pancake House just a few blocks away. Although we early risers walked right in at 8:30am, when we walked by the building two hours later the waiting line to get in stretched down the block! Alton ate pancakes (and bacon and eggs), of course.
After a hearty breakfast, we got our blood flowing by strolling around the corner to the playground at the SD Children's Museum. KC was delighted with the "outside the box" strength-training capabilities of the oddly-shaped jungle gym, and then he and Alton hit the rubber mat surface for some yoga.
The playset had these weird little seats suspended by wire cables...one of them was even installed upside down! Truly a workout challenge.
Alton and Daddy took a ride together on the swing.
After the playground fun, we walked down MLK Blvd, which also happens to border the light rail trolley track for a span, much to the delight of Mr Train Man. Andy kept turning around to walk backwards and take pictures of Alton, so Alton decided that this would be fun for him to do, too. Uncle KC and Papa got in the mix, so then all three of them started skittering backwards along the sidewalk!
Eventually it was time for us to return to the mall parking garage and say our goodbyes, but not before ducking inside the plaza to ride the little kiddie train. Alton rode up front in the engine with his Nonna behind him, but he was so surprised at how fast the train went that he had to reach his hand back over his shoulder to clutch her fingers for reassurance during the ride!
We reluctantly bid farewell to Nonna, Papa, and KC and thanked them for all the fun we had during their visit.
Luckily, we had an afternoon distraction planned for Alton: playtime with other kids! My friend Micki, of St Paddy's Day menu blog fame, lives just north of San Diego in another coastal town. When we asked if we could see her and family while we were down south, she gladly let us know that she was hosting another family at her house: our mutual friend Tonya, her husband, and their daughter, who is only 6 months older than Alton! We gathered in Micki's backyard and let the fun begin; Alton naturally gravitated first to the water table that is exactly like the one he has at home.
But he also loved cruising around on the tricycle!
They had several kid-sized guitars, and Micki sat Altie down to show him how to hold it and where to put his fingers. Later, I caught him in an impromptu jam session with the two little girls, strumming his guitar and singing the "Hello, Everybody" song from his music class!
And it would not be a summer evening with friends unless it ended with ice cream!
The kids pose with their rainbow sprinkle cones on the steps: Alton, Micki's son and daughter, and Tonya's daughter! What a cute crew.
After our Saturday with Cari and Julio and our big family dinner that night, my parents and brother stayed overnight at Coleen and Mike's in Orange County to make it a quick drive down to Coronado in the morning to spend time with us Rhynes.
They arrived bright and early to park at our house and take the Coronado Ferry over to San Diego's Broadway pier; no parking dramas, and just steps from our next tourist destination: the USS Midway!
Group pose at the Midway.
The Midway is a naval aircraft carrier that saw active duty from the 1940s through 1980s, and is now staying put in San Diego for our touring pleasure. The vessel is huge and crawling with eager docents and volunteers, but they still try to make it easy for guests to absorb facts on a self-guided tour by giving you these little earphones with tour stop buttons to press. One of our first stops was the Forecastle to see (or in Alton's case, climb on) the disused anchor chain. Each link weighs more than 100 lbs!
One look in the "ready room" where they did some of the strategizing for battles, and Alton was leaping into the role of Commanding Officer.
Back out in the open on the flight deck, we get to see how huge the Midway is, and look at fighter planes and helicopters that are stationed there.
The two AJs pose for you in a helicopter.
Uncle KC shows Alton how to buckle in on board the military helicopter.
Life-size cardboard figures depicted the uniforms of some of the personnel who worked on the Midway. Alton could not decide which one he wanted to stand by, but eventually settled on the firefighter.
After a lunch on the ship at Fantail Cafe, we rode the ferry back to Coronado to put Mr. Sleepy down for his nap. When he woke up we had playtime and a delicious pizza dinner from San Diego's Little Italy, courtesy of the Carnines. Alton flopped onto his papa.
And still more fun in store tomorrow!
This weekend was our big excursion to the Wild Animal Park, a zoo-type attraction in the San Diego suburbs that stretches over acres to create a sort of mini wildlife preserve. My sister Cari and her husband Julio joined us on our outing right when the park opened, below Andy took a picture of our group as we walked in.
We first started making our way to the "Journey to Africa," a little tram ride that takes you around some of the largest, more field-like animal enclosures. On our way there, we passed by the rhino statue and had to take a picture of our little Rhyne-o.
Farther down the path, Julio discovered how good his shoes taste! We were passing by a little waterfowl lagoon and smiled benignly when we were approached by some geese...until they started to charge Julio and nip at his shoelaces. An interesting way to feed them.
After our ride through Africa (bus was too jiggly to take pictures), we headed toward Lion Camp, where we were met with the awesome sight of two females lazily lounging on a shoulder-height rock on just the other side of a pane of glass. One of the lions even had her paw pushed against the window as she reclined, so that Alton could measure his hand against hers. Then she sat up and began methodically cleaning her forelegs, so Aunt CiCi and Alton could pose just in front of her.
When we packed for our trip to San Diego, we didn't bring a stroller for Alton, both because we were already overloaded and because Alton doesn't really like them. However, this meant that for walking-intensive activities like the wild animal park, Alton would ask for someone to carry him, both to rest his little legs and to escape from chaotic crowds. Uncle Julio's shoulders was a favorite place to perch, especially once we got to the elephant exhibit.
We were getting tired out after a long hike around the park (baaarely spotting a tiger sleeping under a tree), but could not leave without a ride on the zoo carousel! Aunt CiCi asked Alton which animal he preferred, and he said Giraffe, which was fortuitously one of the only ones that didn't go up and down (round 'n round was enough for the little guy).
On our way out, we ran into this Safari Guy of indeterminate accent (Australian? English? Fakey fakerton?), who was happy to pose for a photo with Alton.
We hit the car just in time for Alton to conk out. (And in case you were wondering, his shirt says, "My Dad is rad." Because he is.)
After conferencing via phone and text and doing restaurant reservations research on the iPhone (thank goodness for technology), we made plans to meet up for dinner with Nonna, Papa, and Uncle KC (my parents and brother), and my Aunt Coleen and Uncle Mike, who were hosting these relatives for the night at their house in Orange County. Attempting to find a midpoint between their house and where we were on Coronado, we selected a bustling bar and grill in downtown San Clemente, a little beach town. The food took eons to arrive, but Alton didn't care, because he had his grandparents there to walk with him and explore the restaurant patio, the nearby side streets, and go up and down the stairs. And the rest of us just had more time to catch up. At the end of the meal, we scattered to our respective overnight accommodations: Rhynes back to Coronado, Cari and Julio to their Orange County hotel, and everyone else to Coleen and Mike's. A FUN and full day!
Last night at our concert in Balboa Park, we overheard some other peopls describing the Comic-Con madness in Downtown San Diego, how the lines to enter the convention center stretched half a mile down the bayshore street. Since for the past several days our morning bike rides had been getting rained out (well, drizzled out at least), we decided that our morning activity would be to take the ferry from our rental cottage in Coronado to the SD convention center, thereby adding "boat" to our list of modes of transportation for this trip, and see where the time took us, checking out the costumes people were wearing to Comic-Con (remember that this is a festival celebrating comic books, graphic novels, Sci-Fi, role-playing & video games, and anything in the superhero genre, including a Buzz Lightyear, who was moving too fast for us to get a picture of him).
We were not disappointed! We got to see some interesting characters doing ordinary things, like Han Solo crossing the street:
A Storm Trooper waiting for a crosswalk:
And some kind of Viking opening a door:
We also got to see the racier side of Comic-Con with some revealing lady costumes on what I dubbed "Fanta-skanks." Here are two elfin-looking dames, not sure who they are: 
This couple posed for many pictures on their way into the building, the gentleman happily brandishing his toy gun each time. Andy thought it was particularly humorous that this guy thought people were dying to take pictures of him.
Eventually, we meandered back over to the ferry to go back home, and passed our time waiting for the boat with snacks in a little cafe. Alton looked very comfortable (and graceful!) in his chair.
Then we boarded the ferry in beautiful early afternoon sun.
With this gorgeous weather at our fingertips, we wanted to get in one last bike ride after Alton's nap, since our one week bike rental was up. We packed and headed to the beach.
After lingering in the sand and surf, we rushed home to shower, then return our bikes to the rental place before it closed and hit a restaurant for a late (for us) dinner. Alton was definitely hungry and amped, gobbling his pizza supper and waving his silverware.
"Why is the cork on the fork?"
Despite the late hour, the three of us could not resist the chocolate raspberry cake!
