Monday, January 25, 2010

Discovering San Diego

We love San Diego and are lucky enough to live just a couple hours away.  In fact, we love it so much that a few years ago we bought a condo there and we make a point of visiting every month.  The Mister and I are travel bugs by nature, but traveling afar with little kids can be ah... interesting.  Dealing with airports, adhering to nap and food schedules, staying in a one room hotel where everyone must go to bed by 8:00 PM... It's like taking the show on the road, but without the conveniences of home-- So NOT my idea of traveling! 

So when we're down in San Diego, we make a point of going on a "little adventure" every time.  We still do Legoland and The Children's Museum, but it's our little adventures that we hold near and dear.  In November, we decided to check out Ocean Beach, or "OB" as the locals call it.  It's a funky little beach town that time forgot.  The only sign of modern times is a Starbucks that somehow made its way there-- apparently with a lot of protest from the natives.  So other than Starbucks, it's pretty much an eclectic haven for beatniks, artists, surfers, activists, antiques shoppers and of course, a tourist here and there.
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Veteran's Day display, OB-style



Supposedly the BEST burger in the world (or at least San Diego).  Unfortunately the kids weren't having the 2 hour wait so we settled for a cr*ppy meal at a Mexican dive across the street.  The food probably wasn't all that bad, but the memory of Smarty Pants having a full-blown meltdown and Happy Vee almost stabbing my eye out with a fork won't soon be forgotten.

So after that disastrous experience, we decided to go for a walk (best decision we made all day!)



After aimlessly walking around, we decided to head for the pier.  And lucky for us, the lifeguards reopened it right as we walked up.  The pier is pretty low and during high tides, the water can actually submerge the walkway.  The seagulls were a little bummed that we were disturbing their naptime AND didn't bring any snacks to share.


The waves break pretty far from shore, so we were close enough to talk to the surfers and also get a few pics!  For some reason, these pictures remind me of my high school days... sigh.  Not that I surfed or anything.


It's a LOOOOOOOOOONG pier!




Which was a GOOD thing!


And look at this handsome fella!



I'm just going to assume he's a "fella", because I *think* he was flirting!


Look at these amazing waves!


Closer?


Here comes a big one!


Ack!  Yup, my camera got wet!

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So I'm looking forward to our next trip to San Diego.  I'm not sure what "adventure" is in store for us, but I'm sure it'll be memorable-- note to self:  Don't hold Happy Vee while he is wielding a fork.