San Diego Day 1

Our first day in San Diego began with a lot of anticipation for a great week ahead. We woke up bright and early and headed for Sea World. We were very early and ended up being there before the gates were open. We decided to wait at a nearby park. The park was equipped with sidewalk pathways going around the shore.




After about 30 minutes, we went on to Sea World.



Our first stop was the sea lions. Lincoln thought they were hilarious when they were swimming under water.


Another thing we did is visit the sharks. We thought they were pretty cool to see under the water. I am seriously afraid of sharks, but I can handle them when I can see them behind a big pane of glass. I still got some major heebie jeebies though.



I thought the above picture was cool because you can see the shark right over David and Lincoln's heads.

After some more fun, we headed to the Bay of Play. It's a Sesame Street themed part of the park geared toward little kids. They have rides and other fun things to do in there. We even got our picture taken with Elmo and Big Bird.

I was not sure if Lincoln would like the rides because in the past, he has been very scared. The following picture is of me getting Lincoln reved up for the ride.

Well, the rides were a hit! Linc could not get enough of them. We went on the rides over, and over, and over.








Another highlight was the Shamu show. I know it's cheesy, but I get teary every time I see the Shamu show. I just think it's so incredible. I loved it!



Sea World was a hit! I was so glad that we were able to go back for a second day.

San Diego Day 2

Our second day at Sea World was filled with more fun.

We saw this statue of a milk bottle and giggled because if Linc had his choice, he would live on milk alone. We laughed and said this is probably how much milk Lincoln drinks in a week.


I was glad that on our second day, we got to see the beluga whales. They look so sweet don't they?







I loved this picture with Lincoln looking in at the whale.

We also got a better view of the dolphins on the second day. I thought this was a cool picture too. Lincoln likes to watch the dolphins jump and he makes a great dolphin noise.

The tide pool with the live starfish was really neat.



During the Shamu show on the second day, the park was virtually empty. Everyone was watching Shamu. We took advantage and went on rides. We stayed on the Sesame Street rides for a long time without having to get off. We just rode them over and over. On our way out the park, David said he wanted me to go on the Journey to Atlantis ride. Lincoln is too small to ride and someone had to stay with Linc so I went on the ride all alone like a big loser. It was fun though.





We also went on the gondola ride over the ocean. The view was amazing and we had a great time.

We loved both days at Sea World and I can't wait to go back.

San Diego Day 3

For the third day of our trip, we took a harbor cruise and visited the beach at Coronado Island.

When we woke up in the morning, we told Lincoln that we would be going on a boat in the ocean. He was really excited to get there and start his adventure. David and I were also excited for our mini cruise. We got to ride on the little white boat behind us.


We got the the dock before it was time to board the boat and Lincoln didn't enjoy waiting for our turn to get on the ship. This picture was taken mid-conniption right before he licked the sidewalk. That was pretty gross. Despite all the traveling and waiting we did on our trip, this was Lincoln's only melt-down. He was SUCH a good traveler.

Once we were able to board, life was good again.

Linc really liked hearing the boats toot their horns and seeing all the wild life. We saw these little guys sun bathing in the afternoon heat.

We also saw some dolphins being trained for the military. It was pretty awesome! I did not know that the military uses dolphins in the bay to help patrol the area for unwanted visitors and weapons. How cool!

Perhaps Lincoln's favorite part of the cruise was seeing all the helicopters and airplanes flying over the ocean. The harbor is really close to the airport. Also, in the harbor are some man made islands used by the military. These islands hold hundreds of different aircraft. On one island alone, over 200 helicopters are housed. Every time a helicopter flew over us, Lincoln went nuts!

He spotted one!

In the words of Lincoln, "there it is!" This was the phrase he used every time he saw a helicopter. This one is a Coast Guard helicopter.

This is the Star of India. This ship has been around the world more than 20 times!

The classic San Diego sky line with the Midway on the right.






After the cruise, we headed to lunch at The Fish Market.

We sat on the deck right over the ocean. It was amazing! During our meal, helicopters buzzed over our heads the entire time. We loved it.


After lunch, we drove across the Coronado Bridge to go to the beach. We had fun playing in the waves and playing in the sand. Lincoln was not so sure about the waves and endless water, but he was happy as long as I was holding him.






After a day filled with sun and ocean, we were pooped. Even Lincoln asked to go back to the hotel for a nap. By the time we got back to our room, it was time for a light dinner and some baseball. Lincoln fell asleep on our bed watching the end of the Yankee game. We got him in his bed and rested up for another full day in the morning.

San Diego Day 4

For our final day in San Diego, we visited the USS Midway and the San Diego Zoo.

The Midway was fabulous! We loved looking at the giant aircraft carrier and seeing all the retired aircraft that reside there. Lincoln was fascinated with all the helicopters and airplanes. I think he was surprised at how big they are when standing so close.



Lincoln's favorite part of the Midway was sitting in an old cockpit from a fighter jet. The inside of the cockpit is jam packed with buttons, knobs, switches, levers and all the other things that Lincoln loves to play with.




You can't get the full idea of how huge this ship really is by looking at any of these pictures so I found this picture on the web. Look and be amazed....



I still don't think the picture does the ship justice. It's hard to illustrate the enormousness of this vessel. We had a great time at the Midway. We knew it was time to leave when Lincoln launched a Midway souvenir baseball from the gift shop straight at a shelf full of coffee mugs and shot glasses. We took that as our cue to head for the door.




After the Midway, we took off for the San Diego Zoo. Fortunately, one of the parents of my students had 2 free admission tickets for us to use. Otherwise, this fun little trip to the zoo would have cost us 100 bucks! Lincoln decided to be consistent with our previous trips to the zoo by finding more fascination with the water features than with the actual animals. Thus, the picture of the waterfall. Unfortunately, I didn't get very many pictures of anything else at the zoo. I was not thinking.


Although our lunch at the zoo cost 30 bucks for a cheese burger, chicken strips and bottled water, an exotic bird pooped red stuff all over our stroller, the girl driving the shuttle almost had a head on collision with a golf cart, and David almost had a heart attack from wheeling up a gigantic incline, (seriously people...this hill was loooooong and steep. My hubby is a stud muffin.) we had a great time.

After wearing ourselves out at the zoo, we headed back to the hotel for some shut-eye to rev up for the long drive home in the morning.

Our vacation was great. I am SO glad we went. We had lots of laughs and made a lot of memories too. More vacations are definitely in our future.

Summing it Up....

These photos speak for themselves. This sums up our lives since Friday evening.

The laundry is piled high, the house is a mess and....we DON'T care! We are too sick to care...

After waiting at instacare for 2.5 hours on Sunday, it was determined that Lincoln has an ear infection. I've got something too. Fortunately, David is not sick and he had the day off on Monday. WHAT A RELIEF! He helped so much. I could not have taken proper care of Lincoln on Monday alone.

We are feverishly (no pun intended) trying to get better so that we can boogie to San Diego on Monday. Wish us luck!

The little sweetie was even saying "cheese" as I took these pics.

Last, but not least, I give you a feeble attempt at a pretty smile... SAD!