BACK TO TUCSON

Miss Laila, before being awakened yesterday morning.

With about 400 miles to cover, none of the girls got to sleep in. The sleepyhead pictured above, was the last one I woke up, and then, it was a flurry of activity before we pulled out of the Pio Pico Thousand Trails near San Diego.

We started out with Laila as the co-pilot, but it wasn't long before she was tired of her electronic games, and the dreaded "are we there yet" began to dominate the conversation. When a movie on her portable DVD player seemed like a temporary solution, that ended when the battery went dead after only about 25 minutes. OK, now what? It was only a few more miles to Yuma, and a fuel stop, where Laila requested to have her car seat switched to the couch with Grandma. After leaving Yuma, I heard lots of conversation behind me, which continued almost all the way to Tucson. No more "are we there yet", and not even a cat nap. The two of them stayed engaged in a bunch of different activities for the next 3 hours, and the only interruption was an occasional potty break.

The return trip to Tucson from San Diego, only had one Border Patrol Checkpoint, where I took the two pictures. I have always had a great affection for German Shepherds, and when the kids were little, we had a shepherd. If we didn't live in the motor home so much, and a bigger dog was in the cards, another German Shepherd would probably be my choice.

Not sure what this dog was sniffing for, but it's mere presence should be a deterrent for the smuggling of anything.

We arrived at the Lazy Days RV Park (old Beaudry facility), around 4:30 pm, and we had Laila back home a little after 5 pm. Chandra fixed hamburgers, and we were joined by her friend Sam, who had an Easter Surprise for Laila. It was nice to be reunited with our family, even though we were only gone a week.

Even though we already miss our little girl, Grandma & Grandpa are enjoying a quiet, leisurely morning, with no Sponge Bob, or Mickey Mouse Cartoons on the TV. Later, we'll join the kids and some friends for an Easter Dinner, then tomorrow, it's back home to Lake Havasu.

SEAPORT VILLAGE

Yesterday morning was a really lazy start to the day, as everyone, including Gracie, chilled out. I decided that Seaport Village was our destination for the day, and it wasn't until 11:30 am, that we arrived at this seaside shopping mecca, near the convention center.

In 1994, we attended our very first Harley-Davidson Dealer convention, right here in San Diego. That was the last time we were in the convention center area, and I remember Seaport Village as being this very unique collection of small shops, with mostly unusual merchandise for sale. The village hadn't changed much since our last visit, and there were quite a few street vendors, offering everything from fortune telling, to these handmade bracelets that we had made for Laila.

Laila's new personalized, handmade bracelet.

Laila picked out this shirt at Mission Beach.

Grandma & Laila on the Seaport Village wall, with the Coronado Bridge in the background.

There's an area near the water, where this guy takes rocks from the jetty, and balances them on top of each other. 18 years ago, there was an individual doing the same thing, in the same area, and it's truly amazing to watch someone do what looks like impossible. I don't know if this is the same guy that was here almost two decades ago, but if not, he had the same talent. With a pretty good breeze blowing, it seems that there would be no way to do this, but, some of his stacks remained aloft despite the wind.

When we walked by the face painter, someone became very focused on having her pretty face transformed into a bunch of colors. Grandpa resisted for awhile, but come on, it's a known fact that my job is to spoil the Granddaughter rotten, before returning her to Mom & Dad. On our way to finding some lunch, Laila got her wish, and a peacock magically appeared over, and around her right eye.

Laila became the "bird girl", with a colorful peacock on her face.

We had lunch at Seaport Village, before walking a couple of blocks to the New Children's Museum. We only spent about an hour at this activity center for kids, as it just wasn't nearly as much fun as the Children's Museum in Tucson. Laila has been taken to several kids museums, and she agreed, the one in Tucson is by far the best.

There were a few activity areas that seemed to keep Laila's attention for short periods of time, but, after checking out all 3 floors, we were walking back to the jeep by mid afternoon.

She enjoyed taking all of the puzzle pieces out, and putting it back together.

Wall climbing is always lots of fun.

Laila and Grandpa each built their own skyscrapers, then, at the same time, became demolition experts.

This was our 6th day of almost non-stop activity, and it's probably safe to say that we're all just a little bit worn out. Having Laila with us for the past week, has been a very special time, one that we will always treasure. At 6 1/2, she's at an age where she can communicate like an adult, but the playful child is always lurking just below the surface. We've had a lot of fun, explored new adventures, and most importantly, spent some wonderful time with our precious little girl, who's growing up way too fast!

It's a little past 6 am, and time to wake all of the girls, including the four legged ones. We've got about 400 miles to cover, and I can almost bet that we'll hear "are we there yet" more than once!

MISSION BEACH

Not too far from Sea World, Belmont Park is a seaside amusement destination, complete with rides, carnival games, shopping, and a wooden roller coaster built in 1925. This complex adjacent to the beach, is very similar to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk on the Central CA Coast.

It was another perfect weather day, with a few scattered clouds, and the temps in the low 70's. By the time we made the 30 minute drive into San Diego, it was getting close to noon, and we spent several hours at Belmont Park. Armed with all access wristbands, Laila and Grandpa rode a bunch of rides together, then Laila set her sights on the vertical lift ride. She must have gone through the short line by herself a half dozen times.

Belmont Park at Mission Beach is a seaside amusement park.

When we took a break from the rides, Laila focused on her favorite arcade game of skee ball. Between hers and Grandpas ticket count ($10 worth of tokens, and 158 tickets), Laila picked out prizes that must have been worth at least 27 cents. The important thing was that we both had fun, and she got a couple of balls into the hardest cup, something that I couldn't do.

The Crazy Submarine was kind of like a ferris wheel.

Once was enough on the boat ride. Not quite the thrill level of some of the other rides.

The Vertical Plunge was Laila's favorite.

When we discovered the Vertical Plunge ride, Laila couldn't get enough of the tummy tickler. I rode it once with her, then she kept going back through the line. I think we heard "just one more time" probably about 5 times. This ride was actually pretty timid, but it did drop you a few feet, enough to put a butterfly in your stomach.

"OK, I'm ready, lets get this show on the road".

The merry-go-round was a smaller version of the one we rode at Balboa Park, but still fun enough for Miss Laila to ride several times. When we took a break from the rides, we found a couple of t-shirts, and a kind of dress for Laila, before we took a stroll along the beach.

Around 3 pm, after "just one more time" on the vertical plunge ride, we headed back to the motor home. Once back at the Thousand Trails, we gave Laila an early Easter Basket, with a few toys, and the required chocolate Easter Bunny.

It was another fun day, and the energy of a 6 year old is almost limitless. That almost perpetual motion is sometimes a challenge for this set of Grand Parents, but, at the end of the day, it's really easy to say that it was well worth the effort.

Today is our last full day here in the San Diego area, and tomorrow morning, we'll start the eastbound trek back to Tucson. Where has this week gone?

On the drive back to the motor home yesterday afternoon, Patty called Marc to tell him we would be back late Saturday afternoon. We have no cell coverage here at the Thousand Trails outside Jamul, and have been accessing the Internet via the park's wireless network.

THE SAN DIEGO ZOO

The zoo in San Diego is by any one's standards, a world class facility, with a world class reputation. It had been about 17 years since Patty and I last visited this magnificent collection of plants and animals, and except for the large crowds, it was a thoroughly enjoyable day.

The first picture shows the long lines waiting to buy tickets into the zoo, and that was only the beginning. The popularity of the zoo has created both a good and a bad. The good is that with a high admission price ($42 adult), the zoo has a lot of capitol for animal care, research, and infrastructure expansion. The bad is the admission price, and the huge numbers of people.

Lunch time at the Zoo.

We started the morning with a bus tour of the zoo, sitting on the top of the Double Decker Bus. I paid the upgraded ticket price of $59, which got us to the front of the huge line waiting to board the buses. It also got us admission into the 4D theater which featured a a 15 minute 3D movie, incorporating moving seats, air, bubbles, water, and a couple of snowfalls. Very cool experience.

Riding the sky ride from one end of the Zoo to the other.

3 silly seals in the ice pack.

You won't see a lot of animal pictures, despite the fact that there are approx. 4,000 creatures at the San Diego Zoo. However, I did take a few shots of the Giant Pandas, after we waited in a line for 15-20 minutes. This zoo is one of only two in the U.S. that I know of, with a Giant Panda exhibit. I could be wrong, but I think the National Zoo in D.C. is the only other place. Both of the Pandas on display were sleeping, but at least they were out in the open.

There's only a few places in the world where you can see a real live Giant Panda.

Laila with her new genuine San Diego Zoo Penny, right out of Grandpa's pocket.

It was around 3 pm, when we all decided that we had just about enough walking for the day, and so we headed for the exit. If you've never been to the San Diego Zoo, one thing to consider is the fact that there's lots of ups and downs. The facility is built on acreage that is anything but flat, so a day of walking here, is more like several days of walking at other zoo's.

On the way out, we made one last stop in the gift shop, where Laila picked out the stuffed animal pictured below. "Squeaky" is the new addition to the family, and with Laila's other new addition "Princess" the unicorn, there was lots of 3 way conversations going on in the back seat of the jeep, on the ride back to the motor home.

When it was time for dinner, Laila and Grandma fixed some twirly squash, while I BBQ'd some steaks. After dinner, we took a leisurely stroll around the park, ending up back at the motor home, long after the sun had set.

Not sure where our destination is today, but we're not in a big hurry. The Sea World and the Zoo days were early riser days. Today is a lazy morning day, with no urgency to get anywhere. So, after breakfast, I'm sure we'll find a new adventure, somewhere.

LIFE'S A BEACH

The first goal of the day was to not be in a big hurry to do anything. We all slept in a little bit (5:30 is sleeping in for me), then took our time getting ready to head out for the next big adventure. The destination yesterday was the Coronado area, and some time at the beach.

Grandpa fixed some scrambled eggs, with cheese & honey ham, which turned into a sort of egg McMuffin for Laila. So far, Grandpa is 3 for 3 on fixing a breakfast that Laila finishes. After Grandma put all of that beautiful hair into a big ponytail, we jumped in the jeep, and headed for Coronado.

There's about a 5 mile stretch of state beach on the narrow strip of land that connects the mainland with the town of Coronado, and the big Naval facility at the tip of the peninsula. After I mistakenly put a $20 bill into the machine that spits out a parking pass, thinking that I was paying $6 to park, I realized that the fine print stated "No Change Given". Did I feel any better, thinking that I had just contributed to helping solve California's fiscal problems - heck no. I should have followed my original instinct of taking my chances on a parking ticket, and not even walking over to the darn machine!

Once on the beach, Grandma & Laila went off in search of shells, and any other treasures that they could find, while I staked out a spot in the sand. This was another one of those picture perfect weather days, with mild temperatures, and lots of sunshine. We remembered the sunblock this time.

Someone left this sand castle for others to admire, and Laila makes the sculpture even more special.

"Watch out for the big waves Grandma".

Doesn't every kid like to play in the mud?

After a couple of hours at the beach, we drove farther north on the Coronado Peninsula, and one of the first things that you see is the world famous Hotel Del Coronado. This iconic structure was built in 1888, entirely out of wood, and has been maintained to perfection over the last century.

We didn't stop at the hotel, just cruised through the valet parking area to get a few pictures. It was just a little bit farther to the downtown area of Coronado, where I did park, and we walked around, checking out all of the shops. We found a shirt, and a purse with a unicorn for Laila, then drove around Coronado, before heading back to the mainland via the big bridge.

We were back at the Thousand Trails by mid afternoon, and the heated pool was the next destination. It was a warmer day, and the pool was quite a bit more crowded than yesterday. Grandpa jumped in the pool, and Laila rode around for awhile on my back, while we dodged kids and spray guns.

After homemade pizza that Grandma & Laila fixed, we watched an old classic movie entitled "Where the red fern grows". When that was over, it was time for bed, and the end of a fun filled day.

Grandpa's feet, and the pink noodle form a perfect picture frame.