San Diego!

We have some wonderful friends who own an awesome condo in downtown San Diego. Seriously, it's awesome. They're within walking distance of the pier and lots of great restaurants and just a short drive from anywhere else you'd want to go. They pretty much live there all summer (it's really a no-brainer when you're choosing between Phoenix and San Diego in the summer) and they gave us an open invitation to visit pretty much anytime we want. Sadly, we were unable to take them up on this offer at all last summer, so we made sure to make at least one trip this year.

We drove out on a Thursday evening and back on Sunday evening, so we were able to get in two and a half days of fun and relaxation.

The first day we pretty much spent relaxing and eating. What more can you ask for on a vacation? Dylan discovered early on the beauty of stroller naps... If he fell asleep while we were walking somewhere, we'd just leave him in the stroller on the porch to finish out his nap. He seemed to enjoy them because he made sure to take one every day we were there.


Saturday we had a relaxing morhning and then headed to the downtown farmer's market (which was only a block away) for yummy food. This was our third visit to this farmer's market so we opted for Thai coconut pancakes and panang curry. Normally we probably would've swapped out a crepe or panini for the curry, but we were ready for something new.

That afternoon, we took Dylan with us to the Maritime Museum. It's a collection of boats and submarines from different eras. It includes the Star of India (built around 1860), HMS Surprise (used to film Master and Commander), a Soviet submarine from the Cold War, and quite a few others. I didn't think Dylan would get much out of it, but he had a great time! I love this age because you can see him taking in everything around him...he wants to touch, grab, and examine every little thing he sees. I'm pretty sure his favorites were the two submarines because they had so many fun knobs and levers. Prepare yourself for a lot of pictures...

Future captain?

I'm not sure why, but I love this picture...

I realize this picture doesn't show anything related to the museum, but I love his face. I feel like he's saying, "Hey Mom! Let's go down inside this big ship!"

They had this mini ship inside the big ship for kids to play on.... All Dylan wanted to do was eat the mini steering wheel. You can see the one of the spokes right next to his face.

I'm loving this new straight-mouth smile Dylan's discovered...

Proof that I was on this adventure (and the Master and Commander ship in the background)

"But I don't wanna be a pirate!"

Before our descent into the US submarine.

Dylan LOVED being able to play with everything on the sub

Too small for the periscope

Dining in luxury on an old steam boat.

Straight smile again... he's too cute!

This picture and the next might be my favorite two from the whole day...

The Soviet sub had little tubes you had to crawl through... They even had a sample one before you entered so you could be sure you'd fit through the whole thing!

Sliding Dylan through the hole...

Exploring...

The whole family! A nice lady offered to take this picture for us. She must have been following us throughout the museum because when Shane handed her the camera she said, "His name is Dylan, right?" She must have heard us calling out his name all day to get him to look at the camera! :)

On Sunday, we relaxed in the morning to try and prolong our vacation. Then we headed to Chula Vista so Dylan could meet his great-aunt and uncle and his first cousins once removed (the kids had researched their relationship with Dylan before we got there). We were able to spend the afternoon with them, eat dinner, and even partake in their family home evening before we headed home. Sadly, all of the pictures we took are on Kristi's camera so I'll have to add one when I get a copy from her...

Hopefully next year we'll make it to San Diego more than once...

Up next: Shane turns 30!!!