California Dreams – Part 1

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Last year, I found out that I had a work trip to San Diego for a week in October. My husband and I had never been to California and jumped at the chance to turn the work trip into a 9 day family vacation. After all, who wouldn’t want to fly cross country with a 7 year old and a 1 1/2 year old?

Itinerary

• Day 1 – Philadelphia to San Diego
• Day 1-5 – San Diego, Coronado, Disneyland, La Jolla
• Day 6-7 Santa Barbara
• Day 7-8 Solvang, Pacific Coast Highway (PCH), Monterey
• Day 8-9 Muir Woods, San Francisco
• Day 9 – San Francisco to Philadelphia

We flew to San Diego in October of last year. The east coast was just beginning our fall season and we weren’t sure what to expect on the West Coast. When we landed in San Diego the weather was perfect – 75 degrees, sunny skies and blue water – it did not disappoint.

We were fairly tired our first day (since it was now three hours earlier), so we didn’t plan any activities. Since we were staying on the waterfront at the Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego, we decided to go explore and grab a bite to eat.

Day Two we walked to the Richard Walker Pancake House for a yummy breakfast. I’d recommend getting there early, it seems to fill up quickly. After breakfast, we hopped in our rental car and drove across the Coronado Bridge to Coronado Island. We strolled the streets of town and headed to the beach to catch our first glimpse of the Pacific Ocean. This lovely quaint town is filled with great spots for lunch or dinner. We wandered into gift shops and Fuzziwigs Candy.

For dinner that night we went to one of my favorite restaurants of the entire trip – Fiesta De Reyes. The restaurant is located in Old Town San Diego.

Since we were visiting during October, we had a chance to experience the Dia de los Muertos festival. There was live music and huge displays to view while you ate dinner under the stars. The neighborhood itself is lined with shops selling all kinds of souvenirs. If you’re brave (unlike us) consider touring the haunted Whaley House.

Day Three we woke up early to head to the San Diego Zoo. I purchased tickets online the night before, which saved us a little bit of time at the gate. This is one of the most incredible zoos that I’ve ever visited. Not only is it very large, with many amazing animals. But the gardens and vegetation are incredible.
When we first arrived at the zoo we hopped on one of the first tours of the day. I’m so glad that we did, because we were able to see most of the zoo during the tour. We then went back to the areas we didn’t see on the tour or wanted to see a little more closely.

After we left the zoo, I had a work event at Sea World that night (it was tough but I managed). So my husband took the kids to the Cheesecake Factory across the street from our hotel.

Day Four we headed north to Disneyland. We weren’t sure when we planned the trip that we were going to visit Mickey. We decided to make the drive since we’re big Disneyworld fans. I can say that it was cool to visit, but I think it’s a lot different. Disneyworld is much bigger and has more of a magical feel because of that. Two of our top things from Disneyland were the beignets and Haunted Mansion. The Haunted Mansion was decorated like Nightmare Before Christmas mixed with Halloween…and it was incredible. Tip: remember where you parked, it can be confusing finding your car.

Day Five we headed up the coast to La Jolla. I’ll be honest – I didn’t know a lot about the area prior to our visit, except that we’d be sure to view Sea Lions. The scenery in La Jolla is truly breath taking – it will not disappoint. There are some amazing caves and beaches where you can explore. We had a lovely and delicious lunch over looking the bluffs at Duke’s. Fun fact: Duke’s is named in honor of native Hawaiian Duke Kahanamoku, an Olympic swimming and water polo medalist and the father of modern surfing. Don’t miss La Jolla in your travels.

If you want to hear about the rest of this exciting trip…read Part 2 of our California Adventure.

Travel Supplies

Luggage / Kids Tablet / Backpack / Document Holder / Packing Cubes / Tablet / Cross Body Purse

California Dreams – Part II