We left Boise early Sunday morning, and arrived in San Diego with enough time to enjoy a day of fun. After checking into our hotel room, we went for a walk along the beach, it was absolutely beautiful. We then went to the heart of San Diego, Gaslamp District. While walking around we found Hard Rock Cafe and ate dinner. It was so delicious. The experience was great, we took a tour around the restaurant to see all the wall hangings signed by various artists. Afterwards we shared a sweet treat at Ghirardelli Chocolate Shop.
Monday we enjoyed a full day at SeaWorld. There were so many attractions throughout the park that varied from exhibits, shows, and rides. Although we enjoyed everything, we of course had our favorites: Sting Rays, Beluga Whales, Penguins, Turtles/Fish, Shamu, and the Dolphins.
Tuesday we went to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, it was a blast. We did a lot of walking, but it was well worth it. The park covers 1,800 acres, so you can only imagine how much space each animal has to roam and be free. We went on an African Tram Safari ride, we were able to see more animals up close, it was amazing.
Bryce served his mission in Korea, and really grew a liking for Korean food. Bryce has been home 10 years and has not been able to find a restaurant similar to any in Korea. Bryce searched the pages of the hotel phone book to find a Korean restaurant right in Korean Town, who knew? The restaurant was fabulous, we both enjoyed every single bite. So yummy! Afterwards we went to a huge Korean grocery store, and Bryce found a couple items he was excited to try out again.
Wednesday we went to Balboa Park. This park contains multiple museums, gardens, attractions, and venues. Because there was so much to choose from we chose to go to the Botanical Garden Building, Air & Space Museum, and San Diego Zoo. My little brother, Brady was also in San Diego the same time we were for a small part of his college choir tour. They had the San Diego Zoo on their agenda the same day we were going. We met up with Brady and hung out with him the entire afternoon. It was a great day.
On our way to the Botanical Garden Building we saw this neat walkway, and I had to take a couple pictures. Bryce was totally teasing me, but it was fun...
Botanical Garden Building...
Air & Space Museum...
San Diego Zoo...
Funny story... We walked up to see the polar bears and they were totally going at it, it was hilarious. It was so funny to watch other people react, some took video, others were disgusted, and there were kids asking their parents what everyone was laughing at. We were there a good while, at one point they stopped, but immediately started going at again. So funny!
This little monkey cracked us up, he posed for every picture we took. He literally cheesed it big time, it was so cute!
Have you ever heard of the TV show, Man vs Food? It's on Netflix and Bryce and I have watched a few episodes. Anyways we thought it would be fun to try a restaurant Adam has done a food challenge at in San Diego. We picked Phil's BBQ and it was seriously super tasty. We were NOT disappointed at all.
Thursday morning we went for a walk on the beach to the pier, it was beautiful. It was so fun to watch the surfers ride the waves. It does not matter what time of day it was everyone is always outside playing, so fun. There was a path similar to the greenbelt here in Boise along the ocean. We went for lots of walks, and even got some running in too. Later that day we went to the boardwalk in Downtown San Diego and took random pictures. We ended up at Little Italy not too far away to eat lunch at a very popular pizza parlor, it was delicious. We then went to the USS Midway Museum. We were able to do an audio tour of the entire ship, it was amazing.
Cool pirate ship on the Boardwalk...
Little Italy...
USS Midway Museum...
The statue known as "Unconditional Surrender" is 25 feet tall and dominates the lawn next to the USS Midway Museum. It is based on the famous photograph of a sailor kissing a nurse in Times Square at the end of World War II. Everyone takes their picture in front of the statue doing the exact same pose, so of course we had to do it too.
Friday we drove toward La Jolla alongside the ocean by all the houses that are insanely huge and beautiful. We stopped and played on the rocks next to the ocean, it was a blast. Right in La Jolla there is a cove locals say is the best place to snorkel. As we were walking down the steps we saw a seal up on the shore that looked lethargic and sick. We talked to the lifeguard on duty who said they contacted SeaWorld to come out and help him. It was obviously not a priority to get there fast, so you can only hope and pray the seal stays on shore till the help arrives. We decided to go snorkeling with no wet suits, it was definitely cold. I had a hard time getting past the super tall thick seaweed that was literally coming up out of the water everywhere for the first 50 feet. After several attempts of swimming over the thick mass of seaweed, I finally made it past and had a great time. There were so many beautiful fish, at one point two seals were directly under us playing. It was a cool cold experience. By the time we were all done and leaving SeaWorld still had not arrived for that poor seal. I hope he received help that day.
Later that night we went to Old Town. Because it was Cinco de Mayo that weekend, Old Town was crazy busy everywhere. We walked around and shopped at all the little shops. So fun. We enjoyed some great tasting Mexican food at Cafe Cayote. Afterwards even though we were stuffed we got some Italian ice cream [gelato], yummy! We then went to the National Comedy Theatre. If you've ever seen Who's Line is it Anyway's?, it was quite similar. We laughed so hard consistently the entire show. It was a lot of fun.
Saturday we celebrated five years of being married. We started our day going for a walk along the beach, and going to breakfast at a place known by many in the area we were staying. We then went to the San Diego Temple. This temple is absolutely stunning on the inside and outside. We had a great experience together. It was fun to walk the temple grounds afterwards and take pictures.
Later that night we went to a Padre's Major League Baseball game. We had awesome seats super close to the home plate. It was well worth the money we spent on the tickets to be that close. We had a great time. At one point during the game a couple sits down in front of us who was obviously drunk. The girl was so obnoxious, and her boyfriend thought she was the funniest thing on the planet. Anyways the reason we took a picture of this great couple is because the moment this girl sat down she decided to teach herself how to whistle using her fingers. She was horrible at it, but tried consistently the entire game. She honestly never stopped until they got up to leave in the last inning. Super annoying. We still had the best time and enjoyed the game a lot.
Sunday early early in the morning we headed back home to Boise. We had the best time together exploring San Diego for a whole week. Once the travel back home started we could hardly wait to see Kyra and Miles. The reunion was so fun, I could not stop giving them hugs and kisses all day long. They definitely missed us. Kyra kept telling us over and over again how happy she was that we found her. She was quite clear that she did not want us going on another trip without her. That girl cracks me up. I'm so thankful Bryce and I were able to go on a vacation together and make new memories, ones that we will never forget. Happy Anniversary Bryce, I love you!
