Where in the world is Owen?

Our trip to sunny San Diego-A 7 day adventure with our 7 week old

Day One: Saturday 2/7
Owen was a happy little boy when we left for Madison at 6:00am. Security with a seven week old is very interesting. Owen did very well on his two flights to San Diego. He didn't cry or fuss at all! I think the people around us were very happy with how good he was.

We arrived in San Diego at about 2:30 and it was about 58 degrees. We got our rental car and then drove northward to Carlsbad. We checked into our hotel and then went to see our good friends Sara and Caleb. Sara made us a great dinner and we had a great time catching up with the two of them. It was a great first day in California.

Day Two: Sunday 2/8

Our Sunday morning started out with church with Caleb and Sara. After Church, the five of us went to La Jolla Beach and La Jolla Cove. We were able to make it to the tide pools and to see the seals-one of Eric and My favorite things about the area. After we finished up at these beaches We went to Hotel Del Coronado for some treats and coffee. We talked for a while and watched the sun go down. We finished up the day by going to a great little Mexican restaurant (the first of many on the trip).

Day Three: Monday 2/9

Our third day in San Diego started out with Owen getting ready for the day. He was a very cool little guy-sporting his all important sunglasses. We spent most of the morning and afternoon at the Birch Aquarium with Sara. Owen slept through the whole inside part but did awaken when we went out side. Owen was able to feel rain and wind against his skin for the first time while we were out in San Diego-he didn't really know what to think. It was so cute to watch the expressions on his face with these new experiences.

That evening Caleb and Eric went out to eat as did Sara, Owen and myself. We all had a great time!

Day Four: Tuesday 2/10

On Tuesday we started our day by eating breakfast at a little cafe in Carlsbad. It was a great meal and a good start to the day. After breakfast we picked up Sara and drove to the Marine Base to visit Caleb for lunch on base. There was a lot of activity on the base: tanks all over, planes and helicopters in the air, and people parachuting out of planes. Eric really enjoyed seeing the base. We were both shocked at how large and spread out the base was.

After the trip to the base we took a trip on Highway 101 which runs along the coast. Grandma Elaine had bought Owen some cool swim trunks so we just had to take a photo of him at the beach.

We spent the evening with Sara and Caleb at their house for their small group bible study. It was nice to get to know some of their friends even more. We were happy they invited us to join them.

Day Five: Wednesday 2/11

Our wild Wednesday was spent at the San Diego Wild Animal Park. Owen rode in just his stroller (with out the car seat insert) for the first time. He like being able to stretch out more. We got to see lots of neat animals and go on a tram type ride around the Africa exhibit. We also got to see the cheetahs eat their lunch that day.

For dinner we met back up with Sara and Caleb for dinner at Ruby's on the Pier in Ocean Side. Ruby's is a 50's style diner with malts, bottomless fires, and great burgers. The servers were dressed in all red and white to fit in with the theme too. The views of the ocean at sunset were great.

After dinner we went to Sara & Caleb's to hang out a while. We will miss them and can't wait to see them again this summer when they come to the Eau Claire area.

Six: Thursday 2/12

This was a very busy day for us. We started out by visiting the Old Town Historical Park. We arrived just in time for one of the two walking tours for the day. Eric listened carefully while I walked around and took some cool photos. When we were done with the park we walked to Cafe Coyote for lunch- it was a really good Mexican restaurant.

Next we drove to Point Loma-the most south west point of the US. Here you could see views of the ocean , Mexico, and the San Diego Bay. We toured the light house, visited the tide pools, and enjoyed the views. We were able to catch the sunset at sunset cliffs in the area.

We finished up our day by going to Seaport Village. It is a little shopping area along the bay with a bunch of little shops and restaurants. We split a cookie and a sprite to have are parking authorized so we wouldn't have to pay.

For dinner that night we at at In and Out. It is a fast food burger joint that is local to the area. It was very good.

Day Seven: Friday 2/13

We spent our last full day in San Diego exploring Balboa Park. We went to the Air & Space Museum and the Science Center. Owen was awake the whole time we were in the Air and space Museum so we just had to take a photo of him in the plane. At the Science center we saw a IMAX film called Wild Ocean. Owen kept staring at the screen as all the images changed from light to dark. It was so cute to watch his expressions.

After Balboa park we headed back to Old Town for dinner at the Old Town Cafe-another Mexican restaurant. We had a great dinner and then went back to the hotel to pack up all of our things.

Day Eight: Saturday 2/14
We didn't have to be to the airport until 12:00 or 12:30 so we went to see the USS Midway. It was the longest serving air craft carrier in the US. They gave us head sets and a little MP3 type player to walk around with. Each area had a number and we could hear all about that area of the ship. It was very cool. There was about 15-20 air planes on the deck that we could look at and some were even open so we could go in them. Eric even got to take a tour of the bridge of the ship.

After the Midway we returned our rental car and went to the airport. Eric and I don't typically have much luck when it comes to travel, and this leg of the trip fits right into our life. First our checked luggage got tagged with some other person's tag. The lady cought it just in time, but our bags almost went to Texas.

The big story of the day was when we were waiting in our gate for our plane to leave. All of a sudden this man comes up to the gate and starts yelling, "Whatever you do don't get on that plane! Don't get on the plane." The man was very upset and loud. He went on to tell us that he was on the plane and that it had gotten hit by the fuel truck and that the plane had moved from the collision. He went all around the gate to tell everyone who was at the gate not to get on the plane. Soon the gate agent came on the loud speaker and told us that the plane had indeed been hit. The end of the wing was crushed in a little, so they had to find a new plane. The funny part of the story was everyone taking photos of the accident-both inside the gate and out by the plane. Even the captain of the plane took out his cell phone to get a snap shot of the event. We ended up getting a different flight to Denver and then Denver to Madison. All in all it was a long day of travel.

The trip to San Diego was great and we were so glad that were able to take our first vacation as a Family and that everything went so well!