Technically Carlsbad. But if you say Carlsbad to someone not from California, they may be like, where? A book I read recently, a couple were living on a remote island. When they were asked where they were originally from, the woman said, California. Her partner laughed and commented she could have said United States. But I’m with her, everyone knows California. And most people know San Diego. At least most Americans.
With each trip down, I’m feeling the urge more and more to move back to California. Coastal California. I really miss it there. Not because it’s the popular state of California, but because it’ll always be home. It’ll be especially hard when we’re down this summer, visiting San Luis Obispo, Pismo Beach, Santa Barbara, and likely San Diego (Carlsbad) again. Not that I don’t love it up here in Washington, it’s all good. Even better in several ways. I don’t foresee us moving back to California since the kids are so established up here. But Brian’s team does have an office is Aliso Viejo which is tempting. Although he can work anywhere if we wanted to move wherever. We won’t though.
We visit California instead. Like Carlsbad. I owed Baby a trip. She is all about geography these days, specifically states. She takes a weekly states class and has been interested in visiting other states. Laine had a meet in Nashville back in early February. The plan was to take Baby with us so she could check out Nashville. But Laine and I were spent from traveling to The Bahamas for a meet back in December, and we needed a travel break. We had also been to Kennewick the week before we were set to go to Nashville. We were tired and traveled out.
Our flight credit was with Southwest. I asked Baby where she wanted to go, showing her where Southwest flies, and she picked San Diego. Even though we had been there several times before. I suppose she’s a creature of habit like Brian and me. Then she asked if Blaise could go also, since she wanted to hit up Legoland. Blaise is the other Lego fan in the house. I looked at our calendar and compared it to Southwest’s low fare calendar, and booked flights for under $100 each way. I know Southwest is the budget airline—and maybe it’s because I’m a creature of habit—but I prefer to fly with them.
The trip was set for mid-March, between soccer and lacrosse games. Perhaps my priorities are skewed but I plan around extracurriculars over school. Not that it matters much for Baby, being homeschooled and all. But Blaise, I couldn’t care less how many days he misses of public middle school. It’s not like they’re getting a world class education there, if any education at all. I’m so unimpressed with public education (or lack of?!). I’m convinced the kids learn more while traveling than they ever will sitting in a classroom.
We flew out Sunday morning; it was St. Patrick’s Day. By the time we did the whole airport, flight, and rental car experience, it was almost 11am by the time we officially started the vacation. In keeping with tradition, we set out to find a Denny’s. The same Denny’s we went to last time, haha. We’re so adventurous. Eh, it’s easy, cheap, and everyone can find something they like. Whether or not it’s actually food, We ate, nothing special. Next to the Denny’s is a Target. We stopped in there to get water and snacks, and a few other supplies for the coming days.
Our hotel check-in wasn’t until 3pm. It was barely 2pm. We went for it though, and drove over the hotel. In Carlsbad (not San Diego, haha). We didn’t even take in our bags in case there wasn’t a room ready. I figured it didn’t hurt to ask. Thankfully they had a room ready, and bonus it was on the ground floor. I wanted the ground floor for easy access to the swimming pool, and coming and going. We went back out to the rental car and brought our bags inside. We settled in for a short while before heading back out. It was St. Patrick’s Day and Blaise knew Krispy Kreme gives away free donuts if you wear green.
Neither kid was really wearing green. Blaise had a green stripe on his shirt and Baby didn’t have any green on her but it didn’t matter. The really nice woman working gave us each a free donut. While I’m a donut fan, I’m not a Krispy Kreme fan. I don’t really like glazed anything. But I can’t resist sprinkles. We all picked out a St. Patrick’s Day sprinkle donut and were given a free green glazed donut.
Driving to Krispy Kreme we spotted a park with picnic tables. We decided we’d take the donuts there to eat them. What a lovely park. Hosp Grove Park in Oceanside. We each had a donut and then put the box back in the rental car. It was time to explore. There is a playground next to the parking lot and then some trails that go up and around the hill above the park. We set out to see where the trails went.
Nothing special, trail-wise. But a fun walk around the park on the trails. I’m pretty sure we covered all the trails there, even backtracking a bit. We found the cutest animal, which we quickly called the bunny-squirrel. Clearly it’s some sort of squirrel but its body is almost shaped like a bunny. Adorable! Baby wanted to play some more on the playground. She went there while Blaise and I nosed around the front of the park, checking out the signage. Which clearly is public art also.
Back to the hotel. N2Deep will always play in my head when I type that. We had an early flight, which had us leaving home at 4am. We were tired. It was an early night. None of us were particularly hungry from Denny’s and then donuts. Even though it was about dinnertime. Brian would never. Haha. He would still take the kids to eat dinner even if they weren’t hungry. I travel different. We had some snacks from our Target trip earlier, including some fruit. The kids munched on what we had and we called it good. But before bed, it was pool time. I had called the hotel when I booked to confirm the pool is heated.
The kids must have been in the pool for well over an hour. We were already tired. This was going to do them in for good. Maybe around 7pm they got out, and we called it a night. It was lights out by 9pm after showering and readying for bed, and the much needed downtime. We all slept hard that night. I was looking forward to having a bed to myself but Baby wanted to sleep with me. Blaise scored, and he even commented how he never gets a hotel bed to himself. He was quite pleased.
It was hard to get up Monday morning. Not because I was tired but very rarely is there a morning where I don’t have to get up and going for something. Same this Monday. It was Legoland day. Not that we were on a time schedule but I wanted to be up to get the free hotel breakfast before heading over to Legoland. Breakfast ended at 9am and Legoland opened at 10am. We breakfasted and then went back to our room to pack my backpack with supplies—water, fruit, lunches, etc. It was time to hit Legoland!
Okay, I didn’t think this through. It was so busy. I don’t do busy. I like to go places when other people don’t. This is why when we first took the kids to Legoland, we went the first week of September. Very few parents will pull their kids from school for a vacation that close to the start of the school year. Even with California schools starting in early August, early September is still too soon. And in Washington, and other states, that first week of September is also the first week of school. The second time we took the kids, we went in early February. Before any mid-winter breaks. And close enough to winter break in December that again, very few parents likely pull their kids for a vacation. Each time Legoland was dead. Like we would ride a ride, and go again without having to get off. There were no lines.
Side note: Brian and I went to Legoland the within the first few months of it opening back in 1999. Brian’s grandmother lived in Carlsbad (until she passed a few years ago); we were down visiting her with his dad and brothers. Here we are at the ripe ages of 20 and 21. So young.
Welp, this trip I timed it wrong. I didn’t think about Spring Break. The kids’ spring breaks up here weren’t until early April. And growing up in California, Spring Break was always the week before Easter. I didn’t even think about spring break travel. Dumb. It wasn’t summer busy but there were lines for most rides. We had to wait a few rounds before we’d get a spot. Waiting, the horror! Haha.
Thankfully we managed to hit almost all of the rides one. Except the one roller coaster. The line was way too long and neither the kids or I wanted to wait. Sorry, kids. You’ve been spoiled with having a crowd avoiding mom. Also a bummer, the section to the left when you first enter Legoland was closed. They’re renovating. Which also meant the only way to get to the entirety of the park was to go right. Did I mention it was busy?
After realizing we weren’t going to wait in the long line for the roller coaster, we decided to head back over to the Lego Movie World area. But not before stopping at the submarine ride, again. This was Baby’s favorite ride last time and again this time. We had to go on it a second time. Thankfully there was a minimal line, and we only had to wait one round.
After submarining a second time, we went to ride the Unikitty’s Disco Drop again. It was closed. Then we noticed the helicopters were closed. And thinking back, the Technic Coaster was closed as we walked past. Not sure what was up, I asked the Disco Drop guy why were all the rides closed. Apparently there could be thunderstorms. They close all the outdoor rides in case of thunderstorms. Makes sense. It started to drizzle a bit but there were never any thunderstorms.
The kids ended up building Legos more than anything during the ride closures. After a while building, like well over an hour, we moseyed over to the Ninjago area of Legoland. Baby had seen ninja swords on other kids walking around and she HAD to have them. It worked out also, since the Ninjago ride in indoors, it was open. And there wasn’t a very long line surprisingly. We did the ride and bought the swords, and then crossed the way to the Imagination Zone. It was packed. I waited outside while Blaise and Baby went inside to build a Lego car to race.
While I was waiting outside, the Lego worker was telling all the people entering that this was now classified as a rainy day at Legoland. They have a Rainy Day Promise. When this happens, you get to come back within one year using your ticket from the rainy day. I’m continuously impressed with Legoland. Probably because it’s a foreign-owned company. It’s always a great experience, even with crowds. And since we’ll likely be in Carlsbad again this summer, we’ll go then (and we’ll only have to buy four tickets; it’ll feel like a bargain, haha). California kids will be back in school so hopefully it won’t be nearly as busy as Spring Break. And if we don’t go in summer, then an early February trip will be booked again.
We left Legoland before closing. With the rides closed and crowds shifting indoors, it was too busy for the three of us. Plus, we had already done all the things we wanted to do, that we could with the weather. It was time to call it a day. Dinner. We needed to eat dinner.
Dinner was at BJ’s. And that was a terrible experience. But we went with it, and we ate food so there’s that. I think our server must have been new? Or just didn’t care about his job? He was nice and all but every mistake that could be made was made. Wrong drinks, wrong order, then the right order, then he forgot ketchup, he forgot an extra set of tableware. And in the end, he forgot take the wrong items off of our check. It was more laughable than anything. I try to come at things with a they don’t mean to mess up mindset and give them grace. Maybe he was new, maybe he was having a bad day. Whatever the case, getting mad at him wouldn’t have helped the situation. I still tipped and we left. But we were all ready to be out of there.
Back at the hotel, it was swimming time. The kids suited up and we hit the pool. They were tired after the day and this was a nice way to wrap up Monday. The plan for Tuesday was to hit the Natural History Museum, Torrey Pines, and Carlsbad State Beach.
It’s becoming a pattern for me, where I sleep amazingly well the first night in a hotel and then awfully the rest of the trip. Same thing happened here. Sunday night I slept hard, a solid 10+ hours without waking once. Monday night, I tossed and turned, and was up quite a bit. Not fun. It was hard to get up Tuesday morning but free breakfast, haha. Baby was up on her own already; Blaise was still asleep. Baby and I went to get breakfast and were back in time to wake up Blaise. He was on borrowed time to get breakfast before the stopped serving it at 9am. He made it with 10 minutes to spare.
Driving down to Balboa Park was fun. I love California. I love driving 75 mph in the slow lane and being passed like I’m a slow driver. Because I am a slow driver in California. I’ve acclimated to Washington speeds. I’m a fast driver up here. And I’ve learned over the years that up here, the slow lane is the fast lane. And people don’t stay right unless to pass. Although, they do outside of the big cities. I love driving out of the Seattle area; people respect others want to drive faster than them.
It’s a good thing we got there when we did. There were still parking spots open unlike when we left, and people approached us asking where we parked. Only for another car to spot me and nab the spot before they could get there. Bonus, it’s free parking. I fully expected to have to pay because that seems to be the norm most places. It was time to hit the Natural History Museum.
Waling to the Natural History Museum we came upon a large tree that seemed important. It was fenced off. I was expecting it to be some ancient tree but nope, the fence is probably there because people. It’s maybe 200 years old? I think it was 1800-something, so maybe even younger than 200 years. We admired the tree and read the plaque about the sucker before entering the museum.
The Natural History Museum is impressive. At least to me. I think the kids liked it also, and we nosed around all the floors checking out all the things. It was fairly quiet for a Spring Break day. Everyone was probably back at Legoland. Not only the people who were planning on going this Tuesday but some Monday folks from the Rainy Day Promise. I had head a few people talk about coming back tomorrow. They probably wouldn’t be back within a year and wanted to take advantage of the policy. I feel that. However busy Legoland was, the Natural History Museum was dead and I’ll take that any day.
The museum is four floors and we explored. Probably not as much as we could have but Blaise is like me, we’re quick. We like to see things and move on; Baby is like Brian—they like to dawdle. We compromised and let Baby have extra time on each floor. I think she would have stayed all day if it were up to her. But we had plans, and I wanted to stick with somewhat of a schedule.
After the museum, we walked around Balboa Park a bit before heading out. We found adorable turtles, live music, a toddler playgroup, and a woman trying to get me to donate just 25 cents a day for some cause. While I applaud her effort, this wasn’t the time.
The time was to head to Torrey Pines. I had wanted to do this last time but we didn’t have time. Rather, we didn’t make time. The kids and I drove through UCSD on the way to South Beach. Brian really wanted to go to UCSD. It’s the one school where he didn’t get accepted. And he got accepted to Berkley. I love college campuses. The vibe is always on point. At least on the Left Best West Coast. I’m not sure about colleges elsewhere.
Hiking Torrey Pines would have been my preference. But we didn’t have time. I suppose we did but it wasn’t in the cards this day. We needed lunch and still had things to do before flying out the next day. Instead we parked, paid the however much parking fee, and nosed about the beach a bit. It was pretty windy and not the most pleasurable beach day. This didn’t stop the kids from throwing rocks into the water and playing in the sand. We maybe stayed 45 minutes. Not long but long enough to call it good on a windy day. It was time for lunch.
Mexican was my preference. We were in California after all. By Mexico. But the kids didn’t want Mexican. Sure, I could have pulled the parent card but this was their trip, and so we went to Dave & Buster’s. Baby had been wanting to go for months. She even announced she was going to have her birthday party at Dave & Buster’s before even going to see what it’s all about. I had never been either. Blaise had. It was an experience. A loud experience. The food was eh and did I mention it was loud? Jesus Christ it was loud. I’ll never go back just because of that. But I probably will, because kids. We ate and the kids gamed while I took some time at the table to catch up on emails.
Back at the hotel, the kids suited up for a late afternoon swim. Nobody was really hungry for dinner but dessert sounded good. I was in a brownie mood. While the kids were in the pool, I was looking online for local restaurants with a brownie dessert. Found one. After an hour or so of swimming and some down time in the hotel room, we left for dessert. When Brian isn’t around, we dessert first. He would NEVER, haha. Brian is a traditionalist when it comes to meals. Like he would never eat a waffle for dinner. And three meals a day. Never would he dessert before dinner. He never says anything and goes with the flow when I’m in charge of meals, but I know he silently judges, haha.
The desserts were huge. The kids couldn’t finish theirs but maybe I could. I’m a sucker for brownies, much like sprinkles. We desserted and then hit In-N-Out for dinner. Well, only Blaise was hungry. He’s not even a fry-guy, which I think is the best part of In-N-Out. Maybe it’s because I’ve had In-N-Out accessible to me like McDonald’s is accessible to everyone else, but I’m not in the In-N-Out is SO good camp. I mean, it’s a burger. And they pay their employees well. The ingredients are fresh. They are way better than any other fast food joint. But it’s still just a burger to me. I’ve had worse; I’ve had better. The bible verses on the containers is a turn off but whatever, it’s privately owned.
Next up, sunset. We went to Carlsbad State Beach. Except the main parking lot was busy. We found street parking down the road. I thought there was a boardwalk that spanned a mile along the beach but nope, it was just a cement path. Not as exciting as I thought. We found a way down to the beach, down some dunes I suppose? I’m not sure what exactly classifies a dune a dune. We walked down a path between dunes (I’m calling them dunes) to a small beach. It must have been high tide because the water was coming all the way to the rocks we climbed down at the bottom of the dunes. We stayed a bit, Blaise and I on the rocks while Baby ran with the tide.
There was a guy who has life figured out. While Baby was playing in the tide and I was watching from the rocks, I noticed this guy on a cliff. He was reading and smoking pot as the sun was setting. That’s the life.
It was almost sunset. We went back up the dunes to a path along the road, above the beach. We watched as the sun set over the Pacific Ocean. I can’t imagine never having seen an ocean, let alone a sunset over an ocean. It’s stunning.
It was time to call it a day. We were back in the hotel room settling in for the night. We were flying out the next day. Thankfully not an early flight.
Wednesday morning had Baby and me up early. We left Blaise sleeping to get breakfast in the hotel lobby. There were people galore eating breakfast, including several excited kids who looked like they were about to hit Legoland. There was a family with four boys. I felt for those parents. The two youngest were playing chase and the mom was clearly done already. Dad wasn’t doing much, and mom decided to just leave back to the hotel room. I imagine it wasn’t much of a vacation for her. Dad realized mom left when he looked up from his phone and pulled it together, using his stern dad voice that did nothing. The kids were still wild when we left. I hope that mom enjoyed that little bit of time to herself.
Blaise eventually woke up and grabbed breakfast, and we all packed up and left for the airport. Rather, the rental car center to catch a shuttle to the airport. We had the worst rental car. I had selected the mystery car when I booked. The mystery car was a Ram. I noped that and paid a bit extra for the next price point. We ended up with a Nissan Rouge. It was the worst car I’ve ever driven. Not that I’ve driven that many cars. But the biggest annoyance—other than it’s not made for taller people—was the steering wheel isn’t a circle. It has these indentations on either side of the bottom. Every time you turn, it’s not smooth. Such a weird car. But still better than a Ram. Brian says he would have paid money to see me drive a Ram, haha. Then I told him that the most DUIs go to people who drive Rams. Easy to Google that; too many links to choose from to link that claim.
Getting gas before dropping off the rental car was fun. Normally I prepay gas but for some reason I didn’t this time. We stopped at a gas station near the rental car center. There was a crazy guy yelling on the sidewalk adjacent to my pump. That was exciting. Clearly we need better mental health and drug rehab services. But you know, America. This country doesn’t value its people. I mean, just last week there were arguments about how many organs need to fail for a woman to be granted an abortion. WTF is going on?!
The rental car return and shuttle to the airport went smoothly. The airport was so busy. The security line was out into the baggage check area. Thankfully we had ample time. We lined up and slowly made our way to the security check point. We had just passed security when all things shut down. Literally everything. They stopped checking IDs and boarding passes. Baggage check and metal detectors stopped. Everything went silent. It was so eerie. Like you could have heard a pin drop. Nobody knew what was going on. Not even the airport workers. We all just stood there, silent. Maybe 10 minutes went by and a bit of noise started but still relatively quiet for an airport. Another 10 minutes passed and things reopened. No explanation. This is not an ideal thing to happen to a nervous flier like myself.
At the gate it was incredibly busy. I swear for a large city like San Diego, the airport is small. At least the terminals I’ve been to before. We found seats and settled in for the two hours we had to wait. Another family who was on our flight sat next to us, and the dad wanted to chat. He was nice and jokingly (or not) complaining how his in-laws have to go on every vacation with them. Both in-laws were in wheelchairs. Which doesn’t mean they need them; that’s usually a pre-boarding tactic. They were flying to Seattle to drive to Vancouver, BC to visit family. They seemed like a lovely, close-knit family. Two teenage girls, mom and dad, and grandma and grandpa.
We boarded. We sat as close to the front as we could. We only had a 35-minute layover in San Jose. This is the one thing about Southwest, no direct flights to San Diego. I’m okay without assigned seating. But I don’t love flying and having to stop somewhere else instead of just continuing on. It’s no fun. I had already looked up the San Jose airport terminal map, and figured out where we needed to go after we arrived. It was smooth. Southwest has it down. We landed with time to spare and boarded the final flight home just fine.
Brian and Maive picked us up at 6:45pm. We were ready to get home. It had been a fun trip and I got my California fix, but I was ready to be home and get back to life. Plus, I missed Brian and the other kiddos. It’s nice to be able to take a kid or two away. It just feels like we’re not complete without everyone. Next up is a Saige trip. More flying, yay.
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