One of my favorite places in San Diego has always been La Jolla, so we certainly couldn't go to California without a stop in La Jolla. It's just so beautiful on the rocky coastline! We had a nice lunch overlooking La Jolla Cove, although our table wasn't on the border of the patio so our view wasn't as fantastic as it was during our last trip a few years ago. It was still a very enjoyable lunch (and the kids' menu came with a little toy called Bendaroos which Benji had never seen before and was very happy playing with).
After lunch we headed down to the coastline to go out on the rocks. We considered going down to the beach, but when we looked down on the Cove it was completely packed and it must have been high tide since the entire beach was under water. It didn't look safe nor fun, so we stayed up on the rocks instead. And since Benji had enjoyed getting splashed at Cabrillo earlier in the trip we thought he would enjoy this as well. He was a bit disappointed with the first set of rocks we climbed on — there wasn't enough splashing.
But the second set sure didn't disappoint on that front. At first just Benji and Daddy went out further on the rocks to scope things out. They got some nice gentle splashes and were able to jump out of the way before getting too wet. So they decided it was safe for me to come out and join them. I think I was out there for exactly one spash — the giant one that got all of us soaked! That was definitely not the amount of splashing that Benji was looking for so it was time to head back to the car. On the way, though, we stopped for some ice cream at Cold Stone which sure put Benji into a better mood despite still being pretty wet.
Today was our day to drive up to Anaheim, so we ended our stint in San Diego with a stop at the Wild Animal Park on our way out of town. It's amazing how much hotter it is out at the Wild Animal Park than it was on the coast. If we weren't dry yet from the big wave, a few minutes out in the desert was all it took to finish drying off. On our way walking out to the tram ride "Journey into Africa" we saw one of those new giant tethered ballons. Benji was intrigued by the idea so we watched for a while while Mommy rested and had a cold drink. Benji's pressed penny radar also found his souvenir for this destination.
When we got out to the tram, Benji was disappointed that this wasn't a real ride (i.e. a roller coaster), but I had brought with his kids' digital camera so he quickly enjoyed himself being a little photographer. It was so cute to watch him trying to take pictures of the animals, some of which were pretty far away. He also tried to match some of the animals to the pictures on the inside of the tram.
After the tram ride, we went over to one of the special shows they had — the bubble show. This one didn't have any animals so I'm not sure why it was at the Wild Animal Park, but Benji and the other kids enjoyed it. He loved trying to catch the bubbles that floated out over the audience and he even went down to the front at the end when they had the bubble machines spewing out tons of bubbles.
By this time it was getting pretty close to closing so we didn't really have the time to see any other major exhibits. We looked at animals on our way back to the front and then we saw a very nice outdoor seating area. There were several sofas with cushions like you'd find on an indoor patio, and they were so comfy! We sat there for a long time, just enjoying the peacefulness and each other. Benji had a Goldfish and peanut butter snack and we had fun doing silly things with the Goldfish crackers. Funny how you need to go on vacation to a different state to enjoy such a simple pleasure.
But then it was time to really go and was starting to get dark. The last exhibit we saw was the nursery. There were two or three baby leopards or cheetahs (something like that) and Benji loved them. He decided they were "so cute!" We looked at the toys they had and talked about how we had to be quiet for the babies so they could sleep. At that time he didn't yet know about the baby in Mommy's belly, but his interest in the baby animals was quite encouraging.
And then it was time to finish our drive to Anaheim. I wonder what the next day of trip-o-logue will hold?
Benji enjoyed the rocky California coastline.
Splashes! Can't pose for a photo for Mommy when there are big splashes to watch.
Here's the second part of the rocks we visited. Daddy and Benji spent a long time out there enjoying the waves and splashes before they invited me out there.
While I was watching my guys, I also saw a dolphin and a sea lion in the water. This picture really doesn't do it justics and I don't even remember which one is in this photo.
A little rest from the splashes.
Mommy needs some pictures with my guys' faces.
Mommy and Benji with a big splash, but this was not the splash that got us all wet. Notice how wet my overalls are in the picture.
I really like this close-up and how happy Benji looks.
On our way back to the car Benji wanted to sit down on a bench and rest a bit. While resting he made a new game of the big waves. Also notice how very wet his hair is here.
Our little photographer is trying to figure out his camera.
I think Benji was practicing his photography in the station while we waited for the tram to depart.
Benji tries to find the animals on the guide in the tram.
I wonder what animals we saw.
The giraffes were my favorites on this ride.
Picture of Mommy!
Lions sleeping on top of an SUV. How silly!
Benji loved trying to catch bubbles at the bubble show. He was a bit disappointed that he couldn't get to the very front row to catch the most bubbles.
After seeing a cool bubble show, Benji had no interest whatsoever in the elephants. But I still thought this was a nice photo.
On one of the paths we saw some sort of deer, which we were worried had somehow escaped the habitat. After it wandered away an employee came over looking for it. She figured out it was actually a native deer and not "one of ours". Still, a little weird to see it wandering around.
Benji really loved the baby animals. I wish we had found the nursery earlier in our visit.
i sincerely do not know what you are doing here. are you lost? were you
looking for your delicate calico cat, and did you follow her up two flights of stairs
to this room? she is not here. she was here, yes. we gave her a warm bowl of milk, we talked with her about campaign finance reform for a time, and then she bid us good day. i believe she was
going to the post office two blocks down, but i don't quite recall.
for surely you did
not find your way from prinsiana, the least traveled site on
the internet. if you did, though, perhaps you are looking for humor. perhaps you are looking for profundity. perhaps you are looking for answers.
i'm sorry, but you shall go naught-for-three.
