The family took a spring break trip to San Diego, where they visited several attractions including the USS Midway, San Diego Zoo, SeaWorld, and Torrey Pines State Park. They enjoyed eating local seafood, applying sunscreen each morning, watching the scenery from the plane windows, and walking on moving walkways at Ralph's grocery store. Aubrie especially loved climbing trees and exploring the different plants. The trip concluded with a shuttle ride to the airport, and everyone agreed they had a great time.

1. San Diego 2018
Spring break: 3/26 – 3/30

2. First in flight
Monday
On the plane
This was the kids’ first
airplane flight, so they
relished sitting by the
window seats and
watching the scenery
below. Thanks to mom for
selecting these seats. We
brought our own ham and
cheese sandwiches for
lunch.

3. Flying 2 x 2
Monday
On the plane
 Aubrie sat by Ginger and Aidan sat by me.
This allowed Aidan and I to watch SC2 vids
that I had downloaded to the computer, to
Ginger’s dismay. Most of the time, Aidan
played Zelda and Mario Kart on his Nintendo
Switch.

4. Midway to Midway
Monday
USS Midway
 Our point of departure was
Midway International Airport
and our first destination upon
landing in San Diego was the
USS Midway. This was also the
first of many family selfies,
which established a pattern for
the rest of the trip.

5. Seafood by the Sea
Monday
Patio of Point Loma’s Seafood
 When in San Diego, eat
seafood. Point Loma Seafood’s
crab and shrimp cocktail was
delicious. But even better
was….(see next slide)

6. Friendly foliage
Monday
Outside Point Loma’s Seafood
 …the different kinds of foliage and fauna.
Pictured here, you see the smooth bark of a
local tree. Aubrie, especially, loved all the
different kinds of trees, and insisted on
climbing palm trees and bamboo trees
everywhere we went.

7. Sunscreen
Tuesday
Our hotel room in Best Western Mission Bay
 Every day, we engaged in the daily ritual of
applying ghost screen, I mean sun screen.
Ginger lathered it on and I can safely say
none of us got sun burned. Aidan’s being
ticklish made this a highly anticipated event
each morning.

8. Friendly foliage
part deux
Tuesday
San Diego zoo
 On Tuesday, we toured the
world-famous San Diego zoo.
You would think the first
picture would be of a giraffe
or panda, but we took more
pictures of the plants,
including this spiky plant
behind us. Aidan hand-tested
to make sure the spikes really
were sharp.

9. Curb your enthusiasm
Tuesday
San Diego zoo
 In lieu of the sidewalk built for humans to
walk on, Ginger and the kids took every
opportunity to walk on curbs or keeled-over
trees.

10. Finally, an animal
 There’s Ling Ling or Long Ling
or insert Chinese sounding
name here in the upper left of
the photo. So yes, we did see
animals. Aubrie’s favorite,
hands down, was the American
mallard that photo bombed
almost every exhibit (not
pictured).

11. An evening climb
Tuesday
A block from the coast
 Undaunted by the tree’s natural protection,
Aubrie seeks purchase. Since she couldn’t
climb the tree, she did the next best thing
and plucked a piece of bark as a souvenir.

12. It all goes downhill
from here
Tuesday
On the moving walkway outside
Ralph’s
 The highlight of the entire trip
was walking furiously in the
opposite direction of the
moving walkways outside of
Ralph’s, a local grocery store. If
there is a reason to return to
San Diego, this is it!

13. Not Wet and Wild
Wednesday
Sea World, Dolphin Days
 I admire the pluck of our kids
sitting in the ‘splash zone,’
which Ginger thought
should’ve been called the
‘soak zone’ since you get
drenched by the sea animals.
Clearly, you can see where I
(and Ginger) sat that we
weren’t as big fans. The kids
managed to avoid getting
soaked.

14. Take out your dry skin
Wednesday
Sea World, fish pool
 The highlight of Day 3 was, as usual, not
written anywhere on the itinerary. The kids
got a chance to get their hands nibbled
on by dead-skin-eating fish. Wouldn’t
these be great to have in our sinks?
Everyone would want to wash their hands.

15. Best food
Wednesday
Embargo Grill
 I’d have to say Aidan’s choice
of Caribbean Curry Stew was
superb. What set it apart was
the gravy and the lamb. I
should have snuck in a bite or
two. Clearly, Aidan wouldn’t
have noticed.

16. Beach or bust
Thursday
North of Glider Park in Torrey Pines
 In the morning, we visited the Glider
Park where locals paraglide. Aubrie was
determined to see the beach and led
our group (sans me) down a steep path
that got her halfway down to the
beach.
 In the afternoon, we kayaked in
doubles (Aidan and Ken and Ginger
and Aubrie) in La Jolla bay.
 Pros: seeing leopard sharks, jellyfish
and eels swim underneath our kayaks.
 Cons: wearing helmets and (Ken)
throwing up lunch (Indian buffet) over
the kayak. However, the latter turned
out to be a pro because Ginger
thought Aidan deserved to go see
‘Ready Player One’ for putting up with
dad and paddling him home.

17. Li’s in the Mist
Friday
Torrey Pines State Park
 The finale was hiking along the
California coast line in Torrey Pines
State Park. I’m not sure what Ginger is
doing here, but it’s her best selfie so it’s
worth showing.
 After the hike, Aubrie made sure to
make her way to the beach and pick up
sea shell fragments.

18. Au revoir San Diego
Friday
Shuttle to the airport
 Our last selfie on the shuttle from the rental
car center to the Southwest airline terminal.
 Everyone had a great time. I know because
Aubrie was mad at me for planning the trip.
If you understand Aubrie’s psychology, you’ll
understand that’s a compliment.