Thursday, December 11, 2008

San Diego

Our first family vacation with Spencer was a blast. We left last Thursday after work to go to San Diego. We broke up the trip by stopping in Primm, Nevada for the night (Primm is on the border of Nevada and California).Friday morning we drove to Escondido, where our condo is located. It was the Welk Resort and it was very beautiful there. Friday afternoon we went on a walk around the resort with a fussy Spencer. He finally fell asleep for a nap back at the condo. It was a nice little space for us. Out the kitchen door we had a beautiful view of the mountain and part of the golf course. The nicest thing about the condo was being able to cook instead of eat out. We took groceries from home so we really didn't spend money on food while we were down there. Friday night we had spaghetti (it was actually angel hair pasta but same thing).We went to do a little shopping for a couple things we forgot to pack and called it a night. Spencer slept through the night which was wonderful. Saturday morning we spent laying around and playing with Spencer. We packed a lunch and took off for the San Diego Zoo. It was a great day (lower 70's) and we had a lot of fun. We saw turtles, lizards, pandas, lions, tigers, bears, koalas (who had just had babies), flamingos, alligators, hippos, giraffes, elephants, lots of monkeys and birds, wallabies, pigs, and much more. Our favorite was the 100 year old turtles. They were a lot bigger than we thought they would be.Spencer did really good until it was time for his afternoon nap. But by then we were about ready to go so we went back to the condo. Mark went swimming while Spencer and I hung out watching movies and getting some good floor time in. Spencer slept through the night again getting our hopes up that a pattern is starting. Sunday morning we headed into town to go to church. We forgot to grab our map of the city so we passed the exit by about five miles. We turned around and found the church at 9:15. We walked in and found a Spanish speaking ward in the chapel. Mark asked a few people in the hall when the next English speaking ward would be. The Spanish ward had started at 8 and the English ward would start at 10.Now, normally I would have freaked out about being late and coming to a Spanish ward but I had just read Elder Worthlin's last talk on laughing about life (we will miss Elder Worthlin but know he is in a better place). So, we decided to make it a good memory. The testimony meeting was one of the best we have been to in a long time. We went back to the condo and hung out around the resort the rest of the day. While on vacation we got some great pictures of Spencer. This is one of my favorites. Sunday afternoon we went swimming as a family.We had the pools pretty much to ourselves and Mark really enjoyed the 140 foot slide. He was going down it just as much as the little kids were. We met a really nice family from Rhode Island that has three boys. It was fun for me to think about how Spencer will grow up to be like them. Spencer had another good night so we were ready to have a great day at Sea World. The weather was a little overcast but it never rained and the park was pretty empty so we could really enjoy it. At the park we saw of course Shamu (the whale), dolphins, sea lions, otters, octupus, star fish, Nemo (clown fish), Dorie (Nemo's friend), sharks, sting rays, polar bears, bulga whales (white whales), clidesdales, penguins, and much more. The flamingos were all born and raised at Sea World and go for a daily walk around the park. Mark really liked the polar bears because he had never seen one before. After seeing all of the shows we took a short drive to go see the ocean. It was a little cold so Spencer and I stayed in the car. On our way back to the resort we stopped at the temple.They had a very simple nativity out on the lawn but it was very beautiful. The temple is literally a stone's throw away from the freeway. I loved to think of the thousands of people who drive past it. The rest of the trip we stayed at the resort. Mark took a free golf class and then did 18 holes of golfing. I enjoyed one more trip to the hot tub. Spencer enjoyed his first shower while on the trip (Sorry, no pictures). Our drive back on Wednesday went very well. It took about 6 1/2 hours to get home. We really enjoyed our time together and hope to make another trip next year.Since coming home we have been working hard to catch up at work. We are getting excited for Christmas in two weeks. Until next time...

1 comment:

The Adams Family said...

You sound like you had lots of fun! I'm glad you got to be together as a family and have fun! That's also great that Spencer slept through the night.