Category: Notes

Three years after our country shut down, we went on our first vacation, for a week out in San Diego.

Finally getting out of Nevada made me a little sad about the time lost. But I was also grateful for the massive privilege to take a week off and not have to worry about it.

One big mental shift on this trip was my constant worry about time. Trying to optimize a trip is madness but I couldn’t help myself. I’m not sure what happened to the young man who spent a lovely spring afternoon on the Seine just reading Raymond Chandler. Maybe he’ll return one day.

Legoland

• Kids (just 9 and almost 5) loved it.
• It’s not a big park, but it took two days to get everything out of it.
• The second day was drizzly which worked great — shorter lines and the rainy day pledge means we get free admission for a day within the next year.
• What didn’t work great was the Technic rollercoaster. Totally not worth an hour wait.
• Pretty amazing to stumble across my childhood friend my first day at the park. It’s a small world.
• The boy was scared of some rides the first day, but then enjoyed them on the second day.

San Diego Safari Park

• Gorgeous views.
• Tons of walking.
• Make sure to visit the botanical gardens at the top of the park.
• Worth a day, definitely a great perk for locals who are already members of the main zoo, but wasn’t a highlight. Most likely way better for the animals than the humans.
• Wait until the Elephant Valley construction is completed before visiting if you’re out of town.
• Bring Binoculars.

San Diego Zoo

• Every bit as amazing as I remembered it.
• Even with the disappointment that the Great Pandas have been recalled back to China. (Fortunately I found out before we arrived).
• There was a long line for the tour bus in the morning. By the afternoon there was no wait. I presume it was the same dynamic for the Skyfari gondola.
• The was the only park we didn’t stay till closing time, only because they had extended hours to 7pm for Spring Break.
• Maybe next time I’ll bring some sketch books and we can draw some animals.
• Hopefully the next visit won’t be in such a rush, cause we’ve now seen most of it all.

La Jolla

• We got lucky with free admission to the Museum of Contemporary Art (2nd Sundays and 3rd Thursdays).
• Coming from a city without an art museum, it was amazing. But I’d have a hard time paying $25 per adult since the kids didn’t have much patience.
• Wrangling an 4 year old around priceless art is tiring. International travel is at least two or three years away.
• If you go to the museum, check out the Orange Wedge.
• Also check out Adriana Varejao’s disemboweled painting.
• Free parking in the city is a nice perk. Keep an eye out on the signs, every street has different rules for how long you can park.
• We got to walk through to tide pools at low tide. This was dumb luck as well.
• The momma seals and pups at the “Children’s Pool” are cute, even if you could only watch them from above since that area is closed between Dec 15-May 15 to protect the seals.
• Always good to revisit the Pacific Ocean.

COVID-19

• We’re still COVID cautious. Thankfully we got nary a side-eye for being masked up the whole trip.
• Recommend the 3M Aura and VFlex N95 masks. V-Flex comes in two sizes, and the smaller size was perfect for the kids. I’ll be curious how they feel when it gets warmer.
• We stayed at an AirBNB. Flushed out the house when we first arrived, including running a Corsi-Rosenthal box for the first night.
• Not eating out removed a decision point throughout the trip. Less fun, but simplified the travel.
• Our pattern was to have a big breakfast, get to the attraction, play till the 5pm close, eat a PBJ Sandwich in the car, and go home to cook a late dinner around 8 (or 9!) pm.
• We also kept Kind bars in the backpack.
• Since we didn’t eat out, getting an AirBNB near a supermarket was critical. We brought plenty of stuff from Vegas, but you always need something.
• I just realized that the Take and Bake Pizza from ALDI’s is the first non-frozen, non-home prepared meal we’ve had in 3 years.
• I didn’t go in, but my wife reported that ALDI’s isn’t all that. Very sparse, which explains the equally empty parking lot.
• It might be my bougie privilege speaking, but I appreciate that California charges for plastic bags. It’s long overdue to make these perks not-free so they aren’t freely wasted.
• As for illness, let’s see how things go in a week. So far so good, but given our long hibernation, I’m assuming we’re the freshest meat out there for all the latest germs out there (corona and otherwise).

Detour Home

• We took a detour home through the desert. Added an hour to the drive time.
• I love driving 2-lane highways. My wife was not amused.
• Not sure I’d do it in summer, it would be terrifying to have car trouble with that heat.
• There some cute shops in Joshua Tree and 29 Palms. Make sure to gas up in one of those two towns, it’s a lot of nothing after that. (And gas was cheaper than in San Diego!)
• I wish we stopped at the little Wonderland Books shop, but we were in tired, heading home mode.
• It was awesome to see the big restored Roy’s sign at Amboy. They’ve cleaned up the lobby. Worth a stop for a couple of pictures.
• The highlight of the detour was the Kelso Depot. The building is nicely restored and the National Park Staff were super friendly.
• Because we didn’t get gas at Joshua Tree, we had just enough gas to make it to Vegas, but had to refill before landing at home. It gave us one last ride — the kids’ first car wash. They squealed in delight.

With the free admission day in Legoland, we’re now pondering a summer visit. Might as well revisit the beach and Zoo. Add one day at Balboa Park and a visit to the New Children’s Museum (which we loved in 2019) and we’re back for another full week.

Some bureaucrat at the California Office of Tourism just earned her wings.