Zoo is the truth. Visit it. Get a membership. Visit it a few times.
Yes! The carousel started running again that week at Balboa Park after a six month rehabilitation. What a gem! Gorgeous carvings. It has character, which the carousel at Legoland lacks.
unfortunately, the miniature train at Balboa Park, is uneXceptional.
We’ll be back next March and with another set of 2-day passes to Legoland. (They charge almost nothing for the second day, aside from the $30 parking charge.)
Visit the ships at the Maritime Museum. It’s awesome. We spent all day (without even taking the harbour tour). I could not imagine packing myself with a bunch of dudes to explore the world. I hope to return ten years later when they’ll be old enough to savor the exhibits. They also enjoyed the park across the street.
Unimaginably bigger is the Midway Aircraft Carrier. After the Maritime Museum closed, we walked to this ship and holy hell, that thing is massive. We’ll visit in five years when both kids are old to understand its enormity.
The years as a project manager of large construction projects taught me the value of money. What we saw ain’t cheap, forty or four hundred years ago.
Several active warships were docked across the bay. Super-empire!
Regrettably, the kids (five and nine) aren’t old enough to enjoy art museums. But that’s not so disappointing when it’s a small free jewel box like the Timken Museum of Art.
Quirky Spanish Village Art Center was also fun, but nerve-wracking while manhandling a five year old to keep him from touching everything.
Preferably, art should be touched, but that’s not my call in someone else’s studio.
On the other hand, you can touch the art at the New Children’s Museum. Not cheap ($76 for the four of us), but the Whammock! by Toshiko Horiuchi MacAdam is worth every penny. My daughter is aging out of the museum, so it was a bittersweet visit.
Nighttime festivities at the zoo freed me to wander Balboa Park on my own for two nights (we only bought one adult membership for my wife since it came for coupons for my entries).
Mingei International Museum was cool. High craft meets high art. Next time I’ll pay to peruse the second floor gallery.
Lovely to hang out at the May S. Marcy Sculpture Court and Garden. I sketched a few sculptures, eavesdropped on a couple of conversations, and enjoyed the evening as the sun set.
Kicking it on the the stairs in front of the Timken Museum was a joy as a group of youngsters danced to a bluetooth speaker. I miss living in a real city.
Jump! One young fellow was lying on the ground. As a middle aged fool, I assumed he was stretching his back. He suddenly twisted himself upside down in a flash.
I enjoyed a couple of hours at the Natural History museum. I wasn’t into the taxidermy, but stared for a while at bones and hand-drawn botanical illustrations.
How did he grow up so fast? After the zoo closed, we checked out a moth event outside the Natural History museum. The boy asked great questions for the entomologist. I didn’t realize he was so fluent in English.
Go to the Fleet Science Center. (According to my coworker who grew up in San Diego)
For $229, the Balboa Park annual pass (2 adults and 4 kids) is a no-brainer in future visits.
Even though the AirBNB was in a great location, it was a little grimy. But we had a place to sleep and cook for a week at a reasonable price. It came with fleas.
Dogs! But the landlord’s dogs were super cute. Our boy Drew During our waits for Dinner. I also started watching Bluey with the kids. It’s Dang great!
Cute library alert! Vegas libraries are big community centers, so it fun to check out the little University Heights public library. I found a Mutts alphabet book and an illustrated copy of Kipling’s Just So Stories.
Bordertown Primm has a dead Outlet Mall on the way home. There are only two stores still open with the rest filled with murals. The only reason it hasn’t been abandoned is because it’s attached to a casino. I hope it stays alive, it’s the best rest stop, clean, unused, and air conditioned. Especially since the claw machine gave us a Pickachu for $1!
A week away from podcasts and writing, though I sketched a little. Before the trip, I suspected that I needed a break. In retrospect I sorely needed it. If you’re not sure, take one.
