Weekend Recap: San Diego Food Fest

To celebrate Joe's mom's birthday we thought it would be fun to do a weekend getaway to San Diego. First on the agenda was the Great American Food Festival! There were a ton of food trucks, and we wound up getting a bunch of different kinds of grilled cheese and some portabello sliders. In my opinion though, the standout star was definitely the fried ice cream, which was surrounded by a layer of cake, then battered, fried, and topped with caramel and whip cream. Soooo good! 

After we were completely stuffed we still had some time to kill before we could check into our hotel so we stopped by an outdoor mall to wander around for a bit. Ez got his hands on a yellow school bus and a yellow beetle van which his grandma kindly bought for him. After that he pretty much refused to part with them for the rest of the trip. Usually he likes to hold our hand when we're walking, but there was no way he was giving up one of his toys for that! I especially love the photo of Ez driving his car over Joe's head ;) 

We got a great deal on a hotel right on the water, with absolutely gorgeous views. Ez was mesmerized by a giant cruise ship blowing it's horn as it went past. He was also obsessed with collecting rocks and throwing them in the ocean. He is a master of cheap, simple entertainment and I'm definitely not complaining!

On Sunday we walked to breakfast then went to the zoo. All kinds of animals recently had babies, which I think is why the crowds were huge that day. The only baby actually out and about was the gorilla, who was sleeping on his mom's back as she wandered around grazing. It was so cute! We also saw some baby ducklings. And, of course, there were Ez's favorite: the elephants! Or Elba, as he calls them. 

After the zoo we got some lunch, and, of course, we couldn't leave SD without a stop by Extraordinary Desserts. This time I tried the coconut cake, and it did not disappoint. Ez was a fan as well.

All in all a fun, yummy weekend! How was your weekend? Hope you had a great one!

San Diego Overnight Trip

We decided spontaneously to head to San Diego for an overnight trip last Saturday. We didn't have too much on the agenda other than to spend Sunday at the zoo. And, of course, no trip to SD is complete without a trip to Extraordinary Desserts. In fact we didn't even bother checking into out hotel first. We got a raspberry Danish and a creme brûlée bun. As always, they did not disappoint:

After dessert we ran off some energy at a park across the street - home of the bump tree ;) Ez had a great time collecting sticks, swinging, and trying to keep up with the bigger kids on the slide.

Afterward we checked in then walked around some shops by the water and got some dinner. No hotel stay is complete without testing out the bounciness of the bed.

On Sunday we walked to Little Italy for breakfast at this cute little cafe with really fresh food. Ez thought it was hilarious to pretend eating an orange rind and tried to feed it to Daddy.

And because I'm pregnant and it was vacation, we decided dessert after breakfast was in order: 

Our hotel promised a bayside view, and while we could see the water, Ez was most excited to be able to see the airplanes land. His little face was plastered to the window for a good part of the morning, yelling out airplane (ah-pa!). 

After breakfast, and dessert, and airplanes, it was time for the zoo. We got so lucky while we were there. Most of the animals were napping with their backs to us when we got to their exhibit, and then a few times Ez would make an animal sound and the animals would get up, turn around, and walk over closer to get a drink of water. The lion didn't turn around, but he did start bellowing (or whatever sound territorial male lions make) for a few minutes. I tried to get it on video, but all I got were people talking instead. 

Another way we were really lucky is that I left my purse at the table after lunch, and after walking (uphill) to the polar bear exhibit, I realized it was gone and we frantically rushed back, asked around, and found it turned in at a gift shop with everything still inside. I'm so so thankful to whoever found it. 

And then yet another way we got really lucky was with the weather. It was cool and overcast all day, with promises of rain. At one point Joe, Ez, and I stepped inside a family restroom to change Ez's diaper, and all of a sudden we heard a torrential downpour. We walked out and everything was soaked, there were puddles everywhere, and everyone had their hoodies on, but the rain had stopped. And that was it for the rain that day. So crazy how much water came down in such a short amount of time, and that we managed to completely miss it. 

Compared with all our previous zoo trips, Ez was definitely a lot more excited to see the animals and practice his animal sounds this time around. Elephant sounds and the elephants were by far his favorite, though he stared at the orangutans and the polar bear for quite awhile too.  My favorites were the red panda, who was being super adorable and napping with his paw draped over his head, as well as the otters, who paused to stare up at us for a little bit, and the mountain lion, which has never been out and about when I visited the zoo before. After a full day of walking at the zoo (about 5 miles according to Joe's pedometer) we headed home, got some takeout, and snuggled on the couch watching Walking Dead while it rained outside. Perfect end to a perfect weekend. Well, except for Ez's tiny little clothing issue, which I mentioned in my last post ;)

It's the Little Things: Spontaneous Wanderings

Exploring UCSD

Last weekend we decided last minute to take a mini getaway to San Diego. We spent Saturday night down there and went with absolutely no agenda. Aimlessly wandering is our favorite way to travel. We made little stops along the way to our hotel, stopping once at a pumpkin patch/petting zoo (more on that later), and then deciding at the last minute we'd like to check out UCSD's campus. We love wandering around college campuses, and UCSD is really pretty. We ate lunch at their food court, and Ezzy signed in on a giant white board. The highlight (for Ez) was a meandering stream flowing down a hill near the student center, complete with mini water falls. Ez squealed when he saw the running water. After UCSD we checked in at our hotel (the one bad part of spontaneously traveling is we did not research our hotel nearly enough - definitely wouldn't ever stay there again). 

We dropped off our stuff and headed right back out the door for sweets at Extraordinary Desserts. We discovered this place on our last San Diego trip, and if you're ever in the area I highly recommend stopping by. There's often a line spilling out the door onto the sidewalk, but we got lucky and there were only a few people in front of us. By the time we sat down on the patio, the line was out the door again. This time we got a nectarine torte and an apple pie. Soooo delicious.

There was a park right across the street and we thought it'd be a good idea to let Ez run off all that sugar. He made a few runs down the slide, but he was most interested in a red motorcycle parked nearby. He kept squealing and pointing at it, so we walked over there. I'm pretty sure that was the highlight of his day. He is such a boy.

We wound up at Seaport Village as the sun was starting to set. We'd never been there before, but it's a really cute little shopping and dining area right on the water. Ez loved pointing out the boats floating by, and a helicopter kept flying over us, which is pretty mesmerizing if you're a little boy. We wandered around there until it got dark. One of my favorite parts of the trip was when Ez decided he didn't want to hold our hands, so he backed away slyly from Joe, fell down, then hopped back up and started dancing, like he was saving face and it was all part of the dance. A lady standing nearby started cracking up. Which of course ensured that the dance party continued every few steps. Joe got a little video:

The next morning we woke up, checked out, and ate some brunch al fresco. The weather was so nice all weekend, mid 70s and sunny. Afterward we visited the maritime museum, and then we went across the street to a park/splash pad. It was seriously one of the best parks I've ever seen. Not only do they have the splash pad, which Ez beelined for, but they had this cool hill covered in that cushiony playground flooring, and it had some boulders to climb on, a curvy balance beam with balls, a few slides, and some arches to climb up and down the really steep side. It was such a great layout for kids to get a workout without even realizing it. They also had some fun old school equipment: a seesaw and merry go round, as well as a really high tech looking playground. If we lived in the area I'd definitely be there on a weekly basis. Here's a little video of Ez at the splash pad:

Afterward Ez was exhausted, so we made the trek back home, and Ez slept almost the entire way (2 hours). 

Linking up with Ashley and Jess for their Little Things linkup!

Our Weekend: A Sailor in the Making

Another Monday comes too soon. 

You know how lately everyone is talking about Fall this and pumpkin that? Well usually I'm over here drenched in sweat, drinking my iced tea and just wishing the temps would drop to the low 90s. But guess what, guys? The temps dropped all the way to the 70s. That's about as Fall as it gets in Southern California. So clearly I was a happy camper this weekend. Also, we went on a mini getaway to San Diego and had so much fun exploring. Somehow we managed to cram a lot of stuff into a little overnight trip, so expect more posts and photos coming up.

I know a maritime museum sounds like a kinda "eh" activity for a toddler, but when the museum is actually 4 ships and a submarine that you get free reign to wander around, it's basically toddler paradise. Ez was so fascinated watching the boats on the water (especially the fast ones) that he practiced saying boat over and over. And by saying, I really mean screaming. Cause that's his new thing, screaming his favorite words over and over in excitement, and then looking at us with a really satisfied grin. You can't help but tell him how great he's doing, even if all his words sound like, "Bleuahh!!" Here's a little video of Ez spotting boats, which may have been his favorite part of the whole trip:

One of the ships had a mini ship set up for kids to play on, and this lady got so excited when she saw Ez, and asked if we could please, please put him on the mini ship cause it was just his size and would be so cute. Cute photo op? Don't have to ask us twice. We're on it! Here's a little video of a somewhat tipsy Captain Ez steering his ship:  

The submarine was really interesting to check out, but definitely not anywhere you'd want to be if you're even the slightest bit claustrophobic. Just getting around that thing while 4 other girls were also looking around was like trying to solve a rubiks cube. "I'll stand in this corner while you squeeze by me so we can switch places in two feet of space..." basically it was a chaotic mess. And there were only about 6.5 people on the boat. So I was pretty surprised that a crew of 46 was normally wandering around that thing. I imagine everyone pretty much hunkered down at their station and stayed put for the majority of the time. Not exactly how I'd want to spend weeks at a time.

So that was a little slice of our weekend. How was yours? Hope you explored lots of fun places and spent QT with the fam :)