So I thought I give you the details of our trip, we took so many pictures with our new camera I think people thought Rob was the paparazzi chasing me and Cooper around California.
We began our journey last Sunday when we got Cooper out of his crib at 5am to tuck him into his car seat, pjs and all to head off to the airport. It was then that he popped his head up after realizing we were not safe and snug in bed anymore and the entertaining began. That child almost got whip lash from whizzing his head left and right, back and forth the whole trip to see where he was, what he was doing, who was near him and who he could charm. And charm he did. On the plane all he wanted to do was look around, get held up to see over the seats to see all the people. Going to CA, he did sleep well on my lap and we seemed to make it there very quickly. The only real adjustment I needed for family travel vs single business travel was the HUGE amount of stuff I had with me. Oh Lord I OVERPACKED! I had way too much stuff for fear of running out plus the stroller, car seat, car seat base etc.
We arrived in San Diego around 1pm, got our rental car and headed for downtown. We checked into the lovely Hotel Solimar which was hip, new and had one of those oversized beds that feel like you are falling into a cloud when you lay down. I had a trade show to do from Sunday - Wednesday so as I worked those days (and nights...you know us crazy exhibitors, we are always running dinners and giving out free drinks!) Rob and Cooper walked the downtown area most days and Cooper was more than happy to sit in the back of his car seat as Rob drove him around the San Diego area as Rob re-aquainted himself with his old stomping grounds. They drove to Coronado, Rob checked out the old training areas he trained as a Marine. I know Rob didn't feel like it was 20 years ago that he lived there, I could tell he thought it was like yesterday that he was an 18 year old New Hampshire kid in the Marine Corp exploring life in San Diego but every night when he dropped into bed after caring for an 8 month old, he remembered he was closer to 40 than 20 anymore. Cooper ate up the attention though and is starting to favor his daddy's company more than anyone else's these days.
In between working, I did squeeze in a trip with them to Old Town where we visited the old church Rob was interested in going back to and that is were my guacamole obsession began. Anything with fresh CA avacado on it, I would eat it! We also visited the USS Midway and the park surrounding area that was in walking distance from our hotel and of course we ate seafood all along the waterfront.
The weather was cool for June and the locals called it June Gloom where the mornings were cool and misty but the sun would come out around noon. Temps in the high 60's, low 70's most days
Wednesday night with work done, we headed up to La Jolla and stayed there until Sunday. It was so nice to drive north and see the hills, mountains, and oh yes...traffic. I forgot how bad the freeways could be and Tiger Woods was in La Jolla at the same time for the US Open so Torrey Pines Road where our hotel was was always crowded on the way up to the US Open.
In La Jolla we visted seal beach and ate AMAZING sushi, the locals were so great there and so happy to share great resturants, sightseeing spots etc.
Thursday we visted the zoo and it was nice to walk around all day outside and not be a sopping mess. Life without humidity we Floridians forget can be so nice! After the zoo we went to Coronado Island and sat facing the beautiful San Diego skyline. Crazy locals behind us were feeding the birds....you know how I feel about hords of birds..ack! Cooper didn't care of course and loved to be out playing on the grass. Every chance we got to take him out of the stroller and let him roll around, we did.
Friday we visted Camp Pendleton and Rob got us on base and showed us where he lived and trained before his 18 months at sea. All I could see was mountains (where they made him "live in the mud with the bugs, rats, snakes" as he says) and in the distance where the fake Iraqi village was, I could see smoke where "crazy Marines blow stuff up". That is how I summed up Camp Pendleton.
After Camp Pendleton, we drove up to San Clemente and walked the shops, ate of course and took Cooper to the beach. I forgot also in CA that the hills are sometimes steep and our walk to the beach became a hike for us. Cooper did love the water at first, the he did cry when we kept putting him back in the water and it really was too cold since we are used to much warmer water.
Saturday we started off the day thinking we would just enjoy our last day at the beach or sitting in a park, but after Cooper starting napping on our journey south of La Jolla I began to convince Rob we needed to have lunch in Tiajuana. "It's so close, it's 11am on a Sat, it's safe" I whined. So...before you knew it...we were crossing the border and fresh guacomole was on my lunch table! Rob of course gave all our money away to the "chicklet kids" selling gum or begging and I myself gave food off our table a little begging girl who told me she was hungery. We were propositioned more than once to come buy over the counter Viagra, Prozac and other good drugs from the large "Pharmacias".
Cooper loved the music, the colors and the high energy of Tiajuana and as I promised Rob, right after lunch we were back on the US side before 1:30pm. It is truley sad to see such terrible conditions for children to live it and we were just at the touristy border spots, I can't imagine how the real Tiajuana is. In true Ann-Marie fashion, in the end I was annoyed at the customs area and thought the whole thing needed to be re-organized as we waited with local Mexicans trying to get to the US. If you were listening in on our conversation, you also would have heard me telling Rob "don't touch the railings or anything" as I wiped us down with antibacterial soaps. (In my defense, the people standing around us looked like they had pink eye!)
We relaxed that afternoon away back in the wonderful USA in a park in Coronado. Cooper practiced crawling and did push ups as you can see!
Sunday morning came fast and we were back in the air...this time Cooper didn't sleep hardly at all and entertained everyone he could find. Flight attentants would pass our row and sing "Hi Cooper" as he waived and yelled "aaaaahhhh bba ba ba ba" to anyone who would look his way!
It was a great week and a great way to start off June and the summer season!
