neal family adventures: San Diego: Because after all that desert, there had better be an ocean

San Diego was perhaps the most anticipated part of the trip for me. Visiting with family has been great and certainly the best part. However, as I've always said about the desert (which I didn't think I'd actually ever drive through) after all that sand there had better be an ocean at the end and lo and behold — the Pacific. We got in about 4pm and settled in. After what felt like an eternity to Lea and slightly less to me we headed to the pool while Dan handled some Daddy things (getting his phone straightened out after dipping it in the hot tub in Vegas). The pool was a bit chilly, but the ocean was down right frigid. Also lined with seaweed. We still went out in the waves. In the Neal fashion, we never swam in the heat of the day and we never ate further than two blocks from our hotel. All the fine dining options in SoCal and we ate at the same Taco stand two nights in a row. We just couldn't stand to leave the beach.

The first night I forgot my camera (a true testament to how excited I was to be at the beach). So there are no pictures of Dan. Lea and I splashing in the waves. There is no picture of the food shack called Dan's Burgers that was NEVER open. It's windows were open and a sign was perched next to the ordering station the first night that said "Back at 7:20" — well, it was 7pm. We pondered the business decision to close at dinner time. But it worked out. We ate at the taco shack across the courtyard from Dan's and the first night I had a much anticipated fish taco (fish was good, but I didn't like the sauce because I don't like tartar sauce) and the next night I had a burrito California style — Now why may I ask is the famous food from this part of the country a fish taco when they are serving burritos California style? I had one at the zoo and one at our taco shack. What is California style you may ask? Kale? Wheat Grass? Even avocado maybe? No. FRENCH FRIES AND CHEESE SAUCE IN THE BURRITO! Why has this not swept the country? It was delicous! This fish taco conundrum is what gives Califorina a bad wrap — that and $4.50 gas! The next night Dan (my Dan, not the mysterious burger guy) went on a fishing boat at 5:30 so Lea and I were on our own for dinner and she requested the same taco shack. Dan's burgers was all boarded up, not even the pretense of a future open time.

The water in San Diego was cold, but nothing compared to the air after dark. San Diego certainly makes its money selling sweat shirts to unsuspecting tourist who expect the beach in the middle of June to be warm day AND night. I am surprised at how much of this country lives its life under 90 degrees. I thought everyplace was hot in the summer. Minnesota gets hot and Texas gets hot so I figured that was a fair sampling of the country. The West is much cooler than I expected.

So we swam, we froze, we dodged giant seaweed forests crashing in the waves and we ate tacos and nachos.

The next day we headed out to the famous San Diego Zoo. That's how they announce it at the ticket desk, the train and signs: the famous San Diego zoo. I don't argue. I admit I've been dreaming of the San Diego zoo since I saw Jack Hannah's predecessor on the Johnny Carson show when I was Lea's age. It was just odd for them to remind us they were famous. The zoo was pretty amazing. A lot of walking, but bears, bears and more bears. Polar, Sun, Brown, Black and Koala. They had Panda bears but we waited until the end of our trip and couldn't spend 45 minutes in line to see them and Dan make his fishing boat and Lea and I make church. We'd seen a lot.

We headed back to the hotel and Dan dropped us off about 10 blocks from our hotel to go to church and walk back (swim suits under our dresses) and he headed off to his boat.Dan caught 4 rock fish about 8 to 12 inches (which we ate at his mom's and they were delicious). Lea and I had a surf skipping, seaweed flinging, burrito eating walk back to our hotel.

The next morning we packed up and ate on the beach again at a very yummy beach stand. Then we started to leave, but stopped by Seal Rock (not convenient btw). On the drive out through La Jolla On the road we had, a Rolls Royce behind, and. Lincoln, Lexus and Mercedes around us. Even the Home Health care vehicle was a Fiat.

Surfer hotel. Right on the beach, just cross the sidewalk.

A view of the pool and the ocean.

Breakfast before the zoo. Playing Go-fish-sugar-packet edition. Played across the country, invented in Vegas with the cousins.

Orientation as we start the zoo visit.

Lea guiding us to the Polar bears.

Polar bears!

Lots of statues and things to read before we actually got to the polar bears.

Finally, polar bears. Three in the enclosure: one playing, one swimming, one resting in the shade.

Arctic fox. I told Lea to lean her head into the photo and got this cute literal interpretation.

OH MY GOSH! Mommy on the sky gondola. It wasn't the worst thing, but I had a very tight grip on that center pole.

Family selfie way above the San Diego zoo.

Dipping Dots ice cream after a California style burrito.

bus tour to see much of what we had walked 3 hours to see.

Bus tour

Bears from the bus tour. We saw grizzly and black bears saw well as sun, polar and koala bears.

Baby giraffe a week old.

More family photos. The person I asked to take this was not clear that I wanted the sign next to us, not just a family portrait next to the bathrooms.

From here dan went fishing and Lea and I went to church and walked back to the hotel along the beach.

Mission beach pier

Beach

Walking in the surf, more friendly people taking our photo. These people offered instead of being guilted into service.

LOTS of seaweed at mission beach. huge clumps of seaweed floating in the waves. Lea got caught up in it once and got a bit freaked out. It did not stop her from wanting to go back in.

Sunset on the beach.

Burrito California style (French fries and cheese sauce!)

This is our dining choices in the morning. Ice cream/sno cones, El Gordo taco stand and the ever-closed Dan's burgers.

Lea flinging sand. She enjoys trying to fill the ocean back up, or dig a new one.

SAN DIEGO!

At sunset

Lea's hole she dug. She called it her dam and was disappointed the surf did not come up to it to fill it up. She did try to fill it up one bucket at a time.

Sand!

Pool before bed.

It was a bit chilly.

Pool. It was supposed to close at 9 but that was not well enforced.

For breakfast the morning we left, Lea and I went into the ocean one last time. Then breakfast we couldn't tear ourselves away from the beach. This place was right out side the beach access door to our hotel.