San Diego...Final Day and a Half!

So we kicked off our final full day in San Diego once again with rain but we took the ferry over to Coronado Island and to the Del Coronado to have brunch with my mom's cousin and his wife. She is the hotel manager there so they took us to brunch and then for a wonderful tour of the property.  They had put up their Christmas decorations a little early this year which was wonderful to see.  Here is the tree in the lobby, reminded me of Marshall Fields and the Walnut Room back in the day.

 Family picture with everyone after brunch in front of the tree!

 After the Del it started to clear up a little and we went to Old Town later in the afternoon, took a few pictures there but I thought this one was pretty..and the weather was starting to get nice so I could not resist.

 Here are Jared and I before we caught the ferry back to downtown from Coronado

 The last day we were there had the best weather so we got up early and headed to La Jolla since I had told the family it would be so much better seeing on a sunny day.  Here is a picture of all of the guys and beautiful background...

 Jared and I in La Jolla, so pretty wish we could have that view here in Texas!

 Just a few more pictures of the pretty view and the waves crashing against the shore.

 We also got to see many of the seals on the beach sunning themselves, it was very funny to see how they inch themselves up the beach.  There were also a lot of younger seals playing in the water which was pretty cute.

 More pretty pictures...

 Jared walked out on the pier where the waves kept crashing over...just before that the lifeguard had closed off half this area and he managed not to get too wet.

 Jared down by the rocks...he would have gone all the way in the water if it wasn't so cold.

 Nice picture of Mom and Dad. Everyone but me got Del Coronado sweatshirts since it was so cold while we were there.  We looked like a walking postcard at one point on the trip ;)

 One of the seals managed to get up on this rock below, as we were watching more came up but any other males were "barked" away by this seal since he was there first...

 After my parents left for the airport Jared and I walked down by the other ships in the harbour.  Tyler had called these the pirate ships the whole time.  They were pretty interesting and there was a submarine there too that had just been taken out of active duty last year. 

So long to San Diego, we had a wonderful time even though it was rainier and colder than we expected.  We were still able to see and do just about everything we planned and had a wonderful birthday trip with my family!!

Trip to San Diego...Part 2 - The Midway

The second and rainiest day in San Diego we spent touring the Midway, an old aircraft carrier ship that since being taken out of active duty has been open to the public for tours.  It was very cool and we all enjoyed it, most of the tour was inside with the final part being up on the flight deck. 

 Tyler and Jared getting their "assignments" for the day...haha! Ty did a great job listening to the self paced tour...just as long as we told him each number....

 This is for all my Purdue friends, could not resist taking the picture and thinking of Harry's...

 A few times throughout the trip there were opportunities to use a senior discount (which changed ages at all places we went...hmm), my dad was the only one old enough to use it on our trip to the Midway and here he is with his sticker although you can't see it too well.  We got him a membership which got in three guests for free, not sure that it will get used again but oh well.  Was pretty funny, his sticker says "VIP Member" - thought it was pretty funny! 

 Jared, Tyler and Dad ready to depart on some sort of mission....

 Tyler and Jared in another plane for yet another mission...

 Up on the flight deck there were a ton of planes  from old fighter jets to cargo planes and helicopters I think we could have left my dad up there all day...

 The Midway! We could see the three other aircraft carriers that are in active duty stationed at the Naval Base across the harbor, all were home for Thanksgiving so even though we couldn't get quite as close to those was cool to see so many at once. 

 My dad and I, although not the best picture ever...

 In case we fell over Jared and I could at least fit our heads through the life preserver together...of course Jared would pick up the life preserver and make us put our heads through...love you honey!!

 On our tour of the top portion of the boat, Tyler was used as the example and you can see how excited he was to be "steering" the boat and having his name called out by the tour guide.

 Jared as the "captain" or "co-captain" I can't remember which side we were on and which side was which...

 Ending our tour of the Midway...you may notice Tyler's bag in his pictures so he could carry all his brochures he collected along the trip with him...this was a drastically better option than the plastic bag he started the trip off with.  If some of you remember some things never change as I  used to bring Tyler brochures as his gift whenever I was traveling...

 My mom had given my dad the job of finding a gluten free birthday cake for our birthday celebration, he with the help of the concierge did a wonderful job and we got to eat this amazing flourless chocolate cake.  Even sprinkled with gold dust, they knew how special we are...or think we are!!

One more post to come of the final day and half of our trip...



Trip to San Diego...Part 1 - Zoo Day

Lots of animal pictures post ;)  Well our wonderful trip with my family to celebrate my mom's 60th birthday and my 30th birthday and of course Tyler's birthday as well which is Friday kicked off with a trip to the zoo.

We had a wonderful time despite the rain that San Diego was having, yeah I thought it never rained in Southern Cali either.  Oh well the first full day we were there it was cloudy but no rain so we hit the zoo. The San Diego zoo is somewhere I always wanted to go and didn't disappoint at all, it was amazing how close you could get to the animals and the surroundings and landscaping you always felt like you were in the forest or rain forest.  Something you must do the next time you head to San Diego!

First we rode the bus around to see where everything was....one of our first stops was the elephants, they look small here but man they were huge!

 A few flamingo's, often at the zoo you don't get to see them this colorful, I know it is all about what they eat but pretty none the less...

 We got right up close to the peacock, we could not get it to show us all of it's feathers but it sure was pretty to see the bright colors so close up!

 The gorilla exhibit was great as well there were quite a few in there, we figured out that this one i think is a mama and the other one next to her was probably her son or daughter, wanted to play with everyone but no one had much interest :)

 Wow were the hippos big, this was one of the best shots I could get since we were closest to their underwater party of the exhibit.  All the straw floating in the water, we soon found out what that was from and probably have a few pictures of that too but I will refrain from posting those ;)

 Now for my favorite, I have never seen a panda in person and always wanted to, their exhibit at the zoo had been redone and we were there for the first day of its unveiling.  They looked so serene, quite and laid back so strange that they are such solitary animals.

 Outside the panda exhibit there were murals that kids had painted, Tyler loved the dragons and wanted a picture by both of them!

 The Polar Bear exhibit was pretty neat too, here are Jared and Tyler poking through the ice with a seal!! 

 Here is a nice close up of the polar bear, he was waiting by this gate since they give them treats throughout the day through it, reminded me of Libby who always sits in the pantry waiting for a treat ;)  We also learned but didn't get to see that every week or month, can't remember which, they cover the whole polar bear exhibit in snow and bury treats in it for the bears, would have loved to seem them on that day!

 Throughout the trip to the zoo we relived many a Disney movies, mainly Lion King and Finding Nemo of course since we saw just about every animal from the movie and Tyler would explaining which animal they were, their Lion King name and then give a little description of them from the movie ;) Here is a good example of one...

 I also loved seeing the Koala's, another thing I don't think I have ever seen...they were so cute and we were all amazed to learn that they sleep almost 20 hours a day!  Most of the animals at the zoo were loving the cooler weather so we got to see them all quite well, this one though was one that I don't think liked it as they were all as close as they could be to the heat lamps!

 One of the various cats/mountain lions we saw on our trip, would hate to run into him in the wild. 

 Finally a little picture by the San Diego Zoo sign....more pictures to come of the next few days adventures but I figured this was enough for one post!



Kayla and Tyler Tie the Knot!!

I am so behind, started this post last week and now had a few extra minutes so I figured I would finish....

So I was not as great with the camera as I should have been this past weekend.  We had a wonderful time though in French Lick, Indiana for Kayla and Tyler's wedding.  The setting was a gorgeous old hotel and the bride could not have looked more beautiful! 

We kicked off the trip flying in late to Indy and got to see my good friends Val, Erin and Shannon on Thursday for lunch and then got to see Erin's house, meet her dog Bentley and do some shopping with Val.  It was a great time to see some of my girls and I wish it could happen more. 

This first picture is the bride, mother of the bride and most of the bridesmaids getting our nails done to kick off the weekend!  Chelsea got us these cute shirts made..aren't we so cute ;)

 Thursday night we did some bowling with all who were already in town for the wedding .  I am sad to say that looking through my pictures I don't think I have one of the groom!  This picture is the Seaman and Moore families together once again, I believe it has been quite some time since all in each family were together and it was great to see everyone!!

 Loved these cookies for the bride...and the groom to follow...I heard they were quite delicious too.  Wish I could eat wheat sometimes...

Not the best picture of Kayla but it shows off the beautiful dress she was wearing...oh my gosh and there are mom and sister helping her get ready :)

Of course my dear sister in law had the most amazing wedding shoes ever!!

Site of the rehearsal dinner was great an old barn in French Lick, was so pretty with her decor and bonus the scoreboard in the background was the one Larry Bird used when he grew up in French Lick.  Or at least that is what I think everyone said.

Jared and I at the rehearsal dinner...

Again, not very good with the camera so here is a pic of Jared an I at the wedding, was soo beautiful, the bride outdid herself with all the decor and prep!  A great wedding weekend, saw some great friends Mark and Heidi as well as lots of family who we often only see at Christmas, this year with two Burke family weddings we were lucky....so whose next?!?