Daddio relented and agreed to a California beach trip this summer. All the girls (including me) were so happy as we were wanting beach time. It was decided that we would make a trip to Carlsbad, CA and spend some time on the beach and doing some other fun things in the beautiful weather of Southern California. Here is the breakdown of our trip:
Monday, July 7th-
Marc, Sophia, & I headed out in the morning to drive to California. It was an easy drive, not too long. We checked into our hotel in Carlsbad around 3:00 or so then decided to get some dinner a bit later while we waited for Audrey and Graces delayed flight into San Diego. Before dinner, we drove around and scouted out a beach location for the next day. We decided on Tamarak Surf Beach. This was the same beach that Sharrell Price (my good friend) and I took Sophia and Madi (Sharrell’s daughter) last year for their 16th birthday girls trip). We then grabbed a bite at Chick-fil-A and watched Audrey and Graces flight get delayed longer and longer. They finally arrived around 9:30 (instead of 6:00). We headed back to the hotel for a good nights sleep before hitting the beach the next day.
Tuesday, July 8th-
Beach Day! We woke up and had some free hotel breakfast then headed to the beach. Marc surprised us by deciding to stay the day with us at the beach (not his favorite place to spend the day). We got a great parking spot and went to work setting up our canopy tent for our long day at the beach. The weather was beautiful and the water cold. I spent most of my time enjoying the sights, sounds, and smell of the ocean. It is one of my happy places. I enjoyed snacks, reading, visiting with my awesome family, and watching Audrey, Grace, and Sophia have fun together. We used Door Dash (per Audrey’s suggestion) to have lunch delivered so we did not have to worry about losing our great parking spot. I love the many conveniences that technology provide. 🙂 Sophia and I did a good job with our sunscreen and finished our day with no sunburns! Marc, Audrey, and Grace were a bit worse off at the end of the day. The rest of the trip was a bit uncomfortable (to say the least). Marc’s lower legs and feet were horribly burned. I did the driving the next few days of our trip. Audrey, Grace, and Marc kept up on the aloe and Ibuprofen to keep moving along. We have been home for over a week and Marc’s burn is now starting to peel and he says he is pretty much healed up with no pain anymore. What a way to start a vacation. They all kept up with positive spirits though and did not let their sunburns dampen the fun still to be had for the rest of the week. Here are some photos of our first day together at the beach.
We finished the evening with a Costco pizza in our hotel room, showers, and aloe vera gel. HAHA!
Wednesday, July 9th-
Wednesday we revisited the Birch Aquarium at Scripps in La Jolla, CA. Marc and I took the kids here when they were very little. It was before Sophia was born and Carson was still in a stroller. It was a fun morning seeing different types of sea life and enjoying the fantastic ocean view.
I am so happy that my adult children still amuse me with their obedience. LOL! Good sports. It’s fun vacationing with grown children. I do not have to count heads every 30 seconds and have eyes on them at all times… also, they buy their own souvenirs. #WIN
After our outing at the aquarium, we got some lunch at BJ’s. The girls had never eaten there before. It was delicious. Then we headed back to the hotel. Marc opted to rest and the girls and I headed to Carlsbad Village to check out the restaurants and shops. We hit a local farmers market and visited my favorite acai bowl restaurant. YUMMY! We also got a treat at the strawberry shack. So many choices!
We all enjoyed going out to eat sushi that night for dinner, then stopped by a local ice cream shop for a yummy treat.
Thursday, July 10-
NEWPORT BEACH TEMPLE! We had a beautiful day driving a distance to the Newport temple since the San Diego temple is under renovation. We did baptisms as a family then found a yummy taco place to eat lunch afterwards. Once back at the hotel, the girls and I decided on another afternoon on the beach while Marc opted to rest in the hotel and nurse his terrible sunburned legs and feet. It was a beautiful day. We ended the day picking up some Jack in the Box for dinner and took it to the hotel to eat. Audrey had brought some face and hair masks for us. We had fun using those that night as well. We asked Marc if he wanted to join us in our beauty regiment, but he was not interested in that. lol!
Friday, July 11-
Our last day. We spent the morning at Balboa Park. None of us had ever been before. We saw a lot of beautiful architecture, a very cool botanical garden house, and an art gallery with a Rembrandt! One could spend days there seeing everything but we did not have a lot of time. After the park, we headed over to get some lunch at 5 Guys then dropped Audrey and Grace off at the San Diego airport. Marc, Sophia, and I made the drive home.
Oh! I thought of another bonus of vacationing with grown children… They can take the group selfies much better than I can. HAHA!
What a fun family trip. We missed Carson this year, but next summer we are planning an epic adventure when we are all reunited after his mission!