San Diego!
Daddy had this past week off, and we decided to take the entourage to San Diego. These girls have really become amazing travelers! Let's start with the fact that preparing for the trip meant me writing an illustrated packing list on their white board and passing out their individual duffel bags. Monkey and Bug packed their own bags, and Bug (our resident fashionista) helped Goose put her outfits together. I didn't even double check to make sure they had everything before we left (granted, I meant to, but it just didn't happen, and they were fine!) Then they spent the entire day (going and returning) cheerfully entertained in the back seat with a backpack of action figures they packed themselves, a tote bag of magazines and notepads with a baggie of crayons, a trio of magnadoodles, a couple of Spanish DVDs, and their current favorite movie--Mulan. I'm also loving the fact that we've reached the stage where we can travel without the hassle of a stroller or diapers! They are all real troopers about spending most of the days walking around, too. We were able to spend three full days exploring the city, and here are the highlights:

San Diego Zoo: We couldn't possibly visit San Diego without spending a day at the zoo! We started off our visit with a 30 minute tour on a double decker bus--sitting in the open top, of course. Next--and probably even more popular--we took the Skyfari (aerial tram) to the far end of the zoo to get to the animals we wanted to see most. Our top priority animals were the arctic animals and the panda bears since the zoo near our last house didn't have those. We also toured the apes and monkeys exhibits and the big animals (big cats, elephants, hippos, etc.). Of course, the girls spent time climbing on all the statue animals too!

(Left) Our little monkeys watching the zoo monkeys. (Center) The entourage pretending to be polar bear cubs.
(Right) Bug and Goose enjoying the Skyfari! Monkey is in the tram behind them with Daddy.

U.S.S. Midway: We were seriously impressed with our tour of this decommissioned air craft carrier. It featured very well done exhibits of this "floating city" and a flight deck full of sample aircraft from WWII through Desert Storm, some of which we could even enter. It had a family audio tour that Monkey and Bug could listen to as well, and they participated in the Junior Pilot Program--answering about a dozen questions in their booklets as we progressed through the ship and getting their wings pinned on by one of the veterans volunteering at the information desk. Daddy and the big girls took an additional tour of the island to see the bridge and air traffic control. Goose was too short to go, so she and I spent some extra time exploring the aircraft she could board and just running around the flight deck. This stop in San Diego was particularly special to us, because Granddad was a medical officer on board just a few years before it decommissioned. That made it especially fun to tour the sick bay and to see what the officers' racks and mess hall were like.

Little fighter pilots!

(Left) We got to board a troop carrier helicopter. (Top right) Monkey and Bug did the island tour with Daddy and pretended to be air traffic controllers. (Bottom right) Monkey and Bug filled out their worksheets to qualify for their Junior Pilot wings, while Goose looks on.

During the Midway tour we got to see the kind of rack we think Granddad had and one of the medical exam rooms he worked in.

Old Town: We ended up spending 6 hours on the Midway (and could have spent more), so we didn't have as much time to explore Old Town as we would have liked, and unfortunately, we missed most of the historical re-enactors in the "Birthplace of California," the site of the first permanent Spanish settlement in the state. It includes a plaza surrounded by restored historic buildings--some are set up as living history museums and others have been turned into fun little shops and restaurants. We poked around for a while, then had dinner at a nice Mexican place.

SeaWorld: The girls loved SeaWorld! We skipped the touch tank/aquarium pieces, since we have a such an awesome aquarium close to home, but we did lots of rides and shows! The dolphin show actually featured more human acrobats than dolphins, but they did some pretty impressive stunts in fun bird-themed costumes. The sea lions and otters had a tv-show themed comedy show that was quite entertaining. We managed to arrive early enough for the orca show to sit just at the edge of the splash zone--great views. In between catching the shows we spent lots of time in the Sesame Street themed amusement park (three rides plus a huge bounce house and climbing play space). Monkey and Bug were even brave enough to go on the teacup ride all by themselves (unfortunately, they weren't actually strong enough to spin it by themselves, and they decided it's a lot more fun when Mommy or Daddy come too). Monkey and Bug also got to go with Daddy on a helicopter simulation ride (Goose and I joined them in the beluga whale exhibit once they exited) and tube-style rapids ride (Monkey and Bug were less than thrilled with this one because "Daddy told us we'd get wet, but he didn't tell us we'd get super wet!" Apparently, that's an important distinction.) Unfortunately, Goose--our little thrill seeker--is still too short to go on the "big rides"--a source of serious disappointment on several occasions. She even wanted to go on the Manta roller coaster with Daddy!

(Left) The girls watching beluga whales. (Center) Shamu! (Right) The entourage on their favorite ride--the spinning "tea cups."

Miss K! To wrap up our San Diego vacation, we went out to dinner with Miss K, our babysitter from our last duty station who just happens to attend college in San Diego! The girls were pretty excited about sushi and yakisoba followed by ice cream, and Miss K was thrilled to escape cafeteria food for an evening. It was fun to catch up with her, and the girls loved playing with her in the courtyard of the restaurant for a little while.