Saying Goodbye San Diego

After 4 nights in San Diego we were so looking forward to spending the 5th night with  friends, an hour outside of San Diego, in the hills.   Our friends have managed to escape the rat race and are in the planning stages of building a home on a 30 acre piece of land in an area called Alpine.  They have been

 living there "off the grid" for some months with electricity produced only when they need it by a gas powered generator. They did invest in drilling, not one, but two wells so water was abundant. We got a chance to use our little generator for electricity and were thankful we did not have to run it through the night for the AC as the temperature dropped from 100 to the mid 70's overnight . We shared a wonderful evening cooking on the barbie and eating at a picnic table outside, sharing stories and drinking wine until late into the night.  Michelle and Will were truly wonderful hosts:   we did nothing and enjoyed a great meal.   Besides the red headed woodpecker, a blue jay,  and a little bunny rabbit, we had to watch out for rattle snakes and keep Molly close to us so she didn't discover one by herself.  At bedtime we slept in a pop up trailer, which is available for guests, with screens opened all around.  How wonderful it was that we were able to sleep under the stars, smell the fresh air and enjoy the sound of wild life in what felt like the frontier.  We had a great night's sleep. We made jokes in the dark and laughed many times before falling asleep.   It was magical.

Happy on the road.

the garden

not quite awake

where we sletp

Our time in San Diego felt rushed from the moment we arrived;  part of it was created by us but the traffic and the drivers will drive a NEnglander nuts!!!   Our true destination for this trip was to experience as much of the Pacific Coast as was possible within our time frame.   We wanted to begin in San Diego for a couple of reasons.   We wanted to visit friends whom we hadn't seen since 2003 and we wanted Alexander to have great fun with the many attractions that SD offers:  Lego Land, Sea World and SD Zoo's Safari land at the top of our list.  We learned very quickly:  If you're going to come to San Diego be prepared to feel the pain.......... in your wallet.

We had done some research about the SD Go Card and found a 4 day pass for the price of 3 at Costco.  This card saves about 40% overall if you score several attractions in the given time frame.  Well, with one thing and another (screw ups) we weren't able to obtain the card, which can only be purchased online, until Sunday.   That delay cost dearly as Sea World is an encounter of the most expensive kind!!  Widy received a 20% discount as a veteran and the (2) tickets still cha-chinged in at $137.00.   However having said that it was the very best "bang for the buck" out of the three parks.  Alexander had a great day (the roller coaster being his favorite ride) and they were able to return after supper to  enjoy some more action and the fireworks explosion at 10pm.  A full day was had by them while Jackie enjoyed a quiet day with Molly in San Diego.

On our first night in SD, Widy (the great researcher) was able to find a unique restaurant close by.  I do have to say that we've never seen so many restaurants anywhere in our travels before.  This one was a "from farm  to table" with exceptional food, both tasty and healthy.  We went all out and bought a bottle of champagne to celebrate the moment we arrived "cross-country".

  The following 3 days were spent like mucho mas dineros on attractions.
Sea world with Alexander and Daddy on Saturday (they didn't get home until 10pm) and as said above it was a great success.   Sunday was the day at Legoland (miserable for Widy and GREAT for Alexander).  Widy must have texted me a dozen times telling me what a  huge, expensive tourist trap it was!

Monday we all went to Safari Park, 35 miles outside of SD, in about 100 degree heat.  It was a big winner with great staff and accommodations.  We brought along our little trailer with the plan of running the generator for the AC for Molly.  We had called in advance to ask if there might be a 110 outlet available to no avail, but when we arrived at the park we found a grounds keeper who was able to find a electrical outlet for us which we felt was much safer and more reliable than the generator; and a security guard who promised to keep an eye out on it for us.
 This park was definitely the winner in my book,(Widy)   not just because they were so accommodating but also because the park itself is beautifully maintained and the 3 of us shared it together.  If you aren't familiar with this particular park it comprises 1800 acres and is a very open concept park, but of course it's still a zoo;  but it is a non profit organization and are very pro active in it's attempt to help promote the resurgence of endangered species.  

The other more expensive Safari tour

Alexander playing Bat

Cheeta run 

Gorilla family