San Diego, California

Before leaving for LA, my friend mentioned something about Americans loving babies.  I kind of sloughed it off...until I experienced it for myself.  Here in Canada, you may get the occasional comment about having a cute baby or someone may smile or wave shyly at your baby.  I've never had so many people comment on E, talk to her, try to touch her, etc. as I did in my 5 weeks in the States. Has anyone else noticed this difference?

During our time in the States, R had to attend a trade show.  As luck should have it, my stepmom was planning to be in San Diego for a vacation at the same time that R was going to be away.  I couldn't turn down an opportunity to visit San Diego, not be by myself and take E to visit Baba.  

We arrived in the evening, so it wasn't until morning that I really got to appreciate the amazing view of Pacific Beach and the ocean from our living room.  It took me a while to figure out what I was seeing popping out of the water: dolphins!  

Later in the day, we walked around Old Town, which is considered the "birthplace of California."  There are a number of restaurant, museums, tourists shops, etc.

On the second day, we took the Old Town Trolley Tour, which takes you to many of the tourist destinations.  The experience actually surpassed my expectations.  Since it's a hop-on/hop-off trolley, we had several different drivers, all of which were personable and helpful.  We got off at The Gaslamp Quarter and in Coronado.  I wish I had more time to explore all of the stops.   

The above picture is of Hotel del Coronado. The adjacent beach has been voted one of the nicest beaches in the USA.  The weather was so beautiful.  It occurred to me, as we were sitting outside of the hotel, that it was the first time E had ever touched grass.  At home, you'd have to dig a meter deep in snow to even see something that resembles grass.

On our last full day in San Diego, we went to the zoo.  It's known as being one of the nicest zoos in the world, so I had to check it out!  Aside from it being Martin Luther King Jr. Day and, what seemed like,  the busiest day of the year, I really enjoyed the zoo.  I think we only got through about 2/3 of it.  In addition to it being a massive zoo with a huge variety of exhibits, they do a great job of landscaping between exhibits.

I'm looking forward to going back to the zoo with E when she's a bit older.  At this point, she is more captivated by sounds, lights and people than animals.