- C
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Friday, May 27, 2011
Food
Like usual, most of my planning for this trip focused on where we were going to eat. I had a list of must-visit restaurants and scheduled them for the days that our activities brought us closest to them. One goal was to try sample San Diego's unofficial dish - the fish taco. I also chose some places based on Internet reviews and from TV shows like Man vs Food and Diners Drive-Ins and Dives.
One of the first such places was Blue Water Seafood which was supposed to be one of the best places for fresh seafood. The restaurant had a deli look to it with two counters, one where you picked out seafood to have it wrapped in brown paper to take home, and another where you ordered something for the kitchen to cook on the spot.
This is a picture of Mason's chipotle shark taco. We choose mahi mahi for Ella and Tyson and at $4 per taco, they were so huge, we had to remove half of the fish fillets just to close them up. These three tacos would have been enough for our family if we were eating responsibly and I kept asking myself, "if you can get this for $4, why would anyone who lives here ever visit McDonald's?" These tacos were perfect and turned out to be our favorite (we also tried Wahoo's Fish Taco and Roberto's).
I said if we were eating responsibly. Heather and I also ordered this sandwich made from local halibut cooked in lemon garlic.
One evening we ate at Phil's BBQ - a spot we picked for the El Torro sandwich you see pictured above. The restaurant is spacious and dimly-lit and after placing your order they give you a pager to call you back when your food is ready. We found a nice spot on the patio and by the time I had filled our water glasses, we were being paged. These sandwiches are so full of meat, they don't seem to make any pretense about expecting you to be able to close them. Instead we shared one sandwich among the kids by giving them each a piece of the bun and a pile of meat to eat with their hands.
The meat was covered in a slightly-spicy bbq sauce and only three of these $6.50 sandwiches would have fed our family. $6.50? At that price, why would anyone ever visit Subway? (Actually I can answer that one myself: Maybe some people like vegetables on their sandwiches).
Along with two El Torros, I also got half an order of baby back ribs that were such a hit, they seemed to disappear from the plate, and for the rest of the week the kids kept asking to return to Phil's. Sadly, the day that we went back there was a lineup out the front door and down the entire side of the building, so we ended up going somewhere else. By now, I am really regretting that decision.
Here is a shot of Roberto's which wasn't on our official list but was conveniently located a few hundred feet from the sand on one of our beach days.
Roberto's take out window has a different approach to the fish taco. The battered fish served on two corn tortillas and an optional hot sauce seemed more like fast food than the 'we-were-swimming-earlier-today' tacos at Blue Water. But at $2.50 per taco it felt like I was making money as I ate them. And two tacos with a bottle of lime-flavored Mexican soda had me stuffed.
It's not fancy or exclusive but we couldn't make a trip to the US without locating our nearest Costco and treating ourselves to a hand-dipped chocolate almond bar. They start with a bar of vanilla ice cream the size of two Klondike bars, then dip it in chocolate sauce and roll it in crushed (not slivered) almonds. When you start eating it, it is still hot and liquidy but gradually hardens into a shell. We have found that as long as we only order one or two of these for our whole family to share, we don't feel sick (and guilty) afterwards.
There's no ice cream treat like this in Canada at any price, but the $1.50 cost of this one is incredible. What makes it more strange is the fact that while the $1.50 pop and hot dog at US Costcos is identical to our $2 combo, it is impossible to imagine this almond bar selling here with only the same $0.50 increase. If Hagen Das is any sort of baseline, this bar would be more like $15 here, which leads me to conclude that we Canadians are getting ripped off by our ice cream treats.
One day we went to the Corvette Diner which was a great place for the kids. They had a 1950's theme that extended to the decor, music, and waitresses' made up names. I didn't take any pictures because we were seated in a section lit only by black lights and the fluorescent green table tops that left temporary silhouettes of any thing that blocked the black light from hitting the surface.
The burger was good and fortunately the "garbage plate" was much better than the name suggested - coming with mini sliders and assorted bar-food appetizers. We also got a chocolate shake and a strawberry shake to share.
Hodad's is a surfer joint located a block or so from the beach and was on the list because of their hamburgers and cool atmosphere.
We sat at a long surf board-shaped table in the center of the room and ordered two bacon cheeseburger combos, avoiding the bacon double cheeseburgers that Hodad's is famous for. I don't know how I would have eaten a double burger because I could not even fit this one in my mouth. I had to take it apart and eat it in sections.
After sharing a chocolate malt that came served in the blending cup topped with an extra scoop of unblended ice cream, we decided that for our family the perfect amount of food would have been: one single burger with fries, one single burger without fries, and the malt to share.
I didn't take any photos when we ate at Luche Libre which is too bad because it is a crazy place - if you skip to 1:40 in the above video you can see what we ordered (at 6:30 it shows Phil's BBQ as well). It was kind of dark when we went and after standing in line for 20 minutes, as soon as we got a table we dug into our plates of Surfin California burritos, rice and beans, and various salsas from the serve yourself bar. The burritos were amazing and even after sharing with the kids, it felt like we ate way too much. We actually had the Champion's Booth reserved for our final evening, but we ended up being a no-show because our plans had changed.
On one evening we also had Mexican at El Indio Restaurant which was a cafeteria style eatery with an intimidating menu which spanned the entire front wall. The person who took our order suggested some stuff for me and we enjoyed a feast of tacos, enchiladas, rice, beans, carne asade, a tamale, and tortillas served on styrofoam plates. We divided up the food amongst the kids' and they also shared a plate of chopped up toquitos covered in cheese sauce.
We had pizza twice during our trip, once for a sit down meal at Filippi's Pizza Grotto in Little Italy, and once ordered by the slice from a little shop off the beach. Both places were excellent but I'm not the best person to judge because I have never met a pizza I didn't like.
This was a frozen yogurt bowl that you filled yourself with whatever flavour of frozen yogurt and toppings you wanted, and then payed for based on the weight of the bowl. I thought it was an excellent treat for us to share with six spoons on a bench beside the Mission Beach boardwalk. But then Heather pointed out that the bowl cost just as much as two of Hodad's malts... and that took some of the enjoyment out of it for me.
Well, that summarizes the food portion of our vacation, excuse me while I go check the fridge for something to eat.
- C
Out and About
USS Midway
One of the first things we did after arriving in San Diego, was to head down to the harbor where this retired aircraft carrier (once the largest warship in the world) serves as a floating museum. The city has always enjoyed a close relationship with the military and is home to a number of naval bases and airfields. We were often seeing destroyers in the harbor and military helicopters and jets in the sky. With all of this happening around us, it was neat to be able to explore a real aircraft carrier.
The headphones were part of a self guided tour. As we came to an exhibit, we just typed in the exhibit number and an audio recording would explain it or share a story about what life was like aboard this floating city. We saw sleeping quarters, the machine shop, jail, convenience store, cafeteria, and even the ship's post office.
Deacon playing on one of the anchor chains.
Up on the flight deck they had a bunch of airplanes and helicopters on display, as well as retired veterans telling stories and giving presentations.
Without a wide angle lens, this picture is the closest I could come to showing just how huge this ship is.
Beaches
We set aside two days for the beach, during which we enjoyed the sand and surf in Mission Bay, Point Loma, La Jolla, and Coronado Island. Despite visiting so many different beaches, we spent very little time travelling and a lot of time relaxing.
The kids never got bored of digging in the sand or wading in the water. Our weather was perfect and at times, it seemed like we had the whole place to ourselves.
This is a place in La Jolla called "The Children's Pool", which has been taken over by harbour seals. After Sea World it was neat to see these animals in their natural environment.
I thought I was quite fortunate to catch a photo of this extra large wave hitting the concrete breakwater.
The kids didn't feel the same way.
Here you can see the famous Hotel del Coronado in the background. The kids really enjoyed this beach and I thought it was cool because there was an airbase at the end of the beach and every 10 minutes or so you would have jets coming in for landings. It was deafening at times but it was neat to see war planes at work rather than on display or flying in an air show.
The Church
While we couldn't attend the Temple without a babysitter, it was nice just to be able to visit the grounds. The San Diego Temple is absolutely beautiful and photos just don't do it justice. The other side of the Temple overlooks the freeway and each day we looked forward to seeing it as we traveled to and from Lego Land.
We met a member of the church at the Shamu show on one of our days and she told us about the Mormon Battalion Visitor's Centre in the Old Town district of San Diego. We were sure glad she shared this tip with us and it turned out to be a wonderful experience.
The tour was put on by missionaries and was comprised of different rooms decorated to depict different locations along the battalion's journey.
The main characters told their stories from talking picture frames and movies. I was really impressed to learn that the centre gets over 400 visitors each day, including local school field trips. The Elder giving the tour told me that residents recognize the Church's importance in the history of California and that the wagon road built by the battalion - which later became the major route for settlers and even the rail line - is often credited as being a major reason why California achieved statehood in only two years.
After the tour the kids got to pan for gold, draw water with a hand pump, and do laundry on a wash board.
I was most impressed to hear that when the battalion arrived in San Diego, despite the fact that they represented the conquering force of the United States Military, instead of doing those things that conquerers are often guilty of, they set to work alongside the Mexican people. They built up parts of the city and introduced fired bricks, replacing the adobe bricks that had been used up until that point. The battalion members became such close friends with the early San Diegans that when it came time for them to leave and join the Saints in Utah, the town's people circulated a petition to try and keep the Mormons from leaving.
These days we spent outside of the theme parks made up the 'holiday' portion of our vacation. And as an added bonus... they didn't really cost anything.
- C
One of the first things we did after arriving in San Diego, was to head down to the harbor where this retired aircraft carrier (once the largest warship in the world) serves as a floating museum. The city has always enjoyed a close relationship with the military and is home to a number of naval bases and airfields. We were often seeing destroyers in the harbor and military helicopters and jets in the sky. With all of this happening around us, it was neat to be able to explore a real aircraft carrier.
The headphones were part of a self guided tour. As we came to an exhibit, we just typed in the exhibit number and an audio recording would explain it or share a story about what life was like aboard this floating city. We saw sleeping quarters, the machine shop, jail, convenience store, cafeteria, and even the ship's post office.
Deacon playing on one of the anchor chains.
Up on the flight deck they had a bunch of airplanes and helicopters on display, as well as retired veterans telling stories and giving presentations.
Without a wide angle lens, this picture is the closest I could come to showing just how huge this ship is.
Beaches
We set aside two days for the beach, during which we enjoyed the sand and surf in Mission Bay, Point Loma, La Jolla, and Coronado Island. Despite visiting so many different beaches, we spent very little time travelling and a lot of time relaxing.
The kids never got bored of digging in the sand or wading in the water. Our weather was perfect and at times, it seemed like we had the whole place to ourselves.
This is a place in La Jolla called "The Children's Pool", which has been taken over by harbour seals. After Sea World it was neat to see these animals in their natural environment.
I thought I was quite fortunate to catch a photo of this extra large wave hitting the concrete breakwater.
The kids didn't feel the same way.
Here you can see the famous Hotel del Coronado in the background. The kids really enjoyed this beach and I thought it was cool because there was an airbase at the end of the beach and every 10 minutes or so you would have jets coming in for landings. It was deafening at times but it was neat to see war planes at work rather than on display or flying in an air show.
The Church
While we couldn't attend the Temple without a babysitter, it was nice just to be able to visit the grounds. The San Diego Temple is absolutely beautiful and photos just don't do it justice. The other side of the Temple overlooks the freeway and each day we looked forward to seeing it as we traveled to and from Lego Land.
We met a member of the church at the Shamu show on one of our days and she told us about the Mormon Battalion Visitor's Centre in the Old Town district of San Diego. We were sure glad she shared this tip with us and it turned out to be a wonderful experience.
The tour was put on by missionaries and was comprised of different rooms decorated to depict different locations along the battalion's journey.
The main characters told their stories from talking picture frames and movies. I was really impressed to learn that the centre gets over 400 visitors each day, including local school field trips. The Elder giving the tour told me that residents recognize the Church's importance in the history of California and that the wagon road built by the battalion - which later became the major route for settlers and even the rail line - is often credited as being a major reason why California achieved statehood in only two years.
After the tour the kids got to pan for gold, draw water with a hand pump, and do laundry on a wash board.
I was most impressed to hear that when the battalion arrived in San Diego, despite the fact that they represented the conquering force of the United States Military, instead of doing those things that conquerers are often guilty of, they set to work alongside the Mexican people. They built up parts of the city and introduced fired bricks, replacing the adobe bricks that had been used up until that point. The battalion members became such close friends with the early San Diegans that when it came time for them to leave and join the Saints in Utah, the town's people circulated a petition to try and keep the Mormons from leaving.
These days we spent outside of the theme parks made up the 'holiday' portion of our vacation. And as an added bonus... they didn't really cost anything.
- C
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Theme Parks
Sea World
We spent two days at Sea World and it was enough time to see all of the shows and go on all of the rides but it was such an amazing place I feel like we could have gone back. The above photo is from the Journey to Atlantis ride which is a combination of a roller coaster and a flume log ride. It was fun but it made Tyson cry a little. There was also a giant tube ride like the Grizzly River Rapids ride in Disney's California adventure.
We went on an extremely high open-air gondola that took us over the park and the water of the adjacent marina, as well as a ride in a slowly rotating observation room that rose to the top of a 300 foot tower and then came back down. We skipped a section of the park full of rides for little kids, but spent some time at the giant, multi-level Sesame Play Park.
As you would expect, the numerous aquariums throughout the park were stunning. An endeavor like this could only be possible though peerless ingenuity, a perfect natural climate, and access to an unlimited supply of ocean water.
(Not a perfect climate for the Polar Bears but it was a very impressive exhibit nonetheless).
At the "Tide Pool" the kids got a chance to reach in and touch sea stars, anemonies, sea cucumbers, snails, and urchins.
Our favorite exhibit had to be "Shark Encounter", with tanks full of assorted sharks that you got to see from the top, then from eye level, and finally from below as you walked though an acrylic tunnel that passes along the bottom of the huge shark pond.
This flash photo shows just how close the sharks pass beside and above you.
This photo shows what the lighting in the shark tunnel looks like, now imagine that it is quiet except for a slow, "heartbeat" soundtrack that reverberates through hidden speakers. I just got chills thinking about it.
The shows were awesome. This is a photo from "Blue Horizons" which would have been amazing with the dolphins alone, but also added exotic birds flying around the amphitheater as well as a cirque du soleil-type story line and human performers. We enjoyed the hillarious Sea Lion show and the kids couldn't get enough of "Pets Rule" - a fun show featuring trained domesticated animals like dogs, cats, pigs, and parrots.
The Star of the park, Shamu the killer whale, performs in this theater along with two other killer whales and their trainers. After all of the hype, I was expecting this show to be kind of anticlimactic but I have to say that I am now a fan of Shamu. "Believe" is a multi media show featuring giant video screens, narration, and music all choreographed to Shamu's performance. After being impressed with all of the other animals in the park, it was awesome to see this giant animal jump higher than any other dolphin and use his tail to drench spectators sitting as far away as 16 rows up.
There were two points in the performance that even choked me up a little. Before the show starts they have a Here's to the Heroes segment where they ask for past and present members who have served in the United States military or in the military of an allied country to stand, and as they stand the rest of the crowd applauds them. Then, at the end of Shamu's performance, which has been narrated to stress the link between his world and ours, there is a touching moment when a child is picked from the audience and brought to the front of the tank where Shamu and him "meet" each other through the glass and seem to communicate with each other.
Lego Land
We were not as impressed with Lego Land as we had hoped. For a child within the 5-10 years age range it is Lego Mecca - there are Lego-themed rides, water park, aquarium, stores, and miniature landscapes all made of Lego blocks. The downside we found was that, as an amusement park, it isn't as accommodating to younger children as Disneyland - so our family was constantly getting split up so one parent could wait with Deacon. Also, the ride efficiency was horrible and all of the lines moved very slowly. We were not there for the busy season but it still seemed like every lineup was at least a half hour long. With only two days scheduled in the park we found ourselves walking out of lines just so we would have time to do something else.
For Starwars buffs, the scenes that they created out of Lego were epic.
I was very impressed with the Sea Life aquarium, the excellent displays were made more fun by the presence of Lego figures.
This driving track was a really cool ride. The electric cars and wide open Lego town allowed the kids to go wherever they wanted. Mason and Ella observed stop signs, but Tyson took an alarming pleasure in driving right through them.
My favorite part of Lego Land was the water park. There was an extra charge to get in, but I found it well worth it. After the hectic park, the shallow wading pools and multitude of deck chairs actually allowed us to relax for a bit. The crowds didn't seem bad and the pace was much slower.
Speaking of slower pace, this lazy river tube ride was excellent. Staff helped the kids get into their own tubes (complete with spots to build on with over-sized floating foam Lego blocks) but after that, they could each float along at their own pace and just enjoy the sights.
Up near the top of the water park was another pool with a tipping bucket and water slides, including one featuring a family sized inner tube that is dropped onto the slide by and over-sized conveyor belt.
I may have been a little harsh on Lego Land. You should visit it, do a couple of the rides and see the cool cityscapes and Lego scenes - but don't waste your time on most of the rides. Instead pay the extra cost to visit the water park. I'm glad we did.
- C
We spent two days at Sea World and it was enough time to see all of the shows and go on all of the rides but it was such an amazing place I feel like we could have gone back. The above photo is from the Journey to Atlantis ride which is a combination of a roller coaster and a flume log ride. It was fun but it made Tyson cry a little. There was also a giant tube ride like the Grizzly River Rapids ride in Disney's California adventure.
We went on an extremely high open-air gondola that took us over the park and the water of the adjacent marina, as well as a ride in a slowly rotating observation room that rose to the top of a 300 foot tower and then came back down. We skipped a section of the park full of rides for little kids, but spent some time at the giant, multi-level Sesame Play Park.
As you would expect, the numerous aquariums throughout the park were stunning. An endeavor like this could only be possible though peerless ingenuity, a perfect natural climate, and access to an unlimited supply of ocean water.
(Not a perfect climate for the Polar Bears but it was a very impressive exhibit nonetheless).
At the "Tide Pool" the kids got a chance to reach in and touch sea stars, anemonies, sea cucumbers, snails, and urchins.
Our favorite exhibit had to be "Shark Encounter", with tanks full of assorted sharks that you got to see from the top, then from eye level, and finally from below as you walked though an acrylic tunnel that passes along the bottom of the huge shark pond.
This flash photo shows just how close the sharks pass beside and above you.
This photo shows what the lighting in the shark tunnel looks like, now imagine that it is quiet except for a slow, "heartbeat" soundtrack that reverberates through hidden speakers. I just got chills thinking about it.
The shows were awesome. This is a photo from "Blue Horizons" which would have been amazing with the dolphins alone, but also added exotic birds flying around the amphitheater as well as a cirque du soleil-type story line and human performers. We enjoyed the hillarious Sea Lion show and the kids couldn't get enough of "Pets Rule" - a fun show featuring trained domesticated animals like dogs, cats, pigs, and parrots.
The Star of the park, Shamu the killer whale, performs in this theater along with two other killer whales and their trainers. After all of the hype, I was expecting this show to be kind of anticlimactic but I have to say that I am now a fan of Shamu. "Believe" is a multi media show featuring giant video screens, narration, and music all choreographed to Shamu's performance. After being impressed with all of the other animals in the park, it was awesome to see this giant animal jump higher than any other dolphin and use his tail to drench spectators sitting as far away as 16 rows up.
There were two points in the performance that even choked me up a little. Before the show starts they have a Here's to the Heroes segment where they ask for past and present members who have served in the United States military or in the military of an allied country to stand, and as they stand the rest of the crowd applauds them. Then, at the end of Shamu's performance, which has been narrated to stress the link between his world and ours, there is a touching moment when a child is picked from the audience and brought to the front of the tank where Shamu and him "meet" each other through the glass and seem to communicate with each other.
Lego Land
We were not as impressed with Lego Land as we had hoped. For a child within the 5-10 years age range it is Lego Mecca - there are Lego-themed rides, water park, aquarium, stores, and miniature landscapes all made of Lego blocks. The downside we found was that, as an amusement park, it isn't as accommodating to younger children as Disneyland - so our family was constantly getting split up so one parent could wait with Deacon. Also, the ride efficiency was horrible and all of the lines moved very slowly. We were not there for the busy season but it still seemed like every lineup was at least a half hour long. With only two days scheduled in the park we found ourselves walking out of lines just so we would have time to do something else.
For Starwars buffs, the scenes that they created out of Lego were epic.
I was very impressed with the Sea Life aquarium, the excellent displays were made more fun by the presence of Lego figures.
This driving track was a really cool ride. The electric cars and wide open Lego town allowed the kids to go wherever they wanted. Mason and Ella observed stop signs, but Tyson took an alarming pleasure in driving right through them.
My favorite part of Lego Land was the water park. There was an extra charge to get in, but I found it well worth it. After the hectic park, the shallow wading pools and multitude of deck chairs actually allowed us to relax for a bit. The crowds didn't seem bad and the pace was much slower.
Speaking of slower pace, this lazy river tube ride was excellent. Staff helped the kids get into their own tubes (complete with spots to build on with over-sized floating foam Lego blocks) but after that, they could each float along at their own pace and just enjoy the sights.
Up near the top of the water park was another pool with a tipping bucket and water slides, including one featuring a family sized inner tube that is dropped onto the slide by and over-sized conveyor belt.
I may have been a little harsh on Lego Land. You should visit it, do a couple of the rides and see the cool cityscapes and Lego scenes - but don't waste your time on most of the rides. Instead pay the extra cost to visit the water park. I'm glad we did.
- C
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