San Diego Day 6
From La Jolla to "La Homa"
Saturday, April 16, 2022
Morning
After another busy day and long night, we were all tired and slept very well. We got up and went to our last breakfast at Homewood Suites San Diego (near SeaWorld). As I have mentioned before, this hotel was great option for us and we enjoyed it but I might look elsewhere if I return to San Diego. It was too crowded with families and LOTs of little kids. After breakfast we went back up to the room to pack all our suitcases and check out of the hotel. TIP- This was a fairly decent priced California hotel as our grand total for 5 nights, with parking, was $1675. This is steep but for Southern California, it was mid-ranged.
After another busy day and long night, we were all tired and slept very well. We got up and went to our last breakfast at Homewood Suites San Diego (near SeaWorld). As I have mentioned before, this hotel was great option for us and we enjoyed it but I might look elsewhere if I return to San Diego. It was too crowded with families and LOTs of little kids. After breakfast we went back up to the room to pack all our suitcases and check out of the hotel. TIP- This was a fairly decent priced California hotel as our grand total for 5 nights, with parking, was $1675. This is steep but for Southern California, it was mid-ranged.
Once we got all checked out we drove towards the Cabrillo National Monument and the "new" Point Loma Lighthouse. This was on the very far west side of San Diego on the other side of Coronado Island. This was a really neat area with lots of hiking trails and history about North Island as well as an INCREDIBLE view of San Diego, Coronado Island and even Mexico. Despite this being the only cloudy day our whole trip, these were some of our best pictures of the whole trip! We LOVED this area!
A view of downtown San Diego from the Cabrillo National Monument area.
Another view of San Diego and North Island.
The kids loved looking at San Diego from here as well!
Time needs to SLOW DOWN!
This is the exact moment that Chris discovered that Natalie has passed me up in height.
Look at Natalie's face!
The Cabrillo National Monument!
We love you San Diego!
A Celebrity cruise ship just chillin' in the Pacific!
A view of the Coronado Bridge and Coronado Island.
Be still my heart!
After we quickly toured the monument, we drove down towards the Point Loma Lighthouse. This was used in the film Top Gun as "Viper's House" but it is now blocked off as Coast Guard training unit.
Viper's House... This is SO COOL!
Once we got to the bottom of this island, we parked and then walked all along the Tide Pool area. The kids LOVED being able to step way down on the rocks and watch (and feel) the waves crash from the Pacific waters. It was absolutely GORGEOUS and I would highly recommend anyone who is able to visit this area and walk down on the rocks!
The Tide Pool area near Point Loma Lighthouse!
Where has the time gone... This girl will be 13 in August!
And my BABY will be 10 in less than a month!
Luke being silly and wanting the waves to crash on him!
This area was just gorgeous!
I love you Chris Davis!
This picture does not even do this area justice!
And Luke... Being silly again!
Another view of San Diego and North Island as we drove back into San Diego.
After we spent about an hour at this monument and Tide Pool area, we drove back towards San Diego proper and found the Sunset Cliff area. This is exactly as it's title describes, it is an area of cliffs that are facing west. We were not fortunate enough to see them during sunset but these cliffs were just breathtaking. And once again, the kids loved being able to walk around and see the waves crash into these huge cliffs. TIP- This is a FREE venue and definitely worth your time if in San Diego! I am sure being here during a sunset is breathtaking!
The Sunset Cliffs area (and this sign) were on a road that "looked like" it would take you to the cliffs but it was a dead end. We had to use back side streets to get to Sunset Cliffs. And the parking was scarce.
The Sunset Cliff area
The kids loved this area too!
Pictures do not do it justice!
Luke said he found a seal... Who knows!
We stared at this for nearly 30 minutes... all of us thinking we finally spotted our whale!
Nope... It was just a small raft with people!
We loved the Sunset Cliff area and I can only imagine how beautiful it is during an actual sunset.
Afternoon
As the morning had passed we decided to start making our way back to San Diego to get gas and eat lunch before heading to the airport for our 7PM flight. We drove back through Ocean Beach and decided to stop at a local Mexican Restaurant as we all really wanted to try the "California Mexican" food and compare it to our beloved Tex-Mex. We stopped at Nico's Authentic Mexican Food on Newport Ave. I was even able to try a "California Burrito" loaded with Carne Asada and French Fries. It was really weird yet so good. The food was outstanding, so filling and very well priced. TIP- I would recommend Nico's if you are in the Ocean Beach area. However, keep in mind that most of these restaurants on Newport Ave do not have public restrooms, I had to go to 3-4 different places to finally find a place to pee.
We tried a "Mexican Soda" and Luke is now in love!
Tex-Mex- 1 California Mexican- 0
I was expecting QUESO on my nachos and instead I got shredded cheese.
It was weird! But the California Burrito was AWESOME!
Natalie's Cheese Enchiladas were nearly the same as Tex Mex.
We loved Nico's!
The menu for Nico's. The prices and variety were great for this area of San Diego!
Since we had to return our rental car, after lunch and souvenir shopping in Ocean Beach, we started to creep back towards the airport. We had to return the car with a full tank of gas AND California rules state you have to refill the gas within 2 miles of the airport. This seemed absolutely ridiculous to me and they never even looked for our receipt. We paid $6.09/gallon across from the airport but back in Ocean Beach it was $5.49/ gallon. This is just another reason while I'm not really a fan of California!
Beautiful... YES but logistic... NO!
The gas prices right at the airport!
Goodbye 2022 Buick Enclave... I like you A LOT better than my 2012 Buick Enclave!
We had our rental car returned and were checked in for our flight back to God's Country by 4:45PM for our 7PM flight. TIP- The San Diego Airport terminal we were in was TINY. It only had 6 gates and 3 "restaurants" if you want to call them that (Einstein's Brothers Bagels, a Bar and a sandwich pop-up type shop). Plus it only had one bathroom. I am REALLY glad we got there early as if we would have been 20-30 minutes later, we would not have had a place to sit. We spent the hour leading up to our flight at the other end of the terminal crowded with lots of people having to stand or sit on the floor.
The terminal was TINY but we got up to airport security with ZERO WAIT TIME... That is simply unheard of these days!
For this flight on Southwest Airlines, we did not pay for the EarlyBird and just checked in online exactly 24 hours prior to departure and we got boarding Group B 2-5. This was just 3 spaces lower than what we got when I paid $100. This just confirmed my thoughts, that I will NOT pay for the EarlyBird in the future. We also tried a new seating arrangement for this flight with a whole row of me and the kids and Chris on the aisle nearby by himself. This worked out SO MUCH better and Chris was even able to keep the middle seat and have more space. Flying Southwest is ALWAYS a gamble but this time it paid off.
This is the way we will fly from now on! We were all so comfortable!
3 hour flight= 20 bags of candy! That seems about right!
All this kid did is eat snacks!
Natalie sat on the window seat and was able to get some incredible pictures and videos of our departure from San Diego. The flight was uneventful and we were back in Texas in no time. Once back in "God's Country" we got our bags and made our way back to our car and home with ease. This was the Saturday before Easter Morning so we were trying to get home and somewhat recover before Sunday. We did not arrive back at home until after midnight. We were all so very tired!
Natalie did a GREAT job with this video... Check it out!
I am so glad we got to fly out of San Diego with the sun still up!
This was gorgeous!
At the very tip of that land was the Cabrillo National Monument and the Loma Lighthouse!
You can even see the Midway!
We love you San Diego!
You can see "Coronado Beach, CA" written in the sand from many years ago!
AND... Welcome Home! Where the 84% humidity SLAPS YOU RIGHT IN THE FACE!
Sometimes I hate Texas!
We DID make it to church the next morning!
Bright and early for the EARLY service!
This trip was absolutely UNREAL and we all loved it so very much. Between the gorgeous scenery of Southern California, the history of the USS Midway and the sheer beauty of Petco Park, this was a trip for the memory books. I am so glad we were able to share this trip with the kids.
Did you miss a day? Check them out here:
Day 5- And Then There Were THREE
Now... On to planning April 2023. Where will we be? Los Angeles, San Francisco, maybe Seattle for the kids?
Who knows... but I cannot wait to find out!
Who knows... but I cannot wait to find out!
This summer we will be traveling to Panama City Beach, FL for a family trip (based around the Cal Ripken Baseball Experience). And then Chris and I will return to cruising in the month of July on the Carnival Vista. We are so excited and eager to experience the cruise industry since the shutdown. Be on the lookout for that blog as I am sure it will be LOADED!
Up Next... Panama City Beach, FL
and Carnival Vista
and Carnival Vista
Thanks again and Keep Calm and Cruise Travel On!
God is good... ALL THE TIME!
What an excellent review of your family trip! Wow the kiddos have grown! I am from SoCal, born and raised, but live in San Antonio Tx now. Your trip has me wanting to go back and visit SD! Thank you for taking the time to share your family trip :)
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