San Diego, CA
For those of you living under a rock and weren’t aware, Las Vegas is ridiculously hot in July and August. Like “uncomfortable to be outside for more than 1.5 seconds” hot. Like “the lows at 4am, are 80 degrees” hot. Needless to say, we were ready to escape the heat to the cool California coast: San Diego. Last summer, we stayed at a campground called “Campland” right on Mission Bay; we were fortunate enough to get reservations in time to stay at the same place for four nights.
To break up the 5.5hr road trip, we stopped in Apple Valley and hung out with the Uncles and Aunt Lori at their Silversmith Shop. I feel very grateful that Miles got to meet them and Ella was able to see them for a second time.
Thankfully, after an uneventful drive, we set up camp, had a relaxing evening bike ride around the ridiculously large campground, grilled some hamburgers, and settled in for a fantastic night’s sleep with the ocean just 20 yards away. Unlike the three nights to come, Miles slept great this first night.
We started out our first full day, thanks to Rob Teasdale, with a pontoon boat ride around Mission Bay! It was a beautiful morning and a great way to see the area. After getting back to land, we hit up the beach at the campground. Ella loves the sand and water and easily could’ve spent the entire day there. Miles, on the other hand, was not a fan of the sand on his legs. Either way, kids need to nap, so fortunately both kids napped amazingly in their pack ‘n plays each day. During this time, Scott and I would be our drinking. We’d watch the campers paddle board, swim, boat, bike while we did nothing. We sipped (or gulped) on delicious IPAs and sat; sat without tending to children, and it was amazing!
You’ll notice that the picture below, of fishermen on Imperial Beach Pier, looks like it was taken quite early in the morning. This is because our dear BroBro would not sleep past 4:30am. In order to attempt to adhere to the quiet time hours (which lasted until 8am) we left the campground at 6am. Our sweet boy, who normally sleeps through the night, maybe waking one time for a quick bottle, was unable to soothe himself without crying. And mind you, we are in a tent trailer with tent trailers next to us. I was so desperate to calm him down, I nursed him, which I hadn’t done for two weeks. This is pretty much how the next two nights went as well.
Even though we were sleep deprived, the show much go on. We had purchased tickets to the San Diego Zoo and today was the day we had planned on going. It was an awesome day, where are the CDC recommendations for safety were in full effect, and we were not elbow to elbow with other visitors! The kids loved seeing the animals and although we were only able to see half of the zoo, I would love to go back again next summer to see the other half!
We had to move campsites for our last night, so we spent the next morning hanging around the campground, waiting for the site we were going to move in to open up. Post nap, we went to Shell Beach and La Jolla Cove. The rocky coastline was absolutely beautiful and a hopeful spot to see some sea creatures in the tide pools. Due to the all important nap time, however, we missed low tide and had to settle for gathering a few small shells and watching sea lions play on the beach. Not too bad at all.
I’ll end with this: Campland is awesome for families with older kids. It’s a little like Las Vegas; when the sun sets, the party starts. Quiet hours are from 11pm - 8am, if that tells you anything. When the kids go to bed around 7-8 and we go to bed a 9pm, it’s just not a good fit. We may pass on Campland for a couple years and return when the kids are older. What we won’t pass on is visiting the California coast in the summer…we need the reprieve of the cooler air. And by next summer, unless he gets the opportunity to go sooner, Scott will be desperate to throw his fishing line off a boat in the Pacific again.