Family Fun in San Diego
Exploring In and Around “America’s Finest City”
“You stay classy, San Diego.”
Family outing to SeaWorld San Diego
After driving over 3,000 miles cross-country through 11 states on our first “Big Trip,” we finally arrived in San Diego, California. Our primary purpose for the trip was to enable Ellie and Kevin to attend their first San Diego Comic-Con, but we had plenty of other fun on the agenda as well.
Arrival
Back in the 1970’s, the slogan ‘America’s Finest City’ was coined for San Diego as part of an advertising campaign to draw more tourists and business people. The somewhat audacious slogan has endured. We were so excited to spend some time exploring for ourselves to determine whether or not this southern California town would live up to its moniker.
This was the first visit to San Diego for us as a family. We checked into our hotel, the Holiday Inn Express Downtown SD. It was within walking distance of the San Diego Convention Center. We knew this location would make things easier for Ellie and Kevin to attend Comic-Con on the days they had tickets and allow me to safely walk with the Littles for meals. Our room was quite small by comparison to the huge hotel room we’d just vacated at Bally’s in Las Vegas. We had two full-sized beds and no room for a rolling cot. This meant having to create a “Sophie Bed” for our tiny 5 year old who could find comfort in the smallest of places. For this stop, we pushed a small armchair and a spinning desk chair together, and piled pillows on top to create some cushion. (Thank goodness she’s such a good sport!) Tired from a long travel day, we all settled in for the night.
Hanging Out at the Hotel
Kevin and Ellie were up early the next morning and off for a long day at Comic-Con so the Littles and I were on our own for the day. We enjoyed our free breakfast in the lobby where the girls saw, and even interacted with several cosplayers who were heading out for Comic-Con. Afterward, they helped me get some laundry done in the basement of our hotel. Ten days of traveling had left us in desperate need of clean clothes.
Tired and hungry, we set off, on foot, to find a place for lunch. There were several choices within walking distance of our hotel. We ended up at the Grab & Go about 4 blocks away, where we had sub sandwiches and chips. Sophie chose to be picky and only ate the bread and chips. I decided that this wasn’t a battle I wanted to fight. Rachel ate much better. (One of our toughest travel challenges in those years was trying to get our Littles to eat!)
After lunch, we headed back to the hotel for some fun in the pool. They met a young boy about their age and the 3 of them played together for a couple of hours. Then it was back to the room for showers, snacks, and some cartoons on Netflix (thanks to our Roku that always travels with us). We rounded out our day with some Domino's pizza before Kevin and Ellie returned from a full day, excited to share all of the things they’d seen and done during their 1st full day at San Diego Comic-Con.
Click on photo to enlarge and see descriptions.
SeaWorld San Diego
Ellie and Kevin didn’t have tickets for Comic-Con on Friday so we opted for a day of family fun at SeaWorld San Diego! SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment owns and operates 12 parks in 5 different states. Park passes can be purchased in so many configurations, ranging from a single day at a single park to a Platinum Pass that allows unlimited annual admission to 11 parks (only Discovery Cove in Orlando is not included). In addition to admission, the Platinum Pass includes extra perks like admission to special events, free VIP parking, discounts on merchandise, and free visitors passes. At the time, we were annual pass holders at Busch Gardens, Williamsburg (one of the parks included in their family of parks) so our member benefits gave us free admission, upgraded parking, and VIP seating for shows at this park as well.
We arrived a little after 9am and decided to pay the $14 fee to rent a stroller for Sophie. It was large enough to also fit Rachel, when she got tired, and any bags and gear we didn’t want to carry so it was well worth the cost. While we had visited SeaWorld Orlando a few times, we found that this park was quite different. There were hardly any of the rides that we were accustomed to in Orlando. They have since added a number of new feature attractions. The Electric Eel debuted in 2018. The Tidal Twister was added in 2019. Emperor had been planned for 2020 but, due to Covid, was delayed until March 2022. Their latest ride, Arctic Rescue, just opened in June.
We enjoyed a wonderful meal at Calypso Bay Smokehouse where the adults split a burger, a smokehouse sampler platter with barbecue, and some onion rings. The Littles had kids' meals and actually ate really well! It was a delicious and hardy meal - much higher quality than most amusement park fare. Calypso Bay is still available, along with many other choices for dining within the park. Common amusement park foods like pizza and chicken, along with snacks and treats, like pretzels and ice cream, are readily available. Guests can even choose healthier options at the Discoveries Fresh Market or order mixologist curated cocktails at the Underwater Cantina.
We spent quite a bit of time in the arcade, an unusual indulgence for us while visiting an amusement park. Ever since Sophie saw the “carnivals” in Las Vegas (all the casinos she wasn’t allowed to enter), she had wanted to go to a “kid carnival” and this was the closest thing we could find. We also got very lucky because a manager was performing maintenance on several of the games and, since we were the only people in the arcade at the time, we scored free plays and tickets as a result.
After the arcade, we let them play for quite a long time in the Sesame Street portion of the park. While condensed in a small overall section, there were quite a few play areas and fun things for them to do. Sophie even got over her fear of climbing high on the netted playground and made some new friends.
We enjoyed the dolphin show and the Clyde and Seymour Show. Both shows were great, with one featuring high flying dolphins and some pilot whales. The other was more of a comedy show that included spoofs of all the other shows at the park while showing off the intelligence of Seymour the Sea Lion. It had us all laughing really hard! They began the show with renditions of famous songs and even included one of the cast members dressed as Prince. The Littles enjoyed both shows and so did the adults. Current shows at the park include Dolphin Adventure and the Sea Lion & Otter Spotlight.
We ended our time with an after dark trip to the top of SkyTower, a rotating tower with panoramic views of the park. Sophie was exhausted from a full day of fun and exploring. She was sound asleep on Ellie’s shoulder by the time we reached the top. Overall, it was a great day and we hope to get back soon to try some of their new attractions!
Day Trip to Los Angeles
Saturday was a planned day trip to Los Angeles, about a 3 hour drive from San Diego. Instead, it took over 5 hours to reach the city. (LA traffic is seriously no joke!) Along the way, we stopped for some lunch at Jack in the Box and later discovered, in a not-so-pleasant way, that Rachel gets car sick. By the time we reached LA, the sun was going down and we only had time to see a few iconic sites.
Kevin navigated us down Rodeo Drive and Hollywood Boulevard, two of the most famous streets in Beverly Hills. We passed the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Dolby Theater, and Mel’s Diner. We took in the beautifully designed buildings that are home to upscale shopping like Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, and Tiffany & Co. Lastly, we got a sunset peek at the Hollywood sign off in the distance, which was our primary goal for the trip.
Before heading back to San Diego, we stopped to buy donuts at Randy’s Donuts in Inglewood and took a couple pictures of the sign where Iron Man famously sat at the midway point of Iron Man 2. (“Sir! I’m gonna have to ask you to exit the donut.”) This short side trip was on Ellie’s bucket list ever since seeing the movie. The service was great and the donuts were delicious. It’s no wonder that this iconic shop has been in business for over 70 years!
San Diego Zoo
Sunday was “Kids Day” at Comic-Con so Kevin and Ellie decided to take Rachel along. Ellie even gifted her a new Spiderman t-shirt for the occasion. While the three of them headed back to the convention center, Sophie and I set out for the San Diego Zoo.
Our hotel provided us with round-trip shuttle service to the zoo, which was extremely convenient. We purchased our zoo tickets through the hotel concierge and they included one day admission plus passes for a guided bus tour and Skyfari. The current (2023 season) price for this package is typically around $70 per adult and $60 per child (ages 3-11).
Once we arrived at the zoo, we hopped on the guided bus tour first. Sophie and I found a seat on the top of the double decker bus and slathered ourselves with sunscreen for the 35 minute tour. This tour was well worth the time and we are so glad we did it first. We saw all the major animals, including a jaguar that jumped up as we passed and was only a few feet from Sophie’s head! It was an excellent way to learn some interesting information and determine how to prioritize the rest of our day.
Once off the bus, we rented a stroller to help Sophie endure the vast and hilly landscape of the park. We saw penguins swimming with sharks, active koala bears, polar bears, reindeer, goats, giraffes, and elephants. We learned about the zoo’s companion program that pairs cheetahs with golden retrievers for a better and longer quality of life. It was fun to see them romping and playing together.
One big draw during the time that we visited were the giant pandas. Two of these pandas, Bai Yun and Xiao Liwu, first came to the San Diego Zoo in 1996 on a 12-year research loan from China. After a couple contract renewals, they were finally returned to China in 2019, along with the 6 pandas born at the San Diego Zoo. If you’re interested in learning more about giant pandas, the Zoo has a great article that provides lots of information.
During a snack break, I asked Sophie what she wanted to do next and she replied “anything that doesn’t involve animals.” (That’s my girl!) So, off we went to the Skyfari where we were treated to an aerial view of the zoo and even the downtown San Diego skyline. Sophie still talks about this ride many years later. It gave me a much greater appreciation for the vastness of the zoo property which is still being expanded. After a trip to the reptile house, a quick ice cream, and a new souvenir panda bear, we met the shuttle for the ride back to the hotel.
Coronado Island
Most Comic-Con activity closes down by 5 pm on Sunday, so we reunited with our Comic-Conners to take a drive to Coronado Island to spend our last night in San Diego watching the sunset over the Pacific Ocean. We spent about an hour and a half at the Hotel del Coronado enjoying the view, walking the beach, and dipping our toes in the water. It was a beautiful end to our very busy stay in San Diego.
This trip took us from our home state of NC all the way across the country to the Pacific coast of California. What is the farthest you’ve traveled with your kids? We hope we’ve inspired you to pack up your vehicle and hit the road with your whole family for some Uncommon Family Adventures!
