I know I'm backtracking, but I thought I'd go ahead and post the last couple of days we spent on our family vacation to California. 🙂
When I last posted about it, we had been visiting Mike's relatives in Salinas, which is a 7-hour drive from where we had been staying in San Diego…which means we had to drive 7 hours back. I do believe that for most of that drive, it was the worst traffic I've ever seen in my life. Those 7 hours turned into 10 hours, and made Dallas traffic look more like what you'd see in Mayberry. I'm told it's always like that.
This was one of the more boring stretches of the trip, with hardly any traffic…
I kept myself busy with Dainty Housewren by Carriage House Samplings…
…And the girls tried their best to entertain themselves…
I armed myself with this, in case there was any bickering amongst the rival siblings… one must stay awake and energized in these cases, ready to threaten them with the handy green eye-poker that comes with these drinks…
We found a lovely neighborhood to stop and stretch our legs…
With all of the tragedies at Yellowstone this year, I wasn't very happy with Mike being a rule-breaker…
These birds were so graceful, but the way their feet dangled behind them struck me as funny…
Bre…
I love this vest she's wearing. It looked so pretty to me, the way it moved in the breeze…
Here's Mike at the bottom of that hill he was standing on…
I was so hoping he'd go for a swim…
But instead, he (and Sophie) climbed back up the hill, and away we went, all the way back to San Diego…
The next morning we decided to go to the historical Gaslamp Quarter. Here's Bean, waiting for everyone to be finished so we could get moving…
We ate here, after a local gave us rave reviews on it…
It's a mafia-themed restaurant, with lots of framed pictures of Al Capone, John Gotti, and others. There was even a Thompson submachine gun hanging on the wall called The Chicago Typewriter, which I thought was really interesting. Apparently, Mr. Capone used it a time or two.
Best of all, however, were the burgers. The best, hands down! If I ever end up in the trunk of a car, on the way to suddenly "disappearing," I wouldn't mind one of these being my last meal:
This is the Yuma Building, one of the first brick buildings in San Diego… Wyatt Earp used to hang out here, and eventually it became a brothel – the first one to be shut down in San Diego in 1912.
Just next to the Yuma Building is a hat shop…
I could have stayed much longer in there, as it sort of felt like stepping back in time…
Next stop:
This is where the San Diego Padres play…
Our plane was going to leave in a few short hours, so we decided it was time to go. It was such an enjoyable trip, and we packed as much into it as we could. Which is why the last photo taken was one of 2 of us looking awfully exhausted..
Thank you for a fun trip, Big Papa. 😉
11 Comments
Margaret
Great pictures! Looks like a great trip for sure! When we went to the LA area for my cousin’s wedding 5 or so years ago, I was told that traffic in LA was always rush hour. Always. Except for a small space of time around 2 pm. lol! Can you imagine? It wasn’t that bad when I lived there as a kid. Ugh. Anyway, thanks for sharing your trip with us! Mike was smart to squeeze in a last trip as a family.
Julie H
You must have been in the traffic through LA! It is a nightmare. I remember driving from San Diego to San Fran for a short weekend. Through LA, we couldn’t even keep our windows down (this was December) for the air being so thick! Glad you all enjoyed your vacation!!
Kim
That’s it…..I do believe I must live in San Diego! ;o)
BrendaS
Wonderful pictures and it certainly sounds like it was a great trip! Looks like you had some beautiful weather too:))
Thanks for sharing
Judy
Great pictures! Thanks for sharing your family vacation. I live on the East coast and have never been out west. Actually, the furthest west I’ve been in Virginia!!! How sad is that??!!
♥ marylin ♥
what a wonderful ride when I say that your country is the most beautiful in the world!
thank you for making me dream!
bisous de France ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
Cathryn
What a great vacation. Thanks for sharing it all. I love the last picture of you and Sophie. I also loved your camera’s eye of the ironwork fence. I really like photos that point out a different way of looking at something. Thanks Paulette. 🙂 Cathryn
joanntx
family vacations = great memories!
thanks for sharing!
Tanya
Love the picture of you and Sophie – lovely.
PLEASE tell me you bought hats – that shop must have been fab. There used to be a hat shop in Old Town here but they closed several years ago and I’ve never gotten over it.
Tanya
Lynn
Fantastic photos! I love the hat shop! Hats seem to be making a big comeback around here and shops are starting to pop up now.
Lili Bear
What a lovely picture of you and Sophie… It’s my favourite.
Thank you (again) for sharing these happy moments.
Hope Sabrina is settling fine in her new college.
Take care, lovely Stewart family. :)))