Last weekend, I was enjoying time with 4 of my sisters in San Diego. Kelly couldn't make it because she was at a conference. Derek and family were invited to join us, but it didn't work out for them. I remember those busy days of raising kids. I missed out on many family events in Utah and California because we lived in Texas. It was either too difficult or too expensive to fly to family for every event. These things just happen.
Jenny, Debbie, and I met up in the Salt Lake Airport long term parking and took the shuttle together to our gate. It was an uneventful flight with Debbie getting to trade places with the man next to me so she and I could sit together. Jenny was across the aisle and behind us. It didn't matter because it's such a short flight. It was nice to sit by Debbie and catch up, though. She and Jen drove down together. They also see each other every once in a while due to their proximity and their love of quilting.
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| Alaska Airlines gets us there! |
We arrived and picked up the rental car just in time to go back to the terminal to get Kristen and Karen, who had found each other by then. We recalled when airports were small enough and there were few enough travelers that rental car desks were on site. They were near baggage claim. As more people travel, I suppose they've needed more rental cars and have moved the rental locations off site. It's easy, but not as easy as it used to be. I don't know how they did it.
San Diego is such a beautiful city! We went grocery shopping and got to check in early to our place and it was fantastic. Jen got us a 2-bedroom 2 bathroom timeshare. They were able to check us in early. We kept mentioning that we were 5 sisters celebrating one's retirement, one's dream job, and one's assignment to Africa. It got us a free car upgrade, early check-in with treats, and a small lemon cake. Not bad. We changed and went to the San Diego Temple for an endowment session. A very nice sister showed us to the atrium and showed us around that area, including some great views of the Angel Moroni and the reflection of a painting of Christ. She commented that when she saw us all she couldn't help but think of the 5 wise virgins in the parable of the 10 virgins. I thought that was a very sweet thing to share with us.
After the temple, we went to get pizza at a place called Pizza Nova that my neighbor Lynn had recommended. It was delicious! Sooooo good. We shared a couple of salads and a couple of pizzas. We went back to our place, played some games, and went to bed. Karen and I shared a room because we are the late sleepers. Jen took the sofa bed because she snores. Deb and Kris shared the other room because they get up early. It was a perfect set up.
On Saturday, we went to Coronado Beach for a couple of hours. At Kristen's suggestion, we looked for a lifeguard station and set up behind it to take advantage of the shade. We are seriously such wimps. Then we went to Cabrillo to see a lighthouse. It was very interesting to see a lighthouse and to read about them. It was windy up there, but beautiful. Kristen didn't get her sunset at the beach because the timing never worked out. Jen got welcomed to Mexico via text. We got a laugh out of that.
We also went to the Mormon Battalion Visitor's Center. That was very informative. I knew of the Mormon Battalion, but didn't know a lot of details. What a sacrifice! The sister missionaries asked for a volunteer to get dressed up in the soldier garb and Karen did it. She's a good sport. Each member of the battalion had a very small "backpack" thing to carry all of their belongings. In spite of its VERY small size, the members of the battalion also brought their scriptures and a journal as the prophet suggested. Much of what we know about their journey is from journals. After the tour, we got excellent Mexican food. Very delicious. It was a great day.
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| Karen actually caught the hat on her head. Good job! |
Sunday we went to church down the road, then drove back to Carlsbad to see the Flower Fields in full bloom with Ranunculus flowers. There are rows and rows of flowers in full bloom. They also have a huge American Flag made of petunias. The place sells out quickly. In fact, there were only tickets left for the last entrance time. It was still enough time for us. We walked around, took pictures, and loved it. Then we got yummy burgers at Hodad's. It's a fun place with a quirky atmosphere and great food. I'd go back to all the places where we ate - the pizza, the Mexican, and the burgers.
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| Jenny and her family love these cutouts |
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| Jenny was on a family call, so the rest of us waited in line and got our table |
On Monday, we headed back to Carlsbad and hiked at Torey Pines Nature Reserve. It's a great walk that starts along the beach, then goes uphill on some rocky steps. There are great views of the ocean on the way to a ranger station. Then you walk down a road back to the start. It was a beautiful walk. After the walk, we met Sarah Christesen, Kristen's daughter, for lunch. She drove down just to spend the day with us. After lunch, Sarah showed us the BEST donut place. You order your specific donut flavor and they make it for you right there. They are hot and topped with wonderful toppings. I got one with chocolate, caramel, and pretzels. Sarah and Cam always find great places to eat. I love hanging out with her.
On our way home from donuts, Karen, Jenny, Debbie, and I stopped at the grocery store to replenish our candy supply. Haha. While at the store, we decided to grab take and bake pizza and a salad mix for dinner. We all agreed that we were ready to just hang out in our great place and eat pizza and salad and continue playing games. Sarah actually brought some games and we had a blast. She is really fun to be with.
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