San Diego July 2015

In July we took another trip to California to see Papa and Nonnie and visit the Lemurian Fellowship.  Always a wonderful time.  

On one of our adventure days in the city, we went to San Diego Harbor.  

The Maritime Museum was a place we had been wanting to take the kids once they were old enough.  They have ships and submarines that are all available for touring.  

 Just as we were waiting to get in, this man came running up.  We had seen his story in the San Diego paper the previous day so he was famous to us!  He was completing a 501 mile walk/run down the California coastline in memory of his wife.  He planned to finish his run in San Diego just as Comic Con was going starting.  He and his wife had loved Comic Con.

 He took pictures with fans and he got a little choked up as he finished the run.  It was a sweet moment.

 The Maritime Museum had two submarines--an American sub from WWII and a Russian sub.  Here we go--down, down, down!!

 The subs were tight!

 It was fun looking through the periscope!

 Watch out--Maya's driving!!

 The "pirate" ship! It's really called the Star of India and it used to take immigrants from Austrailia to England.

 The black submarine ahead is the Russian one.  On the right is the ferry we toured as well.  There were lots of models of air craft carriers throughout history.

Sitting on the deck of the Star of India.

 Next we walked along the harbor in search of a lunch spot.  We walked by the USS Midway Air Craft Carrier.  It was HUGE!  It's a museum too that the kids will enjoy when they are a bit older.

 Down by Seaport Village, the kids found some cool trees to climb.

 And of course the morning gloom on the harbor is so beautiful!

 Back in Ramona, Nonnie had planned some neat crafts and activities for the kids.  These were sun art papers.  The kids chose different items to place on the paper and the sun would change the color of the paper leaving a shadow of the object behind.

 The Kinetic sand is always a hit.

 Photo session with mom.  :)

 Another fun summer adventure is always the beach!!!

 The kids also help out at Gateway.  Here they are on the back porch of the Residence helping to divide up the fruit and veggies from the garden.

 Marilyn, who used to work with birds in a rescue program, planned a fun activity for the kids to teach them about owls.  First she placed owl feathers around an old eucalyptus tree for the kids to find.  Then she told them about the owl box high up in the tree where the owls come to lay their eggs.  She taught them about owl's eyes, heads, prey and how they use their feathers.  She had a hawk's feather too and showed the kids how silent an owl feather is compared to a hawk by swishing it through the air.  Then she played different owl calls on her ipad for them to hear! Last, she placed baby plush owls in low-lying trees and sent the kids on a hunting adventure to find them!  It was so fun and such a sweet lesson!

 Earlier, Nonnie had collected some of the owl pellets from the tree and after sterilizing them in the oven, the kids dissected them!

 It was neat to see the skulls of the mice and hear how owls eat!

 Sweet picture at Seaport Village looking out into the bay.

 We also toured an old-fashioned jail in Old Town.  Pretty neat history there.  The kids are making their sad "jail" faces.

 After the beach, we stopped at our favorite Mexican restaurant, Casa de Bandini.  In the middle of dinner, Nolan lost his front tooth!  It was pretty gross in the middle of the meal, but definitely memorable!!

 And Nonnie taught Nolan a few tricks in Chinese Checkers too!  Nonnie is a sharp Chinese Checkers player--I don't think any of us could beat her!

In her free time, Maya built this village out of Papa and Nonnie's Lego set.  

 In the gift shop on our layover in Phoenix, the kids found this freeze-dried ice cream sandwich and really wanted to try it.  So we packed it and brought it home.

 Verdict:  Weird but good.

Papa and Nonnie also bought each of the kids a gift of their choosing.  Maya picked out a red Panda that she named Precious (and still carries with her in the car, months later) and Nolan picked out this magnetic dart board.  Good picks!