San Diego

Fed up with Chicago's weeks of 78 degree sunshine, we decided to switch it up a bit and head over to 79 degree San Diego. So glad we did. G&G Omaha and the Knights got to share the glory with us. 

Stay safe people!!

and also don't talk to me.

We've been in San Diego for 30 minutes... time to hit the beach!

Cousins reunited on the rock of Coronado Beach. Also known as Beach of Doom. As we'll come to learn...

But right now it is beach of joy!

and love!

and adventure!

Castle made my Brock and Madeline. You'll noticed the turnips planted in the Royal Garden.

K. So Matt got "hit" (not bit or stabbed as the locals informed us, but "hit") by a sting ray!! Matt was frolicking in the wavea when he felt a painful stab and pulling. He knew it was bad. He ran out of the water, blood oozing from his foot and him trying to avoid the sand. Melinda and I are trying to help yet are subconsciously reluctant to give Matt the one clean white towel all 6 of us are sharing. Brock is starting to freak out. Luckily at that point a life guard swings round in a pick up truck and before we have to explain anything she says, "sting ray". We start to blubber nonsense. "Sting ray". She repeats. K. Fine. She says there are some others to pick up so she wraps a bag around Matt's foot and hauls him up to the beach medic station. They run a tight ship there and Matt already has company. They line up the victims in a row each given a chair and a bucket of almost boiling hot water. Water is for foot, chair is for butt. Let me mention, Matt is in A LOT of pain. But he looks so cute!

Matt stops for a pedicure. OF DOOM!! AHHHH the Beach of DOOM!!

Sting ray venom pulsing through made the insanely hot water feel like a gentle hot spring. The hot water draws out the poison. This is what is happening below.

Uh. We have now been in San Diego 1.5 hours. So myself, the kids, and Mark and Melinda head to the airport to pick up GMaOmaha leaving Matt to suffer and haggle for a Mai Tai delivery. Once GMaOmaha has been acquired and the remains of Matt scraped from the shore, we head, where else? But to the liquor store.

Ha! And we found the elusive giant cheese balls! An indispensable ingredient in for a Nebraska Margarita (see Gpa O.'s 60th Bday post as reference). Ok. Now we are ready to head south to our house rental in Ocean Side where more adventures ensue.

Tis morning in Ocean Side!  The now traditional children-on-rocks opening photo.

This beach is very nice, but seems chillier and scarier now that we have experienced the Beach of Doom. 

YEch!! Here be the flesh wound a day old.

A focus of our sojourn south is to meet up at Uncle Don and Aunt Judy's House of Paradise to intersect Super Grandma and Grandpa Omaha. S.Gpa.O. just got out of the hospital with fluid around his heart and we are all very happy to be able to give him extra hugs. For me, I got to meet all the cousins on Matt's side that I had missed at previous reunions. 

Cool Duck is not a Cerney by blood, but in spirit.

Cool duck announces the start of the Duck Race. You will see the water foul, each sponsored by a party guest, make their way down the water fall to the splash zone. In the splash zone they will prepare for the next event, the Cannonball Competition. 

Matt judges. He give Madeline the 10 she deserves, but judging is subjective, and Madeline takes home the silver.

Not to be out done, Don takes the plunge.

Meanwhile, a young croc lurks in calmer waters.

Here I am attempting make splash enough to persuade the ducks to leap to shore. My influence fell extremely short despite desperate splashing upon surfacing.

The gang's all here! GPa.O and siblings.

Next competition introduced by Max is the Sour Warhead Sucking contest. 

Matt is unphased, Mark serves up a primal reaction. Brock entered this contest as well and seems to have his daddy's toughened tongue. He made it through the sour squeeze to the sweet ending.

What an awesome party. Thanks Don and Judy! Back to our Oceanside home to rest up before Lego Land!

But first, beach balls and sand.

Ha ha! The main event! And a rare visual sighting of our ace photographer, Melinda. 

G.&G.O photobombed this Lego robot. He is not pleased.

Madeline used her allowance to play a game of chance skill with the hopes to obtain a stiff snugly rainbow friend. Brock watches with deep jealousy respect and ruminates over the meaning of this word "allowance". 

Brock very much wanted to watch the staged show of the Emperor's New Clothes. I was shocked that he also wanted to say hi to the actors afterwards. But indeed, the young fan was starstruck and awarded them with an agreeable high five. Don't get any ideas young man. The. Theatre. Is. For. Losers. Tee hee.

Long line (15 minutes? thanks Lego Land!) was easily vanquished by GMa.O's strategic planning of moment of crisis gummy distribution. 

Lines are the best.

This ride you had to work for.

Must. get. to. the. tooooopppp. heave!

So worth it.

Ride snoogs! 

Brock's golf cart-ting lessons I feel have paid off, as demonstrated above.

Observe how he maneuvers around those speed bumps other drivers.

The little Lego museum gave us a bit of history and a mini factory demo. Brock loves a good "how it's made" and this was no exception.

Mark, Matt, Brock and Jim save the day putting out a fire in the bakery.

One of Brock's favorite rides was the non-ride. The playground. Hard to compete with running around crazy with abiding cousins, Grandfolk and parents.

At this point, Brock is holding his cookies together pretty well with no nap, but I think this was a low moment. Actually and figuratively. 

Some kind of something happened here worthy of a manly selfie.

Legos are Fun! fun? Brock? fun, right?

Indeed, fun. fun? fun.

FUN!

Sadly all the big thrills at Lego land said Brock was too short a lad to partake. Matt lives it up with the fearless flying Madeline.

Ok. So at some point, day 2 of Lego Land happened. This is what I can tell you. Brock clearly, in the morning said he did not want to go to Lego Land. Fun. Fun? Fun. I dismissed his chatter to early morning rebellion. Matt was thinking more defensively and hoped to steer us towards the water park earlier rather than later to combat potential brewing child insanity. We didn't hear, our ears full of colorful interlocking cubes of some nature. Anyhow, Brock entered the water park at the brink of despair and declared after gazing at a truly awesome display of wet wonders "I WANT TO TAKE A NAP!!". Fun? fun. So out of our swim suits and into the car we went to wait out storm.

2.3 hours later....

Mummy destruction ensues to a small man full of ice cream and rest.

Once again, the climbing play structure is Brock's favorite, with the delicious attentions of G.&G.Omaha and mom and dad at his beckoning call.

You'll notice mom and dad did NOT go up through the tiny crawl space nets. Suckers.

Would a visit be complete without a flattened inflated currency to conjure sweet memories of an amazing day at Lego Land? I think not.

After an awesome dinner at a golf course in the area, we head back to San Diego to check into the Catamaran Resort Hotel, an awesome Knight find from past San Diego outings. What a great place, sandwiched between two beaches, one fierce and lively on the Pacific Beach side, and one calm and clear on the Mission Bay side. And a great breakfast place we found on the beach called Woodies. 

The cushioned bench was the best!!

Not to mention the pigeons.

Or the donuts.

Mission bay beach side swimming. We also hit the awesome pool, the hotel arcade and fabulous tacos.

That night we take a sunset boat ride to the other side of the bay.

Then we are back the next morning to Woodies and Pillow Demolition 2017.

Total domination.

The Knights are heading back that afternoon, but we get one last seaside romp and shell collection on the Pacific Beach side. The morning fog was crazy there, but it always cleared up by 11.

Max the man has such a lucky streak in him. He found the coveted sand dollar, although more like the sand dollar found him, much to the envy of Brock and Madeline. 

Here is the kind gentleman sharing and showing his loot to Brock.

After a farewell pool trip, the Knights are on their way back to Seattle. After nap, we rent a Surrey bike for a beach ride to Belmont park. 

Man, this ride was great. More tummy drops than any ride at Lego Land I hate to say.

That said, the sub really only had the company going for it. 

But they did have an AWESOME Tilt a Whirl (played here by stunt double Crazy Submarine).

Brock's independence has come a long ways since Santa's Village that we just went to this summer with G&G Donut. He is now totally willing and excited to ride rides by himself when all riders must be less than 54". Here he is tearing up the racetrack.

K, here is the Tilt A Whirl!! No riders were injured in this selfie.

After returning the Surrey we headed to dinner at an awesome brewery, Amplified, that strangely featured delicious Middle Eastern food. I think they put the left over garbanzo beans in the wart because the aromas that were coming out of us beer drinkers after that meal was a bit frightening.

How is it time to go back? Oi oi oi. What a great trip. Brock gets to meet the captain! 

Once again starstruck, Brock can only muster a few replies to Captain Mike. Not only that, but he stuck his wings (Spirit's, not a company known to splurge, wings are a sticker not a pin)  on the inside of his armpit and, tired after getting home from the airport late, we left it on till morning when we discovered the adhesive practically melted into Brock's flesh. It was worth it! As usual we are reminded how lucky we are that our family are also our friends, that one of these friends is a willing and extremely talented photographer, and that we are all in a place in our lives to make time for each other. Love you guys! Till next time.