In 2010 we visited most of the same beaches, but did it more as parents with kids instead of a family of friends.
Here, the kids bought their own boogie board. Chloe was actually the first one in the freezing cold water encouraging the rest of us to join her.
Back then, Chloe was a little bit scared of the thunderous waves. But they all had fun together...a trait that continued on this trip as well.
Chuck and I were 37 and tired alot, having the demands that come with a young family. We loved every minute of it, especially those years between 2009-2011, we lovingly refer to those as our "golden years of parenting" cuz our kids were so much fun to hang around. We'd yet to experience teenagers and learn that it gets even better!
Now we're in our late forties and so much more comfortable in our own skin. We still love hanging out with our kids, but more as friends these days. Our experience in San Diego was completely different this time because we had to take into account their wants and likes and dislikes. Last time, I just made the plan and we all did it and liked it. This time we spent what felt like hours ironing out how the day should flow, where to eat, which beach to go to, should we walk or drive. Everyone has opinions!
This time, the more dangerous, the better! They waded as far out as possible. At one point a life guard had to come and tell them to move to a different location because the rip tides were really dangerous where they were. In Carlsbad, the waves were the best! We learned that was where the boogie board was born. I LOVED boogie boarding. It was so exciting. It took me a little longer to get in the water than it did for the kids, but I was right there with them most of the time. I made the mistake of putting my back to the waves and getting whiplashed over and over again.
Chuck usually plays so hard, he crashes whenever he comes in contact with a bed. Here, he was ready to go out for dinner, but couldn't hold his eyes open. I love that he plays his heart out!
But this trip, we even splurged on two rooms at one hotel. Not the one pictured. This picture is of the hotel in Vegas. Chuck, Chloe and I shared a bed in this one. That was fun. Speaking of Vegas - it was insane. That is all I have to say about that. The kids liked it though.
This was our hotel in Vegas. It was beautiful, but it was also massive and filled with the entire population of the rest of the world. After all Covid restrictions were lifted, everyone seemed to flock here in droves. I took this picture at 6:30 in the morning. I'm sure some people were just going to bed around that time. In retrospect, it probably wasn't the best move to plan our arriving in Las Veags on July 4th.
We road-tripped it back then.
An important side note is our love of ice cream on vacation. I think we had it almost every day. Sometimes it was in place of a meal. But there was one place that stole our hearts - Shoobie's in Carlsbad. So we went there twice. It was Nitrogen ice cream. We picked the type of milk (or non-dairy alternative) and toppings and they added nitrogen to the liquid ingredients and mixed the concoction together in front of our very own eyes and we loved every minute of it.
We enjoyed many a hot tub at all our various hotels over the course of our 9 day trip.
We also had the unfortunate luck of witnessing an almost dead seal on the beach. That is why Chloe is having a cow. She noticed that it wasn't dead, had a huge bite taken out of it, and was flopping around kind of pathetically. She was not pleased to be witness to this cycle of life event.
We also had some HILARIOUS conversations regarding Bennett's need to workout. He let it be known that he still planned on working out while we were on vacation because it is "bulking season." Although, he didn't want to wake up early to do said workout. He wanted to try to plan it around our schedule (which there was none). This is a conversation we were having in a hotel lobby one night and it was so hilarious. I recorded a large chunk of it where Bennett is trying to explain what "bulking season" is and why he must continue even while on vacation. He couldn't seem to understand that vacation is just that...a break from our "norms." For the record, he never once worked out but was very peeved that he wasn't looking as strong because of it. And he did indulge in all our ice cream and In And Out Burger outings as well. Needless to say, we were laughing so hard, it was therapeutic. And "bulking season" became a big buzzword during our entire trip.
It wasn't all sunshine and palm trees though, lest you think we had the perfect vacation. Oh no! Far from it. We actually ended up driving through the Mojave desert. This was never the plan, but happened none-the-less. A 5 hour drive turned into an 8 1/2 hour drive. So, this is why we got to see so many Joshua Trees. I never want to see them again. This trip caused me to reevaluate my appreciation of the desert lifestyle. My new opinion is - I don't like it. The end. We also had a horrible experience at our first hotel...it was a dump! Bugs in the windows and on the bed. Horrible restaurant food. But we made the most of it. I emptied a can of lysol on to all surfaces. And then someone was reminded of how this experience was just like an episode of Schitt's Creek - which it was exactly! So we watched it that night to help lighten the mood and commiserate with the actors on that show.
Last time we went to Legoland. It was awesome! The kids were the perfect age!
