Week 48: San Diego (aka Trip #1)

The month of July is going to be an extremely busy one for us - and a month that will take us all over the United States!  By the time July ends, we will have been to California, Wisconsin, Montana and Florida (obviously); makes me tired just thinking about it.  We flew out to San Diego the end of June for an annual work meeting called President's Council that Kent now attends in his CFO role.  This was my first trip as the spouse rather than an attendee, so I was greatly looking forward to the chance to relax and enjoy a week's vacation spent with Erik!

The trip out to San Diego was Erik's 2nd plane ride (he flew out to Salt Lake City in March) and thankfully, he continues to be a great traveler.  He nursed during take-off and landing so he didn't have any problems with his ears.  While he didn't take any long naps, he would doze off for about 30 minutes and when awake, he was easily entertained.  On the way out to California, we traveled with several co-workers so the pressure was on to make sure that Erik didn't cry during the entire flight!  One of our coworkers, Paul, stopped by our row and actually took Erik back to sit with his family for a short time.  That was a nice break for Kent & I!

The meetings were held at the Lodges at Torrey Pines in La Jolla, California which is an incredibly beautiful location.  The resort is next to the Torrey Pines Reserve, which I walked into nearly every day; the weather there was so nice that I could actually take a walk at 9 AM or at 2 PM - times of day in Orlando where you get from your air-conditioned car to your air-conditioned office or home as quickly as possible!  It was rather odd to be able to be outdoors at any point during the day but it was a good thing!!  The meetings sponsored several events during the week which we tried to attend if Erik's nap schedule permitted.  Otherwise, Erik & I would take a walk in the morning, then I would work while Erik napped until lunch.  Then, after Kent's meetings were over, we would venture out to explore the greater San Diego area.  We toured Balboa Park where Erik loved the kids' miniature train ride and the carousel, the San Diego Zoo where it seems you are always walking up a hill, the Birch Aquarium, the Pacific Ocean so Erik could say that he has been in both the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans within 6 weeks of each other, downtown San Diego where we took a 1-hour harbor cruise and we visited several lovely restaurants in La Jolla and San Diego.  I don't think we had a bad meal the whole week!

Erik in Balboa Park

Family photo at the San Diego Harbor cruise

One of the highlights of our time in San Diego was that my brother, Kalvin, was able to drive down to visit with us on Tuesday before he flew out for his summer adventures in El Salvador.  Kalvin hasn't seen Erik since last year August; I was a bit worried that Erik would be hesitant or shy around Kalvin.  I was very pleasantly surprised and pleased when Erik reached out to Kalvin as soon as he saw him - this almost never happens!!  Uncle Kalvin has grown quite the mustache and Erik thought it was wonderful.  He babbled with Kalvin and showed him all his tricks!  Even though it was only for a few hours, it was wonderful to see Kalvin again and we hopefully will get to see him in August as he returns from his summer travels.

Erik, Uncle Kal and Kelli.  Check out the mustache!