You can catch up with the first and second days of our California trip, but keep reading for details on the U.S.S. Midway and our drive up the coast of Southern California.
Things to Do:
U.S.S. Midway Museum – This was honestly one of our favorite stops of the week. There is so much to do and the kids were far more engaged than I expected. There is a super nice portable potty outside the museum (think Bryant Denny quad potty nice), so go there first. I also wouldn’t recommend buying tickets ahead of time. That line you see in the photo below is for the people already holding tickets. We had to buy them when we arrived and were ushered immediately inside, with no wait time at all. For little kids, I highly recommend the Junior Pilots’ Program!
When Josh first suggested that we visit a retired aircraft carrier in the harbor at San Diego, I was less than enthusiastic. Not because it didn’t sound super interesting to me (we loved the Submarine Tour in San Francisco), I just had images of bored children making it very difficult to enjoy. Before our trip, we talked with them extensively about things they wanted to see and do. Obviously, a six and ten year old didn’t know all of the possibilities that would lie on the California coast, but it was easy to get them to make suggestions like: museum, dog park, arcade, etc. We had a long list of things that we wanted to see, but we tried our best to incorporate as many of their requests as possible (we’ll cover that more in the next travel post). Josh had casually mentioned the Midway in front of Sophie and it became her number one priority. On Sunday morning, we woke up bright and early to enjoy breakfast with the last few family members still on the west coast before we headed into San Diego for the last time.
When I tell you my kids were enthralled with the audio tour, I am not exaggerating at all. We opted for the Junior Program, which gave us about 29 stops to make during our tour. If we saw something else that looked interesting, we could listen to that, too — all of the audio prompts were loaded, we just followed the junior route for most of our day. It was a self-guided tour, which we were able to do at the girls’ pace, and we all learned so much. One of the coolest things was that many of the employees and volunteers actually served on the Midway or other navy vessels. They were so knowledgeable and would stop and chat with you about anything and everything. We asked them so many questions!
After finishing the interior part of the tour, we headed out on deck to see the planes and helicopters. There were several of the aircraft open for you to view, so the girls had fun climbing in and out and taking lots of pictures.
Josh and I kind of loved that Ella was old enough to operate my camera if I set it up for her. It was the first vacation in a long time where we didn’t have to ask complete strangers to take our picture! She got several great shots of us throughout the week.
As you listened to the Junior Pilots’ Program, you had a question to answer about each stop. I kept track of the booklet and pencil, but I made sure the girls could answer the questions without our help before writing down their answers. There were a few times when we made them listen a second time to figure them out! Once completed, we turned in our booklet to this nice gentleman and he pinned the girls with their very own set of wings. It was such a great way to make this museum accessible to them and Josh & I enjoyed it just as much as they did.
Things to Eat:
Hodad’s Downtown – Josh didn’t have huge opinions when it came to what we toured and where we ate, but he insisted that we try Hodad’s. A friend had recommended it to us several weeks prior and we are both huge burger fans. We had planned to visit the Ocean City location, but we ended up eating downtown after our museum trek that morning. Now let me pass along some wisdom. First, we found plenty of inappropriate things written on the walls. If you are sensitive about things like that, you might want to steer clear. The girls made it their mission in life to find as many curse words as possible and they giggled maniacally. I had to learn to stop noticing things, which always tipped them off. Second, you do not need a double. No matter how hungry you are or how certain you are you can finish, it isn’t ever going to happen. Also, the fries were really potato wedges and they were so delicious. If there is anything you take away from our California posts, it’s that we can pick out some excellent restaurants!
Things to See:
San Clemente Beach – Over breakfast that morning, my cousins had nothing but wonderful things to report about San Clemente. They visited many beaches the previous day and this was, hands down, their favorite. We were planning to drive up the coast towards Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon (our AirBnB check-in wasn’t until after 6), so we decided to make a few stops along the way. Much like our time in La Jolla, the girls fell asleep in the car and Josh & I enjoyed a few quiet minutes before exploring the coast. There was a cute downtown area with plenty of shops and restaurants, but we came for the beach. We spent some time on their swingsets and exploring the pier, and even got to see the Pacific Surfliner train blaze by. Before we decided to rent a car, we had plans to take the train from San Diego to LA, so it was super fun to see!
We still have THREE more days of California posts to share and I promise to get them up for you as soon as possible! It’s looking like I’ll manage one California post per week until we finish up. See you back here soon!
