The Story of San Diego (and beyond!)

Continuing on our "The Story of ..." series, our next stop is San Diego - the wonderful, perfectly climated, almost in Mexico, paradise of Southern Cal. We only had about 36 hours in San Diego, but needless to say, I now know why Mike wants to retire there (and he's only 25).

After checking into our hotel on Sunday afternoon, we headed down to the Zoo, which is a must if you're in San Diego. More than just animals, it's like an oasis in the middle of mostly brown flora. The trees are massive, cool breezes flow through the hills, and they do have an incredible assortment of animals. We spent about 2 1/2 hours in the zoo.

Next, we headed up to Mission Beach, recommended to us by a local. It was just getting to be time for sunset when we found a place to park and hit the beach. The water was cold (as I had heard about the Pacific). Not knowing the area well, we ate a Tony Roma's and then headed back to Rancho Barnardo to our hotel.

The next morning we traversed back down to La Jolla, a wonderful little town on the cliffs above the Pacific. We found it on a perfect day and spent a few hours near the water and strolling through the town. From there, we headed up the coastal highway through Solana Beach, Encinitas, and up to Carlsbad, where we had our first ever tasting of "In-N-Out Burger," famed to be the best burgers in the world by our California friends (it was mighty good).

Next, we headed up the 5 to Highway 1, which then takes you through Laguna Beach, Newport Beach, and up to Long Beach. Ang, Mia, and I jumped inland from Newport Beach straight up to Anaheim to our hotel, while Mike and Sarah enjoyed their convertible for a few more hours by heading all the way up to Long Beach.

So, that's the story of the end of our California travels. Now, here are some pics to prove it!

Big elephant!

Mia says: "That's an elephant."

Rhinos are indestructible.

Even big pandas get thirsty.

Sarah and Ang show their love for pandas.


The La Jolla Cove

"Don't push us in!"

The girls would call for waves to crash on the rocks...

...and then run away when they hit!

But we managed to get one good picture with a crashing wave.

And in case you didn't know, Disneyland is in California. =)