Currency:
US Dollars

Highlights:
The Zoo and Sea World, more good quality time with family and friends.

Our Adventure Summarised:

Day 1 - The Zoo:

We wanted to treat the kids to a special outing while we were visiting and since none of us had been to the zoo in San Diego (SD), we decided this would be the perfect spot as it has a reputation as being one of the best zoos in the world. Getting 3 kids plus 3 adults into the car for a long road trip is no easy feat and luckily we had lots of Roald Dahl audio tapes and 'Lucas the Lazy Lion' sing-alongs to keep us going!

The zoo was as excellent as its reputation promised it would be and we had an awesome day exploring all the different parts. The animals have much bigger cages than usual and there are so many trees etc. along the pathway that you get the impression that you are walking through the jungle. They have also done a great job of including so many different types of animals that we had never heard of before - like the Okapi (looks like a buck cross zebra). We all got to see our favourites - the tiger and pandas for most of the group and the koala bears for me.

That evening we went into the Gaslamp District of SD which is a really cool part of downtown - loads of bars, restaurants etc. V and Al came to join us as they had just landed in town that day and we had a few drinks at Fred's Mexican Café (another of my fave old spots!). The kids were then well and truly ready for their beds so they all headed home and we went on to my friend Anika's house in Little Italy. She had prepared up a storm of delicious cheese and biscuits which went down very well with the wine she had bought. And then dessert was even better - cheesecake and champagne! It was great to spend some more time with Anika and her boyfriend Ryan.

You can see our photos here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=355367&id=713415257&l=e547ca0a82

Day 2 - Sea World

Shaun and I felt like true kids ourselves as we went to 2 big parks in 2 days! V, Al, Shaun and I were at the gates of Sea World as it opened and it was so worth it as we virtually had the place to ourselves for the better part of the morning. What a magical place! It's made up of a series of different areas for the different animals - killer whales, dolphins, seals, beluga whales to name a few. They do a fantastic job of combining aquariums with shows and rides. Our favourite ride was probably the 4D Polar Express - especially feeling like you were in the snow. And as for shows - although the pets one was brilliant, nobody could beat Shamu and friends. Wow - how they train the whales to do some of those tricks is absolutely unbelievable!

We were sad to say goodbye to Al and V again (we'll be meeting up again in Aus) as we jumped onto the Amtrak train back to Irvine. This is s beautiful train ride that goes along the beach for most of the way through all the little beach towns. We were also treated to magnificent sunset.

And then it was time for a quick shower and roast back at Ian and Sal's before packing up. It was terrible saying goodbye to them all but at least we know we will (hopefully) be back to visit again next year!

Our photos:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=355370&id=713415257&l=9125fa333a
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=355376&id=713415257&l=5b716e5dae

Aloha,
Lara + Leise