We took Gavin to the San Diego Wild Animal Park for a warm day of looking at animals. One of the coolest experiences we had was a greeting from a wild deer who came into the park looking for food. Gavin also loved the elephants, which turned out to be the special animal of this trip.
After going to the park we picked up his cousin Raul so Gavin could help him with his computer homework. Gavin is quite an expert at using the computer.
Aliciana, Gavin, and I spent a long weekend in Santa Barbara to celebrate our friends Brooke and Lance’s wedding. On Saturday we spent the afternoon walking around Solvang’s Dogtoberfest celebration. Gavin got to see lots of cute dogs and some wiener dog races. We finished off the afternoon with a delicious lunch at the Solvang Restaurant.
We decided to spend the day in San Luis Obispo to celebrate Aliciana’s birthday. We started off our day trip with lunch at one of our favorite eating spots: Firestone Grill. Then we took a stroll around downtown SLO and showed Gavin the creek that runs through the city.
Cal Poly was deserted because of the Thanksgiving holiday weekend so we decided to show Gavin our old stomping grounds. Gavin had a blast running around campus. We let him run wild around the Computer Science building and Dexter lawn. Then we walked around the rose garden near the Business building and checked out the new additions to Mustang Stadium.
We finished up our SLO trip with a drive around Avila and Shell Beach. After watching the sun set we headed back into SLO for dinner at Pepe Delgado’s.
Going to SLO is always bittersweet because it reminds us how much we miss living there. But, you never know how the future is going to turn out, and someday we might be able to afford to live there again. Until that day, we will just have to make as many trips there as possible to hang out and soak up the ‘SLO life’.
We met my brother Nick, his wife Jessie, our aunt Susie, and our cousin Sara in LA for the 3rd game of the new Dodgers season. I’m not sure how much of the game Gavin understood but he seemed to have fun. He really enjoyed all the clapping to try to break the Dodgers out of their funk. Unfortunately, it didn’t work, and they got creamed 10 to 0.
We took the boys to Sequoia to see the General Grant Tree and Hume Lake. It is unbelievably beautiful in the forest surrounded by the giant trees. Gavin loves the “big trees” and asks to go see them almost everyday. Every time we go it is so hard to leave.
A large portion of the Loera clan headed to Long Beach to celebrate Eddie’s birthday. He wanted to check out the Aquarium Of The Pacific with all of his grandkids. Marco and Cesar couldn’t make it but the rest of the grandkids were there and had a great time.
The family and I took a stroll along the waterfront in Long Beach while we were waiting for the rest of the Loera Clan. We were all meeting up in Long Beach to go to the Aquarium of the Pacific.
We spent the 4th of July holiday weekend in San Diego. The boys both discovered they loved chocolate chip Eggo waffles.
We headed to Mando’s house in Highland to meet up with the San Diego Loera clan to celebrate Eddie’s 60th birthday. Along the way we had some delicious brews at Hangar 24 Craft Brewery in nearby Redlands. I highly recommend the double IPA… one of the best I have had the chance to enjoy.
We took the boys on their first trip to Disneyland. Unsurprisingly, it blew their minds and they had a blast. Connor even got to meet his favorite person in the world, Mickey Mouse.
Visiting California Adventures the day after you just spent 13 hours at Disneyland is exhausting. California Adventures was amazing though; along with the boys it was also my first time visiting.
Each ‘land’ really made you feel like you were in a completely different world. It was surreal being able to walk out of the Cars movie’s Radiator Springs and right into Cannery Row. From the desert to a beach boardwalk to the Sierra mountains, the park does a magical job recreating the experiences.
We spent all day driving though the desert to make it to Phoenix, AZ for an evening Diamondbacks baseball game.
One of our goals as a family is to see a ballgame in every MLB stadium before Gavin goes off to college. So far, as a family, we have marked off Dodger Stadium, Angel Stadium, Petco Park (Padres), and now Chase Field (Diamondbacks).
The family and I spent the next day of our Arizona trip at one of my favorite places in the world: The Grand Canyon. It was every bit as beautiful as I remembered, although there was a fire near the east side of the park, so the views from the Desert View Watchtower were a bit hazy.
I think the Grand Canyon amazed the boys at first, but little boys can only look at a giant hole in the ground for so long. We spent a long time walking along the rim of the canyon. We even had a close encounter with some mule deer.
Next time we go to the canyon the boys should be old enough to walk on the trails down to the bottom. I doubt we will make it all the way, but it would be amazing to hike a mile or so down and back up.
We were up in the Pacific Northwest so the boys can hang out with their grandparents, their Aunt Courtney and her family, and AJ and Michaela.
The first full day we were in Portland we caught a Hillsboro Hops minor league baseball game. It was record breaking hot, with the field temperature measuring 102°. The field was artifical turf, so it must have been like being in an oven for the players.
We only made it through half the game before we needed to retreat back to my parent’s house.
