San Diego

This last week our family had the chance to go to San Diego. We wanted to go on one last big trip before we all go our separate ways. This is probably our last summer together before everything changes. Since I've graduated, I will (hopefully) be working by this time next year, and I won't get summers off anymore. Jason is leaving for his mission in January and he will be gone for two years. By the time he gets back, Shauna will have graduated from BYU and gone off to parts unknown, and Kristie will have graduated from high school and started college. So... this is truly the end of the era, which makes me sad, but I am glad that we still have a little more time together. We wanted this trip to be a sort of last hurrah before we all spread out across the world. (But who knows what will happen? My best friend's family all ended up living in the same city after they'd grown up and gotten married... I am hoping that will happen to us too!)

San Diego is beautiful. The weather was nice, in the upper 60s (although ironically we found out that back in Colorado it was in the 80s all week!) Shauna found us a nice little condo to rent close to the beach. Since we went at an off season time, we got a really good deal on it. We were on the beach all the time, shell collecting and sun bathing and trying our luck at boogie boarding.

We also got to visit a few cool places. On the first day we went to the Mormon Battalion visitor's center. We had been there once before about 8 years ago, I think, but they have totally updated it since then. I think they did a great job, I was very impressed. Definitely check it out if you get the chance. We also got to take this cool picture:

Apparently one of Kristie's leaders told her this was a dorky pic and when her family went there, they refused to take home a copy. But I think it is a cute idea and kinda cool. :)

We also got to spend a couple days at Sea World.

We'd been there once, about 8 years ago for a day. But that has changed a lot too. Since then a trainer was killed by a whale, and so the trainers never get into the water with the whales. While we were there, a court case against Sea World went through and the judge determined they need to go a step farther and put barriers between the trainers and the whales. Things will keep changing I guess. The shows there now are a lot tamer... mostly just whales dancing to music. It was cooler when the trainers could get in and ride them, but I'm not sure I blame them for changing their policy after such a terrible tragedy!

The dolphin show though was dumbed down too, which surprised me. I remembered it being a more educational experience.  Last time, the trainer was on a mic, constantly explaining things about the dolphins. Members of the audience were invited to come up and participate in the show. There was some slightly cheesy plotline involved, but the trainer kind of poked fun at it as it went along, and it was just fun. Haha, oh, and I remember they planted a trainer in the audience and pretended that she accidentally fell into the tank during the show, which added some nice suspense.

This time... the show began with a vague voiceover about a little girl who liked to listen to the dolphins outside her window and one day decided to follow her heart. On cue, a trainer dressed as a little girl came out of a mock bedroom window and jumped a couple stories down into the tank. From here on out, loud fairy tale music blared. The dolphins came out and performed for a while. A pilot whale came out and performed for a while. But a huge part of the show involved human acrobats dressed as birds doing tricks... which was cool, but I couldn't help thinking, "Wait, where are the dolphins? Isn't that what I'm here to see?"

You might have to blow this up to see, but there is a parrot lady in the middle of this picture who flew around on a zip line kind of thing.

The grand finale!

It was still a cool show, but I missed the old one. I felt that this show was more geared for a preschool audience (at least, the plot line had that feel to it).

Sea World has also added a lot of rides since our last visit. I am proud to say that I was brave and rode one of the roller coasters (Journey to Atlantis, I think it's called) a couple of times.

Check out the awesome Splash Mountain-like drop! Yeah, I did that! Twice! :)

Our family also got to visit an old aircraft carrier that has been since turned into a museum: the USS Midway. Jason especially got a blast out of this. My granddaddy once served on naval destroyer in World War II, which is a lot smaller than an aircraft carrier. Even though it was a different kind of ship, it gave me some valuable insight into what his life was like during that time. I also gained a lot more respect for the Navy. Growing up so inland, I haven't had a whole lot of contact with the Navy before, and it was interesting to learn so much more about it. At one point a bunch of current Navy sailors walked by (current armed forces get in for free) and I have to say, those uniforms look really good!

Finally, a visit to San Diego would not be complete without a stop at the San Diego temple! It is one of my favorites because it is so beautiful. And it is SO big!

Temples are sacred places in our faith (the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints). They are places where we go to make sacred covenants and promises with God. This is where our marriage ceremonies take place, and couples are sealed together for time and all eternity (rather than till death do us part). We are fortunate back home to have a temple in Denver, only a hour away, and in Provo I live about five minutes from a temple. Even prior to our marriages, Latter-day Saints visit temples to make covenants with God, and then we return to do temple work for our deceased ancestors and relatives.

All in all, our trip to San Diego was amazing-just too short! I hope I get to go back again someday. It's just so beautiful down there! I can't imagine what it would be like to always live so near the beach. But of course San Diego was lacking one thing-mountains. Every time I looked at the horizon, I felt like there was something wrong because it was just too dang flat (especially over the ocean!)