We Love San Diego

What's not to love about San Diego? The weather is perfect right now...highs of 70F, sunny, 0% humidity, ocean breezes running through your hair. The city is scenic...right next to the beautiful Pacific Ocean, but you can see mountains as well as beaches. Everything in downtown is nearby and within walking distance...and if it's not within walking distance, if you drive, it will only take 5 minutes to arrive at your destination. So often, we'd look down at our map, look back up, and we'd already be at our destination. We loved San Diego and are already itching to go back! Next time I want to take Elina and Eli as well because there are so many fun, kiddie things to do that we didn't even get to. So what did we do during our stay in this wonderful city? The Mother of the Groom (who also happens to be my 2nd mom or my surrogate mom) put us up at a fancy hotel downtown that was right on the water, the Manchester Grand Hyatt (pictured on the right). We walked around Hotel del Coronado on Coronado Island. We ate great Mexican food in Old Town. We went to Point Loma to the lighthouse and Cabrillo National Monument to see the amazing views of San Diego and the Pacific Ocean (pictured above). I had a relaxing massage and facial in Ocean Beach (courtesy of the Mother of the Groom). We walked around Mission Beach and Pacific Beach. We drove through Balboa Park (couldn't stop because Evie was sleeping in the car). We went shopping in Seaport Village. We also ate an amazing breakfast at the Broken Yolk Cafe in the Gaslamp Quarter in downtown San Diego (love that California Breakfast Burrito with avocados!!).

The wedding was not traditional at all, but still lots of fun. It was kind of a tribute to the 1940s or 1950s, with some other random things added in there. The groomsmen wore suspenders...guests typed wishes to the bride and groom on an old typewriter...guests ran a 3-legged race to win the bouquet and garter (and movie tickets?!?)...there was a wedding cobbler instead of a wedding cake. Like I said, not traditional. Evie had a good time as well....but after awhile, she was exhausted and fell asleep. Not everything about this trip was enjoyable. Someone (baby who shall remain unnamed) was not always amenable to our ever-changing schedule. J and I had a run for our money the first night in the hotel. At first Evie slept for 2 1/2 hours by herself in the hotel crib. Then after that, she wouldn't have it anymore. J and I just took turns holding her the entire night because she refused to sleep for more than 30 minutes at a time in the crib. We didn't want to disturb the neighbors, so we kept holding her. J would hold and rock her and I'd nurse and hold her. I continuously nursed her while sitting in an armchair and we'd both just fall asleep for an hour. Then she'd wake up crying and I'd hand her off to J. It was a rough first night. After that night though, she slept normally. She would only wake up once at night for a feeding and then go back down to sleep until morning. Every morning she'd sleep in later and later because she was missing out on more and more of her naps. For the first few days, she was willing to take all her naps in the car, but starting on the 4th day she had had it. She straight out refused to sleep in the car anymore...so instead, she'd torture all of us with her screaming cry. After the wedding, we all sat in a huge Chevy Tahoe (J, me, and 6 of the groom's family members) and listened to Evie cry the entire 45 minutes it took to drive back to the hotel! Ahhhhh, the joys of having a baby!

Overall, though, Evie was a trooper. Yes, she would scream in the car sometimes because she had had it and that first night was terrible, but other than that, she was pretty good. Sometimes she'd be a little fussy since she was out of sorts, but we'd rock her and she would be ok. Sometimes she was just a happy little baby. Other times she was just plain tired and would actually fall asleep with her head on my shoulder (or anywhere else). The collage below sums it all up--happy and alert...then tired and sleepy.
One funny thing we noticed was Evie's hair. Since the day she was born, her hair has always been kinda spiky...similar to Eli's. But after a day in San Diego, her hair started to flatten. She looked like a completely different baby. We think the humidity in San Antonio makes it puffy and the lack of humidity in San Diego makes it lie flat. Take a look at the before and after shots below. Both were taken on the plane, one on the way to San Diego and the other on the way back. It was a great trip, but J and I are exhausted. With Evie, the touristy stuff, and the wedding stuff, it was a busy, but fun trip. Now we're home and hurting from the 2 hour time difference. It'll take a few days to get back into the groove of things. But while we're adjusting, we're cursing the San Antonio weather and longing for the cool ocean breezes of the Pacific.