A time when San Diego means SeaWorld

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When: Thanksgiving 2009( 25th - 29th November)
Where: San Diego
Highlights: 2 days in Sea World, Venice canals, Venice beach & of course the US Mexican border: in short, every moment.
Mileage: ~1100 miles

I would've called this trip "dynamic" until I met someone who went out 2000mi with just a car, GPS & a destination.
We may not be the wild ones but to digest the fact that I printed out Sea World tickets 4 hrs before our actual departure is about as wild as it gets for us.

We left home a couple hrs after the angel fell asleep. I was concerned that we were putting little S to a hazzle by letting her sleep in her car seat, but if we had left early in the morning, things could've been pretty worse. It turned out that she had a pretty deep sleep.


Thursday, Nov 26th
Reaching the US Mexico border past San Diego around noon we see that the gate was closed. In spite of me calling in to check if it will be opened, the board clearly reads "the road is closed to vehicular traffic during the week". You can drive in only on weekends. We embraced the heat & the distance. Walking ~2 mi is a big deal when you have a toddler in her stroller, 80F heat & no breeze. Having missed it once, seeing the Mexico border was a top priority even if it was only a fence leading to the Pacific Ocean. I had seen it a hundred times in photos. I knew how it looks, but still, I had to be there.

Mexico border: We noticed so many things here.
-On the mexican side there is a lighthouse, stadium & a cafeteria just by the border fence. I saw people chilling out. On this side, we just had another family for company. It did feel like the people on the other side truly live.
-For every turn we made inside the park(it is officially called Border Field State Park), there was a security patrol in his car watching us. Trust me on this one! If we walked further, this one would go only to be replaced by another patrol.
-The area is a major sewerage dump on the US side. There were neat houses on the Mexican side.
-There were people on the other side. They looked at us like we were nobody. They had their own business.
- Absolutely zero patrol on the other side.
Now, I know that this is one of the world's most often crossed borders & it is the US that has illegal immigrants to deal with & I do not contend. But the difference was so obvious.
But seriously, I think more people would visit this place if it was opened to vehicle traffic on all days.
They probably know that, anyways!
The walk back was uneventful with little S dozing off & the sun on our back.

After a stop at Coronado Island, we headed to our hotel room for some much needed refreshments.


Friday, Nov 27th
With no further delay, we reached Sea World even before their scheduled open time. Today was S's day & she had so much fun until she could no longer take any more of it.
The downside would be little S scared at Santa thatha. She just wanted to leave the room & Santa.😞
Half way through the day, we realized that there was no way we would see it all in one day.
We would've seen at least 1000 people at the Shamu stadium. Shamu, however commercialized the show may get, is still the superstar of Sea World. Little S went Shamu Shamu all day. Other kids too. It was such a sight to see the kids forgetting themselves on seeing Shamu.
We left after the last Shamu show.


Saturday, Nov 28th
We arrived a little later due to a storm system that brought wind & rain from nowhere. I remember checking the weather. 😞
Fortunately for us & the others, the weather only got better. We took a few rides. The Sun came out for a while.
The highlight of the day would definitely be the 20 minutes inside Polar Express 4D with little S moving this side & that shouting, "snow", "baby", "boy", "man", "train" whenever she saw any of those, which happened like every single moment. 😊
S got to take photos with Shamu & a penguin. She touched & rubbed the penguin's nose & this penguin certainly didn't mind.
The toddler ran here & there & everywhere. Her moment came when we visited the "Sesame street experience". She met Elmo, cookie monster, Abby & everything else I know not.

I haven't enjoyed Sea World like I enjoyed it these last 2 days. Seeing this world with the eyes of a toddler made all the difference.
We drove up to LA for the night.


Sunday, Nov 29th
Our plans of early start were dwarfed with the heavy breakfast at the hotel. So, we found ourselves much later at the Venice canals. This was not in out agenda, but credits to Ganesh to have picked it from the GPS attractions. There, tucked under the wild LA, was this beautiful Venice due with its canals, boats & beautiful houses. Until I'd seen them Venice & LA would've been the wildest metaphor.
We landed in a beach between the Santa Monica & Venice beach piers. It had been a long time since I found myself playing in the sand & standing the cool waters of "ANY" beach. I so loved the warm sun & the cool breeze. Little S did not seem so enthused with the cold water touching her ankles. She would cry terribly when one of us put her any close to the water. So much for us!
We later headed towards the Malibu temple which seemed to witness something of a fair. We later learned that an "homam" was performed in the temple after 10 years. What are the odds that we would land on that exact same day? 😊
The temple is exactly as I saw it a couple years ago. But I have changed a lot!

Our drive back home was so eventful that it is better I avoid mentioning it. Reached home at midnight.
I so loved this trip & all of us enjoyed it every bit. Little S is the one remembering Shamu, Flamingoes, manatees & sea lions😊


travelbuffs
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“No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow.” ~ Lin Yutang

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Photos

mighty scared in an ice cave
SeaWorld

just outside Polar Express 4D
you can only imagine what would've gone inside

Family fun
S faired pretty well in this adventurous experience

following the little one already
Santa Monice beach