June 8 (Day 7)

We started out day seven by making our way to California. When we first crossed the California state line, we pulled over near Mexicali to see the sand dunes there. It was so cool! The dunes looked like something you would have seen in Aladdin. The boys had fun goofing around passing the football, while Mom and I just enjoyed the burning sand. After dusting off our clothes the best we could, we got back in the car and continued to Mexicali where we actually got to go into Mexico. We didn’t spend much time there, Dad basically just wanted us to be able to say that we had. However, as we were in line to cross back over into California, Dad noticed they didn’t have my birth certificate (He had taken it out in Prattville when I got my permit) and without it I couldn’t get back in! Let me tell you, it was a little frightening! However, when we pulled up to the station the guy was really friendly and said he only needed to see my permit. Close call!

One big difference we noticed from Arizona to California was the drastic temperature drop. In Arizona we saw up to 112 and in San Diego it never got out of the 60’s! Like everyone else, we had pictured a sunny California, well not in San Diego during the “June gloom” it was overcast and cold! However we all had a fun time walking around Seaport village before we turned in for the night.

Best part of the day? The awesome sand dunes!

June 9 (Day 8)

Pretty early Thursday morning we hit the road so we could see as much as San Diego as we could before lunch. The first stop was the beach in La Jolla where we got to get right on the Pacific ocean and see tons of seals and sea lions laying around lazily. It was so neat! Then we made our way to the Children’s beach where the sea lions have taken over. We also had the chance to play in the waves and find what sea shells we could before the waves came crashing down without mercy. It was a lot of fun, even though walking around with wet clothes wasn’t. J After that we drove to Cabrillo National park, where we met up with Christy Cobb and her husband John and two children Shelby and Abby. Dad and Christy are friends from high school, and we both happened to be in San Diego at the same time. Her husband John is retiring from the Navy, so they made a vacation out of it and we got the chance to meet up with them. We all went down to the Pacific and played in the tide pools at low tide. It was really cool to see all the little sea critters!

After Cabrillo we met back up with the Cobb’s at the Naval base on Coronado Island where they had been staying. John showed us around the base a little and then we went to their hotel for a cookout along the beach. It was a little chilly, but we all had tons of fun! After roasting some marshmallows for smores, we said our goodbyes and went back to the hotel.

Best part of the day? Too hard to decide! It was all great J