Last Minute Getaway!

The kids had been begging Taylor and I to go somewhere for the fall break. We weren't entirely sure we were going to go anywhere because of Taylor's busy work schedule. I finally convinced him I would drive and he could work as we traveled. We asked the kids where they wanted to go and they all agreed that San Diego and Sea World was the place

 Our First stop was Las Vegas. We checked the kids out of school early and arrived around 8:30. We checked into the hotel and made it to the M&M outlet as well as the Coca Cola Factory. Unfortunately, on our way we hit a dog on the Freeway! I didn't see it because I was navigating the route on my phone while Taylor drove, but the thud was loud and hard. We don't know where it came from. I asked Taylor if he was sure it was a dog. We confirmed our suspicions when we parked the car and looked at all the fur and blood in our front fender. The poor dog! We also witnessed the closure of the opposite lanes of the freeway due to the 3rd Presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. One of the two was being escorted North bound on the free way with a sea of police cars and undercover cars surrounding the vehicles. It made for an eventful night.

 We made our way to the Bellagio to see the seasonal decor and the fountain show that followed along with the Michael Jackson song "Billie Jean".

 We decided to stay in Oceanside rather than San Diego. The location was great. We arrived early enough to our hotel that we made it to the local food market. There were hundreds of booths with food from around the world. We all just chose a few items and shared them between us.

 SEA WORLD!

 I haven't been to SeaWorld since I was a child myself. Luckily we chose a very quiet, non-crowded day to attend. The shows were amazing and we loved learning about how SeaWorld has helped so many animals. The kids favorite part of the park was the roller coaster and the fish that will suck on your hand and fingers.

 After going to SeaWorld, we decided to head toward the US - Mexico boarder. I brought our passports just in case we decided to head into Mexico. We were lucky to find out that there was a Soccer game being played in Tijauna. We parked our car and walked across. There were several people sporting the jerseys as they walked over the boarder as well. We took a taxi ride to the stadium where we bought our tickets and enjoyed some Mexican food and the game! Tijuana won 2-0. It was a great adventure although the kids were a little nervous about the driving. There are very few rules they follow there. Skyler was also excited to see they had Kinder eggs. We bought an entire box right before the boarder only to be told they were illegal due to the small prizes found in each toy that could be a choking hazard. The nice security guard, closed his eyes and let us through anyway. I guess technically we smuggle chocolate kinder eggs over the boarder ;)

 On our last day, we decided we couldn't visit sunny California without hitting the beach. We stayed right at Oceanside which was a very clean beach. The water was a little chilly, but it didn't stop the kids (and adults) from swimming and body boarding.

 It wouldn't be a beach day without a sandcastle.

 Our last dinner we decided to splurge and eat at the pier. The food was phenomenal and a good way to end an amazing trip!

Skyler definitely needed some sleep time!