Monday, November 08, 2010

West Coast Travel Report - Seaport Village and Coronado Island

We returned to one of our favorite San Diego digs a couple of weeks ago. Just now getting to writing about it after the Halloween hullabaloo calmed down.

This is an old haunt of ours from our traveling days. Touristy and fun.

Lainey danced to the live band while we ate lunch.

Jack kept himself busy with the penny presser.

We walked further down into the bay than we had before. The kids were dying to ride on a boat, so I set off in search of our most affordable option.

Lots to see en route.

Coronado Bridge heading over to the island.

You know our walk turned into a lesson of sorts. We learned about the ships and why San Diego is such a large port.

And, we marveled at the sea sculptures. This is their favorite.

We paid our respects to the military memorials.

The U.S.S. Midway fascinated us, as always. Can't wait to take a tour one day.



2 cruise ships were docked. Pretty impressive. And, I've never considered myself a "cruise" person.

We boarded the ferry over to Coronado. $15 total, round trip. Only paid for Carter and me. Jack and Lainey were "3 or under". Yes, he's actually 4. Please, people. Like the 19 year old boy taking tickets had a clue as to what age they were.

Punks on the boat.

New favorite pic. Love those wacky kids.



We learned about imports and exports. Notice the Dole boat. Carter toured the pineapple farms in Hawaii years ago. Not sure if he put it all together, but I tried.

Jack-a-roo. He loves the bridge.

We landed on the island and took a small tour. Coronado only has 13K people most of the time. Such a darling, quaint little place to live.



We studied the sea life and our animal friends living nearby.

And, saw a "princess" getting married.

A storm was rolling in, so the sky was a fabulous range of grays and blues.







One day....





Here is the ferry, ready to return us to the mainland.



Kitties came with us.

The three punks played a game of toss with Sassy Kitty. I really shouldn't know all of their names.


We returned to see this iconic statue for the first time. On loan to San Diego and named "Unconditional Surrender", it may not be here for long. Or even now, according to this article.

A brief history, from the article:

On Aug. 14, 1945, Edith Shain was a nursing student working at Doctor's Hospital in New York City when radio networks announced the surrender of the Imperial Forces of Japan.
She recalled later that she made her way to Times Square, and allowed a strange man in a Navy uniform swoop her into his arms.

Photographer Alfred Eisenstadt captured the moment. The photo made a special section of Life magazine, and the scene instantly became part of American history.

Shain kept her identity secret until she wrote a letter to Eisenstadt in the late 1970s, revealing she was the woman in his photo.

From that photo, this statue was created. Awesome to see in person.

Must take a bike cab soon.

We ran into this guy on our way back.

He went from this......

.....to this.....

Check out this brief video of his performance. Pretty cool. Seaport Village is filled with all sorts of kooky stuff.

Lainey was in awe of "da princess carriage!"

We stopped for ice cream just before we left. Lainey dove right in.

"What? Do I have something on my face?"



Such happy kiddos. They keep us entertained for sure!

I'll be back in the bay on Thursday for lunch with my cousin, in town from New Orleans. Can't wait! More to come....

11 comments:

Claire Kiefer said...

Wait--I'm so confused--where do y'all live now??

starnes family said...

San Diego.....Oceanside, precisely. Seaport Village was one of our favorites when we traveled here on vacation. We went back as "locals" this time. :)

Shannon said...

Andy and I read this post together. We loved the big, giant statue and the man dancing in that costume. Love that kind of quirky stuff.

You should really get out with the kids more.

Kim said...

What fun day trip! I have never visited CA but you are inticing me,so much to do.

How do you do it with 3 kids and all those kitties?:)

Sara said...

I read that story about the statue last year and thought it was so cool. Awesome that y'all got to see it in person!

That close up picture of Carter is great! And the one of Lainey running into the ocean- awesome. Love those punks.

Allyson and Dave said...

I love that statue. I never knew the story behind that photo. You all look like you have so much fun on these little trips you take. It makes me want to go with you!

FROGGITY! said...

you're living the life casey. living. the. life! loves it.

Jillian Bennett said...

Awesome outing!
I love the sky with the clouds rolling in.
The bridesmaids' dresses were a bit interesting... and the young men looking up the statue's skirt.
However, the pictures of your kids are super cute!

Monica said...

All of these pictures are so familiar to me! Makes me want to go back and look at my Oceanside Vacation pics!

Brittny said...

SEE???? You always find fun things to do with your kids! When we move, I'll have to bring you out so you can be our adventure guide.

The older guy kind of confused me b/c I thought that big green thing behind him was being carried on his back. Very impressive moves for an older man. I would have fallen flat on my head and needed an ambulance.

Glad you guys are having fun!!

Merry Mack said...

I love the kitty entourage!