The Midway

Our first mistake was thinking that three boys would only want to spend an hour or so on a ship filled with flight simulators, real airplanes and knot tying stations.  The second mistake was like it:  thinking that I, a "Navy brat", would only want to spend an hour or so on a ship filled with flight simulators, real airplanes and knot tying stations.

What a total surprise it was to Rebecca and I how much fun could be had on the Midway!  Total time spent was over three hours, which in conjunction with La Jolla that morning, meant we had to abandon all hope of seeing my childhood home that I can't remember.

In the brig.  They had headphones with audio commentary and a game for the kids, which we all enjoyed.

In the engine room, trying our best to crash a docked ship.

There were several noses of planes down in the maintenance area that you could climb into.

Practice for the simulators, excitement was really building at this point.  The one in front of us was doing a severe bank.

I was going to rotate this picture of Reid and I, but the reality was that once they closed the cockpit, we were either like this or upside down.

Riley got his turn as well.  We were laughing hysterically throughout the whole thing, one of those deep belly and cheek hurting laughs.

Riley showing off his accomplishments while they were waiting for a pit stop for Ro.

On the flight deck were over 20 planes, all of which served on the Midway at some point.  This was the plane Daddy Mac flew in, we located his squadron as well.

Dinner a Lucha Libre, thanks to Man Vs. Food.  A hole in the wall, moderately dirty, Mexican restaurant.  We made reservations for the Champions Booth (echo Booth, Booth, Booth).

Laying waste to a California Surfin' Burrito - carne asada, shrimp, french fries and a special sauce all rolled into a mammoth tortilla.  We then dipped it into some sort of cilantro sour cream sauce.  Truly one of the best burritos ever.

La Jolla

Even after about five plus years of Spanish, I was pronoucing it "La Holla" instead of "La Hoya".  Mrs. Wilson would be very dissappointed in me.

Anyway, we kept spending too much time on the beach, which made us have to cancel some things later (like stopping by my childhood home and also the zoo).  Thankfully we were on vacation and so were able to cope.

Awesome views all week!

This pelican was apparently tired of being close to me.  It's unfortunate that the background doesn't have more contrast because this is a pretty cool shot.

Looking out through one of the caves.

Upper left is the beach in the below pictures.  In the bottom center of this shot there are a bunch of sea lions on a rock.  People were interacting with them in the water.

I don't know what tickles me more: rolling up shorts, or still getting them wet.

Playing the old "where did my feet go" game.  It's a Dad Life.

Riley was obsessed with finding glass that had been sanded down by the beach.  No, he's not "going chinese" on the beach.

Close up of the rock above that we captured on the way out.

Sea World!

So I have to say that overall Sea World San Diego was outstanding.  It rivals some of the best theme parks around in my opinion.  You should not travel to San Diego without planning at least a full day there.  Mostly the shots below are from the shows, but there were also many aquarium type attractions there as well, which helped us escape the heat and take breaks throughout the day.  Also, the food was good...

We started our day with a log flume type ride.  What we didn't see when we first walked up was that there is a roller coaster attached to the back and another drop like this one.  Reid and Riley went on it again as the lines were short.  Unfortunately, later in the day Ri developed a rash and was limping around the park...  :(

Front row at the dolphin show.  This was one of the highlights for us!

Mommas boy.

Hopefully this show what Reid and Riley got.  Bec, Ro and I escaped most of it, but we definitely got wet.

Shamu show was less exciting as a whale had injured a worker earlier in the year and so they didn't get in the water with them.  Still cool, but not as awe inspiring as the dolphins.

This funny little show has some great humorous interactions that had everyone in the family laughing.

Legoland California!

On our way back to China, we decided to stop by San Diego for a few days.  The big draw for us was Legoland.  Research was conducted by watching Man vs. Food and Bobby Flay Throwdowns.  The food overall was outstanding!  We'll get into that later.  For now, Legoland:

The ride to the hotel from the airport.  Ro couldn't hang.

Legoland requires grade A fuel, so we headed to The Broken Yolk.  Featured in Man vs. Food, it was able to deliver the eggy goodness required.

Yes, this was the kids meal.  Yes, the bread and fruit were that big...

Ro and I found our Lego twins.

First impressions.

One of the rides.  Ro and I were able to squirt everyone else as they went by.

Charge!

One of the big draws was the Star Wars miniland.  I think I have about 50 pictures of it.

So realistic with the dead guy floating.  I covered the kids eyes on this one.

New York City, boys used as scale.

Love the little bonsai spread throughout, which added a ton of realism.

One of my favorite parts was actually the back of the Vegas Buildings.  No detail was left out!

Another ride where Ro got to squirt mom and brothers.

Ro earning his drivers license.

Riley stopping at a traffic light.  I finally yelled at him to drive because I was afraid his whole time would be spent stopped.

Anr we're turning.

And stop.  I was thinking Riley would be more like Ricky Bobby, but instead he was Driving Miss Daisy.

Ahh, nothing ends the day like a good sword fight.  Yes, he is stabbing Rowan in the eye.  Yes, Rowan cried.  Yes, Rowan blew it out of proportion.  Riley told Rowan that he we impressed with his progress...

VA Beach Lighthouses

During the first week of August, I took leave from work to spend time in the U.S. with family.  It was an outstanding time to be reunited with Bec and the boys, and also to see everyone that we were able to line up schedules with.  One of the big highlights was that Rebecca's brother brought the family up from Hilton Head to see us one more time before we left.  We also made it out to several lunches and dinners with friends.

Below is one of the outings we made it on while in Va Beach.  Having grown up there, I'd been to Fort Story and these lighthouses several times, but it's been over 20 years!  My parents were good sports and came out with us to make the treck to the top!  Actually, I think it was my mom's idea...

I did see another plaque that said this lighthouse was the first building funded by the new government.  Quite the historical monument at 220+ years old!

There it is, with some strange children crammed at the entrance.

A picture of the winding stairs to the top.

From the top, you can see the newer (and still active) lighthouse.

By now the children were tired of being posed, so we let them cut loose a bit.

The lighthouses are on an active military base, although minimum security if they let me in!  So, there was an old amphibious vehicle for the kids to play on.

The old lighthouse is to the right, situated on a hill.  No it's not leaning, just the wide angle lens.