California dreamin'

On Thursday morning, we headed out for San Diego. We drove, and drove, and drove some more, stopping at a casino along the way, and finally reaching our hotel about 6:30. We picked Kate up at the airport at 9:00, and headed out to find some dinner. Friday morning, we got up and went to the San Diego Wild Animal Park, which is about 40 minutes northeast of the city. We saw a lot of neat animals, but most of the pictures are on my big camera because I needed the zoom. There were lots of birds around, but we also took a train ride where we saw everything from elephants and giraffes to a baby Indian rhino!


Lorikeet at the San Diego Wild Animal Park

On the way back from the park, we stopped off at a couple of beaches so we could stick our feet in the ocean and take some pictures. We walked out on the rocks at the beach, then took our shoes off so we could go in. The water was cold, but not too bad, and the view was beautiful. After our feet dried, we headed back to the city, but stopped at another beach for a few shots. When we got back to San Diego, we drove around to see the Gaslamp district and got stuck in traffic for a Padres game, which was starting at 7:05 (we got down in that area about 6:30). By the time we got back to the hotel, we were more than ready for bed.


Kate on the beach


Fisherman on the beach at Torrey Pines State Park

This morning we got up early and began the trek to San Francisco. We got stuck in several traffic jams in L.A., saw the Hollywood sign from the road, but couldn't get a picture, and drove. A lot. The drive was definitely scenic, but we didn't get to San Francisco and the hotel until about 10:00 tonight. We did stop at San Juan Capistrano for a while to tour the mission and stretch our legs for a while. I loved the bells (of course), but this picture shows the whole thing better. Tomorrow, it's down to the Golden Gate and Chinatown...


The mission at San Juan Capistrano