Day 3 BEEYOBV

We woke up the next morning and said goodbye to Laguna Beach as we drove down the Pacific Coast Highway to Carlsbad.  We checked into the Sheraton which we were all impressed with.  Really beautiful, quiet (it was a Tuesday however) hotel with its own back entrance into Legoland. We didn't know this at the time but, that entrance sets you up for a good way to do Legoland with bigger kids.  It's right near all the more intense rollercoasters which tend to have long lines if you wait until after lunch.  We were able to get in all the really thrilling rides first thing and then leisurely enjoy the rest of the park without ever waiting in too long of a line. The only one we missed was the Lost Kingdom Adventure ride because the line got too long for our patience, we decided to do that first thing another day.  

It was in the mid 70's with overcast skies, we could not ask for better amusement park weather!!

 The first ride of the day....

We had a Legoland miracle - when we measured Soren at home we didn't think his height would allow him on the bigger rides.  When we got there he had either grown...or was wearing the right shoes because he could go on all of them except the big driving course.

We went on the Technic Coaster 2 times at Miriam's request.  She declared herself "not a roller coaster person" but ended up loving it!  Check out Soren's hair and Miriam's face! I was so glad I snapped this picture. There was a similar one taken by the coaster camera and EVERYONE who saw it busted up laughing.  

After all those thrill rides we needed a power boost! Luckily that end of the park also has ice cream, and the Granny Apple Fries my friend Stacie had told us not to miss. I agree, don't miss out on the fries.

Then off to get drivers licenses.  M & B loved their driving course but when Soren's ended he said with indignation "That's it?! So short!! Not worth it!"

It's nice that they had building stations to entertain the kids while parents waited in lines.  One of Soren's favorite things about Legoland was building with the huge soft legos, he LOVED Duplo village. I loved Heartland, I made Miriam watch the musical show with me. Byron says he loved it all, and I think Miriam would say the Technic Coaster became her favorite part of the day. 

We love those rides when the kids could go together so we could get a tiny sliver of alone time.

I am glad the park closes down at 6:00 pm so we didn't feel the pressure to keep going just to fit it all in.  We had an excuse to stop for dinner (Pizza buffet...which was actually better than I was expecting, great salad and some fun pizzas) and then head back to the hotel.  Against our better judgement we let the kids go swimming in the pool...it was kind of chilly and late but how could we say no? They loved it, of course, and totally zonked out that night.

Some travel advice for future Legolanders:

 People told us we could easily do Legoland in one day, but that was not the case for our family.  Perhaps we are doddlers, and we didn't get there until about noon, but we didn't fit in the lower half of the park, the water park, or the aquarium before it closed. Also 6 hours at an amusement park is about all Soren can handle and even the big kids needed a break.  I was glad we had gotten the 3 day Hopper pass through Costco. I didn't know if we would use that third day (same price with or without it) but we did, and we still didn't get to do all the playing we wanted to.

Also I think the Sheraton is a great choice for a hotel.  Not only do they have a back entrance to the park, they also offer a free trolley to Carlsbad beach, and have kid activities every evening.  They are not as bombastic as the Legoland activities...but they even had kid movies by the pool on the weekends. I'd stay there again.

Day 2 BEEYOBV (Byron's Epic Eight Year Old Birthday Vacation)

We started out bright and early by driving to Dana Point for a Dolphin and Whale boat excursion.  We thought a lot about Byron and his interests while planning this vacation.  Legoland was for sure on the docket because that is specifically what he asked for but we wanted to give this animal loving boy some sea life experiences.

We all loved this part of the vacation equally.  Just being on the boat together was so fun!

Once the boat was in the general area we needed to be, and they could reduce the speed, they invited anyone who wanted to to come up to the front, I was proud of how brave the kids were!

Fairly quickly we ran into big pod of off-shore bottle nose dolphins!

The pictures just don't do it justice, a different one was jumping out of the water about every 5 seconds!

They were super playful, swimming right under the boat.  We tried to pet them but our arms didn't reach far enough. 

The glass bottom was so amazing.  Dolphins swimming right by on both sides.

We came across another pod of long-beaked common dolphin. They were prettier, but not as interested in us.  Our captain said that was typical behavior of that type of dolphin, as they are not as curious, and also we were surrounded by squid they were trying to eat.  We didn't see any whales, that would have been the cherry on top, but we were so happy with our dolphin experience we couldn't be disappointed.  

To add to the fun we rode by these fellas. The kids found treasures in the gift shop, and since it was their own hard saved money they were spending, we happily let them buy whatever they wanted.

OH AND the crew gave us a brownie while we were leaving the boat...how did they know me so well?

I got to pick where we ate for lunch.  This hole in the wall fish taco place called Taco Loco got really good ratings, and I LOVE a good fish taco.  I am still seriously dreaming about our swordfish nachos, and blacked sea bass.  It was my favorite meal of the entire trip.  The kids were less enthusiastic, but they had plain nachos so how could they be sad? We had tentative plans to visit the Marine Rescue Center, which I am sure would have been wonderful, but after being fed we all needed a nap!

We crashed at the hotel for an hour or so.

The kids wanted some more beach time and we lucked out because this day was overcast rather than sunny like the day before so our sunburned skin could take another beach day.

The kids could just stay there forever and ever! We saw some impressive  body boarders and beach skimmers, there was some surfing going on as well.

The kids were getting braver and braver...going further into the waves, I bet if we would have had a few more days they would have been diving into them!  Miriam asked if she can take paddle boarding lessons if we ever go back....sign me up! (and okay I could probably use some body boarding lessons as well).

We walked two blocks down from our hotel to Husky Boy Burgers for hamburgers, fries and shakes for dinner that night. And again we watched some of American Ninja Warrior before bed.

Byron's Epic 8 year old birthday trip!

Using "epic" as a description is always risky...as Marcel the Shell with Shoes On says "compared to what?!".  For our little family, this vacation was a big, impressive, and memorable...so yes I can use the word epic. This was the first time the boys had been on an airplane, the first time they had ever seen - let alone been in the ocean, this was maybe the 2nd time they have ever stayed in a hotel,  and heck we don't even eat out very much!  We try to keep things pretty simple around here...but every once in awhile you need an epic vacation so memories can get seared into their little brains!

I loved that I was there for the boys first plane ride! (I was there for Miriam's too, and with her when she saw the Atlantic ocean...but this was her first time swimming in an ocean)  I still love the belly flipping lift off and set down of the airplane.  So fun to experience it with the boys!

Plus... the stewards and stewardesses gave them ROOT BEER and pretzels. The RB is considered a big treat around these parts (they drank it daily I believe on this trip).

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We flew into Long Beach Airport...a small, easy to manage little airport with art deco style.  Cute little place I would totally fly into there again.  We rented a car and drove 30 min to Laguna Beach.  We stayed at the Art Hotel, a cute locally owned hotel across the street from the Crescent Bay beach. 

While Darin stayed to let Soren sleep in the next morning, Miriam, Byron and I found the beach access across the street. After wave chasing, and some tide pool looking, we walked back to find Darin and Soren awake and ready to go. So we got in our suits and walked through Heisler Park to find some breakfast.

We spent a bit too much time taking in the ocean views, and finding the sculptures in the park so by the time we found a restaurant for breakfast we were STARVING. 

We decided on the Orange Inn which doesn't look anything like this picture...but this is what it looked like when it opened in 1931. We got the kids "the best blueberry orange muffin ever!" to hold them over while I waited in line for our food. 

We walked down to Cleo Street Beach for a breakfast picnic.

I ran up to Main Beach to buy sand toys and rent a body board.

I think we played for 3 or 4 hours...the kids loved wading out in the waves, playing "bubble run" with the sea foam, running to grab the sea kelp to build a garden (with Bub's sea turnips), I throughly entertained Darin with my body board attempts.  He has to admit I got one or two good waves in (and a couple not so graceful tries).  Everyone took a turn getting buried in the sand.

We were completely wiped out, and sunburned by the afternoon so we caught the Trolley back to our hotel rather than walking.  We showered, rested and then caught the Trolley back to Main Beach for the kids dinner choice Johnny Rockets.

Soren never did fully recover from the beach.

My family took a vacation to Laguna Beach back in 1993, we ate at this very same Johnny Rockets so this one was for the kids and my Dad who wanted us to stop by for old times sake.

Darin and the boys took the Trolley back to the hotel while Miriam and I walked up to Ralph's grocery store to pick up breakfast for the next day and some snacks. We gratefully caught the last Trolley back to our hotel so we didn't have to walk with grocery bags!

The kids fell in love with American Ninja Warrior that night in our hotel room before we all turned in.

Ballet Recital

 Our cute friend Greta.

My parents drove up to watch so we celebrated my mom's birthday with my favorite cake (any excuse for that cake right?).  I know my mom well enough to be confident she would like it too.

The next day we were off for our summer vacation!