Someone recently asked me, "Do you travel full-time?" and although I wish I couldv'e answered a resounding "YES!", but in actuality we always have a home base. We thrive on routine and I think it's easier on the kids to have predictability and consistency in their daily life, education, sleep, diet, and friend base.
That being said, we LOVE to travel and have had some really incredible experiences due to my partner's military career and the fact we both work remote. We received orders to be in San Diego all summer and I was SUPER stoked. After yet another brutal winter in Montana, this Southern woman was ready for sunshine and sand.
Like most traveling mamas, I google (or Pinterest search) "X city with kids", but more often than not, you'll find a TON of suggestions for the 0-5y age group. Welp, I've got two eight year olds who are more mature than same aged peers so finding things to keep them engaged was a bit more challenging. They're too old for the splash pads, but too young to hang at the skate park solo. Here's a list of the many things we enjoyed in San Diego!
US Midway Museum
Waterfront Park, Little Italy (Mimmos has amazing classic spaghetti!)
Annie's Canyon (hiking trail)
San Diego Zoo at Balboa Park (art in the park on Saturdays)
Belmont Park (stationary carnival, loads of fun, wear closed toe shoes)
Legoland/Waterpark (we bought Elite season passes)
Olympus Park (modern playground with a zipline, dog park, skatepark and turfed sledding hill in Leucadia/Encinitas)
Moonlight Beach (playground on the beach, clean restrooms/showers and cafe with beer)
Self-Realization Gardens
Torrey Pines Trail (TIP: Park at the top and then find the trail you wish to hike)
Alga Norte Aquatic Center (buy tickets for the bouncehouses 30 days in advance, $5 entry)
Cardiff State Beach
Penny Pickle's Workshop (Temecula's coolest interactive mad scientist museum)
New Children's Museum (not my top pick for school aged kids; however, the crocheted climbing hammock was impressive and the playground across the street was RAD)
Boomers (put-put, GoKarts, Lazer Tag, Arcade, Johnny Rocket burger's and batting cages)
Birch Aquarium (low priority in my opinion)
Red Door Escape Room (we went THREE times! We loved it.)
Safari Park (really boring actually, overpriced food/drinks and hot AF)
Strawberry Fields Carlsbad
State Fair (If you like hot, overcrowded, overpriced, overstimulating places with deep fried Oreos and Cheetohs pizza, this is your jam. Otherwise, avoid it and the traffic at all costs!)
SoCal Mini Pigs, $15 to play with pigs!
Pacific Beach July 4th (aka Mayhem)
Universal Studios (Hollywood)..worth the drive and definitely get the FastPass
We stayed in North County to avoid the traffic jams and high prices of downtown. Here are some of our favorite restaurants in North County San Diego...
Mexican: Tortilla Mia (Carlsbad), Taco Stand (Encinitas), Puesto (La Jolla), Salt & Lime (Del Mar)
Breakfast: Nectarine Grove, Honey's Bistro, Boardwalk Doughnuts
Eat Crispy Burger or Hamburger Hut (Leucadia)
Harumama Ramen and Character Buns (fun for kids, near Balboa Park)
Pizza: Corner Pizza (get the honey), Gelati & Peccati, Pizza Port
Seafood: Herb & Sea, Fish 101
Little Italy: Mimmos, Davanti Enotecca
Carin de Ria (Filipino dive in Encinitas...get the peanut butter stew, you won't regret it!)
We took our dog, Lincoln to Kamp Kanine a few days a week and used https://www.unclescottyspetcare.com for overnight boarding. Scotty takes the pups on hikes, beach trips and all around town for group play!
In case you're wondering about nightlife for adults...I unfortunately did not get a chance to check out the night scene as much as I love to experience nightlife in a new city, but it's there if you want it. In sum, San Diego is a place you can find EVERYTHING you need and many things you didn't know you needed! But, it's not a place our family wants to be long term. We enjoyed our time here and learned alot, but it's time to return to the mountains, pine trees and peace only found outside major cities.
Staytuned,
Chelsea
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