Home Thoughts From Abroad

Still reeling from an exhilarating and exhausting weekend in San Francisco, we packed our increasingly dilapidated suitcases once again and headed off to catch our flight to San Diego. Again the timing was perfect, with Jon, Nic and the kids’ flight getting in just five minutes before ours so we easily met up at the baggage claim. Jon has perfected the art of car rental at airports through various Apps, so we were quickly underway for the half hour drive to our seaside resort in Carlsbad.

The suites were fully furnished and amazingly well equipped with a great kitchen, BBQs in the courtyard, jacuzzi tub, gas fireplace and fantastic views of the ocean. There were lots of activities for the kids to do and plenty of family restaurants just a short drive away. The weather was beautiful although the wind could be quite cool. It is February after all! The pool was in a very sunny but protected area so the kids swam quite happily and we joined them in the hot tub when they were ready to warm up.

However, the real reason for our stay in Carlsbad was the long awaited trip to LEGOLAND. We were there when the park opened and pretty much stayed to close it down. It was all actually pretty lame by Disney standards, but the kids really enjoyed it and we were just delighted to be with them so it was great fun. They all love roller coasters, Pam not so much, but we did do the dragon roller coaster three times. Fortunately Eli is too short for the big coaster so we did a more sedate ride with her while the others tackled the big coaster. It was a great day and we finished up with dinner a nice seaside restaurant.

Jon and Nic took a bit of time the next day to explore some of the town and market by themselves while we hung out with Ben, Abi and Eli. Since the resort provided free all-terrain wagons, beach chairs and toys and boogie boards, we packed up and took the kids down to the beach for the afternoon. The waves were great and Ben and Abi turned out to be naturals when it came to boogie boarding, catching quite a few really fine rides. By the time Jon and Nic came home with chicken to BBQ, the kids had warmed up nicely in the Jacuzzi and put on their warm pajamas.

It was a great visit all around and really difficult to see them off once again as they boarded their flight home. Honestly, the kindness and consideration of our children brings us to the edge of tears. We so appreciate the chance to see two of them and their own kids, and only regret that on this trip we couldn’t see David. Since we still had a few more days until our return flight to KL, we spent the remaining few days in Oldtown, San Diego which is near the airport. After a cab ride from the airport, we made our way there to settle in for the weekend.