California Dreamin'

Happy Easter, folks!  Fionn, Conor, and I just returned yesterday from a fantastic week in California, so our Easter was pretty low-key.  We celebrated with a few close friends and enjoyed a beautiful Spring day here in the DC area.  It was a nice holiday to be sure.

Speaking of nice, let me tell you about California.  Turns out, it is a pretty awesome place to visit.  Gorgeous weather, incredible ocean views, unbeatable seafood...and to top it off, it happens to serve as home to some of our most favorite people.

Like these guys...

George squared: George IV and George III.

And these gorgeous gals...

George's lovely wife, Becky

Sweet Ellena and her first ice cream cone

Oh, and these peeps are pretty special too...

The wonderful Weidner Family.

Yes, our trip was indeed peppered with some fantastic QT with family and friends.  We planned it that way, you see.  When booking our condo for the trip, we positioned ourselves nicely in between George's family and Meg's family.  So we got to see both groups of beloved people more than once.  We also got to enjoy a leisurely lunch with Conor's college chum, Violetta (but I'm afraid we neglected to capture it on film).  By the way, for those of you who might be curious, we were in Solana Beach which is about 22 miles from San Diego.

It is impossible to adequately describe all the wonderful moments of our trip on this humble little blog.  I feel overwhelmed just thinking about it!  Thankfully, my talented husband has a knack for capturing memories with his camera, so I am going to lean on his photos to help me navigate through our wonderful week in CA.  There were trains, beaches, playgrounds...and more trains.

But I'm getting ahead of myself, folks.  First, let me tell you a little bit about our condo.  It was...well, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.  This was the view from our balcony.

Not too shabby, right?  Yeah, we liked it.  Honestly, it was such a wonderful surprise.  The place claimed to be "on the beach," but you never know what you're really going to get.  We were simply thrilled to have such a fantastic vantage point for the amazing California sunsets.  Most nights we returned to the condo for "happy hour" on the balcony where Conor and I enjoyed some wine, beer, and whatever light fare we might be able to scavenge for dinner.  I mean, really.  Why would we want to be anywhere else?  It was a perfect ending to many busy, busy days spent sightseeing and visiting with our friends and family.

And Fionn?  What was he doing during these nightly happy hours, you ask?  Well, I'll show you.

Open and close.  Open and close.  Turns out all Fionn needs is a sliding glass door, and we are good to go for...well, at least a week!  In all seriousness, he also played with his trains and his cars on the balcony while we drank our cocktails.  So at least there was some variety. 

As far as our activities during our trip...Well, I can basically sum up most of our trip with one word -- TRAINS!

Yes, I think Fionn was able to ride a train at least once nearly every day of our trip.  So it was definitely a successful vacay from his point of view.  BTW, in case you missed it, our boy is officially OBSESSED with trains.  Obsessed.  A total goner when it comes to transportation of the choo-choo persuasion. 

As a result, he was pretty happy with the following items on our itinerary.

First, the Train Museum in Campo, CA which featured a 1-hour train ride through the desert. 

Yep, looks like I'm about to give my son a knuckle sandwich, doesn't it?  I promise I was only saying, "Choo-choo!"

Added Bonus #1 of the Train Museum: the Easter Bunny made an appearance.  Okay, it might be Easter sacrilege (or just plain sacrilege?), but I had to post this next picture.  I just love it.  Doesn't Mr. E. Bunny look like he is getting a police escort through the train yard?  I think the perma-grin on his furry face doesn't help matters.  He just looks a little pervy, but maybe it's just me.  Tell me what you think.

Our Fionny didn't seem to mind the looks of E. Bunny though.  Probably because he came armed with eggs filled with candy.  Yeah, so we pretty much need to have that Stranger Danger conversation really soon, huh?  Ah, well.  We all made friends long enough for a cheesy family photo.

Added Bonus of Train Museum #2: There was a golf cart, and Fionn got to pretend that he was driving it.  And, yes, that's his Easter basket riding shotgun.

Get outta my dreams and into my cart, why doncha?

 One very smart move on my husband's behalf when he booked the condo was his decision to find a place that was in walking distance of The Coaster.  What is The Coaster, you ask?  I will be happy to tell you!  The Coaster is a train that connects the northern beach towns to San Diego.  It is a bonafide choo-choo train, and, as a result, our boy would have gladly spent his entire vacation riding it up and down the coast.  As it was, we only took one glorious round trip ride to Downtown San Diego.

Waiting for Godot...er, I mean, the Coaster.

Riding a train with Dada.  Doesn't get any better than that.

Family photo at our destination -- the USS Midway.

But it doesn't stop there, folks!  The next day we went to the San Diego Zoo with George, Becky, and the kids.  Not only did we get to see loads of incredible animals, but Fionn also got to ride yet another train.  I'm telling you, San Diego is a haven for train lovers.  Here is a photo of us, riding the Balboa Park Railroad at the zoo.  Didn't mean to edge Georgie out of the picture.  Sorry, Georgie!

But I don't want you to think we were completely fixated on trains during our trip.  No really.  Not us.  We also hit up the amazing playgrounds -- all of which, it seems, are within a stone's throw of the ocean.  So you can watch your kid play and still enjoy the crash of the waves.  Not bad urban planning, California.  Not bad at all.

It has to be said..."Weeeeeeee!"

Georgie, making a "driveway" for his sandcastle because...duh, they gotta park somewhere.

New favorite picture alert! Love this one of The Kid.

We capped off our fun-filled trip with a final sunset on our balcony.  Only this time we were joined by George, Becky, Georgie, and Ellena.  I love, love, love this picture of Fionny and Ellena.  They spent the last few minutes of our time together just like this -- hugging and holding hands.  Adorable! 

Say, are you sure we're related?

Watching the sun set with our family was the best end to a glorious week in California.  We were sad to leave (but always glad to come home too).

I leave you with a final image from our trip.  Another new fave of mine.  Aaaah...I miss that ocean view already.  Until next time.  Night, friends.