Sea World San Diego

Friday morning we drove down to the San Diego KOA and dropped the trailer, then headed to Sea World, where we enjoyed the dolphin show and their Christmas decorations. Susan and I used the Platinum Passes we bought while in San Antonio in September.

We returned yesterday to enjoy more shows, animal exhibits, and some attractions. Bryan flew down and joined us, along with some friends. I enjoyed the views from the skytower. The kids especially enjoyed Manta, the park's family roller coaster. 

We bought the All Day Dining deal, so we stopped often for food, and that kept us pretty busy from park open to close. 

Disneyland Resort

We spent Wednesday at Disneyland park. We enjoyed seeing the Christmas decorations and experiencing some of our favorite attractions.  

We rode the train, and, as in January, I tried to take photos of the future Star Wars land.

Thursday night we attended a Disney Vacation Club Moonlight Magic event at California Adventure. DVC members got exclusive use of the park after regular park hours. We weren't too impressed. It was pretty crowded and not very well organized, although we enjoyed a free meal and free snacks.

I wanted to check out the new Incredicoaster overlay of California Screaming, but the line was very long all night.

Universal Hollywood

On Tuesday we headed down to Southern California. We stopped at Universal Hollywood and enjoyed the tram tour, the Special Effects show, and a few other attractions.

I was a little disappointed that the Hollywood version of the Mummy roller coaster wasn't as good the one in Orlando, but we enjoyed looking around the Harry Potter area and seeing the new Kung Fu Panda show.  

I would have liked to have gone on the Jurassic Park ride, but it was being updated into Jurassic World. In the afternoon we drove further south to a campground in Anaheim, near Disneyland.

Kings Canyon & Sequoia National Parks

Last week Susan, Jenn, and I embarked on a trip in our trailer down to California. We headed south on US 97, then down I-5 and 99 to a KOA outside Visalia. The next day, having detached the trailer in a campsite, we headed up to Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks. My mom joined us.

Our first stop was at the Kings Canyon Visitor Center. We looked around then headed to the Grant Grove and walked the trail out to the General Grant Tree.  

From there we headed south into Sequoia National Park. We stopped to walk down to the General Sherman Tree, the largest known living tree on Earth.  

After that we continued south and stopped at the Giant Forest Museum and the Foothills Visitor Center, then headed back to the KOA. 

Maryhill

 

This weekend we drove up to the Seattle area for a friend's birthday party. On the way back we stopped at World War I memorial at Maryhill, Washington. The memorial is a recreation of Stonehenge, and has a lot of information about why it was placed as a WWI Memorial and how it can be used as a seasonal sun chart.

There are also great views of the Columbia River.

This fall we traded in our camping trailer for a larger one. The 19’ one we drove out to Florida last year was fine for Susan and I, but a little cramped when we added Jenn. We upgraded to a 27’ with double bunks.

Sea World

On Saturday, we went to Sea World. They gave graduating Airmen free tickets for their families. San Antonio's Sea World isn't as nice as Orlando's or San Diego's, but it's still a fun day, especially if you like coasters. The Great White and the Steel Eel coasters were open when we visited in 2006 but we didn't ride them, and I didn't this time either. I did try the new Journey to Atlantis, but I was disappointed in the version here. It's lightly themed and much shorter than Orlando's.

The kids enjoyed the Shamu play area, and I enjoyed the Smokehouse restaurant. I also enjoyed the Wave Breaker coaster. It's fairly tame, and simulates riding a jet ski over the lake. They had removed the flume ride which, while not great, we had enjoyed in 2006. In its place they were building a new roller coaster. There's also an Aquatica water park here, but we didn't visit it.

On Sunday we spent more time on base, visiting the BX and walking around a field with lots of old aircraft.

Yesterday we flew home.

San Antonio

On Wednesday, Susan and I flew out to San Antonio Texas with a friend and her four kids to watch her husband graduate from Air Force basic training. This was my third time in San Antonio. We spent a few days here in 2006, and Bryan and I stopped briefly in 2017.

On Thursday, we attended the graduation ceremony at Lackland Airbase. Before the ceremony we got to see some of the base and tour the barracks. We stayed at a Hampton Inn on the west side of San Antonio.

On Friday we dropped our friends off at the zoo then spent some time exploring the RiverWalk. 

We also visited the Alamo and ate at the Hard Rock Cafe. We then rejoined our friends and walked around Brackenridge Park while they rode the train.