San Diego- Day 4

Day 4 was museum day for us at Balboa Park. We decided to skip the San Diego Zoo because we felt that the Audubon Zoo was some good competition and we had other things to check out. After a few moans and groans we started at the Botanical Building which was open sooner than some of the other museums. Ian was thrilled to point out all "those things" bright, colorful, and unusual. The big boys were captivated by the carnivorous plants garden. I loved it all and was "green" with envy. It was a wonderland for gardeners and photographers, too. There were several men there with giant zoom lenses and tripods... I did stop and share snapshots of the lotus flowers out front. I was told that they do not bloom often, the reason why they were attracting such attention.

Next we were off to the San Diego Museum of Natural History. Before even entering the museum we were in awe of the gigantic tree at the north entrance. Who knew that if you let a fig tree grow for 95+ years it could get this big? Inside we began with a movie about Pompeii that went with their current exhibit: "A Day in Pompeii". Ian was not at all interested in the documentary that was not in Hi-Def, or Surround Sound, or 3D, or anything else that would hold his attention. He was happy, though, to wait outside with the dinosaurs. The boys loved all the fossils and volcano exhibits along with the hundreds of artifacts from Pompeii. (No pictures were allowed; but) it was amazing to see the every day items that were salvaged: cookware, coins, furniture, frescos, statues, etc. The body casts of the victims of Pompeii were humbling. I'm glad the boys had the opportunity to experience this history and reflect on it.
Next on the agenda was The Model Railroad Museum. I thought, "Ian's gonna love this one!" But the untouchable model trains proved to be no competition for the "Thomas the Train Playroom" that was available for the little ones. (Eventually, we had to pull him kicking and screaming from it.)

Ian's favorite was no real surprise, The San Diego Automotive Museum. There was a special Motocross exhibit so everywhere we looked it was, "Ooh, motorbike! That's cool, huh? I like that car, I get in." Chasing a two year old around a collection of antique, collectible, and/or one-of-a-kind vehicles was a little nerve-wracking but worth every minute of his joy. He even got to see a couple of his favorite "Cars" characters, Luigi... and Doc. The big boys really liked following human evolution at the Museum of Man. They swore they saw a statue of Uncle Trey, too. (kids...gotta love 'em) Max thought the mummies were really cool and the display of injured and diseased skulls were admired by all. The Fleet Science Center was last on our agenda. Being one of the last museums to close, there weren't many people there and we pretty much had the run of the place. Bryce was right at home and even spotted the nuclear reactor diagram that he used for his Quest project. There was lots of information about energy and water conservation that we studied and discussed. The boys are very "green".


Last but not least, Kerry wanted to take us for a drive by the ocean. We headed up to the LaJolla area and to the Torrey Pines resort we were originally going to book. Luckily we didn't, because we soon found that golfers were swarming all around for the US Open. The street closings and detours were a bit of a mess and we headed to the Torrey Pines State Reserve. Kerry was hoping that the road would cut all the way through the park along the coast. While he was asking the park ranger the rest of us admired the ocean view. Out of the corner of my eye I thought I spotted a dark fin in the water. Surely, it was a water toy of some sort. Nope! We had the pleasure of watching a pod of dolphins swimming along the shore. The perfect ending to a great trip!