Our journey to California began with a 6AM flight. I planned the flights to make the most of our day in San Diego but holy moly, is 6AM a rough time to begin traveling. LOL We had to leave ridiculously early for the airport. I think mom picked us up at 4:30AM? LOL
Excited yet barely awake
Our flight was delayed leaving Buffalo in order to give the flight crew the required number of hours of rest. Obviously we can’t really complain about that but the delay meant we were going to be cutting it REALLY close on catching our connection. In fact, the agent that checked us in for our flight and took our bags said “let’s hope your connection is delayed too.” That’s never a good sign. LOL
Almost time to board!!!
When we landed in Dulles, our connection was already boarding. We were able to get off the plane quickly and run to the next gate. Thankfully the next gate wasn’t too far away and we were able to board. There were only a handful of people that got on after us though. LOL
Hot and sweaty from running but we made it!!!
Our flight to San Diego was pretty peaceful. The boys were easily entertained which was nice. I sat across the way in an aisle seat. My row had an empty middle seat so I had plenty of room.
Matthew took a nap on Mike.
All 3 boys watched tv, played on their electronics, and worked on puzzle books.
Soon we were landing in San Diego. The approach into the city was interesting. I love flying into a new city and seeing everything from the air. While landing, Mike and the boys had a gorgeous view of the harbor and coastline while I had a less exciting desert/mountain view. LOL
We have arrived! Why hello palm trees!
We were a little nervous about whether our bags made it onto our flight in Dulles. Since we had to hustle to get to the plane, it seemed like there may be a good chance our bags may not have made it. To our relief, the bags showed up on the carousel!
After we collected our belongings, we headed outside to find a shuttle to the rental car company. Of course, there were roughly 3208439843 people waiting for shuttles, the kids weren’t being wonderful about staying with us, and Ian was having difficulty controlling one of the suitcases we needed him to pull. That plus the early start to the day and not yet having had lunch lead to some cranky moments. LOL
Happy kids, not-so-happy husband. LOL
Mr. Crankypants
At this point in our journey, it started to sprinkle a little bit. “Why is this noteworthy”, you ask? Well, California is in the middle of a drought and San Diego only receives about 10 inches of rain per year. Of course it just so happens to freakin’ rain the second we land. What are the odds? LOL Honestly, the rain really wasn’t that bad at all. I just thought it was funny. 🙂
We caught a shuttle more quickly than we expected and were soon on our way to getting a car. The route to the rental car took us past the harbor where we could see an enormous aircraft carrier (USS Midway).
After we got to the rental car agency, Mike and Matthew went inside to get a car. Ian and I babysat the luggage and people/airplane watched (planes were taking off basically right over our heads, it was nuts).
A surfer out of water. Wonder where he was going?
After we got our car, Mike had to grab carseats for the boys. Due to California law, Matthew was required to sit in a 5-point harness seat which he found extremely insulting. He eventually adjusted but swore he was never coming back to California until he was big enough to sit in a booster seat. LOL
Once we were settled in the car, we were off to lunch and to check into our hotel.
Lunch turned out to be In-n-Out Burger. It was the first time we ever had it but it was very similar to Five Guys. It was good but really nothing special. The line of people inside and the traffic in the drive through was crazy. Thankfully, we got our food quickly because we were all STARVING!
After that, we checked into the hotel and went to explore the beach. To be continued….
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