Day 25 - Chino Hills, CA to Guajome Park, San Diego, CA - Exploring San Diego

As is now becoming a trend, we got a slow start to the day because it was just such perfect weather for sleeping.  Crisp, clean air despite being surrounded by the vast metropolis of Los Angeles.  We started with breakfast on the picnic table and just enjoyed the view of the golden hills.

We checked out and started to head south towards San Diego.  It was more tense than I would like it to be because a) we didn’t know the area and b) it was LA traffic with a trailer, but eventually we made it near our destination.  We opted to stop at a Walmart close to our final destination because we knew they were friendly to trailers and we thought we had some time prior to check-in.  However, by the time we finished grocery shopping and snacking, it was close to time so we decided to see if we could check-in early.  

At Guajome Park, we met some very friendly rangers and after pleading, we were allowed to set up our trailer earlier than the rules suggested.  They even gave us some free stickers for our water bottles.  So far, this is a 5 star place!  The early drop off left us the better part of the afternoon to go exploring.

Our initial plan was Kids museum in Escondito, but this proved to be a complete BUST, at least for our kids.  We walked in and there were some toddlers lying on the ground screaming and after a glance around the museum, it was clear that this was targeting a younger audience.  So, we decided that there was more than the San Diego Zoo for us in Balboa Park and drove over there..

Balboa Park, for those of you who (like us) don’t know, is an area of San Diego designated specifically for recreation of the public.  It’s filled with many museums as well as the San Diego Zoo.  Because I’m me (and because it closed first), we started with the model train museum.  I don’t think I need to say that I enjoyed it.  A very impressive collection and multiple displays.

As we were leaving, there was a street magician.  That was some pretty good entertainment as well!  After he finished, we wandered over to the Comic-Con museum.  I didn’t go in and instead got the car for Amy and the boys.  They rushed through the museum because it was almost closing time, but got to see a lot and came back with sample comic books and drawings.  They said it was a fun museum.

After the museum closed, since we were so close to the Pacific, we finished our day at Coronado.  Specifically, we  - dog park at the beach. This was the equivalent of heaven for Robinson - dogs and the beach! Robinson found out that the Pacific Ocean is COLD so we didn't do any swimming.

After some time petting some wet dogs, we walked down the beach until we found a Panera for dinner.

We enjoyed a nearly sunset walk back to the car down the beach and then headed back to camp. We ended up setting up the camper in the dark while Amy ran out to get groceries.

Total miles traveled - 4,609   

# States (Provinces) - 14