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Well, I'm back, somewhat over my jet lag, somewhat rested, and somewhat back in the swing of things. We had a great time and did lots of different things this time since we've already done all the touristy stuff--or a lot of it! This is going to be a really long post so you may have to read it in installments. LOL

We left for San Diego on Tuesday the 12th. We were to fly out at 6:30 but thanks to the really bad cold spell in Florida, our plane developed ice on the wings. And believe it or not, Ft. Myers airport doesn't have de-icing equipment. (Gee, I wonder why?) After we all got on the plane and settled in, our captain announced that we couldn't take off until the sun came up and melted the ice off the wings. So, we were allowed to get off again. I knew that we were going to miss our connecting flight in Houston so I made reservations for the next available flight. This meant a 5 hour layover in Houston. Ugh. Oh well, as my grandson, Sam, said--It beats a layover in Atlanta's airport. And he was right. (Hate the Atlanta airport!). Anyway, we finally took off about 8:00 after sitting on the tarmac with our wings pointed to the sun. And we got to Houston 20 minutes after our original connecting flight took off. We finally made it to San Diego about 5:00. Karen picked us up and took us home. After some talk, some dinner, some playing with the kids, some unpacking etc--we both went to bed at about 8:30 their time--exhausted!
One thing I always ask for when we go to Karen's is a "girls day out". So on Wednesday, Karen and I went to the Gaslamp district for lunch. We wandered around, hit a couple of shops, had lunch at an Irish Pub, hit more shops and headed home.

Michael had Thursday off work, so we all headed to Torrey Pines State Preserve for a hike. It was a gorgeous day-probably the best of the whole time we were there. Took tons of pictures.On Friday, Karen, Chuck and I took the kids to the LaJolla beach. It was chilly and blustery with high surf advisory but it was still a nice day on the beach. Lots of "surfer dudes". The kids had a ball building sand castles and playing with seaweed whips.That evening, Karen, Chuck and I went to see Jesus Christ Superstar--my birthday present. The show starred Ted Neeley who played Jesus in the movie 30 years ago! Ok, so he was a bit stiff--alright--a LOT stiff, and his voice wasn't what it used to be but he could still hit those high notes when necessary. As Karen said, he has played Jesus for longer than Jesus played Jesus. Anyway, we still enjoyed it.On Saturday we went house hunting with Karen. We hit a couple of houses. One house was kind of what Karen wanted but needed another bedroom or office. The other house wasn't quite what she wanted but had a gorgeous view of San Diego. Too bad one house couldn't go on the other lot!Karen had been promising Noah a trip to Old Town to the Rock Shop since his birthday so that afternoon, Chuck, Karen, Noah and I headed to Old Town. I have always loved wandering around there. Noah got the rocks he wanted, I got a new sun catcher for my deck, and then we headed to one of the restaurants for Margaritas and Nachos. Yum.That evening we drove to Chula Vista to meet the Farmers. I have been reading her blog, The Farmer Files, for sometime now and we finally got the chance to meet her, her hubby and Son #1 and Son #2. Son #3 was sleeping so I didn't get to cuddle him. Oh well. We thoroughly enjoyed sitting around their outdoor firepit, making S'Mores, and getting to know each other.On Sunday, Michael and Noah did some Daddy/Son stuff while Chuck, Karen and I took the twins to the Wild Animal Park. I really love both the San Diego Zoo and the WA Park. We hadn't been to the park in a couple of years so I wanted to go back. We had a great day. We didn't have a stroller so the boys walked most of the way--when we weren't carrying them! Monday was my 72nd birthday! Geez, I don't feel that old. Karen baked the yummiest cake! And Noah made me a birthday card. And Chuck gave me a bottle of red adult beverage. It was a great birthday. That takes us up through Monday. Monday was also the start of what I called "Monsoon Rains" in California. So, we pretty much stayed in the rest of the week. Karen, Chuck and I did go out to a movie one afternoon and saw Sherlock Holmes. We got totally soaked running from the theatre to the car. The rest of the time, we watched movies at home, played on the computer, got my requested In N Out Burgers etc. Karen took us to the airport Friday morning at 4:15 to catch our 6:30 flight. The day before many of the flights in and out had been cancelled because of high winds. Luckily, we didn't have that problem Friday so we got out on time, made our connecting flight, and got into Ft. Myers at 4:45 our time--and it was raining! Good old Mother Nature.

Anyway, we had a great time but it is always good to come home. Thanks Karen and Michael for a great time. I will post more pictures of the kids in another post later on.