California Coast Trip
In February of 2020 our family did a two week cost trip. The kids were 10, 9, and 5.
We flew into Phoenix around 6:30. Phoenix was a cheaper city to fly into and we spent the first day getting groceries and getting set up got the 2 weeks of travel. We are always budget travelers but this trip was going to put us to the test. My husband unexpectedly lost his job 4 days before we left for this trip. All our accommodations, activities, and flights had been prepaid so we needed to make sure we didn't spend too much on food. We went to Goodwill and bought an electric skillet to cook with. Mike took the kids swimming and I went grocery shopping. I got enough food to last about a week and headed back to the hotel. We settled in and got some good sleep.
We drove from Phoenix to Joshua tree. We drove through the Sonoran Desert on the way which was super cool to see. Our kids were familiar with the Sonoran Desert from watching Wild Kratts. We then went to Joshua Tree National Park. It took us about 3 hours to get there. We took US10 and came in through the south entrance. We stopped at the Cottonwood Visitor Center and listened to a ranger talk and picked up our junior ranger books. Next we went to the cactus gardens. It was fun to walk around and see the different types of cacti. A short drive down the road and we were exploring Arch Rock. The kids loved exploring in this part of the park. They loved climbing the boulders. From there we drove about 15 minutes and we were in the skull rock area. This was another great place for climbing and exploring. We then drove to the Oasis Visitor Center and the kids turned in their books and earned another Junior Ranger Badge. We spent about 5 hours and the park and I was really happy with the amount of hiking and sites that we were able to see in that amount of time. From the visitor center we drove about 25 minutes and stayed at the Super 8 Yucca Valley hotel. It was about $85 a night and had a pool and free breakfast. When we got settled in the hotel the kids did their vacation reading, writing, and math projects while Mike and I cooked dinner. We were all pretty tired after a full day of exploring.
In the Sonoran Desert
Standing with a Joshua Tree
Skull Rock
Arch Rock
Cactus Garden
Earning another Junior Ranger Badge
Hotel School
Sunday-We got up had breakfast and hit the road. We drove 2 1/2 hours into LA and went to the California Science Center. They had the Space Shuttle Endeavor there. The museum was free but we did have to pay for parking and tickets to see the Space Shuttle. We managed to see all 3 space shuttle in 1 year. We were all super excited.
Our 3rd Space shuttle in a year
touching an Endeavor Space shuttle wheel
touch tank
Monday-After flying, driving, adjusting to the time zone, hiking around a national park, and hitting up a museum we were ready for a chill day. We spent the majority of the day pool side at our airBNB. We wanted to have lots of energy for our Universal Studio day. Scheduling a few down days on a big trip like this is really important for our family.
Universal Studio day! We got to the park before the gates opened. We took the subway to the park we we didn't have to pay for parking and mess with downtown traffic. We also wore back packs and packed a lunch and dinner in them. We are BIG Harry Potter fans in this house so the Wizarding World of Harry Potter was a big part of the day for us. The kids brought costumes and wands from home. It was really fun to be in the park. It felt like we were in the Harry Potter Movie. The only thing I spent money on all day was 1 butterbeer. We all shared it and it was delicious. The kids brought their own money and enjoyed buying things in the shops.
Wizzarding World of Harry Potter
Butterbeer
The Hogwarts Express
The Flight of the Hippogriff
I took the kids to the pool one last time and Mike packed up the Airbnb. We then drove to the L.A. observatory. Its free and there's free parking at the bottom of the hill. Our original goal was to hike up to the Hollywood sign but we were pretty tired from Univeral the day before. So we explored around the Observatory. They had a working seismograph that was fun to see. They also had a meteorite you could hold and you can climb on the rough and it gives an amazing view. We then drove 2 hours to the San Diego area. We actually stayed in Carlsbad. We could walk to the beach from our hotel so as soon as we were checked in we wanted to check out the beach. Our hotel also offered free drinks and appetizers Monday- Thursday so that was a huge bonus.
From the observatory roof
Caiden holding a meteor
Caiden watching the seismograph
Playing at the beach near San Diego
Welcome to our San Diego leg of the trip
building rock piles on the beach
Thursday-
We one a whale watching tour today. We bought a Groupon for San Diego Whale Watch. We paid $96.60 for all 5 of us to go on a 2 1/2 hour tour. We saw so many amazing things. We saw over 100 dolphins and several whales along with several varieties of birds. The kids loved seeing the dolphins jump.
Whale sighting
Dolphins!
Dolphins swimming close to the boat.
FridayToday we spent the morning on the beach. I love that we can walk to the beach from our hotel. We ate lunch at our hotel then we headed for a hike at Slot Canyon. It's a fun quick hike just north of San Diego. From there we drove to La Jolla Cove. La Jolla is amazing. The Sea Lions come right up to the rocks and you can get so close to them. We loved watching the Sea Lions.
The beach by our hotel
Slot Canyon hike
Slot Canyon Hike
Slot Canyon hike
Maddy and some sea lions
So Many Sea Lions
Saturday-The USS Midway is American's longest serving air craft carrier. It's located in down town San Diego. We utilized the February library program and got 50% off our tickets. We all really enjoyed the ship. Their are alot of interactive experiences. The kids liked doing the scavenger hunt on board and earning their wings. We all liked listing to the hand held recorded guides. The kids also liked getting to sit in the planes on deck.
During the month of February you can save 50% off 40 different museums in San Diego. Just stop by the library and they'll give you your pass.
The USS Midway
WW2 statue
Maddy on the deck
Locked up in the Brig
Caiden having fun the the planes
The kids earning their wings
Caiden learning about how steam powers the entire carrier
Sunday-
The San Diego Zoo was one of the main reasons I wanted to come to San Diego. It's a pricey zoo to get into but I sent up a group ahead of time and we got a group discount. We got to see some awesome animals that I had never seen before. We packed a lunch and made it home in time to cook burgers by the pool at our hotel. It was a really fun day.
My sign to help the other homeschool moms find me
Mike making dinner at our hotel
Monday
We spent the morning at the beach then we headed north. We mad a pit stop at a really fun playground and had giant Legos. The kids really enjoyed the park and it helped break up the drive. It was dark by the time we got to our hotel. The hotel we stayed at was really nice and had a heated pool. I wish we had arrived earlier in the day. The kids watched Zombies 2 on the Disney channel in the evening.
Saying goodbye to our San Diego hotel beach
An amazing playground we stopped at to break up our coastal drive north
Caiden building with legos at the park.
Tuesday
We enjoyed the heated pool and the beautiful view from our hotel. We drove an hour north and stopped to see the elephant seals. They were so cool to see. Next we went through Silicon Valley so we had to stop at The Tec. It's an ASCT science center so it was free with our membership. When then arrived in Vallejo, California.
Morning swim
The view from our hotel
Elephant seals
elephant seals
The kids using microbes to make bio material at The Tec
The Tec
Building a Robot
Maddy working with DNA
Westin building in the design zoo
WednesdayThis might have been my favorite day of the whole trip. We had a relaxed morning and a short drive to the Jelly Belly factory. The kids loved this and we thought it was fun too. We got to take a tour of the factory and then they give you free samples. After the tour we stopped by an armory the was less than 2 miles away. The kids got to climb into army tanks and see General Patton's jeep. They had some picnic benches there so we ate lunch at the Armory Museum. Then Mike and I stopped at 2 wineries. The kids did a great job of entertaining themselves while Mike and I sipped some delicious wines. The Jelly Bean and Armory Museum were free and we paid $17 for both of us to sample wines using a Groupon.
Jumping for joy for free Jelly Belly tour
learning how jelly beans are made
Free Jelly beans
American Armory museum
General Paton's Jeep
Wine country
Cheers to wine tasting
Wine tasting fun
Thursday
We left our hotel in Vallejo and drove 1 hour to Muir Woods National Park. You have to reserve a parking spot for a timed entrance in advance. Maddy used her 4th grade pass so we got into the park for free but parking was $8. The red woods were so majestic. The forest was majestic and fun to explore. The kids got a junior ranger badge there and then it was off to San Francisco. We drove across the Golden Gate Bridge and then got settled in our hotel. It was my night to take Caiden to see the Cursed Child and Mike took Maddy and Westin to Chuck-E-Cheese. Caiden and I loved the play and Mike had an unsusal experience at Chuck-E-Cheese. Chuckie came out to greet the children and ended up getting angry and took off his head and the kids started screaming then manager fired him in front of all the kids.
Red Wood Forest fun
Junior Ranger Badge
Muir Woods
San Francisco Trolly
Chinatown
Friends set at the AT&T store.
Harry Potter and the Crused Child Play
Caiden and I were pretty tired. We didn't get home from the play until almost midnight. We had a slow morning in the hotel then we went to the Children's Creativity Museum. This was another ASTC freebe. The kids loved this place. It was very hands on and had a claymation studio and you get to take your clay creations home. In the evening Mike took Caiden to the second Harry Potter and The Cursed Child play and I took Maddy and Westin back to the hotel for swimming. The next morning we got on a plan and headed home.
The kids could color objects then scan them into a moving town on a screen.
The playground near the museum
I was pretty proud of my clay creation
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