So July - it brings hot miserable weather to some areas of the Country - like the Midwest (Missouri is where I am specifically thinking) - in averages of over 100 degrees. Then add the humidity - now step outdoors from the air conditioning. Have you ever opened a hot oven and had the heat blast you in the face? There you have it - one and the same. So options....go back into the air conditioning.....go play by some water (creek, lake, pool...) tough it out and suffer in the heat and do whatever it is you set out to do.... OR..... do what my Nephew did..... GO TO SAN DIEGO!!
So Nephew, Wife, 3 kids (ages 8, 14, 15) - arrived on a Monday evening before the 4th of July and stayed until the following Tuesday morning. They paid no hotel fees - and stayed with me. And they had no car rental as my friend with a mini-van traded vehicles with me for a week. A family this large has to be frugal in order to take such a trip - and I had to help them all I could. Isn't that what family does?
It was quite the adventure. 6 people in a tiny 2-bedroom apartment. Interestingly though, I never felt crowded or imposed on. They were so comfortable to be around and never imposing. Once settled - we developed a plan of attack. Chris (nephew) - studied the Sea World map for the following day. It was the first thing they visited in San Diego the next morning after breakfast. Having been many times - I was excited for them - however - I have to say, the shows have changed a lot - and I was very disappointed in them - a lot more about people and less about the creatures they were supposed to be showing. The family didn't know what they were missing though - and had a great time.
The rest of their adventures included Universal Studios, seeing the Hollywood sign on the hill, walking on the star walk and seeing Graumans Chinese theatre in Hollywood - then beaches beaches beaches. None of them had ever seen the ocean before so it was so fun seeing them so into it. I dropped them off on a couple of occasions to enjoy the beach and picked them up when they were ready to leave. They also visited the embarcadero, toured the Midway Aircraft carrier and did a Harbor cruise, as well as shopped at seaport village. The beaches they got to visit were: Coronado beach, La Jolla, Pacific Beach, Mission Beach, and Ocean Beach. A lot of ground was covered and a lot of fun was had by all.
I missed them when they left. Even while still attempting to get all the beach sand out of the house days later. A wonderful group that I'm proud to call family! I'm hoping I helped to instill some wonderful childhood memories into the kids' lives. They are all such great kids.! OH - Chris got to meet his two cousins (my sons) - Rob and Justin while he was here as well. They all hit it off really well. Justin came over several times in the evenings. Rob only visited once. But Chris was thrilled to have connected more with family he'd never met - and was happy that they all got along so well.
Times like this make our lives so rich and full. Can't wait for the next family adventure!
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