Wanderings with Wade

The next day was Tuesday, Andy went to work and Dad and I slept in. When I say slept in I really mean it. I am not sure what came over me as I have never been a strong sleeper and it has been a rare occurrence for me to sleep entirely through the night, ever. When I woke up it was already noon. After we woke up and got going, Dad and I surveyed our situation and determined it would be wise for us to flesh out my apartment and unpack boxes instead of going site seeing. I was concerned about Dad losing a vacation day, but he insisted, and I would not have been able to move the big stuff without him. We had basic goals, get the beds up, and unearth the kitchen. So yet again, Dad and I sweat our way through another day. 
By the time Andy got home from work, we had the bedrooms put together and we had unpacked many,many, boxes, the kitchen was still totally buried so it was mutually determined we were going out for dinner. Dad insisted that we eat, "authentic California cuisine" so we went to a place near our house called Islands, which was a burger joint/grill type of place. Man the food was good!

Dad at La Jolla Shores

The next day was Wednesday and Dad and I decided that the previous day's hard work allowed us some playtime, so we hoped a ride to La Jolla with Andy and set forth to explore all San Diego had to offer via MTS or the Metro Transit System, aka the bus. Our adventure began at La Jolla Shores. Armed with a backpack full of various snacks and maps we set out after watching the tide come in. (it was hard work but hey we were up for it.) We wanted to go to the Birch Aquarium which was just up the hill from La Jolla shores, easy right? Wrong! As we climbed the "hill" at a never ending 45 degree angle it became clear to me just how out of shape I really was. When we arrived at the Aquarium I was sweating non- stop and it was time to break out a water bottle from the pack. This was the first place where we encountered a penny press. Unbeknownst to me, Dad is a collector of smashed pennies and he helped me start a small collection, smashed pennies are a cheap, unique,  and easy to pack around souvenir.  We toured the aquarium for a few hours and finally decided that we would head for Old Town. So we climbed another agonizing hill (shorter, but just as steep) and waited for the next bus to come along.

 We then hoped on the bus and headed for Old Town. We had been advised by the Cove Fort missionaries that the Mormon Battalion site was not to be missed, once we arrived we set off to find it. I am happy to report they were correct. It was great. There was a movie explaining the importance of the Battalion to the Church as well as to the settlement of California and even the Gold Rush. We were able to learn about brick making, primitive irrigation techniques and we both were able to pan for gold. They also took an old time picture of me and Dad which he took home with him as a souvenir. After wandering Old Town for a few hours, we became extremely thirsty, so we stopped for root beer floats which were on sale two for one. Yum!

We went into some really cool handicraft shops and admired some really neat churches. After all our wandering we determined it would be wise to head back to La Jolla so that Andy would not have to drive across town to come and get us. So it was back on the MTS for us. We retraced our previous route and eventually found ourselves back at La Jolla shores, where once again, we found ourselves watching the tide come in and out. When Andy got off from work he came and picked us up, we had some dinner and headed home.

On Thursday, Dad and I decided to check out Sea World. Andy dropped us off at the gate, we paid our money (this is not a cheap activity) and entered the park. We experienced all that Sea World had to offer, we rode the rides, watched the shows (Hello, Shamu!)  and paid the exorbitant prices for some basic lunches and bottled waters, as we were not allowed to bring our own.
 Overall, I think Sea World is targeted towards people with kids, or kids themselves, if you were a kid which I am not, Sea World would rock. As an adult it was okay, I don't see myself going again unless it is with my nieces and nephews. There were all kinds of people at Sea World. We saw Mennonites, Orthodox Jews, Middle Easterners and many, many other types of people. It was a cultural cornucopia.

Sea World has a large variety of animals, and they have some amazing exhibits, but I felt out of place wandering around with my Dad, I think some people might have thought we were some sort of couple or something, we definitely confused people based on the looks I saw, but that could also be due to Dad's fashionable ensemble, I am not sure. Around 6 pm Andy picked us up and we went home and had some dinner.

The World Famous Shamu

 

Dad and a penny smasher at Sea World