Ahhh, here's my view on the first morning! The waves were massive, more massive than I've ever seen in the Pacific. Surfers were sprinting for the beach as the water rolled over into almost surfable tubes! Despite our lack of deep sleep, we were all up early the next morning. Apparently this was the day I would learn to ride a Segway! You may notice from the photos below, that we were all handed matching black t-shirts with pink, glittery print (by Jen). Mine says, "Forty and Fabulous." The other girls' say, "Feisty and Fabulous." My shirt, also came with a sparkling diamond tiara . . . yes, yes it did :)
We decided to try to pop in for the massive burritos we'd been told were the best on Pacific Beach (by Buck's mom). You can see the Konos Café by the glowing lamppost there behind the closest palm tree. However, by the time we got across the street (much texting ensued each day updating children, husbands, and a grandma on all our activities) the legendary line had begun to form.
Changing plans, we stopped at a nearby market that offered both a grocery store (where Rosie purchased a flat of bottled water) and a Starbucks (where I got a breakfast sandwich and hot chocolate). By either 8:15 or 9:15 (I really was in charge of nothing, so I don't remember :) we were pulling into a parking garage near the ocean. Our mission was to find the little Segway shop that gave a local hotel's address as theirs--but they weren't there. We walked back and forth along the opposite side of the beach, past the giant Holland America cruise ship, peeked up to where the Midway was docked--but no segways. Eventually, the tour guide called and said, "Ya'll still comin' for your Segway tour?" Jen (who had forgotten her phone in the car, but went back to get it), said, "Yes, we're trying to find you!"So, eventually we arrived on foot to the place that would put us on wheels. We signed paperwork about--you know, all the dangers of actually operating these crazy-looking machines. Then they showed us a video that was a bit dramatic in regards to all the ways we might injure ourselves or others while operating said segways. Umm, yikes!!
When the video ended our funny, southern tour guide assured us she would not be taking us down any incredibly steep hills or through any excessively rough terrain as depicted in the scary instructional video :) One by one, she helped us onto our hoverboards with handles (they felt like they were floating and doing their own thing at first). I just kept telling this, "If Judi can do this, I can do this. If Judi can do this, I can do this." I knew she'd done a similar tour and had really enjoyed it, so I had to be as successful at adventure as my mother-in-law ;)Honestly, after just a few minutes of instruction and practice, operating the machine was a breeze. As long as you keep your balance and don't get too nutty, the segways are surprisingly easy to operate. Plus, they give you a jazzy, yellow bicycle helmet and when you're wearing matching black and pink sparkle t-shirts . . . :)
Each of us was outfitted with a blue mic pac and an earbud. This allowed us to hear our tourguide as she whizzed us (too quickly too soon in my opinion ;) across streets filled with cars and sidewalks filled with jogging pedestrians. She pointed out interesting bits of history and new additions to the scenery like, "Hey, ya'll look at this bagpiping man with the flames shootin' out the top of his instrument there; now you don't see that every day!" Of course, we couldn't take a picture because we weren't allowed to while operating our 12 mph-going machines. That's okay, the heat of the flames popping from the top of that situation will live on in my memories, ha!
"Ya'll look like Storm Troopers with your shadows all stretched out like that in front of ya'll." We zipped through the downtown area of San Diego, saw the home of Comic Con, rode past the Padres baseball field, slolumed through several trees planted on the sidewalk; my friends got a little wild ramping off some low steps with their segways, we surprised a lot of people, and got a lot of goofy grins from the public. At one point, our guide pointed out a narrow sidewalk surrounded by water on both sides, and I thought, "Oh, no! A water hazard."
"Ya'll aren't going to want to fall in that water, that's where the pigeons take their baths, and it is just not a place you want to be."
Whew, made it past the water hazard :) We saw many works of art and sculpture; we saw a gray poodle with a rock-n-roll stripe of green on her perfectly groomed ear. We laughed hard enough that we should have fallen off our segways, as our tour guide kept, "Just makin' sure I still have all my chicks. Yes, here they come, no one fell into the ocean. That's real good, ya'll; you're doing great!"
By the end of our two hours, which really did fly by, I was ready to ask for a Segway for Christmas ;) I think when our kids all hit the age of 14 and above, this will be a fun way for us to get around on tours when they're available. BUT we will have to find some sort of coupon/groupon deal like my friends did, because I heard the tour guide say it was $99/person regularly--and that's a bit too much for me! (I believe ours were buy one get one free).
The only near crash was when one of the two sisters who were also on the tour with us, came over to ask me if we could all have a photo together. She came a bit too close and nicked my wheel, which threw off my balance, which just about set off the domino effect of fallen segways I'd originally pictured in my mind when I learned that Jen, Rosie, Carissa, and I would each be given a wheeled object of our own--but somehow I managed to keep the thing mostly under control and no crazy crashes ensued. However, it did throw me off a little mentally, and I realized when we'd gotten almost back to the car that I'd left my phone in the side pocket of my ride. I hustled back, and it was still in there where I'd parked it at the conclusion of our adventure. Just think--you might have missed out on all these fabulous photos! :)
By now, we'd worked up an appetite! Good thing our next stop was Old Town San Diego for lunch. We pulled into the parking lot behind the chosen restaurant and made friends with the parking attendant. He wanted to know all about our matching shirts, offered some suggestions for evening activities (since we didn't really have a plan for that), helped Jen back the mini car into a tiny spot, and encouraged us to come back in 10 years when we're 50. Whoa, 50 seems, whoa.There was another man with a massive outdoor grill preparing all the chicken for the restaurant. Oh my goodness, it smelled amazing! We were even hungrier now, and hurried to the front to find Judi. She'd already reserved a table for us, so we were seated right away. I decided to order the chicken chimi (knowing I would get both the outdoor chicken and the homemade tortillas by the ladies in the window). We talked and talked and talked and enjoyed our yummy food! They have a wandering photographer and a wandering mariachi band that will serenade you if requested. I decided that the restaurant was small enough that I could hear them serenade other tables, so we didn't need a special performance at ours :)
Before long a free dessert (the first of many) arrived at the table. My friends helped eat the ice cream and cinnamon-sugar tortillas, but even altogether we couldn't finish that much sweet!
After lunch, we didn't leave Old Town. In fact, we gathered my tiara and a camera and headed out for a lengthy photo shoot in the surrounding parks. Jen borrowed a nice camera from a friend who does semi-pro photography in Arizona. Judi was put in charge of the pictures, and Jen made sure she took a lot of them! These, I have yet to see, given the digital and non-transferable nature of their storage. I'm told they will be edited and then made available for our viewing pleasure :)
I'd never been through Old Town (other than the restaurants), and was surprised to find a whole frontier village just down the way. There were historical re-enactors willing to share tidbits about the founding of San Diego, stories about the school teacher and the community, and glimpses into the past. I think the kids would love this the next time we go back! Plus, it was all decorated for Christmas, and I do love Christmas decorations :)
At one point, Judi switched to cell phone cameras. She had Jen's and was trying to take a tricky-lighting picture of the four of us with a big Santa statue on a sleigh. Outloud, Judi said, "How do I get back to that other screen?" (or something along those lines). The phone answered, "I'm sorry, your Highness, I'm not sure how to help with that." Lol!! Jen has her phone programmed to call her "Your Highness" when she asks it questions. I mean, I was the one wearing the crown and walking through the streets of old San Diego! :) Many people I'd never seen before and will never see again wished me a "Happy Birthday." My temporary celebrity status resulted in a lot of random kindness, which was very sweet.
Oh, and of course, we found pressed penny machines for the kids! My friends were doling out quarters and trying to choose the shiniest pennies from among our combined wallets to get the best for my bunch. Normally, the kids only get pennies from places they've visited as a souvenir. However, they've been to Old Town, we just didn't collect pennies yet, so it worked out beautifully!
Well, it turned out I'd forgotten the knitting order Caelan had made and sent with me to deliver to grandma back at the condo. Judi graciously agreed to drive back there with us to pick it up, and Jen graciously allowed me to not have to complete the next section of surprises in public (which was her original idea). Judi produced a paper bag filled with plates, forks, a knife, napkins, fresh wipes, and . . . a smash cake. You know, the ones babies do on their first birthday? Well, that was my next assigned activity for the day. No silverware for me--just frosting on my fingers and my face. I'll admit, this is kind of a tradition for me and my friends. We have pictures of my dear husband assisting in smashing my face into a giant birthday cake at my parents' house and all my friends laughing uproariously as a result :)
Part of the reason Judi was invited along to take pictures, was so we could recreate this traditional photo of the four of us . . . the first taken in college, the second taken seven years ago at Jen's in AZ, and finally the updated version for 2017. We'll just keep adding to it as the years go by. It's pretty special!!
After I had scraped several layers of white frosting off of my face, Judi headed home for a neighborhood block party, and the rest of us headed to the beach. We caught sight of this bubble making fellow releasing rainbow-tinted orbs into the sky. Of course, we had to take some pictures for the kids!
Next, we rolled up our jeans, kicked off our shoes, and sunk our toes into the sand. Ahhh. It's such a good feeling to have my feet in the sand by the ocean! I decided I'd better put my feet in the icy water too--the tide was out, so I had to make a bit of a trek to accomplish this goal. I tried taking a photo, then went out a little farther and tried another, and then I noticed the tide was actually coming in and had to run backwards yelling, "Too much water, too much water!" Ha! It was cold, as expected, but quite refreshing. Thankfully my pants didn't absorb too much Pacific, otherwise, I'd have been awfully chilly there on the beach.
Jen was determined to find ways to expand my birthday audience. Her next plan was to write my name and the number 40 beneath it in the sand. Rosie and Carissa decided I'd had enough publicity for one day, and proceeded to shuffle through her efforts with their bare feet instead :) Jen quickly switched her focus to helping me improve my selfie-taking skills. I tried to follow her instructions, but pretty much just couldn't stop laughing. Carissa joined me and I have to say . . . we were successful at joviality, and not much else ;)
There were quite a few people on the beach. Several seemed to be on first dates, very cute. Several others seemed to think they were having a personal photo shoot with the assistance of friends and very patient boyfriends :) However, as the sun really started to sink, everyone paused, turned west, and watched it disappear. Such an interesting, uniting moment! Peaceful, connected, sun, sand, and sea. Three cheers for sunset!
To make it even better, Rosie began singing Christmas carols as we walked along the sand . . . that girl can sing. She gave me goosebumps AND tears in my eyes. Joyful, joyful! And right behind us rose the supermoon--bright, white, and glowing among the palm trees. Wow, God! You were spoiling me too! :)
We stopped in a little surf shop, because Carissa needed a hoodie and I wanted to get the kids some post cards for their collection. We asked the cashier for a fish restaurant within walking distance. He mentioned the same one Judi did (although Judi added we shouldn't go there because of a recent non-pass on Hepatitis A infections, which apparently I may or may not be vaccinated against?). We decided to go to Tower 23 (maybe?) as it was close, had outdoor/oceanside seating and was just steps away. Well . . . the wait staff was snooty, the hamburgers started at $16 and there was NO FISH! Duh, you're right by the ocean!
Instead we followed up on another lead that took us by car to The Fishery--a restaurant/fish market. I was bummed to learn that all the mahi were hiding in some trench somewhere deep in the ocean, and I could not eat them for my dinner as I'd hoped. Instead, I discovered a swordfish taco plate on the menu, and that became my delicious meal for the evening. Rosie ordered two plates of sushi rolls that had Buck drooling when I showed him the pictures I took for him. Jen was in allergy-parent-on-vacation euphoria as she dug into a plate of pad-thai with PEANUT sauce :) Ha! She really enjoyed that meal.Carissa ordered a beautiful crab special, but started really feeling the effects of having forgotten her cpap machine (for sleep apnea) and it blossomed (with the fish smells) into a full-fledged migraine. She went to sit in the car while the other three of us continued to enjoy our meals--and we also ate the amazing bowl of sautéed mushrooms she'd ordered as an appetizer.
Next thing I knew, our waiter popped his head up over the booth wall and offered me any dessert on the menu on the house. Now, these were not inexpensive desserts--this place had the chef's name imprinted on the menu. It was not pretentious, but it was not Jimmy John's either :) Before I'd left, Buck had asked me what he and the kids could have waiting for a birthday dessert. I told him pumpkin pie. He looked disgusted and wanted to know why that? I told him because it was seasonal, and if I didn't eat it now, I wouldn't have another chance for a whole another year. I quickly skimmed the dessert menu at The Fishery, and what to my wondering eyes should appear? Pumpkin Cheesecake. Yes, please! The waiter looked very embarrassed and said, "That's the only thing we're out of." :) Oh well! Instead I *settled* for a chocolate brownie with fudge sauce, crushed peanuts, bourbon infused caramel, a scoop of ice cream, freshly made cool whip, and a strawberry on top. It tasted like the worlds' fanciest frozen snickers bar.
After dinner and dessert, we caught up with Carissa dozing in the car and headed back to the condo. Into pjs we all went (I mean, that was a busy day!!) and Rissa, went to bed. The rest of us chatted about anything and everything until--10, ha! Rosie had to be up very early for her flight the next morning and we all made promises of varying possibility that we'd join her for the drive to the airport. Sleep went a bit better, but still not awesome with the bar crowd outside the window. It wasn't until we were checking out that we read over the owner's note on the paperwork that: "The bar next door can be kind of loud. Just move one of the provided fans into the master bedroom and turn it on to drown out the sound." Oh, yeah. That would have been helpful :)
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