Tuesday we decided to take the day for school in the morning and set up shop the rest of the day. Travis picked up our rental car. Thankfully during our bookselling days we learned that often laundromats will wash, dry, and fold your clothes for you for about $1/pound. This saves us (me) from working for hours on our laundry. After Travis got the 2012 Chrysler Town and Country (quite lovely!) he picked up the boys. They all dropped off the laundry then went grocery shopping. Once they returned we all went to the game room on the property. They have billiards, foosball, ping pong, a TV set up with cable, a TV set up for movies and karaoke, and hand shuffleboard. Our first game was ping pong. Taite gave Travis a run for his money. Then Taite kicked my butt! Since when did he become a ping pong champion?!
To avoid another butt-whoopin' I diverted their attention to the ocean. We grabbed a ball and walked across the street to the beach. My movie stars joined us.
Calla seemed right at home near the ocean as she danced around the water.
Calla: The ocean is big!
Parker: The ocean is beautiful!
Calla: The ocean is loud.
Accurate description.
Parker is still hesitant to go near the ocean. (Fine by me!) She stays back playing in the sand. She and Lincoln build sandcastles. The lifeguards drive around in pick-up trucks here. Lincoln ran around building sand castles on all the tire tracks in hopes of seeing a castle demolished by the pick-up driving back over it. How disappointed he was when they made new tracks each time!
Parker doesn't like getting her hands dirty. Her typical way of cleaning them off is to lick them. So Tuesday she began licking her hands to get the sand off.
Once we had our fill of the beach (literally and figuratively) we came back to sit in the hot tub for awhile. Parker said, "You guys go in the hot tub. I'll go in the cold tub." So she put on her life jacket and hopped into the regular pool. She and Lincoln went back and forth from the hot tub to the cold tub.
Playtime at the ocean, a dip in the hot tub, shower, dinner, a Skype with Nana and Papa Jim and we were ready for bed. Until this trip I thought most train tracks sat dormant - waiting to be converted into walking paths. Oh no! I guess staying in hotels or our cozy, near-sound-proof house keeps us oblivious to how many trains are still in use. I wonder though, do they most often travel at night...and honk as they drive by where ever I'm sleeping? Just curious. At first I thought maybe all RV parks are located near train tracks. But I noticed it as we've stayed in other places too. Thin walls. Amtrak isn't the only train still running!
Today (Wednesday) we headed to the world famous San Diego Zoo! We arrived as early as San Diego traffic would allow. We've always found it best to arrive at a zoo early - most of the animals are awake, playing, eating, and...well...aroused. This morning I thought I was back in Vegas. Nature.
We walked all day - not one complaint. Even my dogs were barking and my children didn't say one word about walking. Kudos to the kiddos. The San Diego Zoo reminded us of our two fabulous zoos in Minnesota - put together - only bigger. Deserving of more than one day.
We went around the van to share what each person thought was coolest. There were too many fabulous animals for everyone to pick just one favorite. Travis loved how active the elephants were all day and decided that they won the Cool Animal of the Day Award. As Calla was sharing, Lincoln said, "Calla! Remember the two coffees?!" I was perplexed. Was there an animal called a coffee that I missed? Calla responds, "Oh, you mean the Caribou?" Ha! Caribou Coffee - my favorite coffee shop in Minnesota. Apparently I go there too often.
Parker's favorite part of the day was riding in the Skyfari - a gondola lift. We went on it one time. For the rest of the day she told me she wanted to go on it. We'll be returning to the Zoo just to ride the gondola lifts.
Taite was our map reader today. He kept us on track and led us around the park. (Notice the fuzzy monkey behind his head. Taite was in his element. ;-))
We finally left the zoo at 5:00, just as the zoo closed. We decided to eat in town and drive back to Oceanside after the traffic died down. There were tons of incredible options. We chose Amarin Thai Cuisine. It received rave reviews. As we arrived, I noticed everyone was wearing nice clothes and the server was taken back by four kids. I'm pretty sure most people don't just show up there with jeans, sweatshirts, and four kids. They seated us nonetheless, and we proceeded to order. I was concerned that my children would break a plate or throw a fit at this fancy place. Nope. They were unbelievably good! They all used their manners, ate their Thai meals and enjoyed them, and didn't break a thing. We knew it was time to go when we were all about done eating - just waiting on Lincoln and the bill. Suddenly we heard a police car drive by the restaurant. Lincoln says, "Duck! There's a police coming!" There are so many things wrong with that! Lord, please help us raise Lincoln to not be a criminal. Clearly, time to go.
As we drove home I felt a little twinge of guilt not spending the day in the classroom. Before we left Minnesota, a homeschooling mentor of mine, Naomi, told me not to worry about how much class time we get - that the experiences they have will teach them more and last longer than any math or spelling lesson. Still, the twinge. I'm sure God was speaking to me through Lincoln because less than a minute later I hear Lincoln say to Parker, "Parker, I can count to 100." Parker yelled in excited response, "Do it!" She patiently listened while Lincoln counted. As he counted I reviewed our day. On our tour bus our driver/tour guide informed us that the Amur Leopard from Russia is endangered - that the 3 leopards living at the Zoo are 1% of the remaining population. Taite turned to me and said, "Mom! That means there are only 300 of them left!" Math...check! We drove by some sort of bird and Taite and Calla told me that it is the prey for the proboscis monkey. Science...check! Then our driver told us about whale fossils found on zoo property and how San Diego must have been completely under water at some period in history. We talked about how that is more evidence of a world flood...Noah...Bible studies...check! As we drove home Connor and Tyler called us. Taite pulled out his zoo map to tell them about the animals we saw. Oh yeah, map reading. Geography...check! Tomorrow I'll have them journal about it and we'll have spelling and writing covered. Today we often talked about the information we learned here compared to what we have learned at the Minnesota and Como Zoos compared to what the kids have learned on Wild Kratts ;-). There were so many pieces that fit together. How fun to make it all make sense. These life experiences will prove to be the best teachers, I'm sure.
That
learning which thou gettest by thy own observation and
experience, is far beyond that which thou gettest by
precept; as the knowledge of a traveler exceeds that
which is got by reading.
Thomas à Kempis
Thomas à Kempis
There is no way we'll be able to experience San Diego in the short 9 days we're here. Nonetheless, we'll enjoy what we can while we're here.
No comments:
Post a Comment