San Diego: Down By the Bay

Our hotel was right along the bay ~ hop, skip, and jump away from water ~ and a 46-acre beautiful park. Many stores and places to eat were within walking distance. While Bryan was in the conference, the kids and I went exploring. 

Our Hotel: Marriot Liberty Station Courtyard

I was great to have a wide open space so the kids could run around to their hearts content. What a beautiful place full of palm trees, flowers, and green grass.....

Ava quickly discovered a new hobby, snail hunting. She thought the things were so cool.
Which they are!

Her new buddy Dylan got into the action too......

We came upon a great playground. I liked the idea of knowing this was near the hotel. Only an 8 minute walk away too!

Willow was thrilled to put her feet in the sand..... and put the sand in her mouth :)

Ava and Isaac were thrilled to run around and try all the fun equipment.....

Yum, San Diego is delicious!

On a different day, we went the opposite way..... across the bay by bridge.

There, we found a great little beach area full of wonderful, molding sand and warm water.

Willow thought the sand over here tasted different.
This was going to make for an interesting diaper change.... Ha!

We built castles and then we flipped rocks and captured little crabs to put them in the castle :)
I didn't get any pictures of the crabs, but there were too many to count.....

We also found some great sea shells.....
We decided after this little adventure that we would walk to the local store and pick up some buckets and shovels.

A day with water, sand, and smiles is never a day wasted......

San Diego: In transit and PARC Conference 2014

Bryan had an opportunity to attend and speak at an Amphibian & Reptile (PARC) Conference again. The last time we went, it was held in Albuquerque, NM. This time it was in sunny California! I feel lucky that we get to shadow him and join in the adventures! It's especially fun to have the kids experience and see new things and places. These conferences are great for professional networking and learning about new science and research ~ and of course conservation.
It's always a chore to pack for a week long trip with kids. But, we managed to remember everything and headed to the CA/NV state line: Buffalo Bills.

We always make it a point to stay somewhere with a pool. So, in the morning we got cooled off and exercised before buckling up for another long day of driving.......

The Mohave Desert was hot and dry of course. I'm sure these dust devils are a common sighting.....

We were blinded by three large solar panels in the middle of the desert. Apparently birds fly into the light/heat and "poof!" nothing but toe nails..... I'm only exaggerating a little.

Isn't it ironic; don't 'cha think? 

We made it to our destination. Bryan had a busy schedule of meetings to attend. Ava, Isaac, Willow, and I sat in for his presentation and a few others that followed......

Here's Ava and Isaac with their special name tags for the (upcoming) field trip.

Willow thought the presentations were an appropriate time to take a nap, under the table.....

Isaac and Ava made a new friend named Dylan at the conference...... they enjoy each other's company  all week. That was nice.

Most of the time while Bryan was in meetings, the kids and I would go to the pool.

We went to a fantastic Brewery one evening with people from the conference. The had a great outdoor play area. We had fun playing jenga, checkers, and connect four.....

San Diego mostly remains in the 70's all year. It actually cooled down a lot at night. A couple of days I thought it wasn't warm enough to swim at the hotel. But, we did ~ in the hot tub :)

It was going to be a great week!