San Diego Spring Break Road Trip {Part 2}

Ready for Part 2 of our San Diego Spring Break Road Trip?
You can read Part 1 {HERE}

Day 3 started off with a slow morning. We were all tired from a long day at Legoland the day before.
I had some coffee & then went on a 3 mile run along the beach.

 It's always foggy/overcast by the beach in the morning. I loved this running path along the beach, it was just steps from our hotel.

 We got ready & then headed to San Diego Zoo Safari Park. The fog burned off & the sun was shining!

There is the San Diego Zoo, but they also have a Safari Park. We opted for the Safari Park because our kids go to the Oakland Zoo & San Francisco Zoo often, so we wanted to experience a Safari Park.

 Kate loved that this Safari Park is a sanctuary, so the animals have lots of wide open space to roam around.

 Flamingos....Claire's favorite :)

 We got to see this tiger up close & personal.

 We were there for the Tiger Talk, so we got to learn about tigers.

 We went on a 30 minute Safari.

We waited in line for almost an hour for the safari...my advice is to do that as soon as you get there.

 One of Claire's best friends & there family was also in San Diego for Spring Break, so we coordinated and met up at Legoland and we also met up at the Safari Park, so standing in line for the Safari was more fun with friends.

 We saw lots of animals on our Safari.

 I really loved how they aren't in cages & the animals have so much open space to roam around.

 The giraffes were my favorite :)

 After the Safari, we went to check out the Elephants, since that is Kate's favorite animal.

 They have an amazing bird exhibit and you can go in & feed the birds.

After the birds, we checked out a few more exhibits & then we headed to the San Diego Mission since it was a quick drive from the Safari Park. We got there right before it closed, so we had the place to ourselves!

This was Mission #15 of 21 that we have seen in the past year. The San Diego Mission is actually the FIRST Mission that was built on the California Mission Trail.

 It looks big from the outside, but it's actually one of the smaller missions (that surprised me!) 

 The courtyard is small, but STUNNING. It was beautifully landscaped.

 So lush & green.

 Beautiful arches:

 Chapel:

 The grounds on the outside of the Mission were also beautiful.

Lots of flowers & trees.

 The San Diego Mission still has a daily mass.

 When I think of Mission styles, I think of white buildings & red tile roofs like this:

 But, I've learned that each Mission we have seen is so unique.

 Love the Palm Trees :)

 We headed back to the hotel & decided to go for a walk on the beach to see the sunset before heading out to dinner.

 The clouds were low, but it was still pretty.

 Love the beach!

 The kids wanted burgers & fries for dinner, so we walked over to CraftBurger.

 Loved their signs.

 Our burgers were AMAZING!!! I got the BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger with onion strings. SO good.

 After dinner we walked around Carlsbad Village & the kids played chess.

 Claire beat Kate in chess for the first time in her life. Claire was so proud.

 We walked back to the hotel & decided to hang out by the fire pits.

 A glass of wine by the firepit on a beautiful evening. Can't complain. 

The next day we got up & had a slow morning. 

I finally had a chance to sit & read for a bit.

I LOVED this book! Highly recommend!

 It was such a beautiful morning, no fog & the sun was shining. It was Friday & this was the day that we were supposed to head home.

 We didn't want to leave! I mean, look at these views!

I went on another 3 mile run along the beach.

 Gorgeous Day! Didn't want to leave!

 I got back to the room & my mother in law and I both weren't ready to leave. Who wants to drive 8 hours home when you can enjoy a beautiful beach day?

  So I called the front desk to see if we could extend our stay by another night. They had ONE room left! And, they said we could keep our room. YEAH!

 The kids were excited to stay another day.

 We needed a mellow beach day after Legoland & the Safari Park.

We went to get a good hearty breakfast at Don's Country Kitchen.

 I got the Bacon Eggs Benedict with Avacado. Not healthy, but SOOOOO good. 

We then headed up to Oceanside because it was a few miles away...we had to check off another Mission off our list! 

Mission San Luis Rey was Mission #16 of 21 for us!

 It is STUNNING.

 The chapel is gorgeous.

Loved the architecture.

 Beautiful.

 

There is a large cemetery.

 The cemetery was beautiful.

 My kids really love reading gravestones....is that weird?

The like seeing dates on the tombstones. My kids are weird.

I didn't realize how large this Mission would be.

 It's in the middle of a beach town.

But, all the landscaping makes you feel like you are in the desert.

 Gorgeous catcus...

 I felt like I was in Arizona :)

 I don't even know what kind of plant this is, but the color was so vibrant.

 There is a large courtyard.

 We couldn't go into the courtyard because it is used as a retreat center.

 I was still able to get some good photos of the courtyard even though we had to stay on the outside.

 The oldest Pepper tree is in this garden.

 More Cacti...

 Obsessed :)

 Museum entrance.

 All the Missions have this bell/landmark.

After we got done with the Mission we headed back to the hotel for beach & pool time!

 Kids were in heaven!

 We love the snow & skiing, but we also REALLY love the beach!

 Our hotel had boogie boards & sand toys for us to check out & borrow.

 When we went to Maui last summer (I still need to blog that trip by the way!!) the kids learned to boogie board & they loved it.

 This water wasn't as warm as Hawaii water, but that didn't stop them!

 They had so much fun boogie boarding.

 The waves weren't that big, but they still had fun.

 Such a gorgeous day, so glad we decided to stay longer.

 The Beach Life is the best life.

 After the beach, we headed straight to the pool because they wanted to swim more!

  We spent a few hours at the pool & then we headed back to the beach for the sunset!

 Kate just kept running in & out of the ocean, she was in her happy place.

 Oh Claire.....

 After the sunset we headed to S'mores Night at the hotel.

We hadn't had dinner yet (still full from our amazing brunch)

 But how can you say no to S'mores?

 That's the beauty of vacation....dessert before dinner :)

Luke...living his best life with Smores before dinner.

I never tire seeing beautiful sunsets.

So pretty.

Since it was Friday night, that meant Friday night pizza night! My kids wanted pizza even though we had it 2 nights before. We tried out a different pizza place called Knock Out Pizza & I got it to go so we could enjoy it by the fire pit.

We all liked Pizza Port better than Knock Out Pizza

It was a great way to spend our last in San Diego.

The next day we packed up & hit the road....ready for the 8 hour drive home. 

But we had to have brunch at Don's Country Kitchen again. This time I got the ABC omelette.

Avacado, Bacon & Cheese. Delicious.

I knew a hearty brunch would be perfect to fill up the kids since they were full until dinner the day before when we went here. They have amazing Brioche Cinnamon French Toast that they loved.

I hadn’t planned on stopping at Mission San Fernando Rey during this road trip (was planning on seeing it next time we were down here) but after being stuck in LA traffic for HOURS.
 Luke needed a potty stop & this Mission happened to be right off the exit, so we went here.
So people look for rest stops, gas stations or restrautns to make potty breaks...apparently we look for Missions. LOL.

This is Mission #17 of 21 that we have visited.

 It was another really large Mission.

 The architectural was unique & so different than the ones we saw on this trip.

 It was good to stretch our legs for a bit before the rest of the drive home.

 Most of the Missions are white, but this one was a yellow color.

 Part of the chapel:

 

   So glad we stopped here when we did because a Quinceañera was about to happen in the church, so we got to see that!

 The girls getting ready to go into the church

 This was our final stop and we drove 5 hours home from here.

 Kate snapped this photo from the road...gotta love Highway 5.....long, flat & boring.

I love this tradition that the kids and I have done the past 2 years for Spring Break.
You can read Part 1 {HERE}

You can read last year's Santa Barbara Spring Break Road Trip {HERE}

I wonder where we will go next Spring Break?!?

 
So, to sum it up......San Diego Spring Break 2018:
Drove over 1000 miles, visited Legoland, San Diego Zoo Safari Park, checked 4 more California Missions off our list, stayed in the cutest beach hotel in Carlsbad, read 1 book, had fun meeting up with friends, spent hours at the beach & pool, ate delicious food, ran several miles along the beach, lost count of the meltdowns/fights my kids had, enjoyed beautiful sunsets, sat in too much LA traffic (the worst!!!), had so much fun that we added an extra day to our trip, loved spending time my niece  who is currently living in SD, spent quality time with my mother in law who adventured with us.
We missed Kevin, but still made awesome memories!