The Lamoreux's

We had some great visitors over the Veteran's Day weekend and were greeted with a great big Texas welcome from our family from San Antonio.  Gloria & Ken (Karri's maternal aunt) made the trek out to San Diego just to see our family!  Their agenda was minimal - spend time with us and see the zoo before they left.

View of Downtown San Diego from Cabrillo

Arriving on Thursday morning on Veteran's Day, they quickly got settled in so we could prepare for the day.  We began the visit with a trip to Rubio's for their fish tacos who offered free tacos to Veteran's.  Not only do they have good tacos for a local chain, but they always taste better when they are free.  Kevin had to work that day but was not feeling 100%, so he snuck out to see the doctor.  He was diagnosed with an upper respiratory infection and started taking his prescribed medications at that time.


We then headed downtown toward the Point Loma area.  Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery seemed a fitting place to drive by over Veteran's Day weekend as we headed toward Cabrillo National Monument, a National Park with a striking view.  We took in the sight and spotted a few landmarks before heading to the tide pool areas where Ashley and Brandon played while we chatted and took in the sights of nature and the tourists.

We then headed toward the LaJolla Children's Pool to see the seals, which is a heated topic for locals.  It is a tiny cove protected by a concrete breakwater that was once a swimming area for children until the seals and sea lions moved in.  Some locals want it to go back for the children while others want it for the animals, so the courts have been involved (enough said).  The sea lions just lay around in vast numbers, but when one of them move, it is quite entertaining to see them move around and makes for a good chuckle.  We then headed out to dinner and ate in downtown Del Mar at En Fuego Cantina & Grill.  Brandon has a classmate whose  parents own the restaurant, so every time we are there, Brandon inquires as to where Davis is there.  Good food and nice ambiance

The next day, we went to see our potential new home that we made an offer on and drive around the area to see more of Del Mar.  We had to call it a short day as Gloria & Ken had committed to a meeting in Escondido around 1:00 pm, so we agreed to meet for dinner that night and had them back over that night for dinner of homemade potstickers.

Ken & Gloria

On Saturday, the children had Chinese school, but we pulled them out early and headed to the zoo. Since this was their only request, we were happy to abide and visit the world famous San Diego Zoo and spend the days with  the animals.  We took a leisurely stroll and observed several unique things.  Kevin gave us a welcome treat and bought In-N-Out Burgers to eat while we were at the park.  We were able to see the pandas that they are known for, along with the meerkats, camels, and pee licking giraffes.  That was quite comical yet gross to observe as a male giraffe started lapping up the urine of a female giraffe who was peeing.  Moral of the story is to always watch what the animals are up to and be prepared to capture for posterity.

Gross giraffes!

People mover

Elephant Odyssey area

Peacocks gone wild

Dinner at the Pala Mesa Resort
(l-r) Brandon, Karri, Ken, Gloria, Ashley, Brandon

Hotel Del Coronado

Express Elevator

Ken sharing his life experiences

Karri, Daisy, Ken, Brandon, Cheeto, Gloria & Ashley

Our final day, we had a picnic punch at Powerhouse Park overlooking the beach and then toured Balboa Park near downtown and listened to the outdoors pipe organ concert before walking around.  We then visited Hotel Del Coronado toward sunset where Ken and the children were able to take a ride in the old fashioned elevator.  We also made a trip to Ranch 99 (the Asian supermarket) to partake in their Chinese equivalent of the Danish ebelskiver filled with either custard or red bean.  We finished the night with dinner at Blue Water Seafood near downtown where Gloria and Ken had ordered shrimp tacos, only to have Kevin accidentally eat one and incur an allergic reaction.  (Note, I always keep Benadryl in my purse for such occasions.)  We had a wonderful time and eagerly look forward to seeing them again soon - whether in Texas, California, or elsewhere!