San Diego, California - June 2007

So Keith decided in January that he wanted to do the Mud Run on June 16th. It was going to be his birthday and father's day that weekend so how could I possibly say no? I immediately bought tickets on that cold winter day and started planning our trip to sunny San Diego.

Our first stop was Sea World. The last time we went there with Elliot, he was only 3 months old. His free admission days are coming to an end so we made sure to see as much as we can. We arrived just in time to catch the dolphin show. Elliot loved it after it was over, but he was not having that much fun during the show because he thought the dolphins would splash him.

Whale riding as an occupation? Could there really be a better job anywhere? I wish my high school guidance counselor told me about this one because I would have filled out an application a long time ago.

The Anheuser-Busch Clydesdales - this was taken before we went to the free beer pavilion next to the stables.

We have worked very hard to make sure that Elliot has a lot of diversity in his diet but I think may have gone to far. The first thing he said when we saw Shamu was "Mommy, I want to eat him because he is a fish."


Time for a taco break at the El Gordo Taco for some yummy tacos Al Pastor. Pork, marinated, pounded thin and slowly grilled on a rotisserie. We have had this dozens of times locally but this is the only place that made us believe we were in Mexico. Actually we were only 5 miles from the border.

Every summer at Camp Pendleton, the Marines host a race called the World Famous Mud Run. This 6+ mile run consists of steep hills, river crossings, a lake crossing, two 5 foot walls with mud all around them, a slippery hill climb and a final 30' mud pit that you must crawl through.


Elliot getting into the spirit of things by doing a few pull-ups.


Time for the run. The base is huge and the land area is close in size to Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan combined. It is strange to us because we really have little exposure to the military and we never imagined bases were this big. In reality it is a self contained city with airports, restaurants, shopping and more. We only got to see a small sliver of the base on the way to the race because we did not want to end up in the stockade.

The finish line march. It was worth the trip!

It's not every day that you get go climb on some tanks parked on the side of the road but we couldn't resist. We had to act fast before the MPs came.

On Sunday we went to the San Diego County Fair. Rides, food and farm animals.



It looks like he is petting these pigs but he is really sizing them up to see if they were ready for the smoker. Fortunately (for the pigs) Elliot said they were too small.


Some cows waiting to be judged later in the week.



Elliot couldn't figure out why they were called "monster trucks" because they didn't look like monsters.

We thought we have seen it all, but fair cuisine is more competitive than preschools in Manhattan. Hot dogs and cheesesteaks are for amatuers. We did not try this artery clogging delicacy, but looking back we should have since we may never see this item again.

For a few extra dollars the guy behind the counter will spit in his hand and put some special sauce on it. (see picture)

We did have some down time at the beach. Surf camp is definitely in Elliot's future because he thought the surfers were really cool!


San Diego bills itself as Americas Finest City and we have to agree. Nice people, great food, beautiful beaches, perfect weather and close proximity to Mexico. What more can you want?

Hasta Luego