IrieDiva in San Diego

You may or may not know that last week I took a vacation with my family to San Diego, California! It was an awesome feeling to go somewhere new and experience different things, while having the familiarity of still being in the USA and so still shopping at our favourite stores and eating at our favourite restaurants. Visiting Seaworld was a highlight for me, even though it rained and so it was cold and dreary for a good part of the day. I’m happy I didn’t let that get my spirit down as there was a point where I really wanted to throw the bucket in and call it a day but we stuck it out and had major fun!

Let’s back up to the beginning. The flight to get to San Diego is the longest I’ve ever been on and there’s nothing comfortable about it. Long trips are the reason first class cabins do well. Woo boy, I’m already wondering how our next flight will fare because it’s gonna be much longer! Munchkin didn’t notice, she was quite comfortable watching movies and wanting to go to the bathroom 50leven times. I rented a car and drove the almost hour long way to the hotel all on my own, another first for me and it was SCARY! You don’t go from Jamaican roads to freeways just like that, you just don’t. Especially with Google Maps navigation (which nicely reminded me it was in beta) on your dying phone as your guide. Halellujah we made it and it was all well worth it. The Welk Resort is truly breathtaking.

It’s a villa style property and we were in a one-bedroom with full kitchen, living and eating area and stacked laundry tucked away. Our balcony overlooked the recreational centre and pool and it was absolutely gorgeous. Except for that one rainy day, each day was perfect with cloudless skies yet a crisp cool air. The pool was packed from sun up til 10pm each night as it is heated and the kids loved it. Munchkin made a friend and they swam and played air-hockey all day. There was also a club house that we left her at for the better part of one day and she had a grand old time, asking to return on occasion. She left with lots of crafts and they watched Frozen for what would be her umpteenth time. It was an awesome environment to chill all day on those days when you didn’t want to leave the grounds, just wanted to lay-out and relax. We made smores one night by the fireplace and went down to the courtyard for food another. Broadway style theatre is also available at the property, Oklahoma’s currently on show.

There weren’t many other brown skins around which unfortunately we always look for when we travel, but I am happy to report that I didn’t feel like I was different at any point during our visit. We also visited the San Diego Zoo which is hailed as one of the biggest and best in the country. We missed out on many of the exotic animals, lots of hiding and sleeping in the large habitats but we caught a few. The chimpanzees put on quite a show for munchkin’s dad that left him quite scarred. This one chimp was fascinated with whatever was in his booty and didn’t stop till he had, uhm, cleared any blockage?

That’s the little bugger right there with his booty hole sticking out for easy access. It was gross! Especially since he cleaned his hands with his mouth after. Ugh! If I had to see it then y’all have to read about it too. He finished his show with a little XXX action with another chimp. Guess he got all worked up with all the booty action -__-

The lions gave us a little porno action too, much to the amusement of the crown that had gathered to snap them and cheer them on. We did also manage to see some animals that were new to us like the okapi that’s like a mix of a donkey and a zebra, confused little fella, and that bird that just sat there staring at us like we were the ones on show. I wish I heard the lion roar. I’ve always wanted to hear one let a loud manly roar rip through the air.

I think I came home about 10lbs heavier as with any vacation, food plays a big part of our trip. From fresh lobster at the farmer’s market on the grounds of the hotel that we cooked and had for breakfast, to the Pizza Hut that was also on the hotel property -___- to the Nutella and smores that we had ever so often and stops to our favourite restaurants (well mine at least) Red Lobster and Chipotle. We also made sure to include a couple local spots in our feast, one in particular was playing reggae much to our amusement and we discovered a new fastfood restaurant with great food! Carls Jr’s burgers and sweet potato fries is it!

So. The Beach. Even though I didn’t get my sunset shot that I so badly wanted because California is definitely known for it’s amazing sunsets, I had to come out and experience the Pacific Ocean. A question that was asked of us many times when we revealed where we were from is, why are y’all in San Diego??? Jamaica is where we go to vacation! So yes, even though they claim San Diego is one of the world’s most sought after vacation locations, the beach there has absolutely nothing on a Caribbean beach. It’s huge is what it is, coastline and sandy area for daaaaaaays but there’s no turquoise hues, no clear, pristine water that you can see your feet in and definitely NO WARMTH! It was FREEZING! I was in amazement at all the people in the water swimming, surfing and boogie boarding with no care in the world but I guess they work with what they have. It was a beautiful, bright sunny day but the water was so so cold. It looked pretty dangerous too, the waves were high and rough, the surfers were having a blast. We were also warned of sting rays. Look. Come to Jamaica y’all. Let me show you what a real beach looks like. But it was great to experience.

San Diego was absolutely gorgeous, inviting and amazing and with so much that we didn’t get to do in the short time we went, I would go back in a jiffy! Next time, we’ll do Disneyland and LA for sure! But for now, these memories are dear to my heart and I know munchkin will be an incredible young lady because of all of these wonderful travels afforded to her. Next stop……? Stay tuned!