Trip to San Diego

        Last summer I went to San Diego with my grandma, mom, my mom’s friend’s family, and a real estate agent who is also our family friend. We drove there in our minivan and the agent’s sedan. The relaxing drive in the spacious van was about two hours long. We had planned to show our friends Sea World, San Diego Zoo, La Jolla Beach, and the Old Town during the two days there. Also my mom’s friend had placed an offer on a farm house in Temecula, and that was the reason our family agent came along. So we went there to check it out on our way to San Diego. The land area was huge, and we picked lots of organic fruits, and ate some of them right away. The peaches were especially delicious and my grandma and I snuck some extra ones into the car for later.

          We went to the San Diego Zoo on the same day we arrived at San Diego. Since we didn’t have much time, we just took a bus tour. On the tour, we saw lots of animals like hippos, tigers, lions, pandas, hogs, boars, wolves, birds, monkeys, flamingos, and lots more. After that we took a walk to get a closer look at the animals and see some other unusual animals that the bus could not get to. During the walk, we got lost for a while and couldn’t find the exit, so that kept my impatient mom waiting. When we finally found our way, it was pretty dark, so we went to a famous seafood restaurant at the harbor close to La Jolla Beach. I had fish steak and raw oysters for the first time, which, surprisingly, tasted very delicious. The first day was so packed, when we got to our rooms at the Sheraton Hotel, everyone fell asleep within seconds in our fluffy and welcoming beds.  

          The next morning, everyone woke up feeling very refreshed and energetic. We agreed that we didn’t want the typical breakfast of eggs, bacon, and pancakes at hotel, so we wandered to the harbor. As we paced along the countless stores and restaurants, we were tempted to buy many delicately made trinkets. Finally we found a small cozy café. We found a seat outside, and the cool ocean breeze blew gently on our faces. I ordered fried squid rings, fresh tuna sandwich, and a bowl of homemade clam chowder with some crunchy crackers. I put the three packs of crackers for later, because intuition told me they would become useful. My friend, Cherry, who was also my mom’s friend’s daughter, and I sat on the high stools, and watched the seagulls peck around the crumbs of food littered on the ground.

When I was watching the seagulls, I obstructively picked up half of my squid ring, and tossed it to the gulls. At first, the gulls were alarmed, but they soon figured out it was food and scrambled over one another. Their skirmish was so hilarious, Cherry and I doubled over with laughter. Our parents came over to see what was so funny, and soon joined in the laughter. After I had finished my fill of the meal, I tossed the rest of the squid rings (3 or 4) one at a time to the crowd of waiting seagulls. Soon the snowy white birds had almost covered the whole cement block, and attracted many passersby. Finally, when we finally ran out of food to feed the seagulls, we left the restaurant happily, although the storeowner’s angry glare dimmed our spirits a bit as we walked out.

After leaving the restaurant, my mom decided we were going to La Jolla Beach. While we were walking to the beach, we came upon another group of seagulls. That was when I remembered the three packs of crackers I had in my pocket. I got them out some to Cherry, and started feeding them as we did at the café. They seemed to love the crackers, and got so close to me, I could pet them. When Cherry and I ran out of crackers and started to walk away, the seagulls followed us. But we just ignored them, because we wanted to see how far the birds would follow. It was not until when we reached the beach did they leave us alone. The beach was as cool and refreshing as the breeze. Cherry and I would stay in one place with the waves coming upon us as my mom took a picture of us. But I always got scared and ran away before my mom could take a nice shot.

Around 10 o’clock, we drove to Sea World. We first went to the Shamu show, which, in my opinion,is the best at Sea World. Of course, we had to get rain ponchos before going, for the show contained four killer whales doing tricks and splashing us with their powerful tails and fins, which was the most fun part. The 20-minute show ended, leaving our ponchos soaking wet, but our bodies dry. After we got out of the jumble of people, we examined the map. Seeing a roller coaster, my mom’s friend immediately set out toward it. At first, I volunteered to stay behind and guard our stuff in an attempt to not get on the roller coaster. But they all encouraged me to go and gave me no choice. So, I joined them, and entered the cart. Before I was even ready, the cart lurched and zoomed off. I barely survived that ride, and as we got off, I felt sick. But soon, I recovered and went visiting the different rides and tours of Sea World.

 In the afternoon, we left Sea World, and rode to San Diego Old Town. We looked around old shops selling “ancient” decorations and trinkets. Cherry and I told our parents we were hungry, so found a unique Mexican restaurant to have dinner. There, we ate delicious Mexican style lobster served in a bucket, beans, and the Mexican rice.

This was a fun getaway with my mom and her friend’s family. They returned to China after this trip. I hope they liked this vacation as much as we did.