Coming Home ~ Aug 30-31st

Wow... this has been the longest vacation ever according to my prolonged blog entries! We are finally traveling home, after a virtual 3+ months! :) Here's how we wrapped up our last day in San Diego, and then got right back into the swing of things at home...

 A last look at our lodgings at the Doubletree... our breakfast "buffet"
 in the background. Next time I'm looking for the free breakfast included!

 The child-sized table worked for Nora, but was a little squishy for the rest of us...

 Everyone and every bag accounted for.

 A quick visit outside the hotel with Scott's former taekwondo student, Troy Buist.
 It was great to hear of his thriving chaplain ministry in the military,
 as he had been in the Marine Corps for awhile.

 Now we know where to stay for our next visit! :)

With a later flight of 5:50pm, we had one last afternoon to explore. We drove down to the Embarcadero to check out Tuna Harbor Park up close... maybe a little too close?! (We had seen it from the deck of the USS Midway museum on the 27th.)

 I guess being a nurse, I especially like this statue...
although let me be clear ~ this never happens to me!

 "The Kiss" statue arrived in Feb. 2013.
Nora puts the size in perspective.

 I allowed Scott one attempt at this...
 I guess he's my sailor. :)

 A view of downtown, with the USS Midway museum to the left.

 The "National Salute to Bob Hope and the Military" scuptural artwork.

 Listening to Bob Hope's jokes on the piped-in speakers was moving, thinking of
how he encouraged military personnel in WWII in the best way he knew how.

 We drove a little further down the waterfront to Seaport Village, a lovely shopping
area of unique stores and restaurants. Our highlight? Ben & Jerry's ice cream. :)

 We walked along the waterfront back, past the Midway, in search of the harbour cruises.  

 The snack bar on the ship... that's called marketing. :)

In the end, the times were pushing too close to our departure to take a harbour cruise. Seeing as that was the only thing on our sightseeing list that we didn't do, I think we did alright. :) Our flight to Seattle was uneventful, and we crossed the border after midnight, without any wait at all! San Diego was a delightful place to visit, definitely great for families and to enjoy the sunshine. There's something for everyone here, and I hope some of you will visit there soon, too! :)

 The next evening, it was time to celebrate Nana's birthday. Charles' had a belated cake, too.

 Sharing gifts and cards~

 Nora is still learning about letting the birthday honouree open their own gifts.

 Lewis always makes unique cards.

 And Scott always knows the right thing to say.

 A kiss for Auntie Charlene.

 Papa is looking tanned~

 Fun to have Stewart and Charlene at family parties.

And that was August for us... leaving just the weekend to get ready for back-to-school. Hope your summer was awesome... it already seems like a distant memory with snow falling today! :)