Mini-Vacation in Coronado

We arrived late on Wednesday night, making the trip from San Francisco to Coronado Island (near San Diego) in one day, taking 10 hours. We got William fed, bathed and put to bed and enjoyed an evening to ourselves in our hotel room. Thankfully, it had a little hallway of sorts that the pack 'n play fit in so we had a little bit of space to ourselves and could talk quietly without disturbing him. 

I tried not to be upset that the hotel (actually an Inn) didn't have a refrigerator or coffee pot in the room (for baby bottles, etc) or a workout room (June was going to be is my get-fit kick-off). It did have a pool and nice outdoor seating right outside our door. Later that evening, Chris was able to get a mini-fridge brought in for us, and the next morning, we found some hot water at the continental breakfast which was perfect for warming William's food. It turned out not to be as difficult as I first thought. 

Thursday morning, after William SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT, we went for a morning walk together along the beach. I really love taking family walks; it rarely happens when we are home. It was a cool morning and the sun had yet to find a path through the clouds. The only people awake at 7 a.m. were parents with young kids and runners. It was nice to see that it was such a family-friendly place. 

Corando is a clean and beautiful city/island. We didn't see a single homeless person or beggar on the sidewalk. It could be compared to Carmel, but we liked this better. It seemed a little more casual. Our hotel was located within walking distance of just about everything. Three minutes from the beach, and restaurants and shops on either side. We didn't use our car the whole time we were there.

After our walk we had a breakfast of omelets and biscuits and gravy then headed back to the hotel so William could rest. I napped too; I have a hard time letting myself nap, especially on vacation. I guess I equate vacations to activity and sight-seeing so rest seems wrong. Which is pretty crazy because I don't rest at home either. I needed the nap regardless of where I was or what I could have been doing. 

That afternoon we took a walk on the boardwalk by the beach again, this time heading in the other direction. We walked a mile before turning around. This time, the sun was hot and the beach was crowded. It was a perfect day to be on the beach but William had fallen asleep in his stroller so his introduction to sand would have to wait. 

For dinner we went to a pub nearby. William had only been to one other restaurant since starting to eat solids and we didn't attempt to feed him then. But this time we thought we should try. Maybe he'd be more inclined to eat if he saw us eating. And he was! He ate more food than he has eaten at a sitting before. He did so well. He is also quite the flirt and every waitress in the restaurant got at least one of his big grins. Every time one of them walked by he turned in his chair so he could see them and flash his smile. And of course, they couldn't ignore him. He loved all the attention. He didn't seem to notice that he had squash all over his face as he flirted! 

On Friday morning, while William napped, I went on a walk by myself. I walked the entire length of the boardwalk, just over 3 miles which had been more than I've walked at one time in a long time. It felt really good. And it was nice to get some time to myself too. 

Later that morning, we all headed back to the beach so we could show William the sand. We brought our camera and a towel and let him at it. He loved it. He didn't make a fuss or anything. He quickly left the towel and dug in. I tried to stand back and let him explore but after a couple of minutes when fists went into his mouth and handfuls of sand were dumped in his ears, I had to intervene… a little late, I know. He didn't want to leave but we had plans to meet up with some friends in San Diego for lunch so we had to go. His first experiences with the beach were positive and we can't wait to do it again!

Lunch with our friends, Stephen and Tess Holechek and Baby Micah, was wonderful. We haven't seen them in years and now we both have babies and life is much different than the last time we talked. Micah (almost two months old) slept through the whole meal while William devoured anything we put in front of him (or tossed it on the floor). I was reminded of the number of changes William has gone through over the past 8 months and I'm amazed at this little person joining us for meals, no longer a newborn wanting to sleep away the day.

We spent the rest of the day touring San Diego. We strolled around the Gaslamp Quarter which was similar to downtown SF-- more bars, but much cleaner and less of the high-end does-anyone-really-shop-there stores. Then we did a loop around Seaport Village which at first we thought was like Fisherman's Wharf but it's a thousand times nicer and cleaner with a nice park in the middle where families were flying kites. It was so pretty. I was surprised to see booth after booth of palm readers/fortune tellers there. It was kind of strange to see them in such a family-friendly setting. 

We only spent a few hours in San Diego, but I really liked it. I loved the weather. Large cities don't intimidate me like they used to, most have similar areas to San Francisco, but without the San Francisco-ness . . . San Diego was cleaner, sunnier, and less crowded for sure. 

For our first "Babiak Family of Three" vacation, it was lovely. We had a wonderful time in Coronado, which is just beautiful; we didn't have an agenda or schedule which was different for us, but necessary for William. We kept our expectations low but really just focused on being together. I loved touring San Diego and visiting old friends. It was just what we needed.

We arrived late on Wednesday night, making the trip from San Francisco to Coronado Island (near San Diego) in one day, taking 10 hours. We got William fed, bathed and put to bed and enjoyed an evening to ourselves in our hotel room. Thankfully, it had a little hallway of sorts that the pack 'n play fit in so we had a little bit of space to ourselves and could talk quietly without disturbing him. 

I tried not to be upset that the hotel (actually an Inn) didn't have a refrigerator or coffee pot in the room (for baby bottles, etc) or a workout room (June was going to be is my get-fit kick-off). It did have a pool and nice outdoor seating right outside our door. Later that evening, Chris was able to get a mini-fridge brought in for us, and the next morning, we found some hot water at the continental breakfast which was perfect for warming William's food. It turned out not to be as difficult as I first thought. 

Thursday morning, after William SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT, we went for a morning walk together along the beach. I really love taking family walks; it rarely happens when we are home. It was a cool morning and the sun had yet to find a path through the clouds. The only people awake at 7 a.m. were parents with young kids and runners. It was nice to see that it was such a family-friendly place. 

Corando is a clean and beautiful city/island. We didn't see a single homeless person or beggar on the sidewalk. It could be compared to Carmel, but we liked this better. It seemed a little more casual. Our hotel was located within walking distance of just about everything. Three minutes from the beach, and restaurants and shops on either side. We didn't use our car the whole time we were there.

After our walk we had a breakfast of omelets and biscuits and gravy then headed back to the hotel so William could rest. I napped too; I have a hard time letting myself nap, especially on vacation. I guess I equate vacations to activity and sight-seeing so rest seems wrong. Which is pretty crazy because I don't rest at home either. I needed the nap regardless of where I was or what I could have been doing. 

That afternoon we took a walk on the boardwalk by the beach again, this time heading in the other direction. We walked a mile before turning around. This time, the sun was hot and the beach was crowded. It was a perfect day to be on the beach but William had fallen asleep in his stroller so his introduction to sand would have to wait. 

For dinner we went to a pub nearby. William had only been to one other restaurant since starting to eat solids and we didn't attempt to feed him then. But this time we thought we should try. Maybe he'd be more inclined to eat if he saw us eating. And he was! He ate more food than he has eaten at a sitting before. He did so well. He is also quite the flirt and every waitress in the restaurant got at least one of his big grins. Every time one of them walked by he turned in his chair so he could see them and flash his smile. And of course, they couldn't ignore him. He loved all the attention. He didn't seem to notice that he had squash all over his face as he flirted! 

On Friday morning, while William napped, I went on a walk by myself. I walked the entire length of the boardwalk, just over 3 miles which had been more than I've walked at one time in a long time. It felt really good. And it was nice to get some time to myself too. 

Later that morning, we all headed back to the beach so we could show William the sand. We brought our camera and a towel and let him at it. He loved it. He didn't make a fuss or anything. He quickly left the towel and dug in. I tried to stand back and let him explore but after a couple of minutes when fists went into his mouth and handfuls of sand were dumped in his ears, I had to intervene… a little late, I know. He didn't want to leave but we had plans to meet up with some friends in San Diego for lunch so we had to go. His first experiences with the beach were positive and we can't wait to do it again!

Lunch with our friends, Stephen and Tess Holechek and Baby Micah, was wonderful. We haven't seen them in years and now we both have babies and life is much different than the last time we talked. Micah (almost two months old) slept through the whole meal while William devoured anything we put in front of him (or tossed it on the floor). I was reminded of the number of changes William has gone through over the past 8 months and I'm amazed at this little person joining us for meals, no longer a newborn wanting to sleep away the day.

We spent the rest of the day touring San Diego. We strolled around the Gaslamp Quarter which was similar to downtown SF-- more bars, but much cleaner and less of the high-end does-anyone-really-shop-there stores. Then we did a loop around Seaport Village which at first we thought was like Fisherman's Wharf but it's a thousand times nicer and cleaner with a nice park in the middle where families were flying kites. It was so pretty. I was surprised to see booth after booth of palm readers/fortune tellers there. It was kind of strange to see them in such a family-friendly setting. 

We only spent a few hours in San Diego, but I really liked it. I loved the weather. Large cities don't intimidate me like they used to, most have similar areas to San Francisco, but without the San Francisco-ness . . . San Diego was cleaner, sunnier, and less crowded for sure. 

For our first "Babiak Family of Three" vacation, it was lovely. We had a wonderful time in Coronado, which is just beautiful; we didn't have an agenda or schedule which was different for us, but necessary for William. We kept our expectations low but really just focused on being together. I loved touring San Diego and visiting old friends. It was just what we needed.