Fun family things to do in Southern California

My family and I decided last fall it was time for a vacation outside of Canada. It had been exactly three years since the last time I had flown. We booked a trip to the San Diego area looking for sunshine and beaches.

We packed for a beach vacation but Mother Nature had something else in mind. It was much colder than normal and some days were super windy (plus some rain). We had one nice day for the beach which was the first day we arrived. Now what? We looked at the weather fore cast for the next 5 days and here's what we did.

6 Family Friendly Activities in Southern California

1. La Jolla Cove and Shores Beaches

Photo of Pelican at La Jolla Cove

Seals Resting on Beach at La Jolla Cove

Finding Inspiration for New Jewellery

We arrived later on a Sunday evening after delays at Pearson and sat on the runway for almost an hour in San Diego before disembarking. We looked at the forecast and Monday's weather was going to have sunshine but the temperature was 16 degrees Celsius.

On Monday, we headed into La Jolla and our boys rented a surfboard and boogie board from Everyday California (great service) and walked to La Jolla Shores Beach for some fun. It is a beautiful walk along the beach and UCSD is up on the cliffs. We walked along the Scripps Coastal Reserve. It has a sandy beach with coastal canyons and so much more.

A couple days later we walked along the trail of La Jolla Cove. It's breathtaking. You see the waves rolling into shore while you walk high above on the cliffs. I took photos of seals, pelicans and managed to video a cute bird (which I will share  on my Instagram this week).

La Jolla Shores Beach

Scripps National Reserve La Jolla

2. Disneyland - Anaheim

Disneyland Castle at Night

Star Wars Rise of the Resistance Ride

This was one of my boys favourite activities on this trip.  We have visited Disney before but my youngest son didn't remember. Plus they had now built the new Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge park and they wanted to experience it.

Our day was tailored more to older kids activities. We only spent a bit of time in Fantasyland to ride It's a Small World (which we always love).  Plus Space Mountain! I don't remember it having so many turns.

Our favourite ride of the day was Star Wars Rise of the Resistance. I have never experienced anything like it and I am not going into any details here (as not to spoil it).  This ride does break down frequently. We were in line when it did but we stuck it out and got in after a 90 minute wait. However, people can wait up to 3 hours for this ride.

3. USS MIDWAY Aircraft Carrier - San Diego

Visiting the USS Midway Museum in San Diego was a last minute idea.  My youngest really enjoyed learning about the museum.

USS Midway is an aircraft carrier, formerly of the United States Navy, the lead ship of her class. It is quite fascinating to tour the carrier and see how they lived. On the deck there is a collection of aircrafts in which you can see up close. You can also take a simulator ride and see  how it feels to fly upside down in an aircraft! We left that for the boys to do!

The Kissing Statue

USS Midway Aircraft Carrier

4. Fun Food 

Ghirardelli Non-Dairy Vanilla Sundae

Shake Shack Hamburger and Fries

Mickey Mouse Rice Krispie Treat

Are you a foodie? If so, we found some awesome treats on this trip. Here are just a few of the fun things we found.

1. Ghirardelli Chocolate Company in Gaslamp District San Diego - They just introduced a non-dairy sundae which I ordered. My family ordered dairy sundaes and said you couldn't taste the difference.
2. Shake Shack - This is the first time we had tried their hamburgers. I was able to get a gluten-free bun and it was soft and tasty. The service is quick and the atmosphere is very California style. We would definitely go back. Plus they make awesome Tiramisu shakes too!
3. When you go to Disneyland, do you get a Mickey treat? It was not a very warm day so the traditional Mickey Ice Cream bar was substituted with a rice krispie one.

5. Liberty Station - San Diego

I have to thank my husband for finding Liberty Station. This is great place to go when it is calling for rain!

Formerly a naval training centre, it now houses restaurants, boutiques, art galleries, a food market and a handmade/vintage store.  I did find some treasures at the handmade store. The food market is called Liberty Public Market and there was so many yummy things to try. 

We found a shop that sold mini donuts called The Mini Donut Company! There was also succulent plants everywhere! I struggle to keep them alive but loved seeing them everywhere in California.

Succulent Wall at Liberty Public Market

Mini Donuts

6. Torrey Pines State National Reserve - La Jolla

Torrey Pines Sandstone Cliffs

Beach Area of Torrey Pines Park

Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve is a coastal park. This fragile environment is the home of the nation's rarest pine tree called the Torrey Pine.

If you love taking a hike with the ocean overlooking beautiful cliffs of sandstone this is a park to visit. There is an entrance fee of $15. There are various pathways to take. We walked from the top down to the beach. The beach has the most gorgeous rocks and shells that I have ever seen.  Talk about finding inspiration for my next collection of jewellery!!!

I hope you have enjoyed reading about our trip to Southern California and perhaps left you with some ideas.

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Until next time, enjoy the Beauty of Nature!
Cheryl🌷

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