I was a lucky duck this last week in that I got a trip to San Diego for a long weekend! It was a FABULOUS time going from the chilly east coast to the warm west coast!

Being from the area I did not try to cram too much in, but I was blessed with BEAUTIFUL weather!  It was mid 80s to low 90s the whole time!  We spent a day at the zoo which is one that I will actually go to because the animals have a bit more room than many zoos!  Usually the animals are all hiding to keep cool in the middle of the day, but we got to see a number of them active as well as a few babies making appearances!

The first was the 15 mo old Panda cub who at first was quite active and bugging her mama, but when we came back later she was zonked out on her little hammock.

The next was the New Guinea singing dog pup – I guess the mama just had 4 pups, but she was back in her “cave” w/ three of the pups while dad kept watch over the wandering mischief maker!  He was so cute!!!

There was also a baby giraffe who was hanging out with her family.  We got a great shot of them having a “family” dinner.  Do families even DO that anymore?!

We then got to see a baby gorilla.  This baby was in the arms of a keeper – we aren’t sure exactly the circumstances, but we did get a decent look at it as well.

Finally, we got to see a joey who apparently just recently started making an appearance at the koala exhibit.  VERY cute to see him cuddling with his mama, but also getting the adoration of visitors.

The next day, we spent the afternoon at the beach in Coronado.  We wandered around the Hotel Del Coronado (didn’t see any ghosts though there reportedly are several) while the kids built a sand lighthouse complete with moat (do lighthouses need moats? – I didn’t argue with the builders… it came out nicely!).

When going back to the car to get dry, we came across a grotesque spider that was so intriguing we took about 8 gazillion pictures of it.  By the time we were done, it was nearly sunset so we went back to the beach to enjoy the view.

Funniest thing was that just after the sun sunk into the horizon, a cruise ship blocked the view! Thankfully there was still great color.  I am always amazed at the color of the water at sunset… This white/blue color while most of the time it is a dark blue/grey color.

The only hard part was trying to adjust to the time change for such a short period.  Oh, and coming back to Massachusetts and the sub freezing temps!  That’s been pretty rough!

Once I get the pictures reviewed and re-sized, I’ll put a few up so you can get a gander at the babies we did catch on film as well as some great beach/hotel del shots!