We planned to spend Thanksgiving week in San Diego. We started by a day at the Getty Villa - an art museum that is a replica of a Roman villa and focuses on Ancient Greek & Roman art.
Their special exhibit contained artifacts from Ancient Egypt which was very exciting since we've spent so much time studying it. We marveled at the details throughout the museum, wandering through rooms filled with statues.
Amelia with the muse of dance.
Austin found weaponry!
Gold coins!
On our second day, we headed to the Richard Nixon Presidential Library. There was a special America 250 exhibit with a pay phone at the end which the kids thought was awesome. We spent the rest of the morning learning all about Nixon's life and presidency.
The only presidential library where you can sit at the desk in the Oval Office replica.
Beautiful gardens at the library.
Marine One
Nixon's boyhood home
We learned so much!
We spent the afternoon driving from LA into San Diego. The view of the sunset and the USS Midway from our window was lovely.
We took an evening walk for some geocaches and exploring the harbor.
USS Midway covered in Christmas lights
Our plan for our first day in San Diego was the USS Midway!
Their audio tours were fantastic & kept us all engaged.
We walked past this pier when we were returning to the carrier after our picnic lunch. We immediately decided it would be our 2025 Christmas card.
Colleen worked hard all day to gain her Junior Pilot wings.
We had arrived when it opened and left when it closed, and we still did not feel that we saw everything.
We decided to spend Thanksgiving Day at the San Diego Zoo. We had read that it was best to do the tram as soon as one entered the zoo. So we arrived at opening and immediately took the tram tour. We were able to see many of the larger mammals on the tour, like elephants, bears, and cats.
Then we did the aerial tram back down the mountain.
Polar bear!
Our picnic lunch in the big cat area.
We had never seen hippos before.
We had a timed ticket to walk by and see the panda.
This bird in the aviary was making visitors nervous. Eventually it removed itself from the wall and flew away.
Our first time with koalas!!
Bears wrestling
We were excited to see pitcher plants in their carnivorous plant exhibit.
A fantastic day at the zoo. It is world-famous for a reason.
For our non-traditional Thanksgiving meal, we walked down past Little Italy to a sushi & bun restaurant. The kids enjoyed their sushi and the buns shaped into animals.
We spent Friday morning at Cabrillo National Monument.
Another junior ranger program done.
Gorgeous drive down to the tide pools
After Cabrillo, we drove to Balboa Park to check out the Fleet Science Center.
We stayed until the museum was closing, and then we walked to the Rose Garden.
Then we made our way to the Desert Garden.
On our last full day in San Diego, we headed back to Balboa Park. We started with their Natural History Museum. Unfortunately, it was undergoing a lot of construction so over half of the museum was closed. But we did enjoy the bit we saw.
We're not sure why the CA ground squirrel, which is found in an abundance behind our house, needed to be commemorated.
Then we strolled through the Spanish Village Art Center. The kids were able to watch the glass blowing artisans for a bit.
The Botanical Building is one of my favorites.
We took a stroll through the Timken Museum of Art.
A Rembrandt!
Then we explored the International Cottages at Balboa Park.
Her name in Korean.
After finding a geocache behind the Spreckels Organ Pavilion
We usually drive through LA on a different highway; our return trip took us past the famous Hollywood sign.
A fun week's adventures of learning and exploring together!
