Goodbye Summer, hello school!
We finished summer with a bang as we took a family vacation to San Diego, California last week. Ryan has a doctor that he has to visit annually, with offices in Southern California and Central Florida, so we scheduled an appointment in August and planned a vacation around it.
We arrived in San Diego on Wednesday afternoon and we were able to check into our hotel right away. After dropping off our things, we decided to explore and grab a late lunch in San Diego’s Little Italy, where we could walk by foot.
After that, we walked around some more and found a gelato and pastry shop and got some dessert.
We got situated back in the room and relaxed (Ryan and I read Book 2, Catching Fire, of the Hunger Games series) and then went to the hotel happy hour where they had a food truck set up outside for dinner. After dinner, the kids got changed and we walked across the street to a water area/playground for them to enjoy.
Ryan’s thoughts for the day: REALLY GREAT, REALLY FUN FIRST DAY.
The next morning, we were up early (two hour time change) and we drove to Aliso Viejo to see Lanier Rossignol, FNP-C. She spent a great deal of time with us and Ryan was able to participate fully in the appointment. Ryan is going to go back to being gluten free and will follow a Low FODMAPS diet in order to try and help alleviate some gastrointestinal issues. I am already gluten free and the Low FODMAPS diet has helped me, so this should be an okay transition. Ryan has been gluten free in the past, but once he started communicating, he asked to have a more diverse diet. We allowed it because we did not see any negative health issues after a trial and the diet has never really changed his behaviors. Ryan is the one who wants to go back to gluten free because he is not feeling well. He is the kind of kid that really doesn’t complain about pain until it is almost an emergency.
This will be mentally hard for him because in his words, MOM, I REALLY LOVE GLUTEN. BOUND TO BE SAD. I explained to him that it is much more common nowadays and he will still get to eat like most people. There are so many people with food intolerances/allergies, that modifications can be made most places. We are on day 6 so far (since we have been home) and it has been fine.
After the appointment, we grabbed lunch and then met up with a fellow RPMer, E.J. and his mom, Sabrina. I have known Sabrina for a few years now and I reached out to her since we were going to be in her area for the day. It turns out that she actually lives about 45 minutes away from where we were going to be, but E.J. was participating in the I Can Shine Bike Camp in the area (the same camp that Ryan attended two years ago!) and we were able to meet up! Sabrina own a franchise gym called We Rock the Spectrum, which is a sensory gym for kids. There happened to be a location in the area that we were meeting her, and she is friends with the owner, so we met them there to hang out. Ryan, Grace, and E.J. got to play while Sabrina and I talked. We had a great time.
Ryan spelled this after meeting them: CAN REALLY SAY IT WAS GREAT MEETING E.J. AND SABRINA. MOM TOLD ME ABOUT THEM BEFORE THE TRIP AND SHE WAS RIGHT. SABRINA IS SO NICE AND IT IS COOL THAT E.J. MADE HIS FIRST COMMUNION TOO.
We left the area around 3pm and we hit southern California traffic, which made the drive take a bit longer. Randy had made a reservation at a restaurant on the harbor which was awesome. After that, we walked around the harbor a bit.
The next day was our beach day. We went to Mission Beach. The water was a bit cold for my taste, but Ryan, Grace, and Randy were braver and went in. We stayed for a while and then ventured to the Belmont Boardwalk where the three brave Currys rode the old school wooden roller coaster, The Giant Dipper.
MEANINGFUL TO GO TO THE BEACH. IT IS MY FAVORITE PLACE ON EARTH. THE BEACH IS SO CALMING AND BOUND TO BE FUN TOO. I LOVE ROLLERCOASTERS SO MUCH.
For lunch, we found this awesome restaurant called Buddy’s Diner. We sat at the counter and had lunch and everyone ate (which doesn’t always happen).
After lunch, we took a side trip to the Mount Soledad Veterans Memorial. This was an amazing memorial that is dedicated to the men and women who served our country in times of war. The memorial itself was poignant and impressive and the view from the top of the memorial was breathtaking.
Ryan’s thoughts: I GOT CHILLS AT THE VETERANS’ MEMORIAL. THE SACRIFICE THEY MADE WAS THE ULTIMATE ONE I HAVE SO MUCH RESPECT FOR MILITARY OFFICERS.
One of the things that we had planned ahead of time was that we wanted to check out a baseball game while we were in town. We went to see the San Diego Padres host the Philadelphia Phillies. Since we are Rangers fans, we went into the trip unsure who we were going to route for. Well that changed the afternoon of the game as my sister, Ryan’s Aunt Sam, Facetimed us to tell us that she was engaged! She and her fiancé Jeff, live in South Jersey, right near Philadelphia, and are Phillies fans. We celebrated by routing for the Phillies! (Ryan’s response in the hotel room: I AM TOO MOVED. COOL TO ROOT FOR THE PHILLIES.) Unfortunately they lost, but we enjoyed watching the game and enjoyed exploring Petco Park.
Ryan’s thoughts about the engagement (which he spontaneously brought up as we were writing this post): CARE TOO MUCH. GEARING UP FOR MR. JEFF TO BECOME MY UNCLE. ALSO, I LOVE WEDDINGS.
We have a lot more to cover from our vacation, but we will save it for our next post. Here is a teaser: we visited the coolest museum I have been to and Sea World! Be on the lookout for the second part of our vacation this week.
We will leave you with a quick snapshot of Ryan’s first day back to school this past Wednesday!
I am in my head. 
Thanks for coming to our home and Trick-or-Treating at our home. We are so glad to learn about your journey and growth.
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