Birding and Birthdays in San Diego

One day I was birding at the J Street Marsh when I met a gentleman who was kind enough to grab his scope to give me a quick (which turned into an hour-long) lesson on gulls and shorebirds. When he mentioned that he birds the Salton Sea regularly, I did something crazy. I asked a total stranger to take me with him on his next four hour round trip drive to the Sea! Of course my husband was not happy. I told my birder friend, Nicole, about it and it turns out that she also went with him when she was in San Diego a few months ago and oh by the way, Guy McCaskey literally wrote the book on "Birding the Salton Sea"! What luck! 

We left at 4am while it was still dark, so we'd arrive just before sunrise. Not only did he take me to the Salton Sea, we also birded the Imperial Valley area including farms and homes where he knew certain species would be. I saw a gorgeous vermillion flycatcher at a horse farm, woodpeckers at a park and a merlin down a side road. Everywhere we went, people knew him. When we stopped at the Salton Sea Visitor Center, I caught a glimpse of his book behind the desk. That day was my biggest birding day ever. We saw more than 100 different species, including 21 lifers (birds I had never seen before). 

This is where our twins turned FIVE and a day later, I entered the last year of my 30s!

The kids had chosen to celebrate by having a couple friends over for cake, then to the Coronado Library for craft time. The kids made pirate ships and then played at the playground across the street.

Asher and Journey were so happy that Brynn and Avree could celebrate with us.

The next day we continued the celebration with breakfast donuts
as big as our heads from the famous Donut Bar in downtown San Diego.

Journey made the big decision to cut her hair for her birthday. She was done with the pain of brushing her hair, it was time for a quick, easy style. She'd only had two small trims before, so her choice of a super short cut was a very dramatic change. She ended up with a cute cut and donated more than a foot of hair.

That night I chose Outback Steakhouse, of course, for my birthday dinner. The kids so thoughfully slept thru the entire dinner so it was kind of like a quiet date night. Ha! 

Coronado, Imperial Beach and more

We stayed in Coronado for a month at Fiddler's Cove. Now that I'm a birder, I appreciate our site right on the San Diego bay even more. The birds and ducks that hang out right behind our RV were a joy to watch everyday. Of course we also love kayaking right from our site.

The kids made friends with the little girl next door, Zoey. One day her grandma invited our kids over to play so we could rearrange the kids' room, while she helped them make glittery Easter eggs. They had so much fun and look forward to hopefully seeing Zoey again someday in Chicago.

One day we met five other fulltime families at Imperial Beach. This struck me as the ideal Roadschool Day as one family set up a cabana for their two kids to complete their violin lessons via Skype. Once they finished, the dads moved in and worked in the cabana while the moms had fun getting to know each other better and the kids all played in the sand and waves. It just warmed my heart to see what life on the road looks like for each of our families.

Oh and we enjoyed the biggest pizza ever! The 28" pepperoni from Seacoast. Delicious!

We had our friends, the Lewis family, over to play at our site a couple times.

The kids and I found this creature at low tide. It moved when we touched it. 

I still haven't been able to figure out what it is. If you know, please tell me!

One night we went to the Lewis family's site at Thousand Trails to have dinner with them and a couple other fulltime families. After dinner we sat around talking until I saw a very large raccoon run up to us looking for a snack! It was quite startling and he kept hanging around, so after that we moved the party inside.

The Tijuana Estuary National Wildlife Refuge was a fun place for the family to walk around while I sought out new bird species. Beach on one side, refuge on the other and Tijuana in the distance.

We just can't be in San Diego without visiting Cabrillo National Monument. It's a favorite place of ours, and this time we were able to meet up with a few other fulltime family friends.

Afterwards, our three families went to the playground and marina at Shelter Island where we got up close to some brown pelicans.

Sadly, both kids ended up really sick here. Fortunately we still have their pulse ox monitor, which saved us from a middle of the night run to the emergency room! They have chronic lung disease, a result of being born before their lungs were ready, which means when they get sick it can get bad fast. They've done amazingly well since we've been traveling fulltime, but this was a strong reminder of their vulnerability. 

Once he was feeling better, Asher wrote his first love note to us! "I F U" 

(I love you! He thinks love sounds like the letter F. ) He now knows how to spell it out.