Old Town San Diego

Audrey and I were lucky enough to tag along with John on his week-long AP conference at USD.  We were even luckier to not have to attend class with him!  We got to spend the week by the pool, hanging out with friends, eating lots of Mexican food, and eating breakfast at a cafe near our hotel.  While John was at his nerd conference learning to be a better AP Calculus teacher, Audrey and I had some great mother-daughter bonding time!

This was our view from the balcony of our hotel room at the Old Town Hacienda Hotel.  It's the big white one with Acapulco, in case you were wondering!  We could see planes landing and taking off, as well as the fog envelop the peninsula every evening.

We ate at The Living Room every morning, and then went for a walk around Old Town.  It was nice eating breakfast and having "conversations" with my little girl at the table.  This time next year, I'm sure I'll be wishing she'd just be quiet for 2 minutes!

I LOVE the history in Old Town San Diego, and visiting Mason Schoolhouse was a highlight.  Here Audrey is in one of the desks, getting ready for a slightly embarrassing tantrum in front of the docent.  I was tempted to grab the dunce cap or the ruler for some pioneer punishment.

This was in one of the haunted sites, the old Wells Fargo building.  Audrey liked the horse.  I had to explain to her that it was a fake horse, but she neighed away, anyhow.  The lady finally told me to go to the stage coach outside across the square so she could climb on it.  I guess she was afraid Audrey would break something.

So here's that stagecoach, and Audrey could care less since there was no horse attached, real or fake.  Geez lady.  Way to disappoint the kids.  In the background, you'll see the building formerly known as Casa de Bandini, a yummy and quaint little restaurant.  It is no longer that.  :(

Audrey couldn't ride the donkeys at Seely Stables, but she settled for riding the fake horse...

and "feeding" the nice donkey pieces of alfalfa that fell on the ground.

Does anyone know what kind of tree this is?  I love it, and I want it in my yard.  Or my future yard.  It's really pretty.

John and I got a mini date one night when his colleague and his daughter watched Audrey (at bedtime).  We went on a haunted tour, which wasn't scary at all, and we didn't see any ghosts!  The guy basically collected a ton of money for walking around for 2 hours and showing us where he had experienced paranormal activity.  I guess ghosts don't appear or interact on demand, but I have never experienced anything, and thought it would be neat to at least see a light flicker or have my batteries drained.  John had an uneasy feeling at one site, and that was about it.  I went back the next day and went into all of the buildings I could, and felt nothing.  I'd been to the Whaley House before, and it wasn't that scary.  Oh, well.  God only gives us what we can handle, and I'm sure He knows I'd pass out if I ever saw anything.