San Diego -Day 6- (Friday)

Last day!
We headed out to the USS Midway (so HUGE!) for a few hours. Spent some time at a park in Coronado and then made our 7 hr. trek home.... arriving home (back to the heat) at approximately 3 am.

All in all, a successful vacation. I think in the future we might pick something more tailored to the interests of our kids... and just keep it simple. We might have tried to pack in too much for these little guys, I have to remember that they are happy just playing in the dirt, so anything more than that is overwhelming. Sea World and the Animal Park were amazing, but being out all day and seeing all the new things exhausted them. Maybe planning a rest day in between every activity day would be better.
Also, our rental house was a huge disappointment. Though it was very nicely built and furnished... there seemed to be no sort of cleaning preparation for our stay. We spent portions of our vacation washing pet hair off of the towels so we could shower, cleaning pet hair off our beds, vacuuming, and washing the dried food off of dishes so we could cook. Leila even developed an allergic rash on the back of her neck because she took a nap on our bedspread before we washed all the pet hair off. I'm not sure if it's a common practice for this rental property or not. I suppose they can charge whatever they want and get it, whatever the condition of the house, because of the close proximity to the beach. Whatever. Next time we'll either book a hotel (however far away from the beach) or only book a rental house based on reliable references.
Planning ahead for this type of large group vacation was a must. We did many things ahead that made the vacation that much easier. We bought a 3 for 1 pass at Costco that allowed us unlimited entry to Sea World, The Wild Animal Park, and San Diego Zoo for 5 consecutive days. The passes were $80 each and we didn't need to buy one for the kids (under 3 is free). Admission at the gate of these places was around $40-$50, and even though we didn't make it to the zoo, the passes paid for themselves with our multiple visits during the week. It was nice to have the freedom of coming and going as we pleased (especially with kids!), we didn't feel like we had to pack everything into one visit because it was so stinkin' expensive to get in.
The weather was refreshing, it was a new experience for the kids, and we got to be with loved ones... Hurrah for the San Diego Vacation... we will remember you fondly :)