Road Trip Day 2-Coronado Island & Old Town

One thing I really wanted to do once we decided on our trip was biking around Coronado Island.  We could fit the kids bikes in the car and I would rent one once on the island.  After seeing the Bryants off to work and school our first day, we headed out to Coronado with no real plans but to bike and sightseeing.  I took beach gear in case we decide to get some beach time in but it turned out to be a little too windy to really enjoy the beach.  We parked downtown, I got my bike and a map and we were off!

I would highly recommend biking the island.  It's all fairly flat and an easy ride, most of the island has a beautiful bike trail that hugs the perimeter of the island and it's the best way to see all the views the island has to offer.  The kids loved it, we stopped for breaks and lunch and finished up by riding over 7 miles.

Our final stop was the Coronado Hotel.  I had been here once and remember the outdoor area being really beautiful and wanted to show the kids.  We ended up having lunch on the outdoor patio which was a lot of fun.  They really cater to kids, my kids were hungry and thirsty and it was so relaxing being by the ocean, cooling off in the ocean breeze.

After eating all of their lunch and dessert (they were burning some serious calories riding the bikes) we toured the hotel.  Their favorite part was the candy shop inside...and the butterflies behind the check-in desk that moved with the wind.  We finished up our bike ride, turned my bike in and headed to Old Town to meet up with the Bryants.

We had a little time to spare so we drove past the Midway.  Timo saw it from the island and wanted to go on it...but that was something for us to save and do with Daddy.

We arrived in Old Town ready to explore the historically part of San Diego...you know how I love my history!  We tried to take this picture of the kids with Josiah but he kept looking back for Mindy.

Our first stop was the amazing Mormon Battalion Museum.  Again, somehow we ended up going backwards through the tour, starting with the hands on area, panning for cold, making bricks, pumping water...so much fun for the little ones.

We eventually found the main entrence and waited for the next tour to start.  They have really set the tour up for educating all ages on their history and I was so impressed how well thought out each room was and how it was really geared for adults and kids.  My kids were totally into it the whole time while Josiah was a little too young.  Mindy stepped out with him while we completed the tour.  Timo asked a million questions the whole time and our leader was really impressed with the detail of his questions...and even called him up to try on all the army equipment the soldiers had to carry around. He was soooooo excited!  (sorry it's so dark, no flash allowed) We even got this souvenir at the end taken with the old time camera.  They do push their religious beliefs but luckily it's most about their faith in God so our kids thought it was totally natural to talk of God and His protection over the Battalion.

Josiah wasn't really up for touring anymore so they decided to head back home while we explored more of Old Town.  We visited the first bank, printing press, another candy shop, watched candle making, so much more!  We finished up with dinner at Old Town Cafe where we got to watch them make tortillas.  Mexican has to be Timo and Cameron's favorite food so this was exciting to see how tortillas were made.

Kids size burritos weren't very kids size but Timo had no trouble getting his all down.  Can you say growth spurt?!  He was a human eating machine the whole weekend.  I ordered the Carnitias, mmmm, so good, and we all shared a whole order of fresh tortillas!  Great way to finish off our day.

I think is my only pictures of the being at the Bryants.  We got ready for bed and Timo and Cameron started picking out Josiah's books for bedtime story.  I'm not sure why Josiah isn't in in the pic, most times the kids were inseparable.  But the kids fell right to sleep, resting up for Legoland the next day!