San Diego Friends Trip - October 2007

We began our trip on Thursday morning as we met at the airport at 6:30 am to depart at around 8:30 am. Kaye and Ted, Dan and Nancy, Bob and Barbara and Bill and I were all wide eyed and bushy tailed and ready for a fun adventure as we congregated at the Delta gate for departure. We landed in San Diego and quickly picked up our cars from Enterprise and headed for Seaport Village. When we first arrived we found a young girl there who offered to take our group picture, but everyone was not accounted for so we declined her offer. When everyone finally met up Bob called out her by name and suggested that she could take our pictures. We laughed thinking that there is no way he could find her again as it had been a while since she was near us. Bob called her and almost instantaneously she appeared out of nowhere and we ushered her over to us for our picture. It was quite comical.

We ate at various eating venues at Seaport Village and then traveled to our motels not far away in San Diego. We stayed at the Marriott and it was a nice place to crash at night.

Monday evening we traveled to Los Angeles to the Pantages Theater to see the production of Wicked. It was really good. Those of us who had seen it before really like the Galinda who perfomed in L. A.

The following morning we slept in until about 8:30 am and then got ready to attend the San Diego temple. It was so nice and beautiful. Dan and Nancy were invited to be the witness couple and it was really fun watching them take the lead. After the temple we took a little side trip to the Anthony's fish market and bought some fresh fish by the water. It was really yummy. Then we took a little side trip to Coronado Island where we stopped at Marie Calendar's for some yummy desserts and then to the del Coronado hotel for a little sightseeing and shopping. Before we left we took a little walk around the exterior of the hotel which is on the beach. It was really beautiful with the sound of the waves as they came in off of the ocean or bay. We went back to our rooms to watch a playoff game between the Colorado Rockies and the Arizona Diamondbacks to see who would be going to the World Series. The Rockies won.

Newport Beach LDS Temple

We woke up early on Saturday morning and hurried to make our appointment at the Newport Beach temple at 8:30 am. It is a beautiful temple that is quite different than the San Diego temple. It is a light pinkish beige in color and at the time it was built the neighborhood was very critical of. It is that color because it has to coordinate with the homes and scenery in that area. Bob and Barbara were asked to be the witness couple during this session and it was fun to have them given this opportunity. After the session Scott, Annette and the children met us for lunch at a place call Pei Wei, a fast food PF Changs. It was really yummy. We then took off to see Dan and Nancy and Kaye and Ted's time shares at Marriott in Newport Beach. They were absolutely gorgeous and so family oriented. We then began our trip back to San Diego with a couple of stops on the way, first being Balboa Park where the walked and visited on the beach and another being Laguna Beach at sunset. It was a really fun clean beach with lots of families and surfers and barbecues going on.

Walking on the beach at Balboa Park

Sunset at Laguna Beach with Billy and Barbara in the left corner background

The next morning we woke up to attend church at the San Diego 10th ward UC Branch/Deaf Blind Ward. The meeting started at 10:00 am. We arrived with a few minutes to spare and had a few extra minutes to take pictures of the meetinghouse. It is always fun to visit a different building and the different auxilliaries. It is such a small world and as we listened to testimonies Billy and I noticed that a woman who bore her testimony looked so familiar. I saw her again in Relief Society and after Nancy got the courage to talk to her I quickly went over to her as she was explaining that she had a brother who played ball for BYU. I asked what sport and sure enough it was baseball. Her brother is Jake Stubblefield. Her name is Emily and we visited with her at the games when Wade played ball. The meetings were very good and we had the opportunity to give input to the Sunday School lesson on following good examples in the New Testament. It was nice visiting with other sisters as you come to feel the same warm spirit everywhere in the church. It was fun for Billy to be able to share in the Finnish language with an older lady in the ward. She and her husband are both Finn's.

After church we stopped by Old Town to get a bite to eat and to visit the Mormon Battalion site. We ate at a really good Mexican Restaurant called Cafe Coyote. It was really yummy food and was close by the Memorial.

The Mormon Battalion Visitors Center
The Mormon Battalion were volunteer men who joined the service from 1846-47. They started the trek in Council Bluffs, and ended in San Diego, CA. They chose not to wear the government uniforms, instead used their money to give to the church to help the westward movement to Utah. They were a unique group as they were the only religious group in the US. It was very interesting. We quickly left for the airport and to drop off our cars at the car rental. It was a fun trip and to visit other areas, but most of all it was fun being with great friends.