Home is Where the Navy Sends Us

Newport Polo Green Animals Topiary Garden Bristal Car show Rail Explorers Melville Ponds hike Escobar Farm (Fall Corn Maze, 4th of July fireworks) Roger Williams Park Zoo Glen Park Father Travassos Park (Splash Pad) Freetown Splash Pad Colt State Park Blithwold Masion Buttonwood Park Zoo Southwicks Zoo Mystic Aquarium Seagulls baseball games Cars and Coffee Cliff Walk 2nd beach (great for littles) Newport beach Naval Base sailboat rentals Newport Car Museum Providence Childrens Museum Boston Aquarium Boston Tea Party Ship/Harbor Save the Bay exploration center Newport Masions Restaurant Week Newport Library RI Comic Con

           For those who live in the Murphy Canyon/Tierrasanta area, here is a list of grocery stores commonly frequented. Also check out our google maps list HERE Situated between two commissaries, about a 15-minute drive north or south.        -32nd street: Larger, busy on the weekends and afternoons, best time to go is during the week in the mornings.  The entrance ID check can get quite backed up; large number of retirees shop here as well.     - Miramar Commissary a little smaller, and less crowded on average.  Drive through Starbucks plus some fast food close by.  Beginning of 2022 their gas prices were consistently lower than anywhere else in San Diego County.   -Tierrasanta shopping center has UPS store, goodwill donation center, Starbucks (No Drivethru), rite aid, and smart and final. -Costco, Ikea and Lowes are close together off of the friars road exit. -Target has a few d...

 Helpful Links: Naval Base San Diego Housing Info & Resources | MilitaryINSTALLATIONS (militaryonesource.mil) Family Housing (NBSD) (navylifesw.com) Apply Now | San Diego (Naval Complex) (livelmh.com)     The privatized military housing in San Diego is run by Liberty Military Housing (Be Aware this was Formerly called "Lincoln Military Housing"; the housing company that was in the news for mold and other lovely housing issues.  Just be aware of what you are getting into.  That being said, I am currently in this housing (1 year, and have not had any major issues).      Housing at a Glance: E1-E6 Aero Ridge :  E1-E9, Pet Friendly, Off Base     Floor Plans: Floor Plans | Aero Ridge (livelmh.com) Orleck Heights:   E1-E9, Pet Friendly, Off Base     Floor Plans: Santo Terrace:  E1-E9, Pet Friendly, Off Base      Floor Plans:     Commute Time:        ...

  ⭐⭐⭐⭐✰ 4/5 Stars! Good place to visit! Website:  The Playground for Kids | Indoor Playground | Kids Parties & Open Play, in La Mesa, California (theplayground4kids.com) Age Range: 0-9 yrs. Time: 1-3 hours     While searching for a better Target to shop at we stumbled upon this indoor play place.  It is in the Grossmont center, a cute little outdoor style mall.  They have a two-story target on one end, and a Walmart on the other.  A Barnes and Noble, Panera, Cold stone, and a U paint ceramic.  I also spotted an adult only wine and nail bar that I'll have to go back and check out.  It is one giant room filled with inflatable bounce houses, giant ball pits, climbers, small slides, and a toddler play area.  In the center is table and chairs for snacks or for caregivers to set up their laptops while the littles play.  My husband particularly likes the massage chairs scattered amongst the inflatables.      ...

 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5 Stars! Great place to visit! Website:  Pacific Southwest Railway Museum – Dedicated to preserving the railroad history of the pacific southwest and San Diego (psrm.org) Age Range: All Ages Time: All Day      Choo Choo! All Aboard!  We recently drove out to Campo to ride the train and I'm so glad we did!  The kids had a great time not only riding the train, but also exploring their superb train museum.  We rode on the Golden State ride, their classic weekend round trip.  We ended up being the only ones on the train, The Ticketmaster and guide was very friendly and knowledgeable about the locomotive we were riding and about the Pacific Railway in general.        I was able to bring my single stroller on the train with us.  It was a bit rough getting it up into the train, but it made it. I would never have been able to bring my double side by side.  We also brought lunch onboard and ate during t...

 ⭐⭐⭐⭐✰ 4/5 stars! Good place to visit! Website:  https://www.niwa.org/ Age range: all ages Time: 1-2 hours         The Japanese friendship garden is a beautiful 12-acre oasis in Balboa Park. We had the opportunity to visit during the cherry blossom festival. It was gorgeous and we had a great time, but lessons learned about the crowds this garden draws and how we may try to do it differently next time.   Out of pure luck I decided to purchase VIP tickets, they were only a few dollars cheaper.  I knew I’d have the kids with me and wanted to cut down online time so I figured the special entrance would be worth it. Turns out it was most definitely worth it. When we arrived (20 minutes before opening) the parking lots were already packed, and we had to circle a bit to find parking.  As we left the parking lot, we ran into a large crowd standing on the sidewalk.  A very large crowd and as we continued to walk towards the garden, I r...

 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5 stars Great place to visit! Website:  Old Town San Diego Kid Age: All Ages Time 2-all day depending      There is a lot to do in Old Town.  You could spend an hour or all day and into the evening here.  Gardens, specialty shops, restaurants for lunch or dinner, tourist shops, historical sites, museums, it has a variety of amusements.  We went with out-of-town family and had a great day.  Parking was easy first thing in the morning (10 am), but when we left around 4:30pm cars were circling the parking lot trying to find spaces. Nightlife and dinner parking may be more difficult to come by.          We headed over to Cafe Coyote for lunch, on our way there we saw another restaurant with a viewing window of some lovely ladies making homemade tortillas.  Our wait was very short, the service was quick, and the kids all received their food within 10 minutes of sitting down and ordering.  The margar...

 ⭐⭐⭐⭐✰ 4/5 stars Good place to visit! Website:  San Diego Botanic Garden | Encinitas, California (sdbg.org) Kid Age: All Ages, depending on interests Time: 2-3 hours      Four miles of trails and paths to walk along.  Nature lovers will surely enjoy strolling along checking out the variety of plants.  Be aware there are some steep climbs, I pushed my double stroller up a few on a particularly hot day, not a fun experience.  So, I would suggest the deeper exploration and walking be done by baby wearing and during the cooler months/days.  There is also a little garden shuttle run by volunteers. (It was not operating on the day I visited).   I found this little gem through some other moms in the area, they have a fantastic little kid play area.  It's not far from the entrance and relatively close to the bathrooms.  Art easels, giant chalk board walls, a natural music area, sand pits, and my sons favorite; a small running stream he...