Home is Where the Navy Sends Us

⭐⭐⭐⭐✰  4/5 stars Good place to visit  Ages: 6 and under Time: 2 hours Website:  https://www.pumpkinstation.com/ Today we went on a preschool field trip to the Pumpkin Station. Arrived about 9 am and there was only one or two other families with littles there other than our field trip class. Take note that by 10:30 three other school busses showed up and dropped off field trippers from other preschools and kindergartens and lines formed making it harder for the single families to get to everything. Go early if you can. Also take note that their website says, "giant slides" and "inflatables" but these were not at the Rancho Bernardo location. Maybe some of their other locations have more activities that older kids would enjoy. I did not bring my stroller in because I knew some of the activities would not be stroller friendly (hayride, train ride, pumpkin patch, sunflower cutting) but the main area is flat, and I did see a family there with a stroller.  Just know you w...

  ⭐⭐⭐⭐✰ 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.      ...

 ⭐⭐⭐⭐✰ 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:  Birch Aquarium at Scripps | Home (ucsd.edu) Kid Age: All Ages Time: 2-3 hours     Beautiful little aquarium.  We've been to many an aquarium, and while some exhibits are truly beautiful, others could use some improvement.  I find the price to be on the higher side for what you get.  Definitely consider a membership if you will be going more than once, your most cost-effective option.  There is a small parking lot out front (free) Bathrooms are before you enter as well as a small snack kiosk.      The aquariums to the right of the entrance are truly beautiful and well put together.  This last trip we went in the afternoon and the octopus was wiggling all over its tank, the sea turtle was out and about and most of the fish seemed quite lively.  The Giant kelp tank was definitely the highlight.        The outside touch tank area has many litt...

 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5 stars! Great place to visit! Website:  Cabrillo National Monument (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov) Kid Age Range: All ages, except you'll need to baby wear at the tidepools (no stroller access) Time: 1-3 hours depending on how much time you decide to spend playing in the tide pools, or if you stay to watch the film.       This state monument honoring Cabrillo who was essential in mapping out San Diego Bay.  A small museum dedicated to the story of the 16th century exploration, ship equipment, and stories of the time.  There is a statue and plenty of beautiful views from the tippy top point of point Loma.  Easy stroller access all throughout the small welcome center, museum, and monument.  Easy access to clean public restrooms.  You can take a stroll up the walking path to the lighthouse.  The light house is small and charming, quick to explore.  Note that the lighthouse itself is not stroller friendly...