Having fun at Belmont Park, Mission Beach

(The content of this post happened on June 8th, 2014 PDT)

Time flies. A year of international exchange was almost over. On the last weekend of the year, just 4 days before my school ends, my host family took me to a really historical place in Mission Beach, San Diego called Belmont Park. According to Wikipedia, Belmont Park is an oceanfront amusement park opened on July 4th, 1925 as the Mission Beach Amusement Center. The park itself is so old that all the buildings and rides there looks so “classic”! We didn't spent our all day in Belmont Park , but also the whole Mission Beach area. There are many fine shops there as well as some great restaurants.

A wooden roller coaster in the park. Can you believe that it is one of the oldest wooden roller coaster in the U.S.?!

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Boogie Boarding at Cardiff Beach

Since Monday, May 26th is Memorial day in America, we got a day off of school, which means we got all three-day weekend. On Sunday, we decided to go to the beach because the weather was really hot. This time, we're not just "going to the beach", we were going to be playing in the water, as well as to relax on the beach. the beach we went this time was the Cardiff Beach, which is north from us, we were actually there (near there) a few month ago but the weather was pretty cold back then, this is the first time we go into water.

(Cover photo) At Cardiff Beach.

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Dining in the Gorgeous Hotel Del Coronado

Today, April 11th, 2014, is the last day of Uncle Paul’s third visit. We of course all don’t want him to go because he is also so kind to take us to cool places or nice restaurants, but it’s impossible for him to stay for too long since he also have people to take care of in Chico. The good thing is, he will visit here again in June when my family comes, so my dad can will be able to see “His host dad”, and I am very looking forward to it! On his last day in San Diego, we decided to go to a really beautiful place to do some shopping and have lunch, that is, the Coronado Island. It is an affluent resort city located across San Diego Bay from downtown San Diego, I have actually been there once with my host family, it’s about 5 months before when I first got here, and we were just there for dinner. But today, we are going there in the morning instead of afternoon, I believed that we will see another beautiful side of the Coronado. 

Hotel Del Coronado and the beach.

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Beautiful Beaches and shops: Point Loma

Time flies, today, April 10th, 2014, was already the fourth day of Spring break, also the penultimate day of Uncle Paul’s visit… Uncle Paul took me to many cool and new tourist places the past three days and also today, I love them all, and I really hope this week will never end so we can go even more places! Haha Fortunately, there is one more day tomorrow, the last day we can go out to somewhere together. The place we went to today was Point Loma, it is a seaside community within the city of San Diego. There are many beautiful beaches, nice restaurants, and fine shops in Point Loma, and of course, the best thing about going to Point Loma is that you can enjoy the fantastic view of Pacific Ocean and the California Coast.

A street in Point Loma.

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The Hero Ship: USS Midway Aircraft Carrier

Today, April 9th, 2014, was the third day of Spring break. Uncle Paul and I decided to visit the USS Midway Museum. According to Wikipedia, The USS Midway Museum is a maritime museum located in downtown San Diego, California at Navy Pier, it consists of the aircraft carrier Midway. We have walked past it or even parked in its parking lot before, but I never actually got on it before, so we think it would be a really interesting place to go. It is just in the downtown area, and people are able to see it from very far away, I think it is definitely a landmark in San Diego.

This picture was taken in the control tower on USS Midway.

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Birch Aquarium & La Jolla Cove

Today was the second day of Spring break, just like yesterday, Uncle Paul took me out to some famous tourist places in San Diego. Before we go, Uncle Paul and me went to a coffee shop to read newspaper, relax and have some drinks. I woke up at 7 o'clock today, just like the normal school day. We first took boys to their school, and then go straight to the coffee shop. The coffee shop we went to is call The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, it is located in 4S common center. There was only one person in the shop by the time we got there, so it was kinda nice. I had a cup of Latte and Uncle Paul had some tea. I felt really relaxed just sitting in the coffee shop and read some internet articles or play games with my iPad, or even to chat with Uncle Paul. We should definitely go there everyday!

(For cover photo) The spectacular view of the shore, the ocean, and the sky. Looking down from the Birch Aquarium.

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San Diego Seal Tour Adventure

Today, April 7th, 2014, was the first day of our Spring break. Uncle Paul, again, flew down from Chico and come visit us. Unfortunately, boys' school has their Spring break two weeks after my break week, so I have a week off while boys don't, it's kinda bad since we can not do activities together, but on the other hand, Uncle Paul can take me to some places that boys might not want to go, so it's also nice! Yesterday, before Uncle arrives, Jason took Ethan and me (Brennan was feeling sick) to a huge electronic store called "Fry's Electronics" just to look around, that store (or let's say, mall) was incredibly big, it even has a restaurant and a small aquarium in the mall! And it sells everything as well, from speakers, TVs to electronic parts, it's just unbelievable! Well, maybe it's just another "American size" thing, nothing too special Haha. After looking around at the electronic store, we went to a place called Invasion Laser Tag to play a quick Laser Tag game. We actually went there before once, and it was still fun this time! We then had lunch in Southern California Style fast food restaurant - In-n-out. Although it's my... 4th time having In-n-out (and having the exact same food), their classic cheese burger still tastes so good!

(For title picture) We saw a aircraft carrier drove by when we were on the boat tour

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Solana Beach: beautiful view & fine gift shops

Today, we went to another famous coastal city in San Diego, the Solana Beach. We thought that today might be a nice day to go down there and have lunch. According to Wikipedia, Solana Beach is an affluent city in San Diego County, California. When we first arrived Solana Beach at about 10 o'clock, the weather was really foggy, and the sky was dark, there were only few people on the beach, and one person was surfing. To get to the actual beach, we have to walk through a park, so we decided to let Elisa play in the park. Karen, boys, and me walked down to the beach, it was a bit cold, and since the weather was foggy, we couldn't really look far from the beach. Karen told me that if the weather is nice, we will be able to see through all Southern California beaches, including the one we visited before, La Jolla beach. Elisa and Jason then came down to the beach with us, we took some pictures, and decided to head to the restaurant to have lunch. By the time we leave, the weather started to turn nice... well, it seems we doesn't have good luck today...

Solana Beach

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Coastal Beauty of San Diego - La Jolla

(The content of this post happened on Dec 27th, 2013 PST)

There are dozens of beautiful beaches in this Southern California coastal city, San Diego. From the shores of Del Mar to La Jolla Cove, all of them are the downtown's historic towns. On uncle Paul's last day in San Diego, we went to the famous La Jolla cove, it is a perfect place to spend the vacation. La Jolla is only a few minutes from downtown San Diego, but it is very quiet and nice.

The La Jolla Cove

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The San Diego Harbor Boat Tours in Downtown

(The content of this post happened on Dec 23rd, 2013 PST)

Today was uncle Paul's second day in San Diego, he said that he want to take boys and me to many places and good restaurants in San Diego during the break, so I was excited everyday morning, waiting for new experiences. Our plan today was to go to the Downtown San Diego and take a harbor boat tour.

The view on the boat of the harbor tour.

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