Finding Balance in San Francisco

Summertime fun at the Del Mar Track

San Diego is a great summer vacation spot for kids.

We only did a fraction of the activities out there- beach, Del Mar Horse Track (ake Del Mar Thoroughbred Club), Sea World... and there's plenty more to do, like Legoland, the San Diego Zoo, the Treehouse at the Quail Botanical Gardens, the San Diego Wild Animal Park, and the list goes on and on.

I wouldn't have immediately thought of the horse track as a kid-friendly place, but there's something really inspiring about watching horses run, and the kids really respond to it. Here are some shots from the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club (the first one was taken by someone other than me):

Ryan's grandfather, Salah,

generously got the family a sky box,

so we could bet right there in our own private room and the kids were in a contained space, yet we weren't in the more formal enclosed environment of the Turf Club.

Quinn won his one and only bet and is now $5 richer. He was very pleased about winning.

We also had fun going down to see the horses walk around the paddock and then watching a race trackside.

fun in the sun, where the turf meets the surf!

Our Egyptian Brothers and Sisters

Ryan's grandfather, Salah, is originally from Egypt (Alexandria)- he emigrated to the U.S. when he was about 20 years old.  He just celebrated his 88th birthday in May.

Salah flew over a bunch of our relatives from Egypt for the Hassanein family reunion in San Diego last week, and we all had a great time together. I felt fortunate to spend time with them and loved that the boys were exposed to our Arab brothers and sisters and their language and culture. 

“A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles.” - Tim Cahill

At our family reunion we had Muslims, Jews, Catholics and Athiests mixing together in total harmony.

We're lucky to have relatives from Egypt, and luckier still to have had some chances to get to know them better. I can't help but think that if the Americans and Middle Easterners had more opportunities to get to know each other the world would be a better and safer place.  The immortal words of Mark Twain help sum it up for me:

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.”

San Diego Kid Friendly Vacation

We just got back from a sun-drenched family reunion in beautiful Del Mar

even though it was an action-packed week, being by the beach made it very relaxing at the same time

Being there mid-week really helped, too. Sea World wasn't even crowded

The kids are now crawling all over me, making it impossible to continue blogging (for crying out loud), so more later

Creative Thinking

Recent conversation with Quinn & Jordan

    Me: What do you want to be when you grow up?

    Quinn: a Superhero that can transform into anything

    Jordan: a crab

Andy Goldsworthy's 'Spire' in the Presidio

We love to take the boys and dog over to the Presidio, and one of our favorite treks is by Andy Goldsworthy's sculpture Spire.

Spire was inspired by the beautiful surrounding forests

and there are a ton of dog-friendly and kid-friendly car-free trails around there perfect for hiking.
the Andy Goldsworthy exhibit is scheduled to go another week, until July 19th, and is next on our Presidio agenda. The sculpture itself is intended to be permanent, and the idea is that the small trees planted around it will grow up to engulf Spire in the forest.

I love that there's parking lot right next to the Goldsworthy sculpture- ease of parking is always a plus, especially with small kids and/or a dog. After our hike we really enjoyed going to the Presidio Cafe in the golf clubhouse. Great food, not too loud or crowded and the waitress was super nice to our kids. They also have those bendable wikisticks instead of crayons, which the kids enjoyed immensely.

Happy hiking!