The beach is always calling our name. The call was piercingly loud this year due to the fact that we did not go last year, 2019. We had been visiting Coronado Beach starting when Tot was 3. (Doug and I were just dating then).
We went when she was 4 and 5. Now that she is 7 and that we are a family now, it was time to return. Plus, now we can get only one room which is much less money. We decided to stay at El Cordova. This was Tot back when she was 3. Oh, bestill my heart.
Ok, back to 2020. My honey got us all packed up. The back of the Mercedes became one big puzzle palette. Daddy? How?
By 9am, the goal, he had us all ready to go! Daddy, you ROCK!
Oh, but yes, we had to take Coopy to the Doggie resort. He was sure aware of this all morning as he whined constantly.
After a prayer for safety for our family (and other prayers), we were off!
The car ride was a bevy of surprises I had planned. As usual, I had Tot’s backpack filled with car-friendly toys. I am a big believer in real toys in a car vs. screens. (well, that’s my rule all the time but especially in the car). I packed her backpack full of drawing materials, etch-a-sketch type toys, hangman games, polly pockets….all kinds of fun. Plus, we had The Trumpet Swan on Audible. (Tot and I had just read this wonderful novel by E.B. White). Podcasts always keep us going too.
Then, it was lunchtime. Oh, yeah. We are in CA. There is no eating indoors due to the C-virus. We arrived in El Centro for lunch at Subway.
Eating salads in the car is no bueno; tasty but no fun.
Tatum was happy as a clam.
Around 3:30, we arrived in Coronado; our El Cordova hotel was waiting for us.
Tatum took our pic. The first time she could do this for us in CA.
Let’s head to the room and go to the beach! Go honey! (it looks like we are moving in with the amount of luggage).
There have been many wildfires, so the sun has been amazing! It looked like a big red ball in the sky.
We then headed to the beach to check it out (no mask needed BTW)…OH HOORAY it’s still there.
And the key was telling Tatum not to get too wet. Based on experience, when we go clothed, she finds ways to immerse herself in the water, and then OOPS, she falls into the sand and the sand is pasted to her body. We’ll see how it goes.
We ended up going to Chipotle for dinner since our favorite Mexican cafe was gone.
Also, we decided to do some incentives for good behavior for ALL of us.
We included FTO (first time obedience), Gratitude attitude, Kindness toward each other, STP (stop think and pray), and making things FUN!
Tot got the first coins for truly exhibiting gratitude and kindness on the road and on our arrival. We can’t wait to go tomorrow!
