SAND DIEGO TIPS & TRICKS

The other weekTrevor was in San Diego for work. Since it'd been a long winter & Trevor's busy season was finally starting to slow down we decided to tag along for a little spring break/weekend adventure.

Now I've been to San Diego before my accident. So this time I did a little research and planning, but other parts we figured out on the go. I'll just share our weekend itinerary & tips we learned along the way.

THURSDAY:

First off we flew out on Southwest and I cannot say enough good things about Southwest. They are my favorite airline to fly for multiple reasons. Their flight attendants are always the most accommodating & helpful. Also since there's no first class or assigned seating when I get on first with priority boarding we typically sit in the second row so I don't have to walk far, but still have access to my bags - especially now that I'm traveling with my baby.

Before we ever flew we booked ADA accessible rooms and the rental car. Now since I'm mostly paralyzed from the waist down, I obviously can't drive with my feet. But I can drive any car with hand control attachments. This was my first time driving a car other than my own. Since I can walk a little I didn't need a full ADA accessible van with a ramp. So we booked a compact SUV. After booking I called Alamo, the particular company we happened to choose, and requested hand controls. With that they upgraded our car, for free, to a mid-size SUV so my wheelchair could fit in the back. I wasn't sure exactly how I'd load my chair in the trunk, but I was confident I could figure it out. In addition to that phone call, I followed up and called the day before just to make sure they had the hand controls request on my reservation.

This time around I'm not going to dive into my full airplane & travel experience because that is a WHOLE post in itself. But upon getting the car in San Diego we took off towards the beaches. I wasn't sure which one, but I knew I wanted to catch every sunset for the 3 nights we stayed there. We ended up at Moonlight Beach and it was perfect. There was a sidewalk there went right up to the the cliff and I was able to transfer Will & myself down to the sand to enjoy sunset number one:

FRIDAY:

We started off with a list of beaches and locations to check out and see what was accessible and where we wanted to spend our time the next few days. I mapped out the day making our way S to N. First was Mission Beach for a walk. Mission beach has a board walk that is over 2.5 miles. We got about 2 miles out and then turned around on my way back I asked the lifeguard station about beach chairs & they had them! Although we didn't get out in the beach wheelchair I stopped at an accessible entrance to the sand, which basically means no stairs. I took Will out of the stroller since he was so excited and not interested in sleeping. We got down and played in the sand which was all fine & dandy until Will decided to get up and walk away from me. Sand is not very friendly for the disabled, but luckily he's not too fast and I was able to crawl after him.

On our way back to the car there was a cute pier, which we tried to explore, but uneven wood plants aren't very accessible to navigate on your own with a stroller. When we returned the next day with Trevor it was much easier to navigate because I only had to worry about pushing myself and my wheelchair over the bumps. 

Then we made our way north to La Jolla. On our way, I picked us up some lunch & stopped at La Jolla Tide Pools. The overlook is definitely accessible, but getting down to the tide pools would take some crutches skills. We ate lunch and watched the birds and ocean, meanwhile Will kept putting his nuggets in the sandy dirt. There was handicap parking right at the Yield sign so it was easy to get to and a beautiful view. 

We realized that in order to get back to Trevor in time, we needed to head back so we didn't explore La Jolla Beach until Sunday. By the time me made it back across town to pick up Trevor it was perfect timing and direction for the San Diego Zoo. 

The zoo was so fun, we started by taking the bus tour, which is totally accessible for all wheelchairs. It gave us a feel for where we wanted to spend our time exploring. Also another fun wheelchair tip. Go to the wheelchair/disability office to get tickets. You get a free ticket for someone who is assisting you and children under 2 are free. I try and be as frugal as possible, so this felt like a giant win saving over $50 on Trevor's ticket. We found a lot of places in Europe did this as well, they offer a free ticket for someone assisting a person in the wheelchair. I call these "PARA PERKS", they definitely are not worth my paralysis and struggles I face in a wheelchair, but they are definitely perks that give me a sigh of relief every once and awhile. 

Will loved the flamingos, monkeys & Elephants probably because they were the most lively of animals. He didn't really seem to notice the sleeping lion and polar bear. There is also tons of beautiful vegetation at the park that makes your walk around even more enjoyable.

Afterwards we headed up to Sunset Cliff National Park for the sunset since it was nice and close to the zoo. There was free parking and where we were I decided to use my crutches to get down further on the rocks & closer to the ocean. 

SATURDAY:

We started our day with Torrey Pines National Park, which I'm obsessed with! I'm so glad we went in the morning and we even made the most of our day pass by coming back for the sunset. Now you can park at the bottom and hike up the GIANT hill, which some people have to do because parking at the top fills up, but luckily there's plenty of handicap parking at the top. Part of me wanted to hike and push up the hill, but it's a very long and steep hill so it was probably for the best. 

We did a little exploring in my wheelchair and then I saw people hiking out to the ocean. At first the dirt trail was fairly accessible and then we started approach some stairs. Then more uneven terrain. I had a vision of where I wanted to go though and so we ditched the wheelchair & stroller at the side of the trail and I started hiking out towards the ocean. 

My only regret is that I didn't wear workout pants because man it was a WORKOUT! The hike out and back took over an hour, but it was totally worth it! Plus I had spent all of Friday in my wheelchair and my butt anxiety was on the rise so I really wanted out of my chair.

We made a stop near Mission Beach at Board & Brews for some yummy sandwiches and dipping sauce. Afterward we walked down the pier, Will skated with some IG/Youtubers. First he was just interested in their skateboard and next thing you know this shirtless skater is riding off with our child in his arms. Trevor and I look at each other and laugh thinking did we really just do that? But Will was pretty unimpressed & so we continued for a little walk down the beach.

Saying "woahhh" to all the waves.

Then we made our way back to Encinitas, the same place we watched our first sunset. We were able to use a beach wheelchair and have our first family beach adventure. Afterward we hit up Handles Ice Cream for some pre-dinner ice cream. This place is the BOMB, hands down best ice cream joint I've ever been too. So many unique flavors, multiple graham cracker flavors, which had been my jam lately. But our favorite was the blue monster, it was blue colored ice cream with some kind of cookies n' cream in it, BUT BETTER! Now I'm regretting now going back a second time. 

We booked it back over to Torrey Pines for our last ocean sunset. We were hanging out at a lookout & Will kept bothering this mother & daughter trying to enjoy their last night together. Will loves strangers, it's probably not the safest, but he gives them the BEST smiles. Finally we decided to go for a little hike out to the rocks that were closer to the ocean. 

Baby BurkeinSOCKS

Climbing rocks must be ingrained in my bones because when I see big rocks I just want to climb them. So we hiked out and explored a little bit before the sun set over the horizon. It was so perfect & my only regret is not having more time to explore Torrey Pines trails & eating more Handles ice cream.

SUNDAY:

Our last morning started off a little slow since Trevor had food poisoning from the left over pizza from the night before. After a little extra rest we visited the San Diego Temple. It was the perfect place for Will to run around and explore. There are temples build by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. There are hundreds of them dotted all over the world and not only are they beautiful on the inside, but the outside is always beautifully groomed with flowers, trees and the greenest grass.

Then we spent the rest of our day at La Jolla Shores Park & Beach. This beach and Encinitas are tied for first. They both had beach wheelchairs and parks to play in, as well as beautiful beaches to enjoy. La Jolla Shores beach had a board walk and seemed bigger than Encinitas.

We started with the park which was filled with sand, but surprisingly they had these handicap accessible paths build up in the sand - making it possible for me to be apart of the park fun! Afterwards we spent the rest of the afternoon on the beach playing in the sand and chasing after seagulls. The beach chair made it possible for me to get closer to the ocean and be apart of action without being totally exhausted and sinking into the sand in my crutches.

While out on the beach, I had the brilliant idea of using the beach wheelchair as a beach walk and it worked wonderfully. As Trevor chased Will, who was chasing the Seagulls I was able to slowly chase after them. It was such a wonderful afternoon and we weren't ready for it to end, but we'd definitely had enough sun. So with one last pitstop at Panera, an old hometown favorite soup/salad/sandwich shop we had a late lunch/early dinner and were off to the airport.

I'll save our airport adventures for another day. But for now the most hilarious moment was when I was being patted down in my wheelchair & Trevor was trying to juggle all our belonging at security, suddenly I see Will running off into the center of the airport. Leaving my screening, I quickly wheeled after him and picked him up. Then looking over at Trevor I laughed as I watched him struggling with the stroller, bag and belongings. I could see the overwhelm and stress in Trevor's face and I jokingly reminded him that I did this by myself on the way out. It wasn't easy, but it was so totally worth it! San Diego will definitely be a return trip. But for now we are enjoying being back in the accessibility of our home and being in our own space and routines.