Chad's 34th Birthday at Sea World, San Diego

It's funny how as we get older we revert back to our childhood, getting giddy again about the places we loved to visit as kids.  This years visit to Sea World was no exception.  This time however, we weren't just here for Sea World alone, we gathered the family together to celebrate Chad's 34th birthday!  Chad's sister Christy, her husband Ryan and kids in tow, met Chad, his mom and I at the park this chilly/windy Friday morning to see what Sea World had to offer.  :)  It took us a little bit to adjust to the windy chill in the air, but after awhile we didn't even seem to feel it anymore.  It was certainly a wonderful birthday....for ALL of US!  :)

Sea World - San Diego, CA

Testing out the durability of the kids stroller while 

Making himself comfortable right off the bat... :)

Funny how that kid in the background is looking at Chad like he's crazy..lol

Mr. Birthday Boy thinking we owed him a ride on his birthday... lol...

Uh oh... I think he's stuck ;)

Awww...grumpy face.  Guess no one was willing to push him around...lol

pretending to be pouty..

Ok my turn now... I'm ready.. take me for a ride please!

Ok alright alright..I guess no ride for me ;)

Cute little furry guy having a little snack on his belly..

Waiting for some tasty treats!

Chad's sister Christy, her hubs Ryan and their tiny tot, our nephew, Logan feeding the sea lions 

These guys were HUNGRY!

Christy and Ryan's other little tot, McKenzie :)

Sweet girl...

What a handsome face!

Waiting for the dolphin show to start

mmmm...yummy PAPACORN!

Ooooooooooooooo......

Ahhhhhhhhh.......

Look ma, they're FLYING!!

Chad, practicing his parenting/stroller techniques

HEAD BACK I SAY!

Having the situation under control....for now.  ;)

Logan trying his hand at basketball.. 

Oops.. a little short, little man...good try though!

Uh oh... I think you're losing one Chad!

These two..Chad and the little mermaid....becoming fast friends... ;)

Awww... sweet smile!

Papa Ryan giving the kids a ride...  I think Kenzie was scared at this point.. lol

Wheeeeeeeee... it may look like they are going fast... 

but... they aren't.  lol.  

On to the next exhibit... STING RAYS!

Giving them some yummy treats... :)

Watch your hand love!

Don't let him take that hand love.. you need it to cook me some dinner! ;)

Oooooo... What's in there?!?!

Logan taking a ride with his Uncle Chad.  

You wanna go that way...???

Or THAT way???.... 

I warned them... no flash, no moving...or you'll get blurry pictures!

Making the weird eye..

Look over there Logan! 

360 degree view from the revolving Tower

Shamu!

Getting up close and personal with Shamu himself... or herself...or..whatever. 

On to the Polar Bear Exhibit :)

Good times Sea World...good times ;) 

After a very successful trip around the park a few hundred times, catching all the attractions we could possible catch, we called it a day and headed back to Chad's Aunt and Uncle's house where we spent about an hour stuck in traffic just trying to get there!  :)  Time to rest up for the next day's Early Christmas party with the rest of the family!  Stay tuned...  :)

Where in the world is Carmen SAN DIEGO?!

Ok so maybe we weren't exactly looking for Ms. Carmen...BUT we DID make it to San Diego for a very exciting birthday slash early Christmas celebration with Chad's side of the family.  :)  With not much on the agenda (other than SEA WORLD the following day for Chad's 34th birthday!), we left this Thursday to hit Escondido's Stone Brewery Restaurant for a little recon tasting mission.  (aka, try EVERYTHING on the menu!!!  lol..or at least the majority of the menu).  I swear we scared the panties off of Chad's mom with all the food Chad ordered right off the bat.  Lol... Oh if she only knew what was coming for the rest of the day.. ;)  

Chad and his sweet Ma, enjoying the glorious 70 degrees out on the brewery's patio.  

The entire place was like an oasis hidden in the surrounding industrial park.  We could barely find the entrance to the place....and when we finally did, it was this HUGE massive, indoor/outdoor space that married hard glass and steel edges with natural rocks and stones and wood... 

Just. awesome.

The super cool gargoyle-esque menu that offered us many tasty selections

My first beer tasting of the day... 

Firestone Walker Velvet Merlin Oatmeal Stout :)

One of our many appetizers that slowly morphed into entrees...

Stone smoked porter mac and cheese

Delish!

Dungeness Crab Cake

Wild Boar Ribs with a creamy cole slaw

Buffalo Burger with some sort of beer cheese :)

Prime Rib melt

Chad, sporting one of his birthday gifts,

his Bacon is Meat Candy shirt.. a hit among many :)

And finally, coconut ice cream cake for Chad's mom and I

While Chad tried this weird dessert..

Jalapeno Blueberry Blue Cheese Cheesecake..WTH?!

Apparently it was more savory than sweet... 

I took their word on that.  

Next we took a tour of the brewery, 

led by that funny looking girl in the center of the picture

Where they passed around hop pellets for everyone to look at

She tried to be funny... at least she tried...  :)

The steel contraptions that take this chemical and that chemical and malts and hops and this and that to make some great tasting hoppy beer.  (tasty to Chad, I like malty beers..  ;)

Their cool devilish logo

The restaurant's interior

After a much deserved two hour nap at our hotel room off the Gaslamp District, Chad, his mom and I headed to dinner to start round TWO of our Glut-fest 2010 :)

The San Diego Convention Center right across from our hotel.  

  This time our Feast Fest was at Brian Malarky's restaurant Searsucker.  Some of you might recognize the name as being a somewhat recent contestant of Top Chef.  At the time he was on that show, he and Chad were both Executive Chef's at the Oceanaire, him at the San Diego location, Chad at the Dallas one.  And although Brian wasn't actually there, another of Chad's old coworkers helped us through the menu selections.  

Scallop crudo

Pork Belly and Eggs

Duck Fat French Fries :)

Bone Marrow

Shrimp and Grits

Short Ribs

Simply called "The King"....and that it was.  

HOLY SMOKES...this was by far the BEST tasting dessert I've ever had...or at least in the top 3 for sure!  

Bacon caramel sauce drizzled over peanut butter cup ice cream, along side roasted bananas topped with whipped cream...then finished with these crunchy yummy little things...OH.MY.GOD!  PURE HEAVEN!  I soooooo wanted to lick the bowl after this one.  

After we had completely stuffed ourselves beyond capacity, we thought it fitting to end the night taking a stroll up the stairs of the convention center...and yes, they really WERE that steep.  :)

Entry and Exit into the Gaslamp District