This past weekend we made the drive down to San Diego to explore the harbor. I had never been down to that area and I’m so glad we went, although I wish we would have worn warmer clothes. We only live about an hour and a half away but we left sunny and 80 degrees for cloudy 65 degrees with light sprinkling. Whatcha gonna do? Luckily we spent the first half of our time exploring indoors and by the time we came back outside the drizzling had stopped. Besides just exploring the area, we got to experience Wonder Spaces. It’s a pop-up art exhibit that features installments from independent artists. The kids really enjoyed it and so did we! I think it’s so important to expose them to these unique experiences even when they are so young, it allows for a really cyclical learning experience. Not only do we get to talk to them about what we are doing, but hearing their perspectives and witnessing their joy teaches us to see through the eyes of a child. Kids really are amazing!
The exhibits were really unlike anything I had ever seen before. They were all interactive in some way shape or form. It was so cool to let the kids be a part of that! We loved the room that featured a magnetic field in it and tons and tons of shredded up brillo pads that were stuck all over the walls and in piles on the floor. The magnetic pull literally caused them to look like they were dancing and the kids loved being able to touch it with ” one gentle finger” aka my way of saying don’t tear the place down. Sully really loved the room of black balloons although he was really disappointed that this was probably the only room that you couldn’t touch the art in, and all he wanted was a stinkin balloon! Our overall favorite was the room of string lights hanging from the ceiling. You were able to walk through them and stand in between the lights while they changed colors and did a sort of light show. We definitely stayed there the longest. There were a couple of rooms we skipped because of the fact that they involved virtual reality and that was obviously not “kid friendly”. I’m sure they were super neat though.
Afterward, we strolled along the harbor and checked out our the gorgeous San Diego Bay and all of the boats. There were yachts, a giant old school looking boat that my kids called a pirate ship, and a big aircraft carrier with tons of old airplanes on it. It turns out both of those old ships are actually museums! The first is the Maritime Musuem of San Diego and was the USS Midway Museum. We didn’t have enough time to explore any more museums since it had already gotten late but it was still so fun to check them out from the pier. Then we drove to the Gaslamp Quarter in the downtown area for dinner! I don’t know why we haven’t ever explored in San Diego with the kids before! I’m thinking a zoo trip or a visit to Balboa Park will happen soon!
