San Diego Babymoon
After this long, hot summer, the only thing on my mind was getting out of town for a short, sweet BABYMOON!! 👶🏼🌙💕
Most would think that Labor Day weekend is one of the worst times to plan a getaway because hotels are expensive, traffic in a SoCal is terrible and everywhere is crowded. However, I planned it this weekend because hubby & I have a 3 day weekend, I had free rooms racked up from my hotels.com app and there are a ton of activities during Labor Day weekend (since I’m a 32 week pregnant grandma and am getting fatigued quickly).
Being pregnant in summer has me longing for large bodies of water and dying to get out of the 100 degree heat. I was looking at hotels near the beach in Orange County, but I wasn’t finding anything that worked with my free/discounted rooms in an area within a walking distance to the beach and restaurants. I decided to look up San Diego! We went there 5 years ago on Labor Day for a tour of the USS Midway Museum (highly recommend) and we saw that they had a Sand Sculpting Challenge on the Boardwalk next door to the Museum. It was so much fun that we’ve always wanted to go back and haven't had an opportunity to do so, which is why we chose it for our Babymoon!
After looking at my discounted hotel rates from booking previous nights with the hotels.com app (book 10 nights, get one free), I found an awesome deal at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego. When booking the hotel, I saw they’re self parking was cheaper than other hotels nearby ($35 overnight with in/out privileges), they have awesome pools (family friendly with activities for kids) and it’s within walking distance to Downtown, Seaport Village, USS Midway Museum, the Sand Sculpting Challenge we wanted to visit and lots of restaurants across the street (Cheesecake Factory, Seasons 52, Dunkin Donuts, BBQ, etc,) and all within walking distance.
San Diego is about an hour and forty minutes from our house, so we packed up our belongings Saturday morning and sat in traffic for about two hours, making our journey down there a total of three hours. If you don’t live in SoCal, this may sound insane. Sadly, this traffic is quite normal driving down the I-15fwy on a weekend. Being pregnant and sitting in traffic for three hours made me want to pull my hair out, but once we finally arrived to lower temps and sea salt air, my annoyance lifted.
Check-in at the hotel was a breeze! We went up to our room, freshened up and took a stroll across the street for a late lunch at Cheesecake Factory (food is always good, but the service was kinda icky and the patio filled with bees at the end of our lunch). After lunch, we headed towards the beach and walked along the shore so we could see the Sand Sculptures. There are many vendors on the boardwalk, so don’t let them lure your kids into making you but their junk (unless you want a super cute tie-dye t-shirt or San Diego magnets).
Finally making it to the sand sculptures, admission was $15 for adults and $10 for kids. They have lots of food vendors, activities for kids (such as a huge sand box with toys, jumping trampoline things with bungee cords, face painting, etc.) and people selling jewelry, wood work items (such as cutting boards, clicks, tables, etc,), clothes... it’s fun to look at! The sculptures were there, carving their sand pieces and it was amazing to watch! The pieces were located inside this year, which was wonderful because the breeze from the sea blew in like a/c. We weren’t there long because I was feeling so tired from the travel, walking along the beach and it was 85 degrees with the hot sun on your back.
I had reservations at Del Frisco’s restaurant for dinner (one of my favs), but we couldn’t hang. We went back to the hotel and took a nap so I could gather more energy. The Hyatt hosts the Rooftop Cinema, where they have an outdoor movie theatre (18yrs +) and serve cocktails, food, popcorn and candy. Their showings are older movies, which I really like! We bought tickets online for a loveseat and bottomless popcorn 🍿 I also purchased a hotdog, Reese’s Pieces and a yummy charcuterie box! The seats are first come, first serve and they even give you blankets to wear during the movie. Also, they provide headphones for the movie, so the outdoor cinema does not disturb other hotel guests that have rooms nearby. We both agree the outdoor cinema experience was amazing and definitely worth trying! The next morning, we woke up and headed home to be with or fur babies and finish working on the nursery.
Even though our Babymoon was short, it was perfect! We went at our own pace, enjoyed the sea and had a great 24hrs before the baby.
You don’t have to have a long getaway for a Babymoon. Even a staycation close by to connect with your partner before your baby comes is really all you need. I know mine was great 💕 - Julie
Most would think that Labor Day weekend is one of the worst times to plan a getaway because hotels are expensive, traffic in a SoCal is terrible and everywhere is crowded. However, I planned it this weekend because hubby & I have a 3 day weekend, I had free rooms racked up from my hotels.com app and there are a ton of activities during Labor Day weekend (since I’m a 32 week pregnant grandma and am getting fatigued quickly).
Being pregnant in summer has me longing for large bodies of water and dying to get out of the 100 degree heat. I was looking at hotels near the beach in Orange County, but I wasn’t finding anything that worked with my free/discounted rooms in an area within a walking distance to the beach and restaurants. I decided to look up San Diego! We went there 5 years ago on Labor Day for a tour of the USS Midway Museum (highly recommend) and we saw that they had a Sand Sculpting Challenge on the Boardwalk next door to the Museum. It was so much fun that we’ve always wanted to go back and haven't had an opportunity to do so, which is why we chose it for our Babymoon!
After looking at my discounted hotel rates from booking previous nights with the hotels.com app (book 10 nights, get one free), I found an awesome deal at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego. When booking the hotel, I saw they’re self parking was cheaper than other hotels nearby ($35 overnight with in/out privileges), they have awesome pools (family friendly with activities for kids) and it’s within walking distance to Downtown, Seaport Village, USS Midway Museum, the Sand Sculpting Challenge we wanted to visit and lots of restaurants across the street (Cheesecake Factory, Seasons 52, Dunkin Donuts, BBQ, etc,) and all within walking distance.
San Diego is about an hour and forty minutes from our house, so we packed up our belongings Saturday morning and sat in traffic for about two hours, making our journey down there a total of three hours. If you don’t live in SoCal, this may sound insane. Sadly, this traffic is quite normal driving down the I-15fwy on a weekend. Being pregnant and sitting in traffic for three hours made me want to pull my hair out, but once we finally arrived to lower temps and sea salt air, my annoyance lifted.
Check-in at the hotel was a breeze! We went up to our room, freshened up and took a stroll across the street for a late lunch at Cheesecake Factory (food is always good, but the service was kinda icky and the patio filled with bees at the end of our lunch). After lunch, we headed towards the beach and walked along the shore so we could see the Sand Sculptures. There are many vendors on the boardwalk, so don’t let them lure your kids into making you but their junk (unless you want a super cute tie-dye t-shirt or San Diego magnets).
Finally making it to the sand sculptures, admission was $15 for adults and $10 for kids. They have lots of food vendors, activities for kids (such as a huge sand box with toys, jumping trampoline things with bungee cords, face painting, etc.) and people selling jewelry, wood work items (such as cutting boards, clicks, tables, etc,), clothes... it’s fun to look at! The sculptures were there, carving their sand pieces and it was amazing to watch! The pieces were located inside this year, which was wonderful because the breeze from the sea blew in like a/c. We weren’t there long because I was feeling so tired from the travel, walking along the beach and it was 85 degrees with the hot sun on your back.
I had reservations at Del Frisco’s restaurant for dinner (one of my favs), but we couldn’t hang. We went back to the hotel and took a nap so I could gather more energy. The Hyatt hosts the Rooftop Cinema, where they have an outdoor movie theatre (18yrs +) and serve cocktails, food, popcorn and candy. Their showings are older movies, which I really like! We bought tickets online for a loveseat and bottomless popcorn 🍿 I also purchased a hotdog, Reese’s Pieces and a yummy charcuterie box! The seats are first come, first serve and they even give you blankets to wear during the movie. Also, they provide headphones for the movie, so the outdoor cinema does not disturb other hotel guests that have rooms nearby. We both agree the outdoor cinema experience was amazing and definitely worth trying! The next morning, we woke up and headed home to be with or fur babies and finish working on the nursery.
Even though our Babymoon was short, it was perfect! We went at our own pace, enjoyed the sea and had a great 24hrs before the baby.
You don’t have to have a long getaway for a Babymoon. Even a staycation close by to connect with your partner before your baby comes is really all you need. I know mine was great 💕 - Julie
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