The four of us touched down at LA airport on 10 Dec 2003 and drove to Las Vegas immediately. We stopped midway at Barstow and did some shopping. We haven't seen daddy so keen in shopping before. We bought lots of Big Dog T-shirts & Reebok /Nike shoes.
We stayed at Circus Circus hotel and it was nice. We watched the circus act in the evening and walked around the Mid Level which was more like a carnival place.

The next day, we drove to Red Rock Canyon and had fun exploring the various routes. Jarod loved the "bed rock". Strange formation of rocks was all over. We had fun climbing some of these.

The only show we caught in the glittering Las Vegas was the pirate show outside Treasure Island. It was like a musical with the battle of the sexes. It must have been freezing for the performers to swim in the cold water.

We visited Hoover dam and Lake Mead. The route was scenic and the drive, pleasant. On the way back, we stopped by Kathy's Southern cooking for lunch. The food was great.

We spent another day at the Valley of Fire. It was quite deserted. The rock above is shaped like the elephant's head. Look at the 3 guys posing like the figurine behind them? This was at the Las Vegas Natural History Museum.

On the way to San Diego, we stopped by Barstow again. We shared a huge sandwich at Subway. We were rather disappointed with Dana Inn at San Diego. However, it had a nice view of the bay right in front of our room.

The buildings at Balboa Park had interesting architecture. The picture of the left shows the huge organ and there was a performance there on Sunday. We visited the Fleet's Science Museum and watched the very captivating show on Shackleton.

We also visited the Old Town and it was like the Williamsburg of the East. We tried mexican food there.

We visited the Cabrillo Monument . The lighthouse area was closed for renovation, too bad. We then spent the late morning at the coastal area. It was fun. The surfs were powerful.

We were disappointed that we did not spot any whale during our Whale watching trip. However, there were many mischievious dolphins and seals swimming near our ship. It was tiring day.

Our rented car was a brand new Mitsbishi SUV. It was so spacious and comfortable.

The highlight of our trip was SeaWorld at San Diego. We watched most of the shows there. Shamu, of course, was the best attraction. Jon won a toy Shamu playing the "Derby" game.