Los Angeles experienced a couple of days of winter while we were there; the wind blew and the temperature dipped into the low 60s. Then it was over, and we drove along the coast to San Diego in sunshine and blue sky. We didn’t have a lot of time in San Diego, so we pow-wowed over the best strategy for seeing as much as possible. We managed to fit in Old Town, Balboa Park, Coronado Island, and Cabrillo National Monument. We had a lovely time, even though the tide pools at Point Loma weren’t quite visible and our car was robbed in the Old Town parking lot. (As we cancelled debit cards and researched identity theft, we tried to remember this was learning, too.) Our problem was two touristy temptations: Legoland and San Diego Zoo. Both required a whole day and a lot of cash. We finally decided we should look for something to do outdoors, like a boat ride or fishing or surfing. Turns out, it’s cheaper to get a surfing lesson than to go to a theme park.

I was a little nervous about the idea. I’d encountered the Pacific Ocean years before as a college student. Along with a bunch of other Gulf of Mexico innocents, I’d attempted to body surf at Zuma Beach and nearly drowned. I still recalled burning lungs and black-spotty vision as I tumbled around in a sandy washing machine unable to tell up from down. But Brandon found a surfing school with high ratings on tripadvisor. From the looks of the instructors, he was sure we’d have a memorable California experience, whether we learned to surf or not.

Surfing was some of the most fun I’ve had with our family EVER. The World-Famous Willis Brothers were delightfully gnarly, and we spent several hours enjoying the ocean. While we were still practicing in the sand, a sun-burned Australian strolled up to greet us. His name was Robbie Page, and he said he was getting a lesson next. Back at our KOA cabin, still giggly with post-surfing euphoria, we googled the lot of them. They really were famous surfers!

As a P.S., I have to mention that this was not our only encounter with interesting characters in San Diego. Jim and Marilyn, a retired couple working the information counter at Coronado Island visitor center entertained us with stories of their youth. They’d both been Navy kids, who graduated from high school together on Coronado, but it was thirty years later before they met again and married. Jim claimed to have kissed Marilyn Monroe (on the lips, added his wife) following a dare when the actress was filming Some Like it Hot at Hotel del Coronado. He also told about going fishing with President Truman when Jim’s father was Truman’s Key West pastor in the early 1950s. When he was about ten, our storyteller said he was given permission to answer a telephone that was always present with the president. “When you answer, “ Truman instructed, “you must ask who it is and why he is calling.” The earnest boy insisted on following protocol even when an expletive shouting General MacArthur demanded to speak to the president immediately. Truman took the call, muttering under his breath, “That fellow needs to go.” A few weeks later, MacArthur was relieved of his command.