Visiting Museum of Man in San Diego

Playing in the Egypt chuldren's section
at the Museum of Man, Dec. 29, 2011.

Two years today, we visited the Museum of Man in San Diego's Balboa Park. This would mark your last visit to the museum.

I needed to drive to San Diego to pick up my last paycheck from my former employer (I edited magaines in San Diego but then left to start my own editing business). Since you were on Christmas break from preschool, you went with me from Palmdale for the long trip there and back.

You said you wanted to visit the Museum of Man (one of your favorite spots), and as I knew I wouldn't be going back to San Diego much since I'd moved to Palmdale, I figured going there again would be a great idea.

Here's a whole bunch of pictures from our visit.

Two years ago today: Our day at Legoland

Two years ago today, we spent the day at Legoland!

It was Christmastime, so Legoland was decked out for the season. I remember looking at all of the displays of famous landmarks made from Legos and how they were decorated with Christmas touches, like wreaths on the "doors."

You also got to meet Santa Claus, who was in the shape of a Lego character. The temps were a little cool for San Diego this time of year, so we had to wear pants and hooded sweatshirts to stay warm.

Here's a whole bunch of pictures from our visit!

Two years ago today: Aboard USS Midway

Trying on aviator goggles
 in the USS Midway gift store.

Two years ago today we toured one of your favorite places to go in San Diego: The USS Midway aircraft carrier.

We began the tour with a walk through the ship's brig and then the engine room. I have some neat pictures of you looking into the ship's boilers.

Then we went up to the deck where the airplanes are worked on (when the ship was in operation, of course), and you got to play around in the aircraft cockpits they set up for kids. Then we went to the conning tower (I may have the term wrong) and played in the ship's command center and visited the ship's "captain."

Here's a whole bunch of pictures from our adventure!

Remember Charlie Bown Farms?

Four years ago today, we stopped at Charlie Brown Farms in Little Rock, Calif., to look at the dinosaurs! You may recall that they had all of these statues for sale, and among them were several man-sized dinos.

Charlie Brown Farms always was a fun palce to explore because they had lots of itneresting stuff there to discover and play with. They also had mega amounts of candy and soda pop options!

It was across the road from a McDonalds that we sometimes stopped at. I almost always pulled off there on my way back to San Diego for a little dinner to eat in the car.

Here's some pictures from our adventure!

Today has been a fun day in your life!

I don't think the ancient Egyptians wore
sunglasses, but you never know!

November 12 so far has been a very fun day in your short life, Kieran!

In 2009 - four years ago today - we went to Hollywood together! Specifically, we went to "Star Trek: The Exhibit," where you got to play on the set of the Enterprise-D bridge!

In 2011 - just three years ago today - we went to the Museum of Man in San Diego. The adventure included a ride on the trolley through  Balboa Park.

Click on the above links for photos of our adventure. You do need to be a member of Facebook to see them, though.

Your Lego clone trooper characters

On Saturday in the bag of candy I include a couple of the Lego clone troopers that we had constructed when in San Diego. I was so heartened when you said, "I remember putting those together with you!"

Here's a picture of what the complete set looked like. I remember putting together the vehicle while you made the clone troopers. You took the vehicle with you but somehow one or two of the troopers got left behind - actually, I think they were in a tote of toys I left in the back seat for you to play with when we drove to places.

I have several other Lego characters that I was able to save when moving from California. I'll give to you each time we get together over the next several weeks!

Major American cities you've been to

Train Town in Los Angeles, Calif. in 2009.

I've previously written about the states you've been to. Perhaps you'd also like to hear about all of the cities you've been to, too! Here's a list of the most populous cities that you've been to so far in your life:
>>Los Angeles
>>San Francisco
>>Long Beach
>>Minneapolis/St. Paul
>>San Diego
>>Denver
>>Sacramento
>>Las Vegas
>>Albuquerque
>>Omaha
>>Des Moines
>>Santa Barbara
>>Lincoln, Neb.

I have photos of you in Los Angeles, Long Beach, Minneapolis/St. Paul, San Diego, Albuquerque, and Santa Barbara.

Geordi's rocket and the Borg cube

"Borg cube"

Do you remember "Geordi's rocket" and "the Borg cube"? When you were four years old, and I lived in Encinitas, we'd sometimes (okay, alot of times) drive from Disneyland back to San Diego via I-5, which took us past the Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana.

"Geordi's rocket"

One of the science center's icons was a large black cube - which looked like a Borg cube from "Star Trek." Another was a giant white rocket. Both easily could be seen from the freeway on our drive back.

After you'd seen the movie "Star Trek: First Contact," you started calling the science center's rocket "Geordi's rocket" because it looked like the Phoenix spaceship that Engineer Geordi LaForge helped build in the movie. The movie also had a Borg cube, so we started calling the center's cube "the Borg cube"!

Everytime we'd go past the science center on our drive, I'd say, "Look, there's the Borg cube" and you'd say, "And there's Geordi's rocket!"

My email to you for Aug. 24, 2013

Here is the email I sent to you on Aug,. 24, 2013, in case you do not receive it.

Dear Kieran,

How are you today? I’m doing fine, though I miss you like crazy! I hope you’re doing well and are having lots of fun during this last week of summer.

I so enjoyed our time together on Thursday! You’ve gotten really tall and have quite the powerful swing when it comes to light saber battles!

Your knowledge of the states as we put together the USA map was very impressive, too! I really enjoy talking about all of the places we’ve visited and hearing about all of the states you’d still like to see. I am looking for a world map puzzle so we also can learn about countries and oceans. While you’ve never been out of the United States, perhaps when you become 18 you’ll want to travel overseas.

Teaching you how to play chess was a lot of fun, too! The game is very complicated and will take a long time learn, but you're well on your way by learning the names of the pieces, where they go on the board, and how they move.

Building the ancient Egyptian city out of the craft blocks was a good time, too. It looked just like some of the cities we saw when visiting the Egyptian section at the Museum of Man in San Diego. I posted pictures of our work online!

How did you like the book about the Titanic that you took home on Thursday? I remember reading to you kids’ books at Barnes and Noble about the Titanic and how much you enjoyed them. I thought you’d like that book!

I am so proud of you that you are about to enter first grade. You will find it a lot of fun. Always do your schoolwork, even if it’s boring or difficult, and you will do fine. In fact, you’ll find that that first grade and school in general gets easier when you do your assignments!

One book I recently read that you might like is about going to first grade. The book was called “First Grade, Here I Come!” by Nancy Carlson. It tells the story of Henry, who after the first day of first grade, isn’t sure how he feels about it. The teacher isn’t like his kindergarten teacher, and the fifth-graders hog the monkey bars! Will Henry come to like being in first grade? You will have to read the book and find out. When your mom takes you to the city library, I bet you’ll find the book there in the children’s section.

We next get together on Friday, Aug. 30 – just six days from now! Let me know if there’s anything you’d like me to bring. I see your email “send” button is not working again, as I haven’t received an email from you since Aug. 11. Perhaps you could have your mother help you with that. In any case, I have saved all of my emails for you so that if there are any of mine that you do not receive, you’ll be able to later read them.

Well, that is all for now. I love and miss you very much and will see you on Friday!

Love,

Dad

Remember going to maritime museum?

Taking the helm of a sailing vessel
we took out into San Diego Bay.

One of your favorite places to go when I lived in Encinitas, Calif., was the San Diego Maritime Museum - and we were there two years ago today!

I think you called it the "pirate ships" because so many of the boats there were from the 1800s and used sails, just like the pirate ships of old. The museum also had submarines there that you always enjoyed exploring.

I remembered that one time we visited dancers were performing on one boat, showing the popular moves of the time that the ship sailed. You asked if we could stay and watch them, and we did. You were enamored by their moves!

Here's a bunch of pictures from our trip two years ago today to the maritime museum!

Happy birthday to Beatles' Ringo!

Beatles tribute band at Bugstock on March 25, 2012,
at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa, Calif. 

Did you know that Sunday (July 7) was Ringo's birthday? He turned 73!

Ringo was you favorite Beatle when you were a preschooler. You always asked to hear his songs when we listened to Beatles CDs in the car or Jeep. "Boys" was one song you always had to hear!

One of the Sunday morning radio programs we used to listen to in the car when in San Diego did a special show about Ringo this weekend. It brought back lots of sweet memories of you!

Playing on pirate ships at parks

Pirate ship at the Maritime Museum
in San Diego.

A few days ago I was in Cumberland, Wis., to give a book reading, and while driving past the park there, saw a cool looking pirate ship among the playground equipment. That immediately made me think of you!

Pirate ships often were a staple of our playgrounds. There was one at the City Park in Lancaster, Calif., though the one in Cumberland looked cooler as it looked more like an actual ship.

Often when we played on the regular playground equipment, we'd pretend it was a pirate ship. One memory that really comes to mind is us doing that at Cottonwood Creek Park in Encinitas.

And of course there was the pirate ship inside a sailing ship at the Maritime Museum in San Diego! That had a helm and a pulley to lift cargo on and off the ship.

Fourth of July visit to Moonlight Beach

Moonlight Beach, July 4, 2011

Two years today, we spent the morning of the Fourth of July at Moonlight Beach in Encinitas, Calif. At the time, I only lived in San Diego about a half-mile from the beach.

I had to bring you back to your mother that afternoon, so I let you pick what we should do for our last few hours together. You said, "The beach!"

We made sand castles and of course went into the ocean for a bit! You had these cut sunglasses and blue swim clothes that you looked so handsome in - you wer turning all of the girls' heads!

Here's a bunch of pictures from our adventure!

Remember Jack Sparrow and pirates?

On Friday when looking at Toys R Us for some more "Star Trek" characters, I came across some of the old Disney "Pirates of the Caribbean" action figures, and they brought back a flood of memories!

You really like Jack Sparrow and had him and a few other of the Pirates action figures. You also had a super big pirate boat for the action figures that we got one night at Disneyland.

When we were at the Disneyland Pieces of Eight pirate store in New Orleans square, we'd sometimes get the swords and other pirate gear and pretend to be dueling pirates. I'd say "Tell me where the treasure is, Jack Sparrow, or I'll run ye through!"

And when in San Diego, we'd sometimes go to the maritime museum where they had old sailing vessels that you could tour. You called the museum "the pirate ships" (though submarines were there, too)!

I also had a big picture book that I kept in the car about pirates that you'd look at when we made those long journeys between San Diego and Palmdale.

Remember our car's DVD player?

You might recall that when we made all of those long trips back and forth betwen Palmdale and San Diego that you had this wonderful little DVD player to watch videos on. After we'd played some imagined game in the car for an hour or so, we'd take a break from it, and often you'd watch a DVD to pass the time on the drive.

Two DVDs in particular that I remember you liked as one about Imaginext characters who were knights and samurai and the other about penguins. The Imaginext ones came with a set of action figures we got, and the penguins came from the library.

One problem we often ran into was that we plugged the DVD player into the car's cigarette lighter, and the cord was barely long enough! If it got jerked, it would come out, and we'd have to start watching the video all over again!

I loved to hear you laugh as you listened to the DVD with its headphones!

What we did two years ago today

June 4, 2011, California Adventure

Two years today we spent the day in Disneyland!

I had just moved to San Diego and so didn't have a lot of money - one thing I did have, though, were our annual passes to Disneyland! So we started using them every weekend we were together until I got a few more dollars into my account.

We went to Fantasyland, Toontown, and Tom Sawyer's Island. That afternoon, we headed over to California Adventure for the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail! One of the cool things you did at the chellenge trail was the tire swing!

Here are some pictures from our day!

Spending Memorial Day at Disneyland

Kieran at Disneyland, May 30, 2011.

Two years ago today, we spent Memorial Day at Disneyland!

I had just moved to San Diego, and when picking you up for the weekend, we went to Disneyland on Saturday and then drove along the ocean back to my place in Encinitas. Having just moved, I didn't have a lot of spare money, but since Disneyland was on the way between my place and your mother's, and since we had Disneyland annual passes, going there again on Monday made sense.

We spent a good amount of time in the morning at Fantasyland and then during the afternoon went over to California Adventure. I remember us seeing the Muppet 3D show and going on the Monsters Inc. ride.

Here's a whole bunch of pictures of us from our Memorial Day adventure!

Visiting the Birch Aquarium in San Diego

Whale tail sculpture fountain at Birch Aquarium.

Two years ago today we visited the famous Birch Aquarium in San Diego. It was Sunday morning, and we went out for the first of many Sunday morning breakfasts at Denny's in Encinitas.

Afterward, we drove down the freeway to the aquarium. They had some neat sculptures there as well as a great view of the ocean on the aquarium's backside. We spent quite amount of time in the children's play area.

Afterward, we had lunch at the aquarium's cafe. And of course we hit the gift shop!

Here's some photos from our adventure!

My email to you for May 11, 2013

Here is my email sent to you on May 11, 2013, in case you did not receive it:

Dear Kieran,

How are you doing? I’m doing fine. I had so much fun with you yesterday! I can’t wait to see you again in just two weeks on the afternoon of May 24.

Thank you for introducing your stuffie penguins to me! They look like they’ve received lots of love and affection from you, and that’s cool. I remember how much you enjoyed the penguin cartoons that you would watch on the DVD player when we made those long drives from Palmdale to San Diego. It was always a great pleasure of mine to hear you laugh and giggle from the back seat!

Putting together the “Star Trek” legos was a lot of fun, too. You did a great job of following the instructions. We still have the Klingon ship and the transporter to build. There were a couple of other “Star Trek” lego models at the toy store, so I shall pick them up for the next time we get together. I think there were some other characters we can get as well. They also had Lone Ranger Lego sets, so maybe we’ll do those when we run out of “Star Trek” kits!

Is your wooden car model holding up well? If the wheels ever fall off, you just have to use some wood glue to put them back together. You did a very nice job of painting the car!

You were very good at playing War! I shall have to find some additional games for us to play. Have you ever heard of the game “Operation”? You have to pick up little pieces out of a “body,” but if you touch the body it buzzes and you don’t get the piece. Whoever has the most pieces at the end wins. I bet you would like that game. Speaking of the body, the next time we get together I also will bring the human body book with the skeleton that we can put together.

I am glad you enjoyed the book about Egypt, too. It had a lot of interesting pictures, didn’t it? One of your favorite places to go when I lived in Encinitas/San Diego was the Museum of Man, which had a whole section of Egyptian mummies and sarcophaguses as well as a great children’s area for learning about Egypt. We’d take the trolley there, and on the walk over from the trolley stop would look around in the sculpture garden and sometimes have lunch in the open air cafeteria next to it. Their gift store was a lot of fun, too – if I remember correctly, we got you some Egypt and Darwin toys, there. Anyway, the museum was one of your favorite places, and you’d even beg me to go there!

We had so much fun that we didn’t have time to do everything, like play with the Hot Wheels car, the map puzzle, or the sticker play book. Maybe next time!

Well, that is all for now. I love you and miss you like crazy. I’ll write again next Saturday and will see you on May 24!

Love,

Dad

My email to you for May 4, 2013

Here is my email sent to you May 4, 2013, in case you do not receive it:

Dear Kieran,

How are you doing? I’m doing fine, though I miss you very much. There’s not an hour in the day that goes by that I don’t think of you!

Hopefully, we will be able to get together on Friday (May 10). Our visitation for April 26 still has yet to be made up, and the Family Center said that next Friday will work for us to get together. We also are scheduled to get together the afternoon of May 24. We will be able to see each other a couple of times this month!

How is school going? What recent books have you read? Are you still studying the oceans or have you moved on to a different topic in science class? How did the spring concert go? I can’t wait to see you again so that you can fill me in on all that you’re doing in school!

Did you know that Sunday is a special day for many Americans? It is Cinco de Mayo. Many Americans celebrate it as a day of pride of Mexican heritage and culture, much like we celebrate the Irish on St. Patrick’s Day. The day originally celebrated a major battle in which the Mexican Army defeated the French Army, which invaded Mexico in the 1860s. Mexico is the country south of the United States; when we lived in California, we were very close to Mexico (especially when we lived in San Diego!). Did you celebrate or learn about Cinco de Mayo in school? Maybe you will go to some Cinco de Mayo events on Sunday in the Twin Cities.

Another big day coming up this week is Tuesday (May 7) – It’s National Teacher Day! When I was a teacher, I received a great card from one student on Teacher Day. I taught language arts and grammar to kids, and her card was full of spelling errors and said “Thanx 4 beeing a grate teecher - U lern us stoodents reel goode!” I think I still have that card somewhere and will have to show it to you someday. Be sure to bring an apple to your teacher that day and wish her “Happy Teacher Day”!

I bet you were surprised by all of the snow we received Thursday! Minnesota and Wisconsin usually don’t get snow in May – and if we do, we don’t that much! It should melt very quickly, though, and then we can enjoy the green grass, warm breezes, and sunny skies of spring. I hope to get back out on the trail and do some hiking once spring returns – this weekend, though, I am going to take down my snowshoes and go walking through the woods on them!

Have you read any good books lately? I have. It was called “No Jumping on the Bed” by Tedd Arnold. Despite being told by his parents to not jump on his bed, a naughty little boy named Walter ignores them and keeps seeing how high he can go. He keeps ignoring his parents and keeps going higher and higher. Guess what happens to Walter? You’ll have to read the book and find out! If you’re school library doesn’t have the book, I bet you can get it at the city library when your mother takes you there.

Well, that is all for now. I love and miss you very much! I can’t wait to see you in the week ahead!

Love,

Dad