Thanks to everyone for suggestions and tips for our mother/daughter trip to San Diego. Just got back last night and am already missing the beach since we woke up to snow this morning!

I'll try to be brief:
--We flew on Frontier from Denver to San Diego. It's been awhile since I flew Frontier and was impressed. Had heard they have a new fleet of planes--that's true since our plane was so new that the individual tv's had yet to be activated on the flight out. Going home you could enjoy live tv for $5. My daughter watched Nick and the Game Show Channel the entire way--really made the trip go faster. I watched Duke go down in flames

Car--rented from Budget and would highly recommend having a car in San Diego--the city is pretty spread out but easy to navigate.

Hotel--The Pacific Terrace is a lovely hotel and the location is terrific. Located in Pacific Beach, it's close to Mission Beach and La Jolla. It looks to be newly remodeled--lots of granite and marble. Triple-sheeted beds, turn down service (complete with shell-shaped chocolates) and ocean-view balconies. The Pacific Terrace serves a complimentary expanded continental breakfast every morning with several kinds of sweet rolls, muffins and bagels, plus fresh fruit, cereals etc. They also have a complimentary wine hour at night--wine for the adults and cookies and hot chocolate for children. They're happy to put the wine in plasic cups if you're enjoying it by the pool--otherwise it's served in long-stem wine glasses.

Pool/beach: The Pacific Terrace isn't kidding when they say the pool is heated--it's nice and warm. The jacuzzi is downright toasty. The ocean was cold but the two girls in our group boogie-boarded for hours in wetsuits with no problem. Local friends loaned us the boards and wetsuits but you can rent them in Pacific Beach stores. I was happy to sit on the beach and soak up the sun!

I'm not sure how long I can go with a post so this will be continued...

Trip report continued (crazy morning--it's our 15 year old's birthday and we're trying to sandwich present opening in between his 6 a.m. soccer practice and school--such is my Fodor's addiction that I'm posting a trip report NOW--what is wrong with me??)--Onward!

We had way too many things on our to-do list and not enough time. My friend and I tailored activities to our 12 year old girls but still had a great time. Beach and pool time were high on their list so that took a good chunk of one day and part of another. Seaworld was fun. Unless it's hot hot hot when you visit, take a change of clothing since some of the rides get you wet as well as the Shamu and Dolphin shows (but only if you sit in the 'soak zone'--of course the girls did just that) The new R. L. Stine's 4-D movie is a don't-miss. We liked Sea World.

The tide pools in La Jolla were an interesting side trip. The sea life was amazing and the girls had fun peering in the mini ponds formed in sandstone. My daughter's friend fell off one of the slippery rocks and landed waist deep in surf--we hauled her out with no problem but waved one of her flip flops out to sea!

The girls loved the Belmont roller coaster in Mission Beach. A wooden coaster built in 1927, it really shakes and bakes! They rode some of the other amusement rides and played in the arcade. This is also a great area for souvenir shops.

Food: Of course we had to indulge in an In and Out burger for lunch one day--so yummy. I brought my husband an In and Out t-shirt back as a souvenir--he said he'd rather have had a burger but appreciated the shirt. Ate at Piatti in La Jolla one evening and The Fishery (also in La Jolla) another night. Both were wonderful. We ate at Caffe Bella Italia in Pacific Beach our last evening. The chef and waiters are all Italian so the atmosphere is fun--more importantly, the food was excellent.

As for the morning gloom debate that landed on an earlier post of mine--yes, we did have morning gloom the whole time we were there but it burned off by late morning on all but one of the days then it was sunny and gorgeous.

I'm glad to hear you had a good time! And what DID you do while waiting for your friends' flight?

Jocelyn,
HOW could I forget to add that tidbit?! Basically we did...nothing!! It took some time to get our bags and gather some brochures and entertainment booklets so we people-watched for awhile and had a quick snack. By then it was time for our friends' plane and the big reunion--I've seldom seen two happier little girls. It was a nice start to a great weekend.

I'm so glad you had a great time. When are you coming back?

Barbara,
Sadly, we got back home last night and I'm facing a mountain of laundry today. Oh well, I guess my mini Monday rants and raves would be:
rant--we're home and it's 35 degrees with snow.
rave--it's my son's 15th birthday and we're picking up his learner's permit over his lunch hour. Another driver in the family (or is that a rant--ha!) and we're all home together to celebrate his day.

Thanks for a great trip report. Just what I need to start getting excited about my own trip. Let me ask you this; we'll be there with a 7 and 9 year old (staying at the Ocean Park Inn on Mission Beach), were all the great restaurants you mentioned kid friendly? I already know about In 'n Out having lived in LA but I mean the other ones you ate at...

Karenvk,

Definitely Piatti and Caffe Bella Italia were child friendly, though I'm trying to remember if the latter had a kids' menu. The Fishery was geared more for adult palates--my daughter ate a Caesar salad and was happy but if I had younger children I might look elsewhere for dining options. The good news is that there are tons of fun looking places near your hotel. Also, if your children like Italian food, the Gaslamp district downtown has a dozen or so to choose from. Too many restaurants--not enough time...