Paul picked us up from the San Diego airport on Sunday, December 14, a short four hours after leaving Kansas. This was our second visit to see him in San Diego. We visited him in 2022, right after he moved, helping sail his new to him sailboat from Long Beach, California to San Diego Harbor. That trip was great but a bit chaotic as we had a boat delivery to complete and jobs to get back to in Michigan.
This year’s trip to see Paul had the complete opposite vibe. Instead of rushing through boat work and setting out into the Pacific as we did in 2022, this year, we had no real plans. We simply came out to spend time with him in this beautiful city before he left the Navy in January 2026. The days passed happily by as we approached Christmas. Before and after work, Paul took us on all of his favorite walks, we visited his favorite coffee shops and ate so much delicious food.
I’m sure many of you have heard us say that as much as we love Mackinac Island, the variety of food choices feels somewhat limited. By the end of the summer we are craving Mediterranean, Mexican and Thai food especially. We seek it out whenever we are off island. San Diego really delivered in that category. We visited my new favorite asian dumpling restaurant three times during our stay – thanks Meet Dumpling for all the good times.
In the middle of our first week there, Paul escorted us onto the nearby Navy base and gave us a tour of the submarine training facility where he has been stationed. Lucas and I even got to drive a submarine simulator (I was in charge of the dive and Lucas was in charge of the tilt). While driving my first submarine was cool, we were really there to celebrate Paul. There was a ceremony that afternoon marking the official end of his service where Paul was recognized for all of his hard work. Lucas and I felt very fortunate to be invited. Paul has accomplished so much during his time in the Navy and we are all so proud of him.
That weekend, we drove into downtown San Diego to explore the famous Balboa Park and San Diego Zoo. Saturday, we visited Balboa Park’s Air and Space Museum, International Village, Japanese Friendship Garden, Natural History Museum and Botanical Garden. There was so much more in the park to see but we ran out of time and energy.
On Sunday, revived from visit #2 to Meet Dumpling for dinner the night before, we returned to Balboa Park to visit the San Diego Zoo. We started our zoo adventure with a free bus ride around the perimeter of the park. We then walked throughout the many habitats, seeing many animals. My niece, Anna, was super excited we were visiting the zoo. She knows many of the animals there from watching a zoo live stream on her kids tablet back in Michigan. We went on a few missions to check up on Anna’s favorite animals and were pleased to report to the boss that they were all healthy and happy, although the polar was, as Anna suspected, very sandy. My favorites were the capybaras, koalas and hippos.
Monday rolled around again. Paul was officially on stand down at the base the week of Christmas, so he and Lucas were free agents. They spent their days working on Paul’s truck, playing video games and brainstorming ideas for a KizerCo marine business partnership. I had a few days of tourism bureau work before my Christmas break could begin. So far, working remotely has been going pretty well for me. It took a few days to get used to working in a different timezone than my co-workers. It meant my days started really early but I finished early in the afternoon. As a lifelong morning person, this schedule felt very comfortable.
Officially on my Christmas break, we drove out to Coronado Island to visit the Hotel del Coronado on Christmas Eve. The Del, as locals refer to it, is California’s version of the Grand Hotel. It was built in the 1880s as a getaway for San Diegans. That afternoon, I posted up at a local coffee shop/brewery to work on postcards and a blog post while Lucas and Paul explored the US Midway Museum. A big storm hit San Diego that afternoon, I was very glad to be inside as it poured for hours.
–Funny side story – when we visited in 2022, Paul told us “we shouldn’t have a problem sailing the boat down the coast, it never rains here.” You guessed it – it poured for three days straight and delayed our boat trip. Fast forward to December 24, 2025 and it was raining again in San Diego. Ha!–
Luckily for us, the worst of the storm missed us, although it caused a lot of damage in the Los Angeles area north of us.
For Christmas, we went on a beautiful walk along the coast in t-shirts in the morning and then treated ourselves to a very, very fancy Christmas dinner at The Marine Room (paid for in-part with Christmas gift cards from Grandpa Hunter – thanks Grandpa!). The Marine Room sits directly on the waterfront in La Jolla, California. It is famous for waves crashing on the restaurant windows during high tides. We didn’t have crashing waves the night we were there but the setting was just stunning. The food was amazing, it was a four-course set menu full of Christmas delicacies. I tried squid and Lucas tried steak tartar. It was a little bit of foreshadowing for the food adventure waiting for us in Alaska.
And just like that, it was time to pack our bags again. Our last meal was, of course, at Meet Dumpling (visit #3 if you are counting). We scheduled an Lyft for early the next morning, watched the last episode of Taylor Swift’s concert documentary and went to bed before 9 p.m..
Paul, Lucas and I had a train to catch.
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