The time has finally come to make good on Marlowe’s 10th Birthday Present: a one-on-one trip with me to San Diego! You may be wondering why a ten-year-old gets such a big gift, and why San Diego. Thankfully, I have a blog so I can give you all the deets! LOL. When I was growing up, my Mom had a similar tradition with my siblings and me: When each one of us would turn 9, we would get to pick where we wanted to go with her, and we would get to experience some special one-on-one time with her. I picked Japan and had a once-in-a-lifetime experience with my Mom exploring Tokyo and Kyoto. My only wish was that I had been a tiny bit older so I could have appreciated it even more, and remembered it better. I’d always thought that I wanted to continue the tradition with my own kids, except that I’d gift them the experience for their 10th, milestone, birthday, and make the destination a surprise!

I ended up picking San Diego for Marlowe for a few reasons: First of all, Marlowe is a California girl! People who have been reading this blog for a long time remember, but Marlowe was actually born when Kyle and I were still living in Los Angeles. Marlowe has always really loved that part of her story, and unfortunately with the pandemic, we haven’t had much chance to go back to the state. I thought she would LOVE the opportunity not only to return to California but to explore a city she’s never been to before!

I also took weather into consideration. Marlowe loves being outside and swimming, etc, so I made sure to find a resort that had a great pool, beach, and cabana situation. I’ll be sharing more about the resort while we’re there! It has incredible programming for kids that we are both really looking forward to. But perhaps the biggest draw of the weekend is going to be the San Diego Zoo! Anyone who knows Marlowe knows how obsessed she is with animals. I know every kid says they want to be a vet at one point or another, but with Lowie I really believe it. Watching how drawn she is to animals, how invested she is in learning about them, and how much they love her back– it’s so inspiring as a Mom. I know we will both love visiting this zoo together, as it’s one of the best in the whole world! She’s especially excited that we’re going just the two of us since we’re usually rushed through experiences like that when we have her younger brothers in tow.

Stay tuned on my socials for more from the trip, and check out my packing list below! I’m packing each of us into a carry-on, so I made sure to plan for items that can be styled multiple ways.  You can refer back to this post if you see something you are interested in from the trip but aren’t getting an answer in the DMs!

Photographs by Julia Dags | Copyright © 2024 Happily Eva After, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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