San Diego July 2014

Our first away-from-home summer adventure took us to San Diego for the Little People of America National Conference. 

First, let me tell you a little bit about an LPA National Conference.  LPA has a National Conference every year, usually around July 4^th.  The conference location changes each year.  The conferences are big in attendance.  A typical conference now has over 2000 registered participants representing countries all over the world.  Many things happen at a National Conference.  There are diagnosis specific meet and greets.  There are medical appointments – you can ask to meet with a doctor with a particular specialty and experience with little people.  This part of the conference is so important to members who live in areas where there are not doctors who have experience with little people.  Others go to the medical appointments for second opinions.  There are age specific workshops that focus on a huge variety of topics.  There are adaptive workshops and workshops for officers.  There is a dance every night.  There are special activities for pretty much every age group.  There is an EXPO where you can find products that can help little people.  There is an LPA general assembly meeting, a fashion show, a talent show and a banquet.  Wow!  I know I didn’t get everything.  So much to do.  

Now onto our story…

The last time we flew, the TSA agents told us about a program called TSA Cares (meant for differently abled or aging passengers).  You call TSA before your flight to tell them you are coming and they help you through the security process.   We tried it and were greeted by our helper.  TSA even opened a security line just for us (they probably remember how much medical equipment comes with us).  At one point, all the agents were talking to Jadon and Kalina and no one was available to help scan our luggage.  It is a good problem, traveling with celebrities.  We had a late afternoon flight on Saturday, July 5, getting us to San Diego in the early evening.  After getting our luggage and rental car, we made our way to the Manchester Grand Hyatt.  The hotel is huge!  The hotel was located within walking distance to many restaurants and lots of shopping.  After a long day, we just walked to dinner and enjoyed the beautiful San Diego weather.

 

We made it!

 

Happy travelers.

On Sunday morning we walked to breakfasts and the grocery store.  Then we headed to the LPA EXPO.  We were a little disappointed there were not more vendors/participants.  Kalina did find a bag/purse for her scooter.  Then we went to the DD (diastrophic dysplasia) meet and greet.  We always enjoy this – seeing other DDs, ones we have meet previously and meeting new ones.  There is always something to learn.  After the meeting we met, as a group, for lunch at one of the shopping centers across the street.  More time with our DD family.  J  Kalina and I also got to ride on a carousel.  She loves them!  After lunch Kalina and Andy went for a swim while Jadon and I chatted and read by the pool.  We met some of our friends from Idaho for dinner.  We met the family a few years ago at an LPA regional meeting.  Brian, the Dad, has DD.  Jadon has always felt a special connection to him and loves spending time with him.  I think if Jadon and Brian were the same age they would be best friends.  Dinner was so much fun.  Lots of advice giving, talking and laughter.  After dinner we went to the LPA Family welcome room and the dance.   We were all tired so we didn’t dance too long.  We also spent some time just “being there”.  Jadon and Kalina enjoyed just sitting in the lobby or hotel common areas and seeing people.  This was the first time they really liked doing that.  They would say, let’s just go sit and see who we see.    

 

Yummy breakfast.

A chair just my size!

This is comfy!



DD Meet and Greet.

Happy at lunch.

Kalina loves carousel rides.

 

We took a walk along the water.

Swimming time!

Jadon, Kalina and Brian (3 crazy DDs).

Kalina and Grace learning how to hula.

Time to dance!

 

 

On Monday we left early to go to the Safari Park.  We loved this place when we went to San Diego many years ago with Jadon (pre-Kalina) and we enjoyed it again.  We walked all through the park.  The exhibits are so nicely done.  Near the end of our time there, we took a tram ride and saw the animals in more of a natural setting.  We had lunch at Red Robin.  The family at the table next to us overheard our discussion about going to Mexico, just for fun, since we were so close.   They very politely interrupted us and told us we were crazy.  They explained why just going to Mexico to go was not the best idea.  They gave us lots of other great information and ideas of things to do.  We are so thankful we talked to them!  That afternoon, Jadon and Kalina attended “What it’s Like to be Me” workshops at the conference.  I’m not sure what they thought of them.  They didn’t say much.  Then we went on a 2 hours boat ride of the San Diego harbor.  We had a quiet dinner at the hotel.  Kalina and I went to the hot tub after dinner.  We had such a beautiful view of the sunset.

We made it to the Safari Park.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Harbor Cruise.

 

 

 

 

Late night hot tub adventures.

 

 

Tuesday was another busy day.  We went to the LPA General Assembly meeting in the morning.  We walked to lunch - a little local pizza place.  I went to a chapter officer’s meeting in the afternoon while Andy, Jadon and Kalina went to a workshop on kitchen and bathroom modifications.  After our meetings we moved to a new hotel.  In the past, we have had issues with the elevators at conference hotels (like waiting over 20 minutes for one).  The hotel this year was great but we did not know that before we got there.  So, we moved as planned.  Our new hotel was just a short walk along the water from the first hotel.  We had dinner at a nice place right on the water.  That evening we went to the LPA talent show.  It was much better than I thought it would be.  It was great to see little people show off what they can do.  Jadon and Kalina really liked it.    

 

Jedi Jadon.

 

Breakfast with a view.

 

The view from our first hotel.

 

Dinner on the water.

 

Delicious gelato.

 

Happy Jadon.

On Wednesday we went to Coronado in the morning.  That friendly family we met at Red Robin told us how to get to a great part of the beach.  We parked just feet from the beach access.  It was a beautiful day and Kalina finally got her wish of going to the beach filled.  Andy and I took turns standing in the water with her.  She loved it!  We collected lots of seashells.  We got both Kalina and Jadon to stand in the dry sand a little, too.  Jadon was not so thrilled with the beach but he happily sat a read a book on a bench.  We went inland for lunch at Village Pizza.  Our waitress was the mom of a little person at the conference!  We spent some time in the afternoon at the conference hotel.  We arranged to see Dr. White and his wife, Amy.  We always enjoy seeing them.  The big LPA banquet was this night.  Jadon and Kalina had dinner with some local friends before the banquet (they won’t eat banquet food).  The banquet was Mexican themed.  Cool dances and music but very loud.  We did enjoy the table companions – our friends from Idaho and a family from Colorado.

Finally - the beach!

Not sure what to think of standing in sand.

Sandy toes.

A quick change for Kalina after a wave surprised us and she got wet.

How Jadon enjoys the beach.

Dinner time.

Pretty nails.

Jadon and Brian.

Kalina at the banquet.

Kalina and Shirley from BC, Canada.

Jadon and Amy from Texas.

 

On Thursday we went to SeaWorld.  We arrived just after it opened.  We saw lots of the shows and rode the gondola.  Kalina rode a few rides with me or Andy.  There are lots of pools where you can touch the animals.  A worker helped us touch some manta rays (hard to reach).  We were trying to touch a dolphin.  We laughed because none were swimming by us.  One of the workers asked if we were having difficulty meeting a dolphin.  She told us to follow her.  She took us to a separate pool with one dolphin, Beaker.  We all got to touch her and we gave her some ice cubes.  The workers were more than helpful and took a bunch of pictures of us with Beaker.  What a special experience!  Jadon and Kalina were so happy.  We had a great time.  The only bad thing that day was the sun.  It was so bright and intense.  We got Jadon and Kalina hats but we all got sunburned.  After our day there, we had a delicious dinner in Little Italy.

 

First ride with Mom.

 

Spinning ride with Dad.

 

Hats needed!

 

Dolphin Show.

 

Cool art made from trash.

 

 

 

 

Feeding manta rays.

 

Sea Lion show (notice new hats).

 


Breaker!

Pet Show.

Whale Show.

Kalina got her own dolphin.

Last show for today.

We had a quiet Friday morning.  We took a nice walk downtown for lunch and to Ghirardelli’s for dessert.  Yum!  Andy and Kalina went for a swim in the afternoon.  We had an early dinner and then went to the zoo.  Another helpful tip from the Red Robin family – the zoo stays open late!  We enjoyed the zoo in the evening.  The only bad part was a few animals were already off exhibit but there were no crowds and it was much cooler (we all needed a break from the sun).  We took the gondola ride and enjoyed the evening sky.  It was a nice way to spend our last evening in San Diego.

 

Walking to lunch.

Waiting for ice cream at Ghirardelli's.

Yum, it is finally here.

What Jadon thinks of ice cream.

Happy girl.

 

Chillin in the pool (kind of floating).

 

San Diego Zoo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our flight on Saturday did not leave until later in the day.  What to do?  We went back to SeaWorld.  We saw many of the shows we liked again (and they were a little different the second time).  We saw a few more exhibits and went on a ride we missed the first day.  We ate lunch on the way to the airport and made it home without any issues.  Jadon and Kalina were very excited to see Venus when we got home.  Venus was very happy to see us, too. 

Back to Sea World.

Lunch time.

Walking at the airport.

Someone missed us (look who is under the covers with Jadon).

Now she has moved to Kalina's bed (she loves to sleep on her pillow).

 

As you can see, our vacation was a mix of LPA and personal travel.  We like to combine the two.  We like being able to pick and choose what we do at the conference.  We love seeing our LPA friends from all over the place!  We usually learn a little something at a workshop but what we really enjoy is seeing Jadon and Kalina with peers – people kind of like them.  When you are at the conference, there is no staring or judging.  Everyone seems happy to be there.

 

At our first LPA National Conference in Seattle, we met a family that told us their summer vacations are planned around LPA Conferences.  At the time, I thought that was kind of sad.  Now, we find ourselves doing the same thing.  We love giving Jadon and Kalina the opportunity to meet and be with people like them. 

 

Next year you know where to find us around July 4^th – St. Louis (and as a bonus, very close to family)!