travelpye

We are back from the conference and trip and just wanted to say thank you to all who posted again. Also, thought I would report experience in case anyone else reads the thread and is considering doing the same thing.

We did take the 235 bus to Escondido. The ride seemed a bit longer than I expected but I did not time it. At Escondido transit center, something went wrong with Uber. Ride to Safari park would have been $7, but app kept showing arriving in one minute for quite a long time and then driver cancelled. We took cab, which was there waiting, and fare was $30 with tip. No uber showed available when we were leaving park, so we called cab driver, who had given us his card, thankfully, and took cab back to Escondido. We enjoyed the park very much, and recommend taking the "safari" that is included with admission more than once, as we did. We saw different animals up close on each ride through.

They took Coaster and taxi from Santa Fe station to Legoland. They enjoyed it, but it was spring break there, so park was pretty crowded. All went well, except taxi driver had told therm they would have no problem getting taxi on way back--they would be there and waiting for fares. But they exited park at closing to find no taxis at all. They walked to Legoland hotel next door, and a taxi was called for them. They therefore missed the last coaster back and had to wait two hours until the next Amtrak. I believe she checked for an Uber too, but no luck there either.

So, I would have a back up plan with the number for a cab when visiting either Safari Park or Legoland. Doorman at hotel told them that in peak season cabs probably would have been waiting, though.

Bus to zoo and Balboa Park was easy and less than 30 minutes from Santa Fe station.

It helped that our hotel, Grand Manchester, was only 3-4 blocks from Santa Fe train bus depot.

The nearby Ralph's supermarket and Horton's Shopping Plaza with its food court and CVS came in handy. They picked up missing items, such as goggles for swimming, at CVS at a good price, and my great niece LOVES Panda Express, which was at food court. (Yes, I have introduced her to non-food court Chinese food, but she just loves Panda Express.)

She loved the Midway and the museum of natural history and even the whale watch tour--though they did not see whales, just sea lions and dolphins.

Thanks again to all for their tips and advice!

Oh as an aside, I ate twice at Puesto, the taco place just across street from Hyatt in the little shopping center they made of the old jail. I loved the cactus taco and the chicken al pastor. I highly recommend it, though not necessarily for kids. I also liked Buster's in Seaport Village. I enjoyed the blackened ahi tuna burger, and just generally found their food better than the San Diego Pier Cafe, the other place in Seaport Village that I ate while attending the conference.