What a jam-packed overnight stay in Carlsbad! We loved every second of this little getaway and it was another experience we will never forget. We had been trying to decide which places in SoCal would be worth staying overnight for. We thought about San Diego for a while, but ended up deciding on Carlsbad to see the Flower Fields and Legoland.

The Flower Fields

The reality of having kids is twofold. They make certain things less fun (sorry but it’s true) but they make almost everything WAY MORE FUN. Having two kids with us on this sabbatical is the greatest blessing you could have ever given us. We have ventured to see things we never would have thought to see here (and in life in general, of course) and I will never take that for granted.

Delaney’s love for flowers has opened my eyes to the gift of nature and the beauty of fields/flowers and everything in between. I’ve loved these things before, but knowing how much she would love this whole “superbloom” idea got me searching for planes to go. The Flower Fields was the perfect place! We paid to get in and spent 7 whole hours there…which is a LOT. We walked through the rainbow of flowers, Delaney tooks lots of photos, we did a flower maze, a tractor ride, played at a fun fairy playground, got strawberry snacks, saw fountains and birds, did a scavenger hunt and “mined” for gemstones. The kids LOVED it. The weather was perfect and we listened to live music for a while during Owen’s stroller nap and left for the day after we had do everything.

We went into Carlsbad Village for dinner at Land and Sea, which was very cute, and walked down the beach after sunset for a little breath of the ocean air before going back to our hotel. The kids ALSO freaking love a hotel…even if it’s just a random one in the middle of nowhere.

LEGOLAND

The next morning, we got up early for breakfast at the hotel before the quick drive to Legoland. We didn’t honestly think this was going to be worth it because neither kid really cares about legos but they do love rides. This place was AMAZING. We got there right at 9:30 and the rides didn’t open until 10, so it was perfect timing.

Throughout the day, we made it to one of the major roller coasters (The Dragon Coaster) a few times with Delaney and rode everything else that Owen could do. Her giggle is incredible when she’s on a ride and so worth the insane waits we endured. She waits so patiently, you would almost never believe it. Owen also is a thrill-seeker and he could sit a watch a roller coaster all day long if you let him. He went on a few spinny rides and would giggle intensely then, too.

Miniland was absolutely incredible and was definitely more impressive to the adults than the kids. The detail around the entire park were really unbelievable and maybe didn’t compare too much to Disneyworld, but it did seem somewhat comparable and so fun. We are so happy we made the trip to Legoland and we stayed in the park until it closed at 7pm. Delaney and Owen were such troopers the entire day and couldn’t get enough of the park and we couldn’t either.