Remember those days when you were a kid and you could float in the pool with nothing to do but let the sun sprinkle freckles on your back? And then someone would cannonball in and set off an endless round of trips off the diving board?

I think I was in first grade the first time I visited Knott's Berry Farm. My dad took me as a reward for my grades in school. We rode the Log Ride, ate sugary snacks and toted around large stuffed animals my dad won on the midway.

Morro Bay is a different kind of California beach town. Unlike some of its more pretentious coastal cousins, it's a down-to-earth, come-as-you-are kind of place with an eclectic waterfront and a lot of fog. It also boasts a horizon-dominating 576-foot high domed rock my 3 year old referred to as "that mountain thing."

Drew's first fishing pole lasted about 10 minutes. We were drifting in a rented boat at the far end of Lake Sabrina. My dad had his line in the water, and I was taking turns casting for Laurel and Drew. Nobody was getting any bites, but it didn't matter. The kids were excited to be on the water and using their new poles.

"Daddy, do watermelons grow on trees?" Questions like these are inevitable from a 6-year-old. And it was a good one. Watermelon is considered a fruit, and Laurel knows from the citrus trees in our backyard that fruit grows on trees.

As I dip my paddle into the calm water off Catalina, I know the mainland is somewhere to my right. But thanks to the morning fog and haze out in the channel, I can't see it. And that's what makes Catalina the perfect get-away. Twenty-six miles of ocean ensure that everyday life is out of sight and out of mind.

I'm smitten with San Diego. But what's not to love about our neighbors to the south? They've got a scenic waterfront, tons of great things for kids and adults to appreciate together, postcard weather and they're producing our next generation of heroes.

Sometimes you just need to hide out. Find a place where you can hole up for a few days and not change any diapers, pick squished bananas out of a high chair, or utter the phrases, "Stop hitting your sister," and "I don't know where you left your shoes."

If you have your own shower, a king-size bed and a hot stone massage, can you really call it camping?

That's debatable. At El Capitan Canyon they call it "glamping," aka glamour camping.

My brother-in-law Javier had been talking for years about putting together a weekend mountain biking trip to the Central Coast to ride his favorite trail.

But like a lot of "guys-trip" ideas us 30-something husbands and fathers discuss, it got lost in the shuffle of our more mundane weekend duties. That is until my other brother-in-law, Tim, got his report date for Marine Corps Basic Training.

As far as timing goes, scheduling Valentine's Day in February was a brilliant move. I don't know who makes these decisions, but I'm sure it's a woman.

She undoubtedly scanned the calendar for a time when men would be free from obvious distractions. February certainly is the obvious choice. The Super Bowl is a distant memory. March Madness is still weeks away. What a perfect time for a girlie holiday!

If your mother, or mother-in-law, is anything like my mom, then she expected you to have your Christmas list compiled and submitted weeks ago.

And if you are a son, or son-in-law, like me, you have more urgent priorities during the holiday season - like making your college football bowl picks for the office pool.

Given that our nation is at war and in the high season of spin from another presidential campaign, it seemed fitting to visit the Norton Simon Museum and see their current featured exhibit.

Maybe I'm getting old. I've forgotten how much helmets make you sweat. How hard your body works to keep a small motorized vehicle from spinning out of control. How acceleration leads to exhilaration.

My kids learned a very important physics lesson on the shore of Barrett Lake near Mammoth: bigger rocks make bigger splashes.

Skipping stones is a favorite lakeside activity, but a shortage of the round flat rocks needed for skipping forced the kids to improvise. They soon discovered the satisfying kerplonks, splashes and ripples that come from simply throwing rocks in the lake. And when they figured out I could throw rocks higher than they could - and achieve bigger splashes - they scoured the shore for the largest stones they could bring me.

It was gold that first brought people to the mountains east of San Diego, and led to the founding of the town of Julian. Today they come for shopping, dining, relaxation and apples. The annual apple harvest draws thousands of visitors on fall weekends.

OK, so they don't know my name at Burbank Bar & Grille. But like Cheers, it's a place where you can feel comfortable.

BB&G occupies the top floor of a building overlooking the corner of Olive and San Fernando in Downtown Burbank. So if you're feeling spry, you can climb the stairs, but if you want to enter in a more leisurely fashion, you can take the lift.

I may have a big problem on my hands in 11 years. My oldest daughter, 5-year-old Laurel, likes to go fast, but she can't necessarily steer. I learned this at Legoland California in Carlsbad, and it has frightening implications for her teenage years.

One of our first rides of the day was on Coastersaurus, a small dino-themed roller coaster that served to whet Laurel's thrill appetite. She wanted to ride The Dragon as many times as she could, and we took three consecutive trips on the quick coaster that features tight, banking turns. From there it was onto the Aquazone Wave Racers, a spinning ride that goes, you guessed it, fast. Those were followed by the Lego Technic Coaster, another hand-raising, hair-blowing experience.

Editor's note: This is the second installment of Eric's two-part series on exploring San Diego.

I may have a big problem on my hands in 11 years. My oldest daughter, 5-year-old Laurel, likes to go fast, but she can't necessarily steer. I learned this at Legoland California in Carlsbad, and it has frightening implications for her teenage years.

One of our first rides of the day was on Coastersaurus, a small dino-themed roller coaster that served to whet Laurel's thrill appetite. She wanted to ride The Dragon as many times as she could, and we took three consecutive trips on the quick coaster that features tight, banking turns. From there it was onto the Aquazone Wave Racers, a spinning ride that goes, you guessed it, fast. Those were followed by the Lego Technic Coaster, another hand-raising, hair-blowing experience.

Upon discovering what we know today as San Diego, explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo deemed it "a very good enclosed port." The same spirit of discovery gripped my 3-year-old son on his first visit to the area some 460 years later.