Why San Diego:
Since becoming a dad in May, my life has drastically changed. I can’t just pop off to another city for the weekend anymore because raising a child takes a lot of effort and I want to be present in my son’s life. That said, the travel bug is still there and is just as strong.
Traveling with an infant is technically possible as soon as the child is born (airlines will transport kids as young as seven days old). However, most pediatricians recommend waiting until the child is two months and a couple weeks old because that is when they have received their first dose of a whole slew of vaccines and the vaccines have taken effect. Prior to this, if my son were to get sick, he would have to go to the hospital’s ER and get a spinal tap – not something we want.
Given my background and interests, it seems inevitable that Udo will be doing a lot of traveling in his future. But we have to start small – so Maisie and I decided to do an overnight trip to San Diego. We planned an overnight trip around the open house to the Mormon Temple in La Jolla- an exceedingly rare event.
July 10, 2026: Baby’s First Road Trip
After our morning feeding and playtime, we loaded up our car. Despite only going away for a single night, our Honda HRV was full to the brim with Udo’s stuff. In addition to his car seat, we brought a bassinet, pack & play (basically a pop-up crib), a tent for napping and a bag containing diapers, a few changes of clothes, toys, pacifiers, wipes and six bottles of food.
We headed out around 8:30 am during the start of his first nap of the day. Udo generally sleeps well in the car. The drive to San Diego takes about 2-3 hours depending on traffic. However, it is recommended to stop every two hours to let the baby stretch. We hit that 2-hour mark at a rest stop on the northern edge of Oceanside. We also fed him and changed his diaper.
By the time we reached San Diego it was already lunchtime. We decided to stop at the Lodge at Torrey Pines- a beautiful hotel attached to the famed public golf course. The hotel has two restaurants, we ate at the Grill, the cheaper one. I got a burger and Maisie got a sloppy Joe. Udo got formula. We changed him in the bathroom.
Next, we drove around the UCSD campus and stopped to visit the iconic Geisel Library. This brutalist building is named for Theodore Geisel aka Dr. Seuss. While not an alum of the university, Geisel lived in La Jolla for many decades and donated a lot to the school.
Some of his original drawings and manuscripts are viewable in the main level. By the way, the library is much more beautiful on the outside than the inside.
It was now time to visit the temple for our pre-booked 3pm tour. As we drove over, we hit crazy traffic around the temple. We were FAR from the only people here. Somehow, we found a great parking spot.
We then met up with my friends Marty and Andrea who live in San Diego.
Mormon Temples are places where specific rituals are performed. This differs from churches which host weekly worship just like any normal Christian church. While churches are open to the public, temples are only open to members of the Church in good standing. This is because temples are considered the literal house of God.
The only time that temples are open to the public is during a special open-house period immediately after initial construction or major renovation. The San Diego Temple opened in 1993 but closed in 2023 for a major renovation. The renovation was completed in 2026 with the open house period occurring over 3 weeks in late June and early July with the final open house day being July 11. The official rededication ceremony is scheduled for August 23, 2026 at which point the temple will be open again for normal church business.
After waiting in a line where we were greeted by the friendliest volunteers, we had booties placed on our feet. This is to protect the carpet from the tens of thousands of visitors. There is an urban legend that the Church would burn the carpet after the open house because non-Mormons walked on it, but that is not true (at least not currently) and sounds both awfully expensive and time consuming. The carpet inside this temple was very much permanent. Photos were not allowed inside the temple but there are official photos of all the rooms published on the Church’s website. But overall, the aesthetic was country club decorated with mid-quality paintings of Jesus’s life or nature scenes (God’s creations). Surprisingly there was no art of Joseph Smith or anything related to the Book of Mormon.
We first entered the entry hall which looked like a large corporate office reception area. Here, members are checked for their church credentials.
To the right, we saw the baptism room. The hot tub-sized pool is stacked on top of twelve life-sized ox sculptures arranged in a circle, which represent the twelve tribes of Israel. The Church believes itself to be the restoration of the Temple era of Judaism and I have noticed many Jewish symbols/concepts in Mormonism such as the priesthood, the Temple, the Holy of Holies and the concept of the soul’s journey. Obviously there are significant differences as well.
Unlike most other Christians, Mormons believe in baptizing the dead. The baptisms that take place in the temple are only for the dead – as the living would not be allowed admission into the temple to do the baptism. Instead, baptisms for the living occur in churches.
We then visited the changing rooms – everyone is supposed to wear white robes which symbolizes heaven. It also is supposed to make sure everyone is perceived as equal – you can’t tell if someone is rich or poor.
Next, we visited an Endowment Room where adult Mormons receive special instructions from God including a secret name and in return make special covenants with God. There is no set age for this ceremony but the people I talked to did it in their late teens or early 20’s.
Adjacent to the Endowment Room is the Celestial Room which is meant to look like heaven. No ceremonies or rituals occur in the Celestial Room but rather people spend time there reflecting on rituals they just performed or silently praying.
Finally, we visited the Sealing Rooms where Mormon marriages occur. The rooms are decorated simply with two mirrors that face each other. Participants kneel on a couch-like centerpiece. Mormons believe that marriage is an eternal bond that lasts beyond death. Sealing ceremonies are also performed for adopted children to bind them to their new parents. Because these ceremonies are performed inside the temple, non-Mormon friends and family do not get to attend. I know this causes a lot of heartbreak if, say, one parent or grandparent is not in good standing with the Church.
Overall, I was impressed by the temple and the organization of the event – it is not easy to move thousands of people through a building. Everyone who was volunteering was exceedingly friendly/smiley and really attractive. I wonder if that was intentional. From this tour and by listening to Mormon radio on my Utah trip in February, I now have a much deeper understanding of the religion.
It felt a little sacrilegious, but immediately after Maisie and I went to the North Park neighborhood and got some beers at the North Park Brewery. There is truly nothing more millennial dad than taking my child to a brewery.
We then got takeout pizza at Tribute Pizza (INCREDIBLE place btw) and ate it in our hotel room while Udo slept. His 7pm bedtime makes it difficult to get dinner but it all worked.
Later that night, I met up with Marty and Andrea for some drinks at a club in North Park. The neighborhood was busy! Given LA’s anemic state of nightlife, this was a refreshing sight.
July 11, 2026: Family Brunch
Udo slept so well! He only woke up once during the night despite the hot hotel room and the portable crib.
After our morning feed and playtime, we took him up to Del Mar to get brunch with my extended family. My cousin Andrew lives in Del Mar with his fiancée Ali. His parents Rich and Pam were in town from Boston. It was so nice to catch up. We also fed Udo.
From there, it was a 2 hour 15 minute drive back home. While technically we should have stopped during the drive, we wanted to get home for the 1pm feeding. Udo was so chill the entire ride and we got home around 1:10.
Final Thoughts:
Traveling with an infant is undoubtedly more difficult and requires a lot more planning. But we were still able to see a lot and felt like the trip was worthwhile. I hope that Udo will remain to be a great traveler.
In terms of what we saw, the Mormon temple was really interesting and I encourage everyone to visit one. The Mormon faith, despite their outgoing personalities and active missionary work, is quite secretive. Touring the temple gave me a lot more understanding of the faith. The granddaddy of all the temples, the Salt Lake City Temple is opening to tours next year. I intend to travel to SLC for that tour.
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