Since 1995, Imperial Beach has been the Laisigmont's summer vacation destination, where Greg and Diana relax in a beach condo while they watch their kids play in the water and "dig to China," Greg said.
The Las Vegas family tends to head west for vacation and have been to Santa Barbara, Knott's Berry Farm and Disneyland, but they wanted to find a place that was on the beach.
In a search through options in places like Laguna Beach and Newport Beach, they found that nothing was really "on the beach," according to Greg, a doctor of criminal psychology and a former law enforcement officer.
"It's the kind of town that you see in postcards all the time, but you can never find," he said about IB.
Laisigmont wanted a place to relax, catch fish, avoid the hordes of summer vacationers and see the same people every year, from locals to desert travelers escaping the 110-plus degree Nevada or Arizona heat for mild 70 degree weather and a sea breeze.
Greg said his friends who vacation in Coronado have to leave their hotel room extra early just to get a spot on the beach and may still have to compete with other vacationers.
"If ... you want to rush, rush, rush, then IB is not for you," Greg said. "IB has a quaintness."
The thing about IB that was so inviting when their kids were growing up, is that they never worried about their kids going across the street for an ice cream or down to the pier to fish.
"They'd talk to us on Walkie-Talkies while fishing, and call and say, 'We got a big one!' "
The first year, the Laisigmonts found a listing for the IB Beach Club condos managed by Sandy and Ed Hornyak—a two-bedroom and two-bath unit three stories above the beach with a full kitchen, pool and a short walk to the pier and local businesses.
The one-week vacation evolved into three weeks a year for Greg and his wife, Diana, who now use the time to reconnect with their three children—32-year-old Arin, 28-year-old Adam and 21-year-old Alex—along with friends.
"Life really slows down here," said Greg, who has seen pods of dolphins off shore from their third-floor balcony facing the pier.
"There's no sense in looking anywhere else."
Greg has been asked by other parents how to get their kids to come on vacation, and his only answer is that vacation in IB is so fun "that they'll even put up with mom and dad being here."
It's a place where the kids aren't bored and mom and dad can relax, he said.
The only change in the past 16 years has come in the form of the beach becoming a little more crowded, he said, a sign that apparently others have found out about IB.
