About a year ago, our friends, the Sims', and us; decided that we were going vacation in Coeur D'Alene, ID. The plan was for Nick and Garrett to attend the Washington State pharmacy conference there, and Katie and I would hang out with the kids. Katie and I planned a great deal of that trip. They guys got time off of work. And then, Katie pointed out the obvious.... Coeur D'Alene is stinking expensive! So, we "changed horses midstream". The boys already had time off of work. I suggested we vacation in California, where we could get a little more "bang for our buck".
Katie booked a 3 bedroom condo through their timeshare, in Anaheim, and saved us a ton of money on lodging! Thanks, Katie.
Airfare from SLC to Long Beach is affordable, so we flew in to LGB. I love that airport.
I reserved an SUV with Enterprise rental car. I'm an Enterprise Plus member, so they upgraded us, and gave us a Chevrolet Tahoe for this trip. I was thrilled about this! A Tahoe was a vehicle that was on my "short list" of cars, that I'd consider purchasing when it comes time to part with my Acura. I was excited to have a Tahoe to test-drive for a week.
The extra space was nice. And the DVD player with the wireless headphones was a great feature too. But the Tahoe didn't handle nearly as well as my Acura, and the interior/console/buttons felt cheaply made. I took the Tahoe off of my list of possibilities.
Our first day in CA, we hand a pizza party, and relaxed in the condo. Katie and I took a late-night trip to Walgreens to stock up on junk food. It was vacation, after all.
Day Two: we had a lazy morning, and then drove out to Corona Del Mar. We went to Crystal Cove Beach. Garrett had the foresight to get our group picture at the beginning of the trip, this time. Smart move. Everyone was still happy at this point in the trip.
Here we all are! The Sims'. Our "twin family".
Of the California beaches I've visited, this is my favorite.
The tide pools were perfect! It was like dozens of little "kiddie pools" all along the beach. Cohen was in beach heaven.
The little crabs on this beach were innumerable. The kids liked looking at them, but wouldn't touch them for a million dollars. We also saw a few rock lobsters. The lobsters were all dead. Too bad.
On the way home from the beach we stopped at Rose Bakery Cafe, to eat. You can't go wrong with sandwiches and donuts. Yum.
We got back to the Condo, and Katie and I decided to hit up the nearby outlet mall, for some shopping.
I'd have to say, that this was my favorite day of the trip.
Day Three: Originally, when we were planning this vacation; we didn't include a trip to Disneyland on the itinerary. But as it got closer, we changed our minds. After all, we were physically staying in Anaheim. I bought the Disneyland tickets the day before we left.
I'd have to say that the word, "hindsight", is one of my least favorite words. Whenever it is used, it is usually because you'd change something about your past. Oh, hindsight! There is so much I would have done differently the day we spent at Disneyland.
I did research about which day would be best to go to the park. Strike One. We went on a Wednesday, and it was jam-packed! I did research about precisely how to spend your day, if you only have one day in the park. Strike Two. We didn't follow any of the guidelines in the article I found. The article that would have been most helpful, stressed- MULTIPLE times, that you ought to leave the park for a few hours in the afternoon, to avoid the heat, and to recharge. I ignored this advice. Big Mistake. We should have done that. I researched whether we ought to go to the Disneyland Theme park, or California Adventure. Strike Three. I picked Disneyland. I think the kids would have had more fun at California Adventure.
Things started off just fine. We did the obligatory family picture, at the entrance:
The moment we entered the park, Goofy walked up to Cohen, and tousled his hair. Cohen freaked out! After that, he wanted nothing to do with any character we met.
The girls, however, loved posing with Disney characters.
The first ride we rode, was the Nemo Submarine ride. While we were in Tomorrowland, I BEGGED everyone to go on Captain EO. I think it was the only ride in the park that didn't have a wait (insert Nick saying: "go figure?!). Whatever. I liked it.
Nick took Reagan on Space Mountain. I think she was a little scared. But she didn't cry. And she said she'd ride it again.
We spent a lot of time in Fantasyland.
The girls posed with princesses, until their hearts were content.
I'm not a huge fan of parades, or shows. I'd much rather ride the rides. So, when everyone else went to see the Rapunzel show, I took Cohen to the Dole-Whip stand, and bought Dole-Whip floats for everyone. When they all decided to watch a parade, later in the day, I went back to the Dole-Whip stand. This was one of the saving graces, of the day. Dole Whips, and the Jazz Kitchen Restaurant. That's where we had lunch, and it was delish!
After lunch the descent in to exhaustion started, for everyone. The only thing I can think, is that fried brains, is what lead Nick and Garrett to put a fast-pass on every ticket that we had, for the Indiana Jones ride. It's the one ride, in the park, that Reagan and Lily aren't tall enough to ride. Again, I kicked myself for not following the game-plan outlined in the article I read about how to do Disneyland in a day!
Nick and Garrett went off to ride Indiana Jones, and I believe, the original plan had been; that Katie and I would go when they were finished? Since we had 6 fast-passes for that ride! While Katie and I were waiting for Nick and Garrett, we decided to take the kids on the Jungle Cruise. Nightmare! The line is deceptive. It was much longer than it appeared. The kids were all horribly behaved. I can't blame them. They had been roasting in the sun, all day. Nick and Garrett finished on the Indiana Jones ride, before we were done with the Jungle Cruise, so they decided to go on Indiana Jones again. Katie and I were stuck on a boat with six devil-children. We consoled each other, by plotting to leave the kids with their father's, while we took our turn on Indiana Jones. Here's a picture of that ill-fated ride. The one that "did us all in!".
So, we haul the kids off the boat, and we corralled them in a roped-off corner near the Indiana Jones ride. By the time Garrett and Nick finally arrived, our "window of opportunity" to use the fast passes for Indiana Jones had passed! Argh! The Insanity!
We threw up our hands in defeat, and took the kids to toon town. Elsa and I snuck off and rode a few rides. And then we called it a day.
On the shuttle back to the parking lot, where our car was; Elsa kept saying that she wanted Chicken Nuggets. So, we detoured at a McDonald's Drive-thru. In the short period of time between placing our order, and driving to the window to pick it up, Elsa fell asleep. We put her in bed. Sometime during the night, she must have fallen out of bed. Apparently, it didn't phase her, this is how we found her the next morning:
Disneyland is not the happiest place on Earth. We had no desire to go back for a second day. In fact, Nick and I agreed that we wouldn't go back for another 5 years, and even then, we'll probably do DisneyWorld, rather than Disneyland.
Day Four: We had breakfast at Coco's Family Restaurant. It was a little higher quality than Ihop, I thought. But nothing too awesome. Then, we spent the day at Seal Beach.
Cohen got a little too close to the water at one point, and a wave got him. He hated it. And kept clear of the water for the rest of the day. Reagan, on the other hand, headed straight for the water, and sobbed when we told her it was time to go home, hours later.
Elsa vacillated between getting in the water, and sunbathing on the beach.
The Ruby's diner, at the end of the pier, was closed while they made structural repairs. I guess I'm glad we didn't eat there. The day before, Nick's belt had broken. So, while Cohen napped in the stroller, I walked down main street, perusing the shops in hopes of finding Nick a new belt. I probably went in to a dozen stores. Only one, of which, had a men's belt for sale. And it was $80. Sorry Nick, no belt for you.
That night, Katie and I took advantage of the free on-site laundromat, and did multiple loads of laundry. I love not having to do mountains of laundry when you get home from vacation!
Day Five: We checked out of the Condo (Katie couldn't get it for our last night in CA); and we headed down the coast to San Diego. We took the kids to Sea World. This probably would have been the winner of "the best day of vacation"; but I woke up that morning, and I knew I was getting sick. It started with a sore throat, and as the day progressed so did my feeling of crumminess.
The day wasn't too hot. Sea World wasn't too packed. And Sea World has some surprisingly good eats!
We fed the Sea Lions. I'm surprised that the girls didn't mind touching the fish.
We rode all of the rides. At Sea World there were never any lines to get on the rides.
Did I mention that we enjoyed the food there? There was a bakery, that was so good! And you can never go wrong with a smoked Turkey leg. Elsa and I shared one for lunch.
The kids loved the shows. We saw Shamu (and her new baby!), and the show with the Seal, and Otter. Seeing the animals up-close was a treat too.
Cohen LOVED seeing the walrus.
We posed with Elmo. Again, no long lines. NoThankyouverymuch, Disneyland.
When they day was over, we drove to Oceanside; and had dinner at one of our favorite "hole in the wall" joints, Harbor Fish and Chips. We had lots of fried clams, and fried pineapple.
And finished things off by going to the ice cream parlour.
For our last night on vacation, I had booked two 1-bedroom units at the Residence Inn, in Los Alamitos. We arrived late. When Nick came back to the car, after checking us in; he told me that the rate was $11 less than what I had told him it would be. I was puzzled about this, until we walked in to our room, and discovered they had given us a Studio unit, rather than the 1 bedroom. The Sims' found the same thing. I think they were hoping we would think an $11 discount would be OK for putting us in a smaller room? So, we dragged our bags, and our children back down to the front desk, to get the rooms I had reserved months earlier. Nick went back and forth with the desk clerk for several minutes. Apparently, the hotel was over-booked, and they didn't have any 1, or 2 bedrooms left. I was too tired and sick to be irate. In the end, she gave us the studio unit for free.
We had a 10AM flight of Long Beach, the next morning. So, the night before, I got online to see if I could change to a later flight; so that we could sleep in a little bit. I pulled up our itinerary, and found that Nick, Reagan, and I were still on the same itinerary; but that Elsa had been put on a different itinerary?! And, that they had put her in a seat 12 rows behind us, on the plane!
I swear, Elsa is a cursed traveller! This same thing happened when she was 9 months old, and we went to New York, and when she was 16 months old, and we went to Orlando they put her on a totally different flight than the rest of us!
Anyway, there were only 3 seats available on a flight that left later in the day, and we needed 4. So, I shut down the computer and did nothing. I figured we'd sort it out at the airport. The ticket agent at the Long Beach airport was so nice. She re-assigned all of our seats, so that we could sit together, and even upgraded us. It was nice to have more legroom on the flight home.
We enjoyed our time with the Sims'. It's fun that their family make-up is identical to ours. The fact that Cami and Elsa are both two-year-olds isn't a picnic, but I know it will get better. Cohen tried to play with Steele:
"Tried" being the operative word in that sentence. Give it another year, and I think they will get along really well.
It wasn't too sad to leave the Sims', this time around. Because, we will be heading to New Mexico, for four days, to visit with them, over the Independence Day Holiday.
