Home At Last!

This morning we returned from our eight day adventure to Southern California. We are exhausted and I have quite the sun rash on my arms, but I even got James to admit he had fun today. The next several posts are the highlights of each of our stops along the way.

We started out our trip, flying to Orange County on Saturday, October 11. We arrived at about 9:30 in the morning and headed straight for Disneyland. We will never do that again. Combine the stress of last week (more about that in a future post) with the stress of packing and the stress of getting up early and getting to the airport and we were all too tired to really enjoy our day.

We spent most of Saturday at California Adventure riding the various rides there. We LOVE Soarin' over California! It is the best ride ever. I was sitting next to some ladies that had never been on it before. That's the best because they really started ooing and awing over everything. A.J. really wanted to catch the golf ball, but didn't. (Of course, it's just a movie so there is no golf ball.) We also decided to stand in line for Toy Story Mania. It's also a great ride. It's kind of like Astroblasters where you are shooting things, but the games change everytime you move. And it's 3D. Worth the wait for sure! We did make it over to Disneyland and went on the Jungle Cruise and Pirates. But we were too tired to do anything else and went back to the hotel. We heard the fireworks going off, but were too tired to even go look and see if we could see anything.

Sunday we had early entry and took full advantage. Because we stayed at the Disneyland Hotel, we even got to ride the Monorail. A.J. discovered his favorite ride at Disneyland is the Matterhorn. We spent the day getting on all the rides we could before the lines got too long. By that evening, the crowds were so big and we were so tired that we sat on a bench near the castle and waited two hours for the firework show. We also bought A.J. a Mickey Mouse Light Saber that he just loves. He played with it for those two hours while we waited for the fireworks and kept the family next to us pretty entertained. This is my fourth time at Disneyland with the same firework show, but it is AMAZING so it's well worth it.


Monday was so windy. The Santa Ana's were blowing hard and shut down a bunch of rides at both parks. When the park opened, we rushed over to ride Finding Nemo. If you've been to the park in the last year, you know that this ride routinely has a 60 minute wait even just a few minutes after the park opens. We were in the first group that got on submarines and it was still 30 minutes before we got on the subs and went for the ride. I'll never wait for it again, but it is a cute ride.

It was really fun to be there in October when the park was all decked out for Halloween. The Haunted Mansion is transformed into the Nightmare before Christmas this time of year and it is very cleverly done. I am glad we rented it and let A.J. watch it a few times so he understood what was going on. They also have Woody's Halloween Roundup going. Over all, it was a great time to go. Although maybe not on the weekend because of the crowds and the weather could have been a bit better.

But I got my churro and my Dole whip so all is good. That is why I go to Disneyland ya know.

It was also our first time staying on property. The Disenyland Hotel was conveinent but you are really paying for the location, not the rooms. They were just fine, but nothing too spectacular. But it was really cool when Chip was standing over by the elevator one morning.I also forgot to mention that we finally saw the prize patrol, not once but twice. This is my fourth trip to the park since they started the prize patrol thing and I've never seen them before. This time we saw them twice. Once when we were leaving the hotel the first day and again the last day in Downtown Disney. We got a "Year of a Million Dreams" lanyard and pins and also a "Year of a Million Dreams" mouse ears. Not too shabby.

Read on to hear about the rest of our vacation. I'll post more about our other big news tomorrow.

Moving Day

Tuesday was moving day. We spent the morning at Downtown Disney eating breakfast at the Rain Forest Cafe and blowing a wad at World of Disney.

Then we waved goodbye to Mickey and headed south the San Diego. We thought we left late enough to miss traffic but we didn't account for an accident in San Clemente that shut down I-5 or for a fire on Camp Pendleton that might as well have shut the freeway down. A.J. got car sick on the way down and we had to make another unscheduled stop to take care of that.

Our first stop in San Diego was Old Town. James and I discovered the Old Town Mexican Cantina on our first trip to San Diego and have been back each time we've gone. They have fresh homemade tortillas that you can watch being made right in the front window. The only problem, somewhere in the last ten years, they decided they need to put cilantro in everything. Who came up with that idea anyway?

Then we checked in at the Bahia Resort. The resort is a bit on the old side, but we were extremely pleased with the size of the room and the location. I would stay there again. They have their own private beach on Mission Bay and it is just a short walk to Mission Beach as well.

That evening, A.J. and I walked to Mission Beach to watch the sun set. It was so beautiful. It ended up being the only time we spent on the beach. A.J. enjoyed putting his feet in the water and I enjoyed watching him and watching the sun slip behind the Pacific Ocean. Here are some pictures:

Shamu! Shamu!

Wednesday meant Sea World. James and I went to Sea World years ago and didn't really enjoy it. Let me just say, it is sooooooo much better with a kid in tow. Even though he was whiny and told us he wasn't going to have any fun.

James favorite show was the Dolphins but A.J. and I loved the Shamu show, Believe. Even though we sat in the "Wet zone" and didn't get a drop of water on us, it was spectacular.

There are only three "adult" rides at Sea World. Wild Arctic is a helicopter simulator ride that is kind of like a weak version of Star Tours. I got a bit sick, but not too bad. We got drenched on Shipwreck rapids (just fine since it was very warm that day). Then there is Journey to Atlantis. I don't even know how to explain it except that I read it is Splash Mountain meets the Matterhorn. Very different ride. Lots of fun and pretty wet. Here's A.J. and I on it:

They also have a new area with a Sesame Street theme with some kiddie rides and a big play area. And of course, a character greeting area where we got to give Burt, Ernie and Cookie a big hug!
All in all, a fun day. We will be going back to Sea World again someday, but not too soon.

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

Thursday was our San Diego Zoo day. I love this zoo! So many cool animals to see that our local zoo either doesn't have anymore (polar bears and hippos) or never had to begin with (Pandas and Koalas). The exhibits are amazing and you can just tell the animals are well taken care of.

This was my third time at the zoo and we actually got to see the Pandas this time. The first time we went, the line was too long. The second time we went, the exhibit was closed because there was a new Panda cub. I've seen them other places, but this time, there was no line and all the Pandas were out frolicking and eating.

A.J.'s favorites were the hippos. They were really active when we saw them, swimming around and playing with each other. We had to wait a few minutes to see the polar bears, but it was worth it when they came out and started eating and walking around. And of course, who doesn't love the Koalas. We even got to see a mommy and her little joey.

Here's some fun pictures from our day:

Just monkeying around

We warned A.J. to never smile at a crocodile.

It was a great day, with great weather and our feet weren't too worse for the wear. We went back to the hotel to swim and hang out and get to bed early to be ready for another day of adventure.

Come On Let Me Take You on a Habor Cruise

Friday was all about the San Diego Harbor and Beach.

We started the day on the USS Midway, a decommissioned air craft carrier that has been turned into a museum. This was all for James who loves military history. It was very interesting though and A.J. enjoyed it too. The tour goes through the bunking quarters to see how the sailors lived when they were on board. Can't believe how little *personal* space there is on such a big ship.

We took our turn being locked up in the brig:

A.J. took a turn in the *Boss* chair in the air traffic control center of the tour:



And a turn at the wheel: The hanger and the flight deck also have a few dozen aircraft. Of course, A.J. and James both loved that part. Here's A.J., ready for take off:

Next, it was on to the Harbor Cruise. Last time James and I visited San Diego, this was the favorite part of our trip. We took the two hour cruise that features both the North Bay and the South Bay. I love the North Bay with it's views of Downtown and Shelter Island and Point Loma. James loves the South Bay with it's views of the ship yards and Coronado. We also saw sea lions, lots of birds and several different airplanes and helicopters taking off from the US Naval airbase. A.J. thought the whole thing was great until we didn't get off the boat after the first half. Here we are at the front of the boat headed out toward Shelter Island:The USS Tarawa was coming into port while we were out on the cruise. We got to see it come all the way from the entrance to the bay, all the way down to where it went into the pier. We even got to see a Navy patrol boat push a sail boat out of the way that got too close to the ship. Here's James checking out the Tarawa.


After the Harbor Cruise, we went back to our hotel and walked to Belmont Park -- an old fashioned amusement park right at Mission Beach. We rode the old fashioned wooden roller coaster a couple of times and the bumper cars a few times. But A.J.'s favorite ride was this one that went up and down randomly called the vertical plunge: