The So Cal Trip

Finally, I'm getting to my post about our California trip. I know you probably don't want to read a travelogue-- most of you have been to Disneyland already, so you don't need a play-by-play of everything we did. But I will hit some of the highlights of the trip so I can still remember them later (my memory seems to be about as good as a sieve these days).

MONDAY:

A late start in the morning but eventually we got out on the road. The drive was uneventful without too much complaining on the part of the kids, but by the time we reached our hotel Terence and I were exhausted. The kids, however, were revved up and ready to go. Literally bouncing around the room. Trying to get the kids to go to sleep that night made me want to cry. Or scream. Or a combination of the two at the same time.

TUESDAY:

We got up early to do our "Magic Morning" this day. The big attraction for most people right now was the newly renovated Star Tours, so we sped right to that first (like almost everyone else). With good reason too-- the night before, the stand-by wait for Star Tours had reached about 4 hours. No way were we going to attempt that. Terence and the older three kids went right in. In the meantime, K and I and Grandma went on Buzz Lightyear's Astroblasters several times in a row. K seemed quite baffled, probably wondering what alternate universe we had stumbled into.

We spent the whole day at Disneyland, and strangely enough, the ride that got the most enthusiasm from my kids was this:

(Next time maybe we'll just go save the money and find a carousel to ride closer to home.)

My feet gave out about 4 in the afternoon so we called it a day and went back to our hotel. Later that evening we took the kids swimming, even getting Terence in the pool. A miracle!

WEDNESDAY:

We went to Disneyland first (and last this day) and sandwiched California Adventure in the middle. J had a literal crazy meltdown in the opening room of the Haunted Mansion and had to be taken out. (K seemed mostly bewildered rather than frightened, like he did during most of the rides he went on.) Everybody but K and I went on Splash Mountain-- I was so jealous (it is one of my favorites), but my kids were all terrified by the last drop. B, the most adventurous of our crowd, told me that it was too scary now, but she'll go on it again when she's a teenager. The other two seemed determined never to be tricked into such a thing again!

My favorite part of the trip to California Adventure was riding on Soarin' Over California. If you haven't been on it, basically you ride in these seats that get lifted a little bit off the ground and you watch a movie that makes it feel like you are hang gliding over California. J started his normal panicking as soon as we had to get belted in (this from the boy who had taunted his sister in line that she was a scaredy-cat). As soon as the movie started going, J really went crazy. "We're going to crash!" he shrieked repeatedly, any time we appeared to swoop down over the ground. When we went in for a dive toward the ocean, he pulled his knees all the way up to his chest so his feet were on his seat, for fear that he would hit the water! The whole time, on the other side of me, B kept yelling, "It's just a movie, J! It's just a movie-- it's not real!" I've never had such an entertaining time on a ride!

In the afternoon, my mom and Terence convinced B to go on the Tower of Terror with them. (The other two flatly refused). I wasn't there, but they said that they've never heard anything like B's piercing screams during that ride. And when they got off, B firmly told me she is never, ever going on that ride again, not when she is a teenager, not even when she is an adult!

THURSDAY:

Thursday Grandma and Grandpa went home so we were on our own with the kids. We spent the morning hitting a few more Disneyland rides and then finished the day at California Adventure. The good thing was that we finally found a ride that got M excited: the Rockets in Tomorrowland. Go figure! Terence had the camera this day and apparently he got picture-happy on the Casey Jr. train as well the Storybook boats. I have all the little miniature displays very well documented!

This was K's favorite day. He got to get out of the stroller a lot, exploring both the island (it used to be Tom Sawyer Island, now it's something piratey) and later the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail.

By the end of the day, pretty much everyone was exhausted and ready to call it quits. Except B. She wanted to go on the Grizzly River Run, but the other kids refused, and Daddy didn't really want to get soaked just in time to ride the tram home. I would have gone with her! I love rides like that-- but it was another one not recommended for expectant moms. Grrr. Anyway, we'll just have to go back. I told M and J that they had gotten off easy this trip because if I had been able to go on all the rides myself, they simply wouldn't have been allowed to chicken out of so many.

Thursday night K decided to liven things up by falling and slicing his head open on some of the furniture. Fortunately, though he gave himself a huge bump and ruined several towels and one of my four maternity shirts, it wasn't too serious. Never a dull moment though.

FRIDAY:

We traveled back down the coast and spent the morning poking around at Oceanside Harbor, one of my most frequented beaches when I was a kid. It was cold though. The morning was misty and overcast, and the kids were appalled to find out how cold the water was. (You have to consider that these are desert-bred children.) They still had fun searching for shells and such.

In the afternoon we visited with Aunt Shameka and Uncle Sidney (Terence's brother and sister) before heading up to Temecula to stay with some good friends of ours, the McClures.

SATURDAY:

This was the drive home day. What can I say? It was long, and returning back to the desert heat was a serious shock to the system. But eventually we made it. It was an exhausting trip for me but worth it. (I realized this trip that every time we've gone back to visit California since we moved, I've been expecting a baby. Next time we go back to California, I refuse to be pregnant!!!)