Newport Beach Morning

Fog, sand, surf, rocks, waves--love the beach!

The west coast Shake Shack.

Memorable Quotes for the ride home:

"I don't want you to tell me when to come home. This is my life..." Erin and Krysta, two children who can't yet pay for their own lives, singing loudly and with feeling to Billy Joel on the radio.

"If bunnies didn't have ears they'd be called hoppity dogs!"  Rachel, confined to the back seat and on too much sugar.

"Go now or forever hold your pee." Camille with help from the rest of us.

California Adventure

 "Cheer up Rachel! We're going to California Adventure!"

 "Uh, did you see the signs? You're leading me into danger!"

Posted at the tram stop at the entrance to both parks.  California, the obsessively safe state.

"Run away! Run away!" And so we did. Straight into the park.

One of the girls' main goals was to see Aladdin. We last saw this on a trip with the cousins during a pouring rainstorm.  All the girls love Aladdin!

Memorable Quote from a 30 something year-old man on our Tower of Terror ride: "Did you hear that little 6 year-old girl screaming? That was actually me!" 

 Radiator Springs! If I could live in Disneyland, it would be here.

I love neon lights. They remind me of growing up on St. George Boulevard.

We were too late into the park to get Fast Passes for Radiator Springs Racers. Luckily, I had heard about the benefits of the "single rider line." The regular line where we would all get to ride together was HOURS long. The single rider line, where we may or may not be in the same car depending on the regular line's groups, was about 30 minutes long. Single rider it was!

At one point the ride broke down and all of us, except for Rachel and Camille, were stuck waiting in the middle of the ride for about 15 minutes. We had long enough take pictures. (An advantage to this trip was that everyone had a phone and those were our cameras. I wasn't the only photographer.)

When we got to the end of the ride, we were told to stay on. Because of the break-down we were able to go again. And guess what? It broke again. This time for only about 5 minutes. We weren't offered a third ride and we didn't want one. We loved the ride and came back later, but had enough of it for the moment.

We ate at the California Trattoria for lunch. Buying lunch there gave us automatic entry into a VIP section to watch World of Color. Krysta, apparently being too short to see much on our previous visit and not remembering how cool it was, didn't understand why we would want to even worry about World of Color. Now she knows why we made such an effort. I didn't video or take pictures because I wanted to just enjoy the show. Some things were added and it was as amazing as usual. Being closer and having a better view was also great.

We waited in a long line to get on the Toy Story ride. We hoped it would be fun and it was. Lots of things to shoot and see all in 3D.

Roller coaster! Camille's face! Oooooh!

California, you are an adventure!

Disneyland

I've always wanted to go to Disneyland in the fall to see the Halloween decorations. We loved seeing our old favorites with a Halloween twist.

Memorable Quote: "We don't sell THAT here!!" The semi-shocked reaction of the lady in the Disney health clinic when I inquired about the possibility of buying Sudafed for my developing cold. Yes, I know it's used to make meth, but I only wanted two pills!

Yo, ho, yo, ho a pirate's life for me!

Memorable moment: Realizing the true message behind the story. Pinocchio turns into a donkey after too much acting and video games. Oh the irony Disney!

None of my girls would pose with the princess, so I have a picture of this random child instead.

Iron Men

The other thing I've always wanted to do at Disneyland was eat at the Blue Bayou. Riding in the pirate boats, I'd look over at the diners and want to join them. As a kid we never went because it was too expensive. As an adult we never went because it was too expensive and our children wouldn't have eaten anything there anyway. But this was the year. So fun to finally go inside and sit down. This trip made me a fan of having a nice sit down meal in the park. Having time to sit and eat a good meal in the middle of a big day with lots of walking is a good way to recharge, relax and be ready for the rest of the day.

The Haunted Mansion!

I could never get a good picture of these two, but I loved their costumes!

Memorable Quote:  "Last time to take pictures of Disneyland. Yeeaah!" Our tram driver on the way back to the parking structure.

Normally I'm not a big fan of man-made places, but Disneyland is the exception. Can't wait to come back someday--maybe to see the Christmas decorations!