Well folks, here we go....
PART 1!
Before I begin, I want to introduce you to my best friend for the last 12 years...
His name is Neil, (I stole this pic from his faceboook)
And of course there is your friendly neighborhood disneynerd! (ME)
As many of you were aware, last week CA was experiancing some massive storms that were moving east into AZ. Well the entire day before we left, it was pouring rain! I was terrified at the idea of getting behind the wheel and driving to CA in the rain. That night I went to bed watching the weather report, and praying that the rain was kind to us.
(Friday Jan. 22nd 2010)
The alarm on my phone went off at 3:00 AM. I groggily got up out of bed after only several hours of sleep and proceeded to get dressed. Taking a 5 hour energy, I finished the last bit of packing I had to do and woke up Neil. We packed up the car as quickly as we could, so that we could leave by 4 AM. Luckily, it was no longer raining in Chandler AZ, so we were trying to remain optimistic that the drive would be uneventful. After a quick stop at the bank, we found ourselves on the I-10 on our way to CA!
Most of the drive through AZ was dry. Occasionally, we drove through pockets of rain, but they ended quickly.
As we hit Indio, I handed Neil the camera and told him to start taking pictures...
Neil, had never seen the windmills, he was very excited!
As we got closer to Cabazon, the rain started up again, but it was not unbearable. We stopped off at the wheel in diner and had breakfast.
After our heart roadside breakfast of french fries and biscuits and gravy, we headed outside to play with the dinosaurs. We quickly realized that we would not be doing this long, as it was very cold and windy outside.
Neil was also impressed with how beautiful the California mountains looked covered in snow.
After completely freezing our butts off for a few pictures, we got back in the car, cranked up the iPod and the heat, and hit the road. Here is a shot of a lovely rainbow we saw as we were leaving Cabazon... if only it meant that the rain was over.
As soon as we hopped on the 60, the rain started coming down heavy! Traffic slowed down to about 35 as the water came down in sheets. I started to get really worried as we wrapped around the hillside freeway just before Moreno Valley. I could hardly see the road, but I managed to make it there without any issues... Neil put down the camera for most of this so he could offer a second pair of eyes for the road. But during the points where the rain let up, he managed to snap a few...
Neil and I breathed a sigh of relief once we saw the exit for Ball road!
As we turned down Magic Way, we jumped for joy once the downtown disney sign was in sight!
We pulled up to the
Disneyland Hotel, ready to get out of the car and stretch our legs. More importantly, we were ready to have some fun at the parks!
Upon checking in, we were presented with our birthday buttons and the keys to our room. I had originally paid for a standard view room but because we were celebrating our birthdays, they upgraded us to an upper level pool view in the main tower! I could not believe our luck! Neil had never stayed at the DLR and was really taken back by all of the Disney touches...
The view from our room!
Well ladies and gents... that concludes part 1. Don't worry, I have lot's more coming up.
Stay tuned for more and leave me lot's of comment love!