I Left My Heart in San Francisco and my Clarisonic in San Diego-A Travel Novella-Update 7/1

[3Gsandme]

Good afternoon Disney Folks!

Big Daddy is off to mow the grass and I'm overlooking seven souvenir pint glasses and two weeks of mail so there's no better time for me to start my 2015 Trip Report!

If you want to read about the planning for this trip, please check out my on-going PTR

Introductions first, I suppose.
photo.JPG by hipmama2000, on Flickr

Big Daddy will be 40 on his next birthday. We will be married for 16 years this July and we have three little (well, not so little) girls together. He does Information Security for a large health insurer and telecommutes full time from our home in Ohio. Big Daddy has been to California for brief visits (mostly conferences) so while hes been n a few of our destinations, he's never really explored them as a tourist. Big Daddy is also the LEAST Disney person in our house.

Untitled by hipmama2000, on Flickr
I will be 39 in August. FOr the past 16 years I have been a stay at home mom and wife to our three daughters. THe Princess is 15, Littlebit is 8 and Baby Bee will be 6 in just a few days. I lead the Disney crazed charge at our house and our June trip was my sixth trip to a Disney property. I love to sew, read, take pictures and watch semi-trashy television.

Our trip this June was destination heavy and I didn't take NEARLY as many pictures as I should have. I will be reviewing each place we stayed and ate at so you can consider them (or not) if you're ever in a similar place.

Thanks for reading along!

 

[3Gsandme]

Chapter Listing:

Chapter 1: Overview
Chapter 2: We arrive in the North Woods
Chapter 3: We Catch the Sunset and kiss the kids goodbye!
Chapter 4: Wheels down in Vegas
Chapter 5: The Long, Long Road
Chapter 6: The Smell!
Chapter 7: It was foggy, but I like it like that

 

[3Gsandme]

Chapter 1: A brief overview (specifics in my PTR)

In 2010, Big Daddy and I packed up the girls and moved 300+ miles away from our home in Illinois. Big Daddy was born and raised in CHicagoland and I joined him after our marriage in 1999. However, in 2010 some events spurred us into motion and we completed a move to my home town in North East Ohio in June of that year.

Moving so far away from Big Daddy's family has come with its own set of good and bad things and one of the bad was how little time the girls got to spend with their Illnois family. Last year, Big Daddy's Aunt J offered to watch the girls for us for an entire week and Big Daddy and I drove down to spend a few, wonderful days in our happy place; the low country of South Carolina.

Untitled by hipmama2000, on Flickr

It was probably the best anniversary gift anyone could have given us and the even better news was that Aunt J was in for this summer as well! After a few phone calls, we learned that Big Daddy's Dad and Stepmom ALSO wanted the girls for a bit of an extended visit and our plan was hatched. We lined up our child care and made our reservations and booked ourselves for a ten day California road trip vacation!

On Friday, June 4 we waved goodbye to Juno...

...and pointed the car west for an adventure.

 

[momtohms]

Following along! My DH and I have 3 little girls too

 

[3Gsandme]

Welcome! It was such a treat to get some grown up time and we're so thankful for it.

 

[3Gsandme]

Well, Big Daddy is in the basement with a squeegee. We got some epic rains during our trip and our sump pump decided to stop working. We handed over $500 to the plumber this afternoon and most of the four inches of water that was standing in the basement has already been moved out. Thankfully, our basement is unfinished and everything we keep down there were sealed tightly in rubbermaid totes.

But, that means I have some time to share our first destination.

My husband's family has owned property on a private lake in Northern Wisconsin for just about seventy years. About six years ago, my in-laws put up a new cabin and the girls were lucky enough to spend the first half of their summer road trip vacation in the north woods. Eagle River is pretty well known throughout the area for summer cabins and winter snowmobiling and everything in between.

We departed Ohio early in the morning on the 4th because the trip to Northern Wisconsin takes 13 hours. Baby Bee was asking if we were there yet in Cleveland and I think we were all more than ready to get out of the car when we finally arrived. Of course, we had to go right down to the beach so the girls could check out the lake with Grandpa.



They've had tons of rain this year so the lake is up quite a bit. The girls amused themselves by skipping (or just throwing) rocks.


My inlaws have an amazing screen porch, so we we ate dinner outside on Friday night.

Saturday, we had some sun so it was time for swimming and then we hiked over to check on the eagle's nest that's just a few yards from my inlaws' cabin. I don't know if this picture accurately shows how huge the nest is. I'm pretty sure I could sleep in it full stretched out.



And we were lucky enough to see Mama in flight. She has babies in the nest again this year. I have to tell you, it's really thrilling to be sitting around and seeing the eagles in flight. They are MASSIVE birds. We had a brief scare when we saw one hunting and couldn't see the inlaws pug, but all was well. We also didn't like to let Baby Bee walk around much on her own. She's pretty big, but doesn't weigh a whole lot.



Saturday was my father-in-laws birthday so Big Daddy grilled steaks and I made crash hot potatoes for dinner. My mother-in-law and the girls baked and decorated the cake and we ate on the porch, again. I really love the screen porch and it's definitely on my "must haves" for our next house.

 

[momtohms]

Welcome! It was such a treat to get some grown up time and we're so thankful for it.

Oh I bet! My DH and I haven't had too many chances to get away kid free just yet, but the date nights and overnights we have had are always such a refreshing time!

 

[3Gsandme]

THe girl and I spent the afternoon refilling the kitchen. I hadn't really grocery shopped much in the week leading up to vacation because I didn't want to be buying and leaving a ton of stuff. We were totally out of food as of this morning, so we did a big Trader Joe's and Costco run that I really need to put away. However, Big Daddy is finishing up work so I have a few minutes to finish up the Wisconsin leg of our trip.

Sunday dawned rainy, so Big Daddy and the Princess took the opportunity to take some naps on the porch.





I tired as well, but a nap wasn't in the cards for me. Thankfully, the the weather took a change for the better and the little girls and Big Daddy were able to go sailing!

CSC_0126 by hipmama2000, on Flickr

We grilled ribs for dinner and then traipsed down to the lake to catch the sunset
DSC_0054 by hipmama2000, on Flickr

DSC_0056 by hipmama2000, on Flickr
and traipsed down again to catch twilight coming.

DSC_0123 by hipmama2000, on Flickr

We bought a few fire coloring packets when we were in town and the girls were really excited to use them. I was pretty impressed by how long they lasted.
Untitled by hipmama2000, on Flickr

The logs were pretty damp from so much rain and I think the effect would have been even better had the wood been dry and the fire bigger. It was okay, though.

We went to bed that night and were up early the next morning to prepare for Big Daddy and I to leave. I was pretty nervous leaving, mostly because Baby Bee can be kind of tough to deal with and she's REALLY attached to me. However, we made sure she was prepared, said quick goodbyes with kisses and hugs (quick goodbyes make for dry eyes) and left. The Princess reported no crying at all, so that was great news! Big Daddy and I grabbed breakfast at McDonald's on our way out of Eagle River.

We were lucky to be able to meet up with some friends and family that night, which was great. We used Uber for the first time to get from the far suburbs to our hotel which was a quick drive to O'Hare. Honestly, I liked Uber. It was a little awkward to sit in a car for so long with someone you didn't know, but it was pretty inexpensive and worked out well.

We stayed, that night, at the Westin O'Hare. Big Daddy booked it and I have no idea what it cost. We were only there a few hours, enough to check in and get some sleep before departing the Hotel at around 4:45 for our 7am flight. What I can say is that the service at the front desk was good, the room was updated and very clean and the bed was amazing. Seriously. The bed. So good. If you have to book into the Westin near O'Hare, I would absolutely recommend it.

 

[momtohms]

Gorgeous sunset on the lake! I love those fire coloring packets, I'll have to look for those

Staying at The Westin is a favorite of ours - DH and I have celebrated our engagement, a few anniversaries, and just little getaways for kid free date nights at the Westin locations in WA (and once in OR). We're staying for two nights at one when we go down to visit family in WA later this summer to celebrate our anniversary and my 30th birthday and I can't wait! We love their beds and always have great service, more often than not they've given us a complimentary room upgrade too. Sounds like a great way to start things off!

 

[3Gsandme]

Gorgeous sunset on the lake! I love those fire coloring packets, I'll have to look for those

Staying at The Westin is a favorite of ours - DH and I have celebrated our engagement, a few anniversaries, and just little getaways for kid free date nights at the Westin locations in WA (and once in OR). We're staying for two nights at one when we go down to visit family in WA later this summer to celebrate our anniversary and my 30th birthday and I can't wait! We love their beds and always have great service, more often than not they've given us a complimentary room upgrade too. Sounds like a great way to start things off!

I was really impressed with the Westin. I'm not sure if we've ever stayed at a main line Westin because we have a tendency to be Marriott people, but I'd stay at another main line Westin in a heartbeat! The beds are every bit as good as a Marriott bed.

 

[3Gsandme]

We have tickets to see Inside Out tonight. I'm super excited! We were supposed to go to the Drive In to see it on the last night of our trip, but Baby Bee ended up sick and we came home early. I need to throw together dinner, but since Big Daddy is still at work across the table from me, I have time to do an update.

Tuesday morning dawned dark and early as my alarm went off at 4am central time. We wanted to arrive at O'Hare by 5am and since it was just Big Daddy and me, we knew it wouldn't take us too long to get out of the door. I'd laid out our clothes and made sure everything was repacked the night before so we could just stuff our pajamas and toiletries into the suitcase and go.

We got to the lobby just in time to catch the shuttle and we were the only people on board. We were flying out of Terminal 3, which was a new experience for me. We tended to fly United out of O'Hare and I'd mostly been in terminal 1 (hello Rainbow Tunnel!) and 2. We checked in for the flight pretty simply, but our bag was four pound overweight! I was really stuck on what to do as I'd packed carefully without any spare. Thankfully, one of the customer service reps suggested removing a pair of Big Daddy's shoe and that knocked us down to 52 pounds which she said was fine (this will be important later).

Security, however, was pretty bad. We got into the first security line and it was pretty long. I started to get nervous about us making the plan. An airport employee told us to go down the the next security check point, which we did, only to find out it was not only just as long but the TSA pre-screened check point. We were then directed to the far end of the terminal to check in and not long after we entered the line the TSA agent running the line shut it down to newcomers. I have no idea why. My best guess is that there were exit door that a swamped line would block because there wasn't room for the line to snake out. Thankfully, we were safely in the line and made it through security pretty quickly.

We picked up breakfast at Starbucks and then made it to the gate in time for boarding. The plane was full, which wasn't an issue, but Big Daddy was in the window seat and and the wall had support columns or something that further reduced the shoulder room, which is a big issue for Big Daddy. I sent the Princess a wefie to show her how much of my room Big Daddy was taking up. Once he could lay his seat back past the column on the side, he was more comfortable.

Untitled by hipmama2000, on Flickr

We landed on time and were able to quickly pick up our bags and then catch the shuttle for our rental car.

And that' where things got sticky again.

We rented a convertible from Dollar, which wasn't a problem, but when we got to the car rental center, the line for Dollar was just..huge. There's no other way to describe it. Of course, both of our phones were nearly dead and we even tried to change our reservation to get out of the line. I'm being totally serious when I say that after 45 minute, we'd only moved about 1/3 of the way through the line! Big Daddy did a little digging and realized that we made our reservation at the off site Dollar location. We caught a taxi and picked up the car and I'm certain we were on the road before we would have even gotten close to through the line. Big Daddy felt bad that he'd missed the pick up location, but I didn't mind.

I snapped a quick picture of the strip to send to the girls and we were on our way.

Untitled by hipmama2000, on Flickr

First, however, we stopped at Trader Joe's in Summerlin for water and snacks and then had lunch at BJ's. We had dinner at BJ's in Orlando and since we were both pretty hungry, we actually decided to stop for lunch. I had the Mediterranean Chicken Pita Tacos, which were delicious and Big Daddy had the Mahi Mahi fish tacos, which he liked as well. He also had a Hopstorm IPA, which he liked as well. We typically do NOT eat at chain restaurants while on vacation, but BJ's isn't local to us, so it's okay. It was nice to sit down and have a relaxing lunch.

Then, it was back to the car for our first planned stop.

 

[3Gsandme]

Good afternoon!

I have a few minutes to update here before the girls and I get busy on some chores and stuff. We went to see Inside Out last night and everyone loved it. Tomorrow is Baby Bee's sixth birthday, so we've had a pretty eventful week.

But for now, I want to go back to the convertible and Las Vegas.

When I was planning the itinerary for this trip, I had a bit of a problem because I wanted to see everything! Part of the reason we ended up at Disneyland was because I couldn't imagine being so close and not stopping and that was pretty much my reasoning for every destination choice I made. How could I be so close and NOT go? I noticed that if Big Daddy and I were willing to get into our hotel a little bit late on Tuesday night, that we could visit Red Rock Canyon in Nevada, Death Valley AND Yosemite in California. Big Daddy is always game, so we mapped out our route and were on our way.

Red Rock Canyon was great and while we didn't get out to do any hiking, we absolutely will when we return. The Cave Drawings at Red Rock Canyon are something I really want to see, but our time was limited, so we kept to the 20 minute driving loop and stopping at a few scenic turn offs. It really was beautiful.

Untitled by hipmama2000, on Flickr

Untitled by hipmama2000, on Flickr

DSC_0135 by hipmama2000, on Flickr

DSC_0149 by hipmama2000, on Flickr

After our brief turn off for Red Rock Canyon, we drove to Death Valley and drove the entire state park. Death Valley is one of the few paces on this trip I don't think I would return to. It was absolutely beautiful in its own way, but the barrenness and desolation just didn't speak to me. I can't explain it better than that.

From an interesting perspective, it was raining in Death Valley that day. Things were kind of foggy and hazy, which was cool, but it also smelled like sulfur the whole time, which wasn't as cool.

And this is when things went off the rails. Big Daddy and I drove the 395 all the way north to Lake Tahoe to stay in Sacramento for our first night. It was such a long drive. I don't regret doing it because it was beautiful once we exited Death Valley, but after our early morning flight we were both tired and it was just too long. We grabbed dinner in some tiny town and had to wind through Lake Tahoe in the pitch black, which isn't nearly as fun as it sounds.

Untitled by hipmama2000, on Flickr

We rolled into Sacramento at 1am local time. We were so exhausted and I felt bad that my "crazy idea" had turned out this way. Big Daddy, of course, was gracious about it, but I don't think I had ever been so ready to get into bed.

We stayed at the Hawthorn Suites in Sacramento and the bed was great. Otherwise, the room was pretty unimpressive. It was really dated and not well furnished. It was fine for one night, but I wouldn't opt to stay at that hotel again.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

this sounds like a great trip - some time with family but also time alone which is great to have every now and then. We haven't done a trip alone beyond a long weekend but hope to do something in the relatively near futures - actually thinking of doing an Adventure By Disney somewhere.

Those sunset and dusk pictures by the lake are very pretty!

I totally understand what you are saying - how can you be that close to something and not stop even if only for a few minutes! Plus now you know what places you want to see more of/spend more time in.

We actually wound up seeing Inside Out at our local (well, semi-local) drive-in on Sunday. We all enjoyed it though I think the kids were over excited about being up late and watching a movie outside so I think I need to see it again when I can focus on the movie more.

 

[3Gsandme]

this sounds like a great trip - some time with family but also time alone which is great to have every now and then. We haven't done a trip alone beyond a long weekend but hope to do something in the relatively near futures - actually thinking of doing an Adventure By Disney somewhere.

Those sunset and dusk pictures by the lake are very pretty!

I totally understand what you are saying - how can you be that close to something and not stop even if only for a few minutes! Plus now you know what places you want to see more of/spend more time in.

We actually wound up seeing Inside Out at our local (well, semi-local) drive-in on Sunday. We all enjoyed it though I think the kids were over excited about being up late and watching a movie outside so I think I need to see it again when I can focus on the movie more.

We were very lucky to have a Drive In about five minutes from our house when we lived in IL. I learned that, at a certain age, taking the kids was pretty useless. No one watched anything, they were antsy and kind of loud and while it was much less expensive to go to the Drive IN than see it at the theater, it was kind of a waste of money. We went two summers ago to see Monsters University and Despicable Me 2 and the kids (particularly the little ones who were 4 and 6 at the time) were able to sit and watch it so it was enjoyable.

We are VERY lucky to have family who WANT to keep all three kids. It's a blessing, really, for Big Daddy and I to be able to reconnect as a couple. I've already promised my dds that Daddy and I will watch their kiddos for them so they can vacation with their SOs. Also, I really think the kids spending time with the relatives apart from Big Daddy and I help grow the relationships in a way it wouldn't if we were there. Our little dd is super attached to me and when I'm around, she only wants to be with me or have me do things for her. Allowing her to depend on someone else is a good thing for her.

 

[3Gsandme]

Today is Baby Bee's sixth birthday! We have a fun day planned. The Princess is still sleeping and I need to shower, but the kids are happy playing Disney Rush on the Xbox, so I have some time for an update.

Big Daddy and I were up bright and early after our long day. We were surprising a very good friend who had moved to Sacramento five years earlier. We planned the surprise out with his girlfriend and he didn't know we were coming so we were really motivated to be out of the room on time.

Another complaint about the Hawthorn Suites? The shower. Well, not so much the shower, but the shampoo. The soap and conditioner were as you would expect, in travel/single use sizes on the sink but the shampoo was in a soap dispenser on the wall. I wasn't too put off, but when I tried to dispense it into my hand it was 80% water and smelled awful. Yuck. I ended up washing my hair with soap and using the conditioner.

We made plans to meet our friends at Bacon and Butter in Sacramento. There was a bit of confusion right before we showed up, but we ended up being able to pull off the surprise perfectly. Our friend was really REALLY surprised and it was great to be able to do it. Bacon and Butter is reviewed pretty well, but from my standpoint, it was fine. Not great, but okay. I had the Grilled Cheese Egg Benedict and it was just heavier than I liked breakfast foods. Their potatoes, however, were excellent. I'd certainly give them another try, but I'd order something a little lighter. The restaurant itself was also pretty small and there was a small crowd waiting for tables on a Wednesday morning, so I would expect it to be packed on the weekends.

Our plan for the day was to head to San Francisco to spend the day, which is what we did. However, it was raining. It was just sort of sprinkling at first, but it turned in to a full on rain as we got onto Pier 39. It didn't dampen my spirits! I wanted to see the Sea Lions! So, I did!
DSC_0157 by hipmama2000, on Flickr

Big Daddy and our friend hung back because, as it turns out, a raft of sea lions (no, that's actually what a group of them are called) smell terrible. They're so cute, but they're so stinky.



According to our friend, because there were so few on this day it actually wasn't that smelly. I'm sure I could handle it on a smellier day, but I don't think I could have stayed and watched as long.

Afterward, we checked out a few of the Piers. It was kind of cool, but I wasn't overly impressed. We'd been to the boardwalk at Wild Wood, New Jersey last year and, frankly, it was kind of the same. We browsed a few shops, but with the serious rain coming down exploring outside for too long just didn't seem very fun.

We made our way down to the Musee Mecanique which I really enjoyed. The Museum holds the world's largest collection of privately owned coin operated games, musical equipment and similar things with most being quite old. Admission is free and they have change machines to play the games and all of them work. I liked the games a lot, and our friend was interested in checking out all of the "nudie" films. There were quite a few of the fortune telling games, which I found interesting, but the huge mechanical shows were most interesting to me. I absolutely plan on taking the kid when we return to the West Coast in 2017. Most things to do in tourist places like this are pretty expensive, but you can have a pretty good time here with just a handful of quarters.

When we exited the museum, we were kind of done with the Pier area. We were a little short on time (more on that later) and I still needed to see the Golden Gate Bridge. We hopped into the cars and took off for the Presidio.

 

[3Gsandme]

We have been off the rails around here since the kids got out of school. Anyone else? In any case, the little girl have made a fort in the living room and the big girl is still asleep. I think we're going to have an at home day today so I can get some things done around the house.

After we left the pier in San Francisco, we headed directly to the Presidio to see the Golden Gate Bridge. I suppose most people would have preferred it on a sunny day, but I'm foggy sort of person and I thought it was even more beautiful with the fog and low clouds floating around.

DSC_0168 by hipmama2000, on Flickr

Parking was plentiful and we were able to jump down, easily, over the sea wall to the beach. Well, sort of easily. There was a HUGE final step and I made Big Daddy pick me up to get me off of it. Ahhh... the joys of being married to a short lady. I don't mind climbing up onto something, but something about climbing down freaks me out.

Anyhow, we walked along the beach there, a bit, and I used ALL my lenses.

I was also able to zoom in on Alcatraz.

DSC_0177 by hipmama2000, on Flickr

This is my favorite shot, but I have a serious love affair with pelicans.

DSC_0175 by hipmama2000, on Flickr

On our way into the parking lot we saw an amazing building and decided we HAD to check it out. We discovered that it was the Palace of Fine Arts and we toured the grounds for a bit.

DSC_0186 by hipmama2000, on Flickr

DSC_0205 by hipmama2000, on Flickr

It was really beautiful and I think I could have spent a TON More time there. IN fact, when we return to California with the girls in 2017, I'm thinking we will be doing a small photo shoot.

The sea gulls were bathing, which was adorable and there were swans and cranes as well. It was just this really beautiful, peaceful spot and I enjoyed my time there. It wsa free to park and free to tour the grounds, so I'd absolutely recommend it while you were in the area.

DSC_0196 by hipmama2000, on Flickr

We had to get back into the car because Big Daddy and our friend J had a hot date with a TV at a sports bar. It was game four of the Stanely Cup Finals and our entire party are HUGE Chicago Blackhawks fan. We were trying to find a brew pub for Big Daddy that was more local, but in the end we drove to BJ's in San Bruno. We were sure to be able to see the game, in this case, and it was near our hotel for the night. I'm happy to report that the Black Hawks won 2-1 but the Mediterranean Chicken Pita Tacos weren't quite as good as they were the day before. In any case, it was a great evening with our friends and we were all ready to check into the hotel and hang out some more.

Tonight's Lodgings were the Pacifica Beach Hotel in Pacifica. I booked through Orbitz and saved about $40 on the published rate of the room, so be sure to check that out before you book, if you're interested. The pool was being refurbished upon our arrival, so we weren't able to swim, which was fine. Each room has a large jacuzzi tub in it, but the Jacuzzi cannot be run out after ten to be courteous to others. Our friends used their tub and said it filled really quickly, but Big Daddy and I didn't get an opportunity. The shower was a little small, but the water pressure was pretty good. The beds were comfortable and we had a great view from our room in the third building.

DSC_0209 by hipmama2000, on Flickr

Big Daddy and I ran to Rite Aid for a few things and then joined our friends on their balcony where we were treated to an Owl hunting. I've never seen an owl in the wild, before, so I was pretty excited.

Overall, the rooms were clean, the bed was comfortable and we loved the building and location. I do think that some chairs on the long porch in front of our rooms would have made good sense, but it's not a reason not to get a room here. In fact, I'd love to return because the beach across the street looked so lovely and we didn't get a chance to get over.