(More than)A FIVE years of Trips! -- TR Started! Day One - updated 6/10

[tksbaskets]

Tonight, I just had to report...

I officially became a member of D23!​

I like my D23 membership. I think you'll enjoy it too. I just got a nice package yesterday as a matter of fact.

 

[hurleysweety]

I like my D23 membership. I think you'll enjoy it too. I just got a nice package yesterday as a matter of fact.

I can't wait to get my card! It says I'll have to wait 3-4 weeks so that means I'll be waiting til after I get back. I purchased it now because I want the $5 discount at the Disney museum in SF. Maybe I'll just print off my confirmation with the member number and they can take that? Hopefully!!

 

[tksbaskets]

I can't wait to get my card! It says I'll have to wait 3-4 weeks so that means I'll be waiting til after I get back. I purchased it now because I want the $5 discount at the Disney museum in SF. Maybe I'll just print off my confirmation with the member number and they can take that? Hopefully!!

Hi,
I'm pretty sure they'd take that. We have had a lot of fun collecting the D23 exclusive pins too at the parks

 

[hurleysweety]

More Plans!

On Tuesday, we plan to wake up and get out of SF as I'm sure we'll be ready for a more relaxing vacation experience. I will also be super eager because we will be driving down the Pacific Coast Highway! (A little Mamas and Papas, anyone?)

She been hummin', thumbin'
Hitchin' and wishin'
For a good day
On Pacific Coast Highway

First stop on the highway, Monterey! I just want to step out, see the ocean and take a few pictures. Then we'll stop a few miles south in Carmel and see the pretty cottages and cute little town.

Next we hope back in the car and down to San Simeon because we can't drive by without seeing the Hearst Castle. I don't think we'll go on the tour, which is the only way to see the castle and also we will want to continue on our way pretty quickly. But since I have a dream to visit Scotland and Ireland one day (because if you visit one, why not visit the other?!), I can't pass up the chance to see a castle in person, ya know, one that wasn't fabricated by Disney!

After that we'll drive by Cambria and then end up in Morro Bay. At this point we'll only be about 100 miles from Santa Barbara. Also, the Pacific coast highway goes inland at this point...boring!

(Why yes, that is a Volcano in the background there...)

Then we arrive in Santa Barbara, check-in to the Hyatt and then find a nice place to eat downtown, where I've been assured that parking is easy to find.

Our Hotel

Downtown Santa Barbara

Wednesday I plan to sleep in, lounge by the pool or beach, then in the afternoon take a stroll through the downtown area, walk out on the pier and grab a bite to eat at a casual spot before heading back to our room and trying hard to relax despite the fact that we'll be in Disney the next day!

The best part of staying in Santa Barbara, besides its natural beauty, is that it is 2 hours from Disney - yup, only 2 hours to get there on Thursday morning! Two hours to get to the Mickey and Friends parking garage, park our car, take the tram, and get out APs! Then back to parking garage and over to GCH where we pull up to the lobby and we get to say, "Hi, we're checking in for three nights" and I try really hard to hold back tears because this, this is going to be the best way to end the best vacation ever.

How can you drive up and not become emotional??!

And then I'll try hard to not be disappointed that we are stuck in some room way far away from where we requested, probably not with a king either. I'll ask if there are upgrades available, and maybe there will be? But it is a weekend, so alas, don't want to get my hopes up. But it is our anniversary and we couldn't be more excited to spend it in Disneyland and I'll just be happy to be there. It has become the main theme of all our conversations for the past week. I can't imagine what this next week will bring in anticipation - we leave in less than a week to start our adventure!!!!!

Oh and one more thing, on Friday, the 31st, our actual anniversary I have arranged for a special surprise for my DH with some great help. I will reveal those details in the trip report, as I don't want to ruin the surprise at all. In fact, I don't plan to tell anyone (not family, not friends, no one!) and it is absolute torture to keep it all a secret!

I don't know if I'm more excited for the food, the attractions, or the hotel at Disney. But it is a GREAT problem to have.

That's all for now!

 

[hurleysweety]

Hi,
I'm pretty sure they'd take that. We have had a lot of fun collecting the D23 exclusive pins too at the parks

I can't wait to be eligible for special merchandise. Like I need more stuff to buy...

 

[tksbaskets]

I can't wait to be eligible for special merchandise. Like I need more stuff to buy...

Yes, but this is EXCLUSIVE so it's better stuff At least that's what I tell myself.

 

[hurleysweety]

WE LEAVE IN FIVE DAYS!

 

[tksbaskets]

WE LEAVE IN FIVE DAYS!

Wahoo!!!

 

[hurleysweety]

Tonight I went and got to see one of my students perform in Aladdin. She is was great! The story was actually Aladdin Jr. and is geared towards kids so the it featured five narrators and the girl I know was a narrator and did a lot of singing and dancing - such beautiful voice. I also knew another girl who was a part of the ensemble and danced too. Also the genie was actually a girl and she was hilarious. Her voice was great. Some people are just made for the stage. And I'm totally biased, but the student I know could totally work for Disney someday.

It was a wonderful way to spend a weekend before our trip!

Left to right: Me, my co-leader of the sophomore girls, our student in the play, another student and also the daughter of the third sophomore leader on the left.

(In case anyone is wondering, I'm not a teacher. DH and I volunteer in our church's high school group and I have been since I finished high school, 9 years ago. I call them "my kids" or "my girls" and some of them that have graduated high school still come and visit me when they're home from college. You might hear about them in future trip reports someday I hope! Its been a dream to take them to DLR with me! )

 

[hurleysweety]

I need your help, readers!

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=48454380#post48454380

 

[hurleysweety]

I am the complete opposite of ready. I'm at work all day, then home for a bit, before you know it, it'll be 9pm and I'll still have a list a mile long to complete.

Top Priorities
-Make Dinner, go to gym and yoga class tonight
-Laundry then packing, most clothes are packed, but its the little things that I always seem to forget
-DH Anniversary Surprise Scavenger Hunt (I've started writing the clues and making them rhyme, this is a fun task!)
-Print off AP Vouchers, Directions to SF from Valencia, Directions to Santa Barbara from SF, and Directions to GCH from Santa Barbara
-Call Disney reservations to make sure our AP rate is the best available and check for any AP promotions (free character breakfast has expired, hoping for new one!)
-DONE!Cancel Santa Barbara Hotel, as luck would have it, it is going to work out for us to stay at my boss' wife's sister's house which is in this little gated community across from the beach in Rincon point. [/B]
-Figure out Disney Dining reservations
-Call friend who lives out near Santa Barbara to see if we can meet up for coffee or something
-Breathe and relax, its vacation!
-Clean, clean, clean that darn house
-Buy snacks for car ride.
-Rent movies for iPad.
-Find camera...lol, so used to using my phone!
-Print off D23 membership number for discount on museum tix in SF
-Print off information about Muir Woods, Sausilito, Marin Highlands for Saturday in SF
-Print off the info for Presidio, Golden Gate Park, Ferry Building, etc.

 

[hurleysweety]

Scavenger Hunt is DONE! Took me two hours to write up. Now I just have to print, cut and I'm ready!

(Oh...and I should probably get back to that packing thing...)

 

[tksbaskets]

Scavenger Hunt is DONE! Took me two hours to write up. Now I just have to print, cut and I'm ready!

(Oh...and I should probably get back to that packing thing...)

I always pack like the Tazmanian Devil the night before I go. Who needs sleep anyway??

 

[hurleysweety]

Just wanted to update and let you all know we are just having the most wonderful vacation. Thanks for reading!

 

[tksbaskets]

Just wanted to update and let you all know we are just having the most wonderful vacation. Thanks for reading!

Can't wait to hear all about it!

 

[hurleysweety]

And the trip report begins!

Day 1 - Honestly, it was a rather boring day. But we were FINALLY on vacation!! We left from Phoenix around 10am. We got our rental car as soon as the place opened - 8am, but I was not finished packing. I had spent more time planning the vacay than I had spent packing and paid for it big time by completely over-packing in every sense of the word. It was embarrassing. We arrived in Valencia at the Hampton Inn Santa Clarita, which I got on Priceline for under $80/night using their express deals. No bidding involved - great service! When we got changed for dinner I realized that I was missing an essential item - but then google told me they had a store nearby! Woohoo! I had done research before we left and found a place for dinner at a nice mall/shopping area(with the store I needed, yay) that was only a few miles away. It was called Lazy Dog Cafe and is a chain in Southern California. We enjoyed the meal and we really liked the mall area. We went into the mall and discovered that while the store was there, it was being renovated for a June 2013 opening. Dang it! So thanks again to google, I found a store on the way to San Francisco, and we made a slight detour. So all was good on that front! Here are the few pictures from our first boring over-night travel stop. Hahaha!

DH took my new neck pillow exclaiming, "Hey, why did you only get one" and I laughed because clearly they are made for sleeping!

The mall area

My dinner - It was a Mediterranean plate with grilled chicken, pesto, tomatoes and lettuce with balsamic, and two great helpings of sun dried tomato hummus and fresh pita bread. These are my favorite foods. The only thing that would had made it better is cucumbers and feta.

Quick selfie of our first night

Coming Up Next: Our drive and first night in San Francisco!

 

[ttig34]

Nice start. Looking forward to hearing more.

 

[Nahoku]

Looked through a few of your trip reports and loved them! Can't wait to read through your current one.

 

[hurleysweety]

Oh yes! I have readers! I will continue posting this weekend. I am determined to get through this report so I can finally say I completed more than 1!

 

[hurleysweety]

Nice start. Looking forward to hearing more.

Thank you!

Looked through a few of your trip reports and loved them! Can't wait to read through your current one.

Thanks! And thanks for reading past ones too - I like to know that someone is reading through those countless pages! They are funny to read for me because I look back and read about things that I was worried about or couldn't make a decision on and then it always works out in the end.