Our Very Own California Adventure!! July 30th-August 11th, 2008

[heatherleigh]

Wow, those trees are amazing! I have never seen anything like that in my life. It doesn't even look real lol. My boys would be thrilled to see a tree that big!

 

[Sarah84]

Lovely pictures

 

[mommaU4]

Great update. Love the pics. My kids always had fun in Sequoia too. It's so pretty up there.

 

[Disneygrl36]

Loving your Cali trip so far.
Wonderful pictures.......I love the winking seal. So cute.
I am so glad your plan B worked out & it gives you yet another reason to go back to do your plan A.
We have a California adventure coming up in December that includes 3 days in San Diego before our Adventures by Disney Backstage Magic trip so I can't wait to hear about your time in San Diego.

 

[MrsTomMorrow]

Just getting caught up! Can't wait to hear about DL!

 

[chickyann]

Wow, gorgeous scenery!!!

Looking forward to the rest of your trip report

 

[SoonerGirl]

Wow, those trees are amazing! I have never seen anything like that in my life. It doesn't even look real lol. My boys would be thrilled to see a tree that big!

They are amazing aren't they?! My boys are still talking about them. I'm so glad we were able to take them there!

Lovely pictures

Thank You!

Great update. Love the pics. My kids always had fun in Sequoia too. It's so pretty up there.

It's very pretty, and one of the things I liked best was the lack of people! There were times when we felt like we were the only family there!

Loving your Cali trip so far.
Wonderful pictures.......I love the winking seal. So cute.
I am so glad your plan B worked out & it gives you yet another reason to go back to do your plan A.
We have a California adventure coming up in December that includes 3 days in San Diego before our Adventures by Disney Backstage Magic trip so I can't wait to hear about your time in San Diego.

We really enjoyed San Diego, I'm sure you will too. Your Adventures by Disney trip sounds intriguing, are you planning on doing a trip report? I'd love to hear about it!

Just getting caught up! Can't wait to hear about DL!

We're almost there!

Wow, gorgeous scenery!!!

Looking forward to the rest of your trip report

Thanks!

I'm getting ready to start working on the next update.

 

[SoonerGirl]

Day 5, Sunday August 3rd

We ate breakfast in our room the next morning. There was a small fridge in there, so we had bought some grapes and canteloupe the night before to eat for breakfast. After we were nourished and showered and ready to go, we drug all of our stuff back to the car and loaded up (didn't we just do this?!!!!). I was really getting tired of moving to a different hotel every night and was ready to stay put for a little while!

DS took this picture of DH & I outside of our building, isn't this just a wonderful view?

Here is DS in front of our building

And we saw this little guy on our way to the car, he was having grapes for breakfast too!

I had forgotten to take a picture of the front of the lodge when we checked in, so I took one when we stopped to check out.

And behind the lodge

There were so many options for us to see that we had a hard time narrowing down what we were going to do (again, wish we had more time!). We decided first to do the Big Trees Trail. This is about a one mile loop. The path is paved and is a very easy walk. I was really amazed at how uncrowded this park was, I think we only saw about 3 people the entire time that we were on the trail, it was so peaceful! Just to prepare you, you are about to be bombarded with pictures of trees!

DS found this pinecone, and we couldn't believe how big it was! Later when we walked through the museum, they had one in there that was twice this big!

More trees

This trail was beautiful and very informative. There were markers along the way telling you about the area and about the sequoias, how they grow and what they need to survive. After we finished the Big Trees Trail, we walked across the street to the Giant Forest Museum, it's small, but still interesting.

Then we decided to tackle Moro Rock. Here is what the guide map said about Moro Rock: "A .25 mile trail climbs 300 vertical feet between the parking area and Moro Rock's summit (elevation 6,725 ft), a strenuous hike." Ummmmmm, am I sure I can handle this???

Here are a couple of photos from about half way up:

The climb ending up being about 350 steep steps with many steep paths between sets of steps. I had to stop a few times along the way, but I was able to haul my out of shape butt all the way up!

The view from the top, so worth the climb!

And my boys being silly on the way back down (I think they were making fun of their mother )

Once we left Moro Rock, we headed over to see the Tunnel Log, but I had to take one more picture of trees before we got there!

DH driving through Tunnel Log

And my boys standing in it

After that we decided that we had better go, we were down below 1/4 of a tank of gas and weren't sure how far the drive would be to the south gate. (A little tip: make sure you have plenty of gas before you enter the park because they don't sell it anywhere inside!) So, we reluctanly said goodbye to Sequoia National Park, but I wasn't too sad because that meant we were finally on our way to Disneyland!!

Up next, Disneyland!

 

[lovegrumpy]

Your pictures makes me want to get staioned abck in Cali for 4more yrs

 

[jaycns]

Another great installment! Once again, I love the tree shots. And also you pumping your arms in victory! Way to go! I don't know if I would have made it but I sure would have looked funny trying!

Thanks for the tip about the gas. I doubt that's something I would have thought of, but something that is very important to know.

"Up next,Disneyland" I have never been there and I cannot wait to hear all about it!!!

 

[MyGoofy26]

Advertising how well traveled you all are? Colorado, Oklahoma, Monterey . . .

Love the update! You're making me want to do a CA road trip!

 

[mt mommy]

I want to go to Northern Cali and explore now!! Looks like fun!!
Can't wait to hear more. Great TR!!

 

[pperfectmom]

Love the latest report. I think I may start planning a big road trip for us. Next year we already have tentative vacation plans(WDW and a beach vacation with DH's family ) but 2010 is our 10 year anniversary. I'm thinking maybe a long weekend somewhere without the kids(NO, NYC, Vegas or WDW) on our actual anniversary and then a big road trip later in the year to go out West with the whole family.

 

[Laneychris]

Great report and pics!

 

[SoonerGirl]

Your pictures makes me want to get staioned abck in Cali for 4more yrs

I don't blame you, I certainly wouldn't mind 4 years in Cali - it's a beautiful state!

Another great installment! Once again, I love the tree shots. And also you pumping your arms in victory! Way to go! I don't know if I would have made it but I sure would have looked funny trying!

Thanks for the tip about the gas. I doubt that's something I would have thought of, but something that is very important to know.

"Up next,Disneyland" I have never been there and I cannot wait to hear all about it!!!

I'm sure a couple people had a bit of a chuckle at my expense, but hey I did it!

We never even thought about filling up with gas before we entered the park. After we got in and I was looking at the maps they gave us, I noticed on one of them that it said there was no gas sold in the parks, and at that point it registered that I had seen a sign in front of a convience store that it was the last store before entering the park. Something should have clicked in my head then, but it didn't

I was all set to do my first Disneyland update this morning, but my photobucket won't come up I'll try again later today if I don't get too busy. We've got a birthday party this afternoon and then we are going to Oklahoma's season opening football game tonight. I love college football season!!

Advertising how well traveled you all are? Colorado, Oklahoma, Monterey . . .

You're so observant Carrie, I never even noticed that!

I want to go to Northern Cali and explore now!! Looks like fun!!
Can't wait to hear more. Great TR!!

Thanks! I'm already planning in my head where I want to go and what I want to see next time!

Love the latest report. I think I may start planning a big road trip for us. Next year we already have tentative vacation plans(WDW and a beach vacation with DH's family ) but 2010 is our 10 year anniversary. I'm thinking maybe a long weekend somewhere without the kids(NO, NYC, Vegas or WDW) on our actual anniversary and then a big road trip later in the year to go out West with the whole family.

Do it Marna!!! Being the outdoorsy people you guys are, your kids would love it!

Great report and pics!

Thank-you!

 

[jonsmom57]

Soonergirl, FYI-I subscribed to this thread, its awesome.

Did you visit San Diego as well? If so, where did you stay? I am looking forward to that installment as well.

Your hubby looks like a movie star, can't quite put my finger on who, but looks very familiar.

jonsmom

 

[SoonerGirl]

Soonergirl, FYI-I subscribed to this thread, its awesome.

Did you visit San Diego as well? If so, where did you stay? I am looking forward to that installment as well.

Your hubby looks like a movie star, can't quite put my finger on who, but looks very familiar.

jonsmom

Thanks for the compliment on my trippie!

We did go to San Diego too, for 4 nights at the end of our trip. We stayed at the Marriott Hotel & Marina, it was a very nice hotel. I was looking for something with a resort type feel to it and the Marriott fit the bill quite nicely!

 

[jonsmom57]

Was the Mariott close to Seaworld/The zoo?

Your photos are awesome too - its going to be hard to decide which picture to use as a holiday card

 

[SoonerGirl]

Day 5 continued, we finally made it to Disneyland!!

After what seemed like an eternity in the car we finally arrived in Anaheim. The drive was pretty easy until we started getting close to LA, then the traffic was just horrendous at least it was compared to what we are used to! I was so happy to finally see our hotel. We were staying at the Carousel Inn & Suites. This was a compromise with the Disney Grump. I wanted to stay at the Disneyland Hotel, but Grumpy didn't want to spend the extra money to stay on site. He wanted to stay away from the parks and just drive in everyday - ummmmm, NO!! So, I convinced him to stay in a non Disney hotel within walking distance to the parks.

I had reserved a kids suite, and first impressions of our choice were very good. The kids were very excited to have their own room! And it was decorated so cute!

Here are a few more pictures of our room

I was so tired of living out of a suitcase, so since we were staying put for a few days I took some time to unpack and get settled, then we grabbed our park tickets and headed out. We stopped and ate dinner at the Quizzno's in our hotel, then we were off to Disneyland! We arrived at the park a little after 6:00, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that it wasn't terribly busy. I had two goals for tonight, one was to see the fireworks and the other was to see Fantasmic. I've never seen Fantasmic at MGM, I've meant too, but something always seems to come up. So, I was determined to see it here!

I guess I was too busy playing tourist on this night, because I don't have hardly any pictures. That is so unlike me, don't know what I was thinking!

We went directly to Adventurland so that we could ride.....PIRATES, of course!! On our way we stopped and got a fastpass for Indiana Jones, then we waited all of about 5 minutes for Pirates. Let me just say, WDW so got ripped off on this ride! It's much longer in DL and it has two drops instead of one! Pirates is one of my favorite attractions at WDW, and the one at DL is even better

After Pirates we rode Haunted Mansion which was also a very short wait, then we headed into Critter Country. The kids wanted to ride Splash, but I didn't want to get wet. There was no wait for Pooh, and since my big boys were feeling like little kids they didn't object to riding it (once!).

Then we did BTMRR, again with a minimal wait - I was loving this, arriving so late I honestly didn't think we would get much in, but we were having great luck with the wait times! Here are a couple of photos I took when we got off of BTMRR

I thought this little waterfall was so pretty

We took the path behind BTMRR into Fantasyland. I love DLs Fantasyland, it really does make you feel like you've stepped into a storybook! We rode a few FL rides and then headed to the Matterhorn. This was a fun ride, but soooooo bumpy! After we got off the Matterhorn we walked past Nemo and realized why all the other rides had such small waits - everyone was in line for Nemo! We just kept on walking! We continued on to Tomorrowland and rode Buzz and Star Tours. I don't like Star Tours, I just can't handle it, makes me but I went on because everyone else wanted to go, I just kept my eyes closed and did fine.

By this time it was getting close to time for the fireworks and I wanted to get a decent spot so we headed over to the hub. We found a spot right in front of the Partners statue and DH went to get us some popcorn and soda while we waited. About 15 minutes before fireworks time the dreaded announcement came over the speakers: "Remember, Dreams Come True may have to be cancelled due to high winds at higher altitudes" OH NO!!! But, we lucked out and the fireworks went off as scheduled!

I am such a dork, but I seriously got goosebumps when I heard Julie Andrews voice and the fireworks started. I loved, loved, loved this show!! It was so good! I took a lot of fireworks pictures, but my camera takes (or I take ) not so good fireworks shots. I had some that turned out okay though, so here they are!

The fireworks ended at about 9:45 or so, and I wanted to high tail it over to New Orleans Square and get a good spot for the 10:30 Fantasmic, but I was overrulled by my 3 boys who wanted to use our Indiana Jones FPs instead. So, we used the FPs, but the FP line joined the standby line so early that we still waited about 30 minutes to get on! We really liked this ride, it was fun, fun, fun! I think they should add one to MGM to go along with the Indy show! As much as we enjoyed the ride, I was bummed because it was 10:25 when we got off and Fantasmic was getting ready to start. No way would we get a good spot now We went over anyway and ducked under the rope on the bridge across from the stage. It wasn't the best spot, but it was center stage and we could all still see (except DS7, DH had to hold him up). A group in front of us noticed DH holding DS and offered to let him go up front with their children. I thought that was very kind of them, since we just walked up right at show time! I really enojyed the show, and was sorry I had missed it everytime I had been to WDW in the past! I didn't take any pictures since we didn't have the best viewing spot though.

After Fantasmic we headed back to the hotel to get rested up for our first full day tomorrow!

 

[SoonerGirl]

Was the Mariott close to Seaworld/The zoo?

We didn't go to Seaworld because we've been to the one in San Antonio several times and wanted to some things we had never done before, but our drive to the zoo was pretty short - I think it only took us about 10 minutes to get there.

Your photos are awesome too - its going to be hard to decide which picture to use as a holiday card

I know! I may have to do one with multiple photos!