What I Did During My Summer Vacation: Part 3

Disneyland.  It was the reason for the trip.  It took us a few days to get there, but the next two days of the trip were thus spent.  John Stephen came with us the first day.  The kids were told we were going on a hike, and had been told so many times that we WEREN'T going to Disneyland this trip, that when it was finally revealed they (especially Rori) were argumentative as they thought they were being teased.  We brought lots of snack and PB&Js and grazed all day long, eating in line most of the time.  It cut down on our need to get out of any lines and spend more money.  Beth, John and I all downloaded apps that helped us maximize our time, spending less in line and more time on the rides.  It was also nice having one adult per child, a blessing, really, with no whining.  Let me repeat that - NO WHINING.  We had a great, exhausting, fun-filled day.

Day 2 was our first experience visiting California Adventure.  This park has such a different feel, and often felt like I wasn't in a Disney park because of the lack of fairy tales. The rides are a lot more mature - roller coasters, Tower of Terror, Soaring Over California, etc - but it was fun and always a surprise.  I really struggled getting the hang of the layout too, though Beth seemed to get it.  We were still pretty tired from out 10+ miles of walking at Disneyland the day before (thanks FitBit) and we didn't have John Stephen with us, so tempers were shorter and whining picked up a little.  But considering how tired all of us were, it was a great day and the kids were eager.

One of my favorite rides included Cars. We were wisely advised to get a fast pass for this ride before we did anything else.  When we got the the park at about 9, there seemed to be nobody at California Adventure (we went on the rapids ride three times in a row with now wait), but our fast pass time was for around 5 in the afternoon! That part of the park in general is the greatest thing - it looks just like Radiator Springs, and car characters from the movies are driving sporadically around it.  It was delightful!

 I also loved the Little Mermaid ride, Tower of Terror, the rapids, and (not a ride) the Disney animation experience, where a Disney animator teaches you how to draw a character.  While Sarah had an audible meltdown because she couldn't keep up and her pic didn't look like the one the animator was drawing, the animator then came and gave Sarah the drawing she was doing in front of us all after the session was over.  I wish we could have spent more time in that building, exploring the exhibit.

I also had a fun time with Sarah, and one of my favorite parts of the day was just with her.  She is actually quite a little daredevil, wanting to go on all of the wildest rides she could.  Unfortunately, she wasn't tall enough to go on the big roller coaster in the park, despite her wearing her shoes with a wedge heel.  While Beth took Mikey and Rori on the coaster, Sarah and I headed over to the not-as-tame-as-it-looks Ferris wheel.  The cars are on a rolling track, and when the wheel hits 1,2, 4,5, 7,8 10 or 11 o'clock, it will whip down the track, tipping back and forth.  I was nervous.  Sarah squealed with delight.

What I Did During My Summer Vacation: Part 2

After church on Sunday, we parted ways with the Clayton and Haley's family and headed to lovely San Juan Capistrano to visit with John Stephen.  John lives right on the edge of Dana Point, a relatively quiet beach town (at least during the first week of June).  And the beach is just what we did to start this portion of our visit.  Before heading to work, John took us to the Dana Point Harbor's Kiddie Beach so we could try our legs at paddle boarding.

 

That's me - I did it, didn't fall, and loved it!

 

We continued by walking around the harbor and heading to the actual harbor front.  The kids were stunned - there were WAVES!  It was ROUGH!  They had fun chasing and screaming (why?) at the receding waves, and running away as they crashed back on shore.  It was lovely listening to the sounds of the ocean, looking for shells,  and watching the pelicans fly by.  

After seeing the waves, the kids had no interest in returning to the safety of Baby Beach.  While John had to go to work, he showed us how to get to Strands Beach and we spent the rest of the afternoon there.  The kids were in heaven, but so were Beth and I lounging in the sun.  

Strands is a huge beach with a huge free parking lot, but it isn't as well known by tourists.  While school in California hadn't ended yet, we were surprised how few people were at the beach on this perfect day.  To get to the beach, one must actually hike down a lot of steps and in between a few huge beachfront homes, but once there, this clean, soft beach is so worth the hike (even the hike back up the stairs!).

Mikey couldn't be persuaded away from the water and waves.  

This girls is more of a daredevil than one might expect.  I had a lot of fun swinging this girl into the oncoming waves.  I think she liked it too.  

After this beautiful day and the days that followed, Dana Point is my new favorite spot for a California beach vacation.  I had never been to this area before, but am so glad that I know of its existence.  I would highly recommend this are for a beach getaway.  

What I Did On My Summer Vacation: Part 1

On a cold afternoon sometime in the middle of winter, my sister Beth turned to me and expressed her desire to take her kids on a real vacation, something she hadn't done in a few years.  Disneyland was on her radar and probably the beach.  Time with her in-laws for time with the cousins would also be on the docket.  Would I be interested in going along?  Um, YES!

On May 28th, we hit the road for a week in California, and my, what a packed vacation it was!  We started the trip in Santa Clarita, staying with Clayton and Hailey and their four kids.  For three days we hiked, visited a train museum, and went to the neighborhood pool a few times.  The kids played, the adults talked and shopped, and it was a grand time.

All In a Day's Eat

My sister humors me.  I'm actually kind of spoiled because when I visit her in the Portland area, she asks me what I want to do and, for the most part, we do it.  That doesn't happen all of the time when I visit other people and I pout.

My desires for my trip there in April:  eat, art musuem, eat, finding art to hang on my wall, and...I don't think there was anything else but food and art.  What else is there, really?  The highlights:

First thing off of the plane was to get a French-inspired lunch.  The food was fantastic, but all I have are pictures of the sweets I didn't have.  Next time!

I love art museums, and for all of the times I've been to Portland, I had never seen it's museum.  So out we headed on a rainy day to add a little culture to our lives.  Even Henry had moments of liking the art (though only for moments).  It was a really fun museum in a great part of downtown Portland that is fun to walk around.

Art made us hungry.  Blue Star Donuts answered our calls, and it was a new stop for us.  There were only five donuts on the menu that day, including a lemon curd, a passion fruit, and a chocolate ganache.  The lemon curd was the best. The passion fruit stirred no passionate feelings in our souls.  

Claudia lets me chance my photographic fantasies.  She drove all over town trying to find a place for me to take a picture of the Portland skyline.  I know she loves me because she will honor the most ridiculous requests so I can take pictures in the rain.

Downtown day!  I love downtown day!  But this time, instead of doing some light shopping in the boutiques along 23rd street, it was all about the food today.  Ken's Artisan Bakery, Little Big Burger, and later on the food carts on 9th.  We were STUFFED.  It was the funnest of all the days.

I like doing things I've never done before.  Besides eating, out walk back to the car allowed us to explore a park and the grounds of this beautiful synagogue. 

To go with the bread Claudia bought at Ken's, we also had to stop at the cheese shop to sample and then buy a few varieties (for another day, of course!).  It was just one more food adventure for this trip.  

For my wall-o-art at home, I wanted a piece that was typically Portland, ad the Saturday Market seemed like the right place to look for something relatively inexpensive.  There wasn't anything that piqued my interest for the price, but it was fun to have a half hour with Claudia, running through stalls looking for just the right piece.  The stop wasn't a total bust - the cinnamon pecans were to die for.  

Oh, these kids.  I love them so much.  And they like me, thought sometimes I think it is just because I look like their mother.  I mean, I get bossy (a carry-over from my other nieces and nephew who I used to tend a lot), I don't play with them a whole ton, and I don't spoil them rotten with toys and such.  I'll just enjoy their love for as long as I can until they realize how uncool I really am.  But they sure are fun to smootch and snuggle.  And I'll keep going back to visit as much as their parents will let me.  

Walking the Daytime Streets of Chicago

The Lincoln Park neighborhood (on our way to church, which was being held in a neighborhood public school)

More of Lincoln Park