California Vacation - July 2019
Over the past few years, my family has been talking about taking a trip to California. Well, this July, we finally made it! Two weeks of travel, exploration, food, scenery, driving, flying, and walking around several parts of California... filled with laughter, love, exhaustion, and magical memories that I don't ever want to forget. So, I'm journaling much of what I enjoyed right here in this blog!
Although waking up at 4am to catch our flight to San Diego was not ideal, in retrospect we learned that booking early morning flights is the best way to have options if something goes wrong with the original one. :) We also learned that certain car rental companies are not efficient with their customer assistance process... and we know which one we will use for every trip in the future. :) Lastly, we learned that staying at Air BnB homes is really our preference for lodging. A hotel room is certainly a good option, but when you're with the same people, 24 hours a day, for 14 days straight... a little bit of breathing room and individual space can be a very healthy thing! :):)
Our average mileage throughout the entire trip was more than I'd anticipated:
Upon our arrival into San Diego, our friends Kristen and Gene, and their daughter Lana, met us at the San Diego zoo. It was an awesome visit filled with monkeys wearing toupees (or so it seemed!), hugs, animals of all kinds, and lots of laughs. The unexpected heat wave (and 4am Eastern wake-up call) made our energy levels dwindle quickly... but an authentic Mexican dinner at Hacienda Casa Blanca was just what we needed. Sunday included hours of visiting, swimming, and eating at Kristen and Gene's house. Then, Gene was kind enough to take us on a "private tour" of Coronado Island and the Navy base there. It was so neat!
Getting to our hotel at Legoland was frustrating and challenging, but the room there (and all of the decorations throughout the property) was awesome! Although that part of our trip ended up being the least exciting for all of us, we certainly had a nice time together. My favorite part of the park were the mini versions of famous cities and monuments that were all created with thousands of Lego's. I took more pictures there than anywhere else, I think.
Anaheim was much more of what we were hoping to experience with regard to amusement parks. Disneyland was great, and we got to ride the IncrediCoaster (named after the Pixar movies) three times before the park opened to the general public! Well... I rode it twice, and Mike and Ethan were able to handle a third time through. Those two parks held lots of imagination and several thrilling rides that kept all of our interest for the many hours we were there. Lots of fabulous food and it was neat exploring Downtown Disney at various hours of the day as we passed through on our way to/from the hotel.
So, as you saw earlier, we did a LOT of driving on this trip. It was part of the plan so we could experience as much of what we wanted to, and none of what we didn't. I was the designated driver on our trip through Sequoia National Forest, and might I say that I wouldn't be sad if I never drive on switchbacks again! Hours of back and forth, up and down mountains... but the views. Well, they made it all worth while. Who knew that nature could create such mammoths that provide beauty and clean air for us?!?
Feeling like this is a long post? Yep, me too! But we've only made it to Friday of our FIRST WEEK in California! If you'd like to hear more, please keep reading :)
On our way north to Monterey, we stopped to tour Hearst Castle in San Simeon. Talk about a man with a plan... and then a different idea for that plan... and then yet another... William Hearst's story is fascinating (I encourage you to read more), and the fact that he worked with the first female American architect for 28 years to build the mansion and expansive property to his exact expectations; well, it just amazes me. And, the fun part of the zoo that he had on-site is that now you can see zebras roaming in the fields with the cows! True statement. :)
I'm going to take a break here... my next blog post will focus on our week in San Francisco. Stay tuned! And thanks for reading :):)
Although waking up at 4am to catch our flight to San Diego was not ideal, in retrospect we learned that booking early morning flights is the best way to have options if something goes wrong with the original one. :) We also learned that certain car rental companies are not efficient with their customer assistance process... and we know which one we will use for every trip in the future. :) Lastly, we learned that staying at Air BnB homes is really our preference for lodging. A hotel room is certainly a good option, but when you're with the same people, 24 hours a day, for 14 days straight... a little bit of breathing room and individual space can be a very healthy thing! :):)
Our average mileage throughout the entire trip was more than I'd anticipated:
- Over 5,400 miles flying in the air
- Over 700 miles driving in a car
- Over 75 miles walking on our feet
We did take a boat to and from Alcatraz Island, but that doesn't really count for racking up miles, right? Oh! And we rode a cable car (which was crazy cool), but I'd say that doesn't count either. :)
Let me give you a glance at the amazing journey we took throughout just a small part of the humongous state of California: We spent two days in San Diego, then Legoland/Carlsbad, then Anaheim for two days to explore Disneyland and Disneyland Adventure parks. Next we ventured to Los Angeles before driving to (and through!) Sequoia National Park. Back toward the coast for a few-day-drive north on Route 1, stopping along San Simeon and Monterey before trekking all the way up to San Francisco. We had scheduled five days there before flying back home.
The beauty of the west coast cannot be overstated. Nature is blooming and dying and separated and converged in so many interesting and confusing ways. The cliffs and boulders and ocean and mountains are breathtaking. There were so many "vista points" along our drive up the coast that it certainly took us longer than we'd anticipated because we wanted to stop so often to admire the views, take pictures, and enjoy everything as much as possible.
Upon our arrival into San Diego, our friends Kristen and Gene, and their daughter Lana, met us at the San Diego zoo. It was an awesome visit filled with monkeys wearing toupees (or so it seemed!), hugs, animals of all kinds, and lots of laughs. The unexpected heat wave (and 4am Eastern wake-up call) made our energy levels dwindle quickly... but an authentic Mexican dinner at Hacienda Casa Blanca was just what we needed. Sunday included hours of visiting, swimming, and eating at Kristen and Gene's house. Then, Gene was kind enough to take us on a "private tour" of Coronado Island and the Navy base there. It was so neat!
Getting to our hotel at Legoland was frustrating and challenging, but the room there (and all of the decorations throughout the property) was awesome! Although that part of our trip ended up being the least exciting for all of us, we certainly had a nice time together. My favorite part of the park were the mini versions of famous cities and monuments that were all created with thousands of Lego's. I took more pictures there than anywhere else, I think.
Anaheim was much more of what we were hoping to experience with regard to amusement parks. Disneyland was great, and we got to ride the IncrediCoaster (named after the Pixar movies) three times before the park opened to the general public! Well... I rode it twice, and Mike and Ethan were able to handle a third time through. Those two parks held lots of imagination and several thrilling rides that kept all of our interest for the many hours we were there. Lots of fabulous food and it was neat exploring Downtown Disney at various hours of the day as we passed through on our way to/from the hotel.
Does anyone here watch Big Bang Theory? Well, it is one of Mike's and my favorite shows... and we took a studio tour of Warner-Brothers as part of our adventure in Los Angeles. Did you know that the studio lot is nestled among the rest of the town? It blends in with the other businesses and residences in the area! Crazy. We got to see lots of interesting memorabilia, costumes, some of the sets that are used in many different tv shows and movies (meaning, one building that is re-used in many ways, simply by changing decorations, light fixtures, and angles of the cameras), and even the prop warehouse filled with millions of items. Need a phone from the 1970's? Sure, pick one from the shelves with hundreds of phones. Need a suit of armor? No problem! There are 20 to choose from. What about paintings to put in your mansion? Sure - but they aren't really paintings, you know... Although we took lots of pictures, none of them do justice to the creativity and ability for film directors to create such realistic illusions with very basic techniques and tools. My favorite part of that visit, however, was getting to sit in Sheldon's seat from the set of Big Bang Theory!! And, an interesting fact from the movie Goonies (one of my all-time faves!!): There is a warehouse/studio on the lot that holds tens of thousands of gallons of water for shooting scenes like the end pirate ship scene in that movie; that scene was actually shot inside of that exact building for the movie!
So, as you saw earlier, we did a LOT of driving on this trip. It was part of the plan so we could experience as much of what we wanted to, and none of what we didn't. I was the designated driver on our trip through Sequoia National Forest, and might I say that I wouldn't be sad if I never drive on switchbacks again! Hours of back and forth, up and down mountains... but the views. Well, they made it all worth while. Who knew that nature could create such mammoths that provide beauty and clean air for us?!?
Feeling like this is a long post? Yep, me too! But we've only made it to Friday of our FIRST WEEK in California! If you'd like to hear more, please keep reading :)
On our way north to Monterey, we stopped to tour Hearst Castle in San Simeon. Talk about a man with a plan... and then a different idea for that plan... and then yet another... William Hearst's story is fascinating (I encourage you to read more), and the fact that he worked with the first female American architect for 28 years to build the mansion and expansive property to his exact expectations; well, it just amazes me. And, the fun part of the zoo that he had on-site is that now you can see zebras roaming in the fields with the cows! True statement. :)
Upon arriving at our Air BnB loft in Monterey, I was a bit unsure of the "beauty" I'd heard so much about. Sure, we had passed multi-million-dollar mansions in Carmel-by-the-Sea. But that was NOT where we were staying. And then, entering the place took my breath away! It was beautiful, clean, spacious, and so darn inviting. I asked Mike if we could offer to buy it from the owner :) No worries, we're not. While in Monterey, we explored the aquarium, the Driscoll strawberry festival, and the tidal pools at Pebble Beach. Ah... now I understand what people are talking about with the beauty of Monterey! That last exploration was one of my most memorable. The weather, the views, the joy of looking for star fish, the excitement of finding hundreds of snails and other creatures, and the complete relaxation of having nowhere to be, no expectations, and nothing but focusing on Ethan and Mike.
I'm going to take a break here... my next blog post will focus on our week in San Francisco. Stay tuned! And thanks for reading :):)
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