Southern California Road Trip

I have a lot of catching up to do....

Last month Rick and I drove the convertible to Las Vegas for a few days to help with my mom and dad as a stopover for the beginning of our road trip to CA.  We left after church on Sunday and drove to LV.  We stayed with my parents until early Wednesday morning when we left early in the morning (4AM).  We missed the terrible traffic that is well known on that stretch from Vegas to El Cajon pass.  We drove right into LAX rental cars where we rode the tram over to pick up Kaitlyn and the kids who flew in that morning.  The kids did well on the flight and they were all excite to being their vacation.

After picking up our rental car we stopped at a Denny's for a much needed breakfast.  Afterwards Rick drove Kaitlyn and the kids in the rental while I drove the BMW down to Oceanside where we stayed for the next few days.  Of course, after getting checked in we headed right over to the beach where we enjoyed the rest of the day.  The kids LOVED the beach riding sand crabs, playing in the sand and playing in the waves.  That night we got some Mexican food which really wasn't that great but we did pick up some dessert at Hello Betty's, which was pretty great!  Then Kaitlyn took the kids out to the pool for some swim time and had a lot of fun

After a good night's rest we got up early the next morning and made our way to Anaheim, about an hour's drive.  We arrived at 7:30 in time to get to the gate of Fantasyland.  There we waited until the official time of Disneyland's opening 8:00.  It was nice to get there early (at the suggestion of Aunt Kathy H.) to be able to get right on some rides without having to wait in line.  It was great.  The kids aren't really big amusement park riders but I think they enjoyed the overall experience.  I know Kaitlyn was happy to be there.

Grandpa bought a couple of hats for the kiddos.

Iconic teacup shot.

The Star Wars rides were in the back part of the park.  Even though we did not go on the rides we enjoyed walking through the "star wars land" as well as watching the storm troopers stop and interrogate people.

We waited in line in the hot sun for over an hour to ride splash mountain.  Ummm...not worth it.

That night we stopped at Olive Garden for some yummy Italian food then trekked our way back to Oceanside.  While I relaxed and rested my feet in the room, Rick walked over to the Farmer's Market.  Kaitlyn took the kids back out to the pool.

The next day we enjoyed the Oceanside area.  First we walked down the Pier and got to see dolphins swimming in the ocean.  Also, a fisherman pulled up a little squid and Kaitlyn went crazy for it.  She held it for a while until it was nearly dead then she threw it back into the ocean. Then we did a little souvenir shopping along the main drag.   For lunch we ate some seriously good Mexican food just across from the hotel.  Kaitlyn had gotten a hat and they all wanted a picture with it on.

We got our fill of food then went and got changed for the beach.  We all enjoyed the sunshine that day!  Rick and Kaitlyn did a little boogie boarding while the kids were in heaven just enjoying the beach life:)

That evening we got cleaned up and went over to Joe's Crab Shack for dinner.  This was a must for Kaitlyn.  She thoroughly enjoyed her crab feast!

After dinner we walked around the harbor looking at all of the fun boats.  We got to see one lone sea lion in the water.  It was a good way to end the day.

The next day we checked out of our hotel and drove to Hollywood.  Kaitlyn really wanted to go so we made the effort.  They did a little souvenir shopping and we looked at the stars on the ground  seeing which famous people we knew.

We didn't have much time here because we needed to get Kaitlyn and the kids back to the airport to catch their plane back home.  The drop off went well and after returning the car back to Hertz Rick and I headed off for our road trip adventure.....to be continued....