Fall break in California was amazing! I don't think any of us were quite ready to come home. We started our journey last Saturday flying into Fresno via a connection in Dallas on American Airlines. Upon our arrival in Fresno, we only received one of three bags and no car seat. It was late (Memphis time), Emery had a ruptured eardrum and I was on the verge of a major meltdown. As we stood around the (now empty) baggage claim area to figure out where to go and what to do next, a door opens to my left and out walks a man pulling two bags behind him. OUR TWO MISSING BAGS! I flagged him down shouting "STOP, those are our bags, sir!!" He seem surprised and said, "seriously?" I promptly responded with YES! He went on to explain that those two bags had arrived earlier on a different flight. I don't know where he was going with them but was super thankful that we were in the right place at the right time! Saved me from that meltdown. So at that point we were only missing Emery's booster seat. We called the airline and gave them our addresses and assumed we would get it at some point in our trip. As of today (more than a week later), still no sign of it.
After giving Emery some Advil and a good night's rest for all, we awoke feeling rested and ready to head into the mountains! Our first stop was Kings Canyon National Park. It was a brisk 45 degrees, but the sun was shining with no wind and we were on the move, so it actually felt great. We did a couple of different hikes and the kids were troopers. They hiked every step of the way and really enjoyed it. They were amazed by the giant sequoia trees and loved climbing on all the rocks.
We hiked to Buena Vista peak and it was a short but steep hike to the top. At one point we got off the trail and were scrambling to make it up. I voted for staying on the trail but was outnumbered.
The views from the top were amazing!
Emery was in rare form and provided a bit of entertainment while we were hanging out at the top.
Then we headed into Sequoia National Park where we would spend the night and the next day exploring.
Day two in Sequoia was spent exploring the Giant Forrest. We got to see the largest tree in the world, the General Sherman tree. It was CRAZY BIG! The pictures just don't do it justice. Amazing!
After lunch we decided to go to the top of Moro Rock. I was questioning the decision to go up the rock with two small children. Probably not our wisest parenting decision, but it was one of the highlights of the day. I spent the trek up (350+ steps carved into a giant rock at the edge of a cliff) looking straight down at my feet and holding onto Emery (I'm not a huge fan of heights). At one point she complained that I was holding her hand too tightly. The views from the top were amazing! I suppose it was worth it. Again, the pics don't do it justice.
It was a straight down drop off on both sides at the top. Oddly enough, I wasn't that nervous at the top. The guardrails provided some comfort. The trek down was my least favorite part. Again, I just looked straight down and focused on my feet taking each step and held on to Case as tightly as I could.
Day three we headed down toward Los Angeles with a stop in Malibu for lunch. The kids got to see Pepperdine, we did some shopping in the bookstore and then made a stop at the Malibu lagoon state park and surfrider beach so the kids could put there feet in the Pacific ocean. The weather was perfect. Mid-70s. A beautiful day to be at the beach!
The last few days were spent at Disneyland. It was the kids first Disney experience and we all had a ball! The weather was great (mid-70s/low 80s during the day and low 60s at night).
Emery was most excited about meeting Minnie Mouse, so it was magical to walk in the gates on day one and see Minnie first thing. She was so excited! Simply magical for a five year old little girl!
Seeing Halloween Minnie on the street simply wasn't enough Minnie. We also had to go visit her in her house so Emery could give her the picture she had made for her at the hotel. Minnie was so great. She kissed the paper and held it up for the photo. Emery was in heaven!
One of the highlights of the trip for me was taking Case to meet Kylo Ren. After seeing the new Star Wars movie last year, Case was a bit scared of Kylo Ren...particularly his voice. Case had peeked around the corner at the person in front of him and Kylo Ren had seen him. One of the Disney photographers kindly asked Case to step back and said "no peeking." A few seconds later, Kylo Ren unexpectedly spun around the corner and pointed at Case and then pointed at the line on the ground that he was supposed to stay behind. Then he motioned for him to come in. He did NOT seem happy. I think Case nearly wet himself! KR paced in front of Case, interrogating him about the whereabouts of the droid. I don't think Case knew what to do or say. I was dying! Case was trying so hard not to act like he was intimidated, but I know he had to be. I hate that James missed it!
Another highlight was the parade. It was amazing! I wish I had been able to get more video of it but I was in major iphone battery conservation mode. I didn't want it to die before the kids did their Jedi training. Emery was so cute. She would wave so big at each character and shout their names as they went by. I'm telling you, it really is a magical place for a five-year-old little girl!
We ended our first day at Disney with Jedi training. I was impressed with how elaborate it was. I was afraid Emery might be afraid to fight Darth Vader, but she absolutely was not!
Listen carefully to Darth Vader saying "The force is strong with this one" and the Jedi trainer saying "It's the bow." Ha! Loved it!
I'm not sure there is a princess that Emery didn't meet. Most we saw out and about, and then the rest she saw at a special character lunch. She was almost more interested in meeting characters than she was in riding rides.
 |
| Judy Hopps and Nic from Zootopia were the only characters Case seemed interested in meeting. He didn't care as much about the character meet and greets. |
And the icing on the California adventure cake was getting to spend a bit of time with JC, one of James' good friends from his time at Pepperdine. JC was in our wedding and we hadn't seen him in several years. It was so great to see him and catch up a bit! Hoping he comes to see us in Memphis sometime soon!
After one last visit with JC (on the Disney bus), we headed back into the park for one last ride and the World of Color water show. What a way to end the trip! It was (no surprise) magical!
We flew back to Memphis on Friday via a direct flight on Delta from LAX. I was super thankful for an uneventful flight home and the sight of all three of our bags on the carousel!
Until next time, Cali!
