35 Years

This summer we both got a massage and pedicure.  Matt is the other part of "we." It was fantastic, relaxing, and sad when it was over.

In his 35 years of life he has never had a massage. I think he realized what he has missed. Sixty minutes of floating on air is worth every penny.   It was also worth it to see him in a fluffy robe and flip flops :)

Then during his pedicure, the lady told Matt that he had baby feet.  Let's just say he is milking that one.

"Matt can you run out to the car and grab my purse?"
"Let me put some shoes on, I have baby feet you know."

Gracious.

Planes & Automobiles

Let's call this Part 2- Something Angry in the Air

This post is about a thirty minute interaction between a gate agent and a man on my flight home from LA about the ins and outs of being a frequent flyer.  A little back story for the non-frequent flyer readers - being a frequent flyer is an interesting hobby.  I say hobby because those in the club collect miles, spend miles for prizes, and have many message boards and blogs about the art of collecting miles.

Here is what you need to know about being a frequent flyer (FF), in no particular order.  *This information is what I have gleaned from listening to Matt talk about his FF status.  I could be mistaken in some minor details, but you will get the important ideas. 

1.  If you want to collect miles you should stick with one airline and fly them as much as you can so you can earn status.  As you move through the levels you start off with silver, gold, then platinum.  If you move beyond the platinum threshold you earn something über exclusive like 1K status or über über exclusive global service.

2.  Each level of the program gives you certain benefits: early boarding, free checked bags, high priority on stand-by lists, free itinerary changes, double qualifying miles for your flight when the regular folks earn only single miles, and the best is a priority line to get through airport security.

3.  Desire to read blogs of people who live and breathe mile accumulation.  Here you learn insider information about upcoming airline sales and promotions.  These promotions help the FF earn many more miles, and thus further up the status ladder.  On these blogs they like to determine if a promotion is "worth the miles."  They convert FF miles into money using some formula (maybe the number of miles divided by the distance?  I have no idea) and determine if the per mile expenditure is worth it.  

4.  When you fly a certain number of miles in a certain amount of time you earn upgrade certificates.  These coupons are used to upgrade your purchased coach seat to first class, if seats are available.    

5.  The thing the frequent flyer loves the most is free upgrades to first or business class.  The higher your status the better your chances are for a free upgrade.  The über übers get first dibs and then down the line to the lowly gold status flyers.  An elite FF just has to wait until 48ish hours before their flight to see if they got the gratis upgrade.  The airline waits this long just in case someone actually purchases the available seat. 

Car rental companies and hotels have their own FF-style programs that give free upgrades and other spectacular treats.  I have to say I don't know all the specific ins and outs of these programs, but that's why I have Matt to figure it all out.  When I have flown with Matt in the last year (minus the kids), he's always used upgrade certificates or gotten the gratis bump to first.  It's a tough life.  Especially in Business Class on British Airways (should be one of the wonders of the world).

Item Number 5 is the basis for today's post.

Now back to our story - Something Angry in the Air

Matt used his coveted upgrade certificates on our inbound and outbound flights to first class, so life was good for my trip home.  I had a lot of time to kill at LAX since the drive did not take as long as the folks in San Diego suggested.  That's not to say I didn't get my exercise for the afternoon.

They changed our gate three times.  Good thing is that the changes were within ten gates of each other.  One statement by the gate agent gave me a bit of concern.  She told another passenger that asked if there were any more upgrade seats available, she told him that they were all filled.  And someone might have to be downgraded.

Downgraded?  I've never heard of that, I thought you could only go up.

Knowing what I know about FF programs, status is king.  Personally I have no status on this airline.  I was riding Matt's coattails to get the upgrade, and at this moment he was on his way to Boston.  I was a nobody.  The cabin filled and there was one seat left.  I had high hopes that the doors would close soon, and we would be on our way.  No such luck.  The gate agent walked on the plane with a handful of papers.  She stopped at the row just in front of me.

"Mr. XX, I'm going to need you to move seats."

"What do you mean move seats?  I have a ticket for this seat.  I was awarded an upgrade for this over 24 hours ago."(**This means he has some form of elite status and was awarded a #5**)

The lady proceeded to tell him, and all of us in earshot, that there was a glitch when the system awarded the free upgrades.  A couple purchased tickets more than 36 hours ago and one ticket somehow got booted out of the system.  Although he had an upgrade the all mighty dollar trumps that.

He asked for the location of his new seat.  He was assigned to be in the fifth row of coach - in the center.  As soon as he heard the words center seat, he was hot.

"I am not moving.  I will not be downgraded to a center seat."  He buckled his seat belt and crossed his arms much the same as a toddler would in a tantrum.  The gate agent wasn't sure what to do.  She walked up to the front of the cabin to talk with the flight attendants.

In the meantime he was ranting to the guy next to him.  You could feel the tension, but I was super relieved that I was not the one being booted.  When she came back she said that they would offer him a $250 travel voucher.  He immediately pulled out his credit card and offered to pay the difference of the ticket he paid for in coach to stay in this seat.  She graciously explained that the seat he occupied was paid for prior to his upgrade and he had to move.

He again crossed his toddler tantrum arms.  "What are you going to do if I don't move, call the cops?"  I have to give the gate agent major kudos because she gave him the eyeballs that said, "stop being an asshole and get up."

I think he realized she meant business and he said he refused to sit in the center.  The agent told him she has never in her career had to do this, but she would so that the plane could take off.  She walked into the cabin and made an all call for someone to move to the center seat so Mr. XX could be comfortable.  Someone immediately volunteered, and he moved his downgraded hiney to his new seat.

The couple who ponied up the money for the two seats boarded and we were almost on our way.  The gate agent filled the lead flight attendant in on the blow-by-blow of Mr. XX.  He said that they would be sure to take care of him during the flight.  The gate agent shook her head and said something to him.  His face changed into a disgusted look and he said, "He said that?  Oh we won't take care of him then."  Take that Mr. XX.

I guess sometimes status can't save you.

Planes, Trains & Automobiles

Let's call this Part 1 - The one with the freeway

Recently we spent three nights in Los Angeles and two nights in San Diego.  The plan was to drive back to LA on our last day for our return flight home.  That was the plan.

Plans change. 

On the day we drove to San Diego, some scheduling needs prompted a change in return flights.  Matt needed to spend two days on the East Coast, and he needed to be home by lunchtime on Friday so he could attend a previous engagement.  In order to make all of that happen, Matt had to change his itinerary and leave from San Diego.

He used all of his mad airline booking skills to find an itinerary our of LA that would fit his needs.  Unfortunately San Diego was his best bet.  On a side note, Matt should earn an award for booking awesome airline tickets.  He is all over different blogs and direct airline news to find deals.  He can smell a sale months away.  When asked, he is quite humble about his mad skills and doesn't see it as anything special.  If you ask how does he do it, he can't describe it.

Anyway back to our story....

Once he figured out his itinerary, he asked if I would have any issue driving from San Diego to LA by myself.  At first I thought he was joking.  But he wasn't.  Then I had a practical thought about California driving.  Many of the roads have rush hour all day, so getting where I need to go wouldn't be so bad since the slow traffic would give me time figure out where I was going.  Plus according to Matt it was only two roads - the 5 and the 405 to get off at Century Boulevard.

"No problem," I said.  Then in my head I told myself I was crazy.

Being the amazing traveler and caring guy he is, Matt made sure to point out major landmarks to me on our way to San Diego.  I often had to look out the rear window to see signs or landmarks as I would on my return trip in a few days.  My main landmark was the Laguna Hills Mall sign. 

"No problem," I said.  Then in my head I told myself I was crazy.

We enjoyed the San Diego sun until the very last minute.  Matt left me at our Gaslamp Quarter hotel around 11:00 for his trip to Boston via Houston.  Repeated the directions, but then added a few more.

"Take the 5 to the 405 to get off at Century Boulevard.  Then turn onto Aviation to return the car.  Stop at one of the stations to fill the tank before returning the car.  Then take the shuttle to airport."

"No problem," I said.  Then in my head I told myself I was crazy.

I did write the directions down just in case I lost my mind.  After he left I had another hour to kill.  I actually had a lot of time to kill because I wasn't scheduled for my return trip until 5:00.  The warning we heard over and over was that the drive between San Diego and LA can be two and a half hours or more.  We felt the just under two hour vibe, but instead of risking it on my own, I heeded the advice.

I was slightly disappointed that I was driving alone because the ride between these two cities is spectacular.  To see the ocean as you drive is truly far removed from the Midwest.  I drove past Camp Pendleton, saw campers & motor homes parked at campsites on the shoreline, and the Coaster commuter train speed by on its way to Oceanside.  Of course I only got short glimpses since I was driving a monsterous Chrysler 300.

This was taken when I was the passenger, not while operating a motor vehicle.  Promise. 

Driving the 5 to the 405 was a piece of cake.  Once I needed to get off at Century the real work began.  Matt forgot to tell me that we did not drive on this part of the 405.  When nothing looked familiar, I started to panic (that's not saying much about me BTW).  As I have learned in recent years, relax for a bit before making any drastic changes.  As assured by Matt, Century Boulevard appeared followed by Aviation.

The remainder of my drive was uneventful.  I made it in exactly two hours.  I did chuckle when someone asked me for directions to the 405 while at the gas station.  I'm glad they decided to ask the station attendant instead of relying on my iffy directions.  The flight home is a story for another day.

Celebrity Sighting & "Celebrity Sighting"

Matt and I spent the first few days of our vacation in Los Angeles.  We used some of his hotel points to stay gratis at the Hilton Universal City.  This hotel is within walking distance of Universal Studios & Universal City Walk.  We were not going to the theme park but free can't be beat.

Celebrity Sighting (a real one)

In addition to theme park proximity, we were really close to The Hollywood Bowl.  The schedule for the weekend included A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keeler, Grease Sing Along, and Reggae Night.  Why do you care about The Hollywood Bowl's schedule?  The cast of The Prairie Home Companion happened to have a rehearsal at the Hilton on Thursday.  As Matt and I walked to the elevator for we looked toward a conference room and each saw different things.  He pointed out that the event in the conference room was for A Prairie Home Companion.  On the other hand, I was looking at the people in the room and thought one of the men looked familiar.  By golly he was familiar, it was Martin Sheen.  Yes, Apocalypse Now Martin Sheen and President Bartlet Martin Sheen.  He looked quite casual in a Hawaiian shirt.  It was not appropriate to attempt to speak to him since he was busy.  Made us giddy seeing a real celebrity.


That brings us to....

Celebrity Sighting (not so much)
I flew home out of LAX alone (more on that in another post).  I grabbed a bite to eat in an airport restaurant.  At the bar a man was talking quite loud.  He used to be in a band, but now he was focusing on his acting.  He's met Christian Bale's wife, what a nice lady.  He pays $500/month for a room in an LA suburb, which is an AMAZING price for a room.  Blah, blah, name drop, blah, name drop, name drop, blah......He is not a celebrity.  That is unless you consider he's a dead ringer as Luis Guzman's doppelganger.

That's LA for you.

Can you keep a secret?

Saturday in Cali started off much the same as Friday - not in a good way.

An unscheduled 4:15 wake-up call, again.

True to form we had no problem going back to sleep for a few hours.

After a mediocre breakfast we started making plans for the day.

Drive into Hollywood? Nah, too touristy
Drive up the coast?  Nah, too much in the car time on such a gorgeous day
Find a spot at the beach to read and nap? Nah, the fog stays at the coast until at least noon this time of year

Go to Disneyland?  Heck Yeah!

I had immediate guilt thinking about having a day at Disneyland without the kids, but then I got over it.  We have not been here without kids in about 6 years.  There are very few pictures of this day because I did not have to carry a bag with diapers, snacks, and bottled water, and neither one of us was sporting a belt with which to hook the camera.  There are a few iPhone photos, but you've seen it all before, right?  The only noticeable changes were the Halloween decorations.

Mickey and his friends decorating the entrance turn-styles

We started our day at California Adventure and the ride lines were extremely tolerable.  I suppose they were more tolerable since we had no preconceived notions of what rides "had" to do - other than Toy Story Mania and Soarin'.

The Toy Story Mania line was pretty long, I'd say it was about 45 minutes.  The wait was well worth it.  Matt and I get very competitive on this ride.  We've only ever ridden it with the kids so we have never rode together to see our close scores.  I started off with a narrow lead, but Matt eventually beat me.  I would say it was a close competition.  Matt would not ride California Screamin' because the guilt of riding it without M was too much for him. 

After a few more rides at California Adventure we spent the rest of the day at Disneyland.  We rode our favorites including the Finding Nemo Submarines and Indiana Jones.  There were two odd occurrences - Pirates of the Caribbean was closed!  They say it was closed for refurbishments, but we were still mad.

The second odd occurrence was the wait for The Haunted Mansion.  Now we say "duh" to the long wait, but I never expected this.  The sign outside the mansion read 85 minute wait from the gate.  However, the line had an overflow corralling that went over by the Disneyland Railroad stop and New Orleans Square.  Yeah, I may not be in a hurry to ride the rides, but I can find something better to do with myself than spend almost 2 hours in line for The Haunted Mansion.  We definitely got a Fast Pass for this one.  Plus the Fast Pass was for about two hours later so it was a win-win.

While we waited for The Haunted Mansion we rode another favorite, Buzz Lightyear.  Today's ride was particularly spectacular as it kept stopping.  That gave maximum opportunity to rack up points.  I love the Disneyland Buzz Lightyear ride because you can hold the laser zappers in your hand and shoot wherever you want, unlike Disney World where they are stationary on the safety bar.  I say that only knowing what it was like the last time we were in Orlando.  Matt scored big when he hit a high scoring target that was also blinking (blinking targets =  mucho points).  See how he turned out....

He certainly beat me today

Once we got in line we realized what all the excitement was about.  The Haunted Mansion is seriously decked out for Halloween, starting with the front gate.

  The mansion takes on the Nightmare Before Christmas theme, and they did not disappoint.  In the entrance room that stretches, the usual wall portraits were replaced with movie-themed scenes.  As a matter of fact just about every other possible spot in the ride was replaced or enhanced with movie-themed scenes.  Check out the backdrop as you get into your doombuggy.

Scary Christmas

The low level of light on the ride made all the rest of the iPhone photos come out black.  I think everyone should check this ride out at Halloween.

After a quick run to the car or our jackets we grabbed some dinner at Downtown Disney.  The main restaurants were 90+ minute wait for walk ups.  The UVA Bar is a small extension of the restaurant Catal and the line for an outdoor table looked manageable.  

We ate this trio of dips that could have sufficed as my dinner - hummus, baba ghanoush and mouhammara (hummus-like but made with walnuts and red peppers and our favorite of the three)  with warm pita slices.

Enough about the food, we had one ride left for the night - Indiana Jones.  I will make a confession right here, I had never ridden Indiana Jones before.  The lines were always crazy long and the Fast Passes were all out by the time we made it over there.  I think we picked the perfect night for it because we watched the fireworks through the trees as we waited in line.

Our day had come to an end, and we were certainly fulfilled.

*Update - M knows that we went to Disneyland.  She bluntly asked Matt when we got home and he was the good dad and told her yes.  I think she was sad, but understood that she can't go every time.  Although she wants to go every time!

Long Cali Weekend

The time had come for our Cali Weekend. Thankfully Matt’s parents graciously took the kids for us. They picked them up on Thursday afternoon. Unfortunately M missed a day of school, but I think she got over it.

We left on on a Thursday night and arrived at LAX around 10:00. The first stop was In ‘N Out Burger. There is a relatively new location just on the edge of airport property.

Friday morning was bit of a shock as we received a 4:15AM wake-up call that we did not ask for. After immediately rolling back over to sleep we woke up at 7AM PacificTime. Isn’t Pacific Time lovely, I got to sleep in and still got up at 7.

Mid-morning in Pasadena

Matt knew just where we were going for breakfast, Marston’s in Pasadena. This was one of my top 5 breakfasts of all time. All time. I had the Fantastic French Toast, which is sourdough bread crusted in corn flakes. My mouth is watering right now. Matt had the San Pasqual Omelet which had bacon, cheddar cheese, and fresh sliced avocado on top. OMG. We ate as much as we possibly could before we burst. Rest assured not one of those strawberries was left behind, nor was a lick of the avocado.

After breakfast we rolled ourselves back to the car for the day's activities. We started off touring the Gamble House in Pasadena. The Gamble in reference is from the Proctor & Gamble company. My pop culture friends should recognize this house as the outer shots of Doc Brown's residence in the Back to the Future movies.

The gorgeous front door

The inside was amazing! Unfortunately interior photos are prohibited, so what you see are from the Gamble House website. The family needed a winter home to escape the cold eastern winters; this is some winter home. The architects were the Greene & Greene. They commissioned the Hall brothers to create virtually all of the furniture and floor coverings in the house. Each room was highlighted by different woods. The staircase railing was teak, the wood trim on the walls was cedar, one bedroom was bird's eye maple, another ash, and so on. The funniest part of the tour was in the kitchen when our docent showed us the back screen porch & servants' entrance. She highlighted that the Gambles did not think that the servants needed such nice furniture on the porch. So they commissioned a different company to make a table for them. You might have heard of the designer - Gustav Stickley.

Sunny kitchen with the Stickley table on the servants' porch

Side view with front porch and sleeping porches

One of several sleeping porches

A final interesting fact about the Gamble house - Each year two USC Architecture students receive a fellowship to live at the Gamble House for a year. Sounds great, but one of them must be in the house 24 hours a day. I think they live in the basement as I bet they aren't sleeping in the priceless beds upstairs.

We spent the rest of the afternoon back at our hotel reading and maybe napping :) Since breakfast was so huge we never did eat lunch. That left a lot of time to get hungry for dinner.

I've been following a few food trucks on Twitter, particularly the Grilled Cheese Truck. Our area does not currently have food trucks, however there is a big push to create an ordinance to let this happen. Well this was our night, five food trucks were meeting in a parking lot in Pasadena!

The Grilled Cheese Truck had the longest line, and we soon found out why. Matt ate the Caprese melt and I had a regular good old sharp cheddar. So worth it. The Carne Asada tacos we ate from the Knock Out Taco Truck were stupendous.

I think we did enough for today. Just wait until you see what we do tomorrow. Shhhhh, don't tell the kids.

Kudos to Matt

Matt is what one might call an airfare hawk.  He knows who to read to find out about upcoming sales what websites to stalk for unpublished sales.   Knowing that let me tell you about a little airfare sale back in July.  Matt heard that the big airlines were planning a sale, and he was going to check it out.

Matt was online when the sale was released, and here’s where it gets good.  Someone at the main office of one of the big airline make a small error when loading the fare.  Instead of $142 each way to LAX, they punched it in as $142 round trip.  Yes, round trip.

Knowing that this was an absurd price, Matt immediately bought two.  There was no preplanning for who would take care of the kids.  This was too good to pass up, and they would fix their mistake soon.  No sooner did he complete his purchase that the big airline pulled the fare.  Score!

Now I just had to wait until October to enjoy some Cali.

California - Day 6

All good things must come to an end, and I was so sad that California had to end.

Back to reality.

We got up bright and early to set off to the airport.  Since our late night the flight out to LA was tolerable with G, we hoped today's flight would be just the same.  It started off well.

Always be prepared

 Then he got bored.

 Thankfully Matt was able to tame the beast for a bit.

Of course M was a doll the whole time.

Welcome home!

California - Day 5

Our last full day in California was calm and quiet, especially after blowing a ton of cash at Disneyland.  While perusing the TripAdvisor website I came across the Irvine Regional Park.  It was a bit of a drive but there was lure of a train ride and a small zoo.

I have to say this was a great day.

We took a train ride around the park.  The conductor did a great job sharing a bit of history of the park along with a bit of humor for the adults.

After the train we walked through the park up to the OC Zoo.  Along the way we saw that the park rented boats, bikes, and water bikes.

I think my Barbie had one of these in the 80's

Zoo is not quite right, it's more of a glorified petting zoo, but it was just enough for us on this day.  We saw a bald eagle, snakes, chickens, and even a burro.  At the back of the zoo the kids even got to brush goats.

The pièce de résistance was when M saw the horse rides.  She is in love with horses and could not get in line fast enough.  

We explored a bit more on our way back to the car and then went for a drive around the OC while G napped in the car.

California - Day 4

Our second day at Disneyland was packed!

There were a few rides that we ran out of time for yesterday that we made sure to get to today.  Our family was at California Adventure before the park opened and got to be there for the rope drop to get into the heart of the park.

Today was all about strategy.  What did we want to ride?  Which rides have long lines or late Fast Pass return times?  M really, really wanted to ride The Hollywood Tower of Terror to remedy the horror she had last year when we pretty much forced her to ride it.  I thought she'd love it.  Boy, oh boy, was I wrong.

An oldie but a goodie from last year.  She was scarred for life.

We grabbed a fast pass for The Hollywood Tower of Terror and made our way over to California Screamin' again.  Matt and M got in the short line while G and I went to Toy Story Mania.  Although the park opened only fifteen minutes prior, the line for Toy Story Mania was already at 40 minutes.  This line was the test for G.  Thank goodness Mr. Potato Head was doing a little stand-up gig while we waited.  G groped and poked just about everyone around us.  It's a good thing he's cute otherwise we might have been kicked out of the park for lewd acts. 

M & M joined us in the Toy Story line when Screamin' was done.  This is one of our new family favorite rides.

One more carousel ride before heading back to the Bug's Life area of the park.

The weather these last few days has been a little hot for California standards, so the kids were thrilled to find Princess Dot's Puddle Park.

Thankfully I packed a spare set of clothes for both kids today.  After a quick change in the bathroom it was time to go back for The Hollywood Tower of Terror.  On the way there we found out what was behind the World Grand Prix door from yesterday.  Look it!

Mater and McQueen!

The most disappointing part was that there was no door.

G was in utter amazement over these guys.  He talked about Mayer and AQueen for the rest of the day.

Now was the time we had been waiting for - The Tower of Terror.  The plan was to do a kid swap so M could ride twice while one of us waited with G.  The hotel bellman indicated that the only way to do so was for one of us to wait outside the gates and then walk in again.  G and I had a snack while M & M went on the ride.

I saw Matt's head above the crowd as they rounded the corner.  He had a small smirk on his face while he shook his head, "No."  Then I saw M's face, and it was not a happy one.  Apparently a year away did not help her.  I opted not to ride this one solo and we made our way out for a nap. 

By the time G woke up it was dinner time.  We remembered that there is a Portillo's in Buena Park.

Not the greatest photo, but they have a great outdoor patio.

After dinner we meandered our way back to Disneyland.  M & M went to California Adventure to ride California Screamin one more time while G and I rode Peter Pan and the Carousel.  We met back up as a family in line for Pirates of the Caribbean.

The best part of theme parks is being smart about how you do it.  Many people were starting to stake out their spots for the Illuminations and fireworks shows.  This meant not very many people were in line for rides.  We went between The Haunted Mansion and Pirates at least twice and walked right on to both rides.  We finished up just in time for fireworks.

Instead of fighting the crowds out of the park we decided to do a little shopping and get some ice cream.

When the time came to leave we spotted Goofy, or as G calls him "Doofy"

The plan for our last day in California is much more low key.  Stay tuned!

California Vacation - Day 3

We're going to Disneyland!

Now, I am a little concerned about going to Disneyland today since we are so close to the 4th of July weekend.  Historical attendance numbers show that the summer, Christmas, and 4th of July weekend are the busiest times of the year.  I am not a fan of the theme park goers that choose to use their strollers as ankle killers because the crowds aren't moving fast enough.  So I had trepidation in committing to a two day ticket.  The gal at the ticket counter said if we purchased a one-day ticket we could always add another day to the ticket before leaving for the evening.  I liked her non-committal answer.

By the time we got through the gates, the park had been open for an hour.  That's pretty good for us because we usually blow it on the first day and sleep until 10.  We first wanted to see about getting a Fast Pass for Star Wars, but at 9AM the Fast Pass return time was already for 9:30PM.  Yes, in the evening.  The stand by line was also obnoxious at 90 minutes.  M was disappointed but she was OK with it remembering how long we had to wait for the Finding Nemo Submarine ride back in 2008.  Maybe next year the line will be manageable.

Right across from Star Wars was the family favorite - Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters (a.k.a. Buzz Light Year Space Ranger Spin to you Disney World fans). Buzz is one more of G's BFFs.  They are on a first name basis.

Dad, Look It!  Look It, Dad!  Buzz!

I rode with G while Matt & M rode together.  They get pretty competitive so I was happy to let them duke it out in the car behind us.

Knowing the kids are at different heights and stages the decision was made to split up for a bit.  G and I got in line for the Storybook Boats while M and Matt rode Space Mountain.  We met back up to ride Casey's Circus Train and the Carousel.  Then things got crazy.  The plan was to do a kid swap at the top of the Matterhorn, but when we got to the front of the line we saw that G was tall enough to ride it.  Without hesitation, all four of us jumped into Bobsleds and were off!  G didn't say much when he got off the ride other than, "Whoa."

Well over the height requirement

We had lunch on Main Street then M and I rode the Davey Crockett Canoes, another family favorite, while Matt tried to get G to nap in the stroller.

Not that we are expert canoers at all, but man some people are not good canoers.  Inevitably the kid in front of me thought the paddle was a spoon and deposited a hefty amount of water on my lap.  Thankfully the warm Cali sun dried my shorts in no time.  Around 4:00 we zipped back to our hotel for G's nap.

That evening we returned to enjoy California Adventure.  This park is the best of both worlds for our kids.  Roller coasters for those tall enough and a kids' area for those who are height challenged.  The rides in the Bug's Life area were perfect for G and still appropriate for M.

Francis' Ladybug Boogie

We discovered a new area to open in 2012 that has has to do with Cars.  There was not anything to see today other than a doorway.

What's behind the door?

M was feeling quite brave tonight and told Matt she wanted to ride the California Screamin' roller coaster.  Clearly G was too short for this, and I was thankful because there's no way I would ride it.  While they rode the roller coaster, G and I waited in line for Mickey's Fun Wheel Ferris Wheel (the non-swinging line).  Apparently this line moves much slower than the swinging line so Matt & M joined us after their ride.  M was exhilarated after riding California Screamin', and she could not stop talking how she wanted to ride again.

Matt and M rode California Screamin' one more time while I took G on the King Triton Carousel.  The sun was going down, and we had yet to eat dinner.  We ran into some obstacles because California Adventure was getting ready for their night show.  People were lining up on the street and certain pathways were closed.  Once we made it near the park entrance, we found a place for a quick bite and then planned to go back to Disneyland for fireworks.  On our walk back we decided to stop at the ticket window to add another day to our ticket.  It took a bit longer than we hoped, so we watched the fireworks outside the park gates on our way back to the car.

G made sure our shoes were ready for tomorrow.