Today I got back from my road trip to California!! Oh my heck, it was so much fun!
I must admit I was a little nervous about going at first for a few reasons. First of all, we only threw it together a week and a half ago and second of all it was both mine and Jenny's first long trip where we would actually have to drive. I know that may sound silly, but I am still getting used to remembering that I am old enough to have freedom to go on trips like this with friends. So, it was just a new experience in my life, but it was amazing!
We headed out on Tuesday morning and spent the day driving. We weren't supposed to check into our hotel until 4 and we left a little too early so we were running about an hour ahead of schedule....or so we thought. When we crossed the California border and our phones changed times we realized we forgot to factor the time difference into our planning.....oops! So now instead of being an hour ahead of schedule, we were two. We just kept trucking on and decided when we got closer we would decide what to do with our extra time. Well, after driving for a while we decided to stop and each lunch. We saw a Burger King saw off the freeway and decided to stop in a little town called Cabazon, California. As we pulled into the parking lot, we saw this beauty:
That is where the start of our adventures began! After lunch, we did some exploring by these giant dinosaurs and found these signs:
and decided to check out this dinosaur exhibit. After all, we did have plenty of time to spare. Well, after we took our first steps into this place we discovered that it was ghetto! However, we decided to stay and check it out since we paid for our tickets. So we walked around and looked at the different dinosaurs.
Only one in the whole exhibit was actually robotic....or at least it was the only one that worked. Like I said ghetto! There were also some activities to do there also, like panning for colored rocks.
It was quite interesting to say the least. The whole time Jenny and I felt like we were going to die or something. It was like one of those abandoned Carnivals you see on scary movies. There was literally only one person working it and for the longest time we thought we were the only other people there....until we ran into another couple with their child. So it was a little on the creepy side. But, on the bright side we got some good photo ops in and we killed plenty of time.
We also got plenty of laughs in our short time there. Especially when we were heading out. We came across this sign:
We just had to take a picture. I don't know who in their right mind would actually go back to this place after visiting the first time. However, after thinking about it, if I ever end up driving by Cabazon, California, again I might just have to stop by to see if this little exhibit of wonders still exists, now that it holds a special place in my heart!
Anyways, so after our adventures in Cabazon, and after about another hour and a half of driving, we made it to our destination. The Howard Johnson Hotel in Anaheim! Just a short 10 minute walk away from the gates of Disneyland! We were still about 45 minutes early, but they still let us check in, which was nice since we were exhausted. I was also faced with another fun adventure upon arriving to the hotel. Jenny decided that she would wait in the car while I ran inside to see if we could check in. So I went into the front desk to check in and ended up talking to the guy, who was probably like three years older than me, for a good ten minutes. It was kind of funny to me that he kept striking up more and more conversations. After I left the front desk, I thought he was just doing it for good customer service. However, I ran into him the next day as well when I was walking through the hotel and he chatted with me again for a couple minutes. It was kind of interesting and definitely not what I expected to happen, but once again it added to the adventures of the trip.
So after making it up to our hotel, of course the first thing we had to do was jump on the beds! That could possibly be one of the best things to do in a hotel room! Our jump wasn't too long, but it was well worth it. We just spent the rest of the evening lounging around and being lazy. Well, I guess we did go out for dinner and ran to the store to grab some things, but we were too tired to really do anything else.
Wednesday we spent the entire day at Disneyland!!! This was quite exciting for me because the last time I went was almost seven years ago. So, I didn't really remember too many things and it felt like I was going for the first time! On top of that it was the perfect day to be there. Not even kidding. The weather was absolutely gorgeous- it was cloudy and nice and cool. Also, there were not many people there, so the lines were very short when they were there. For the first couple of hours we pretty much had no wait for any rides and it was amazing!
I absolutely loved every moment of being at Disneyland and realized why it is called "The Happiest Place On Earth!" It was a day full of much joy! The whole setting of the park is just so happy, the thrill of the rides brings a lot of joy, seeing the characters brings a lot of joy, and the best is seeing all the children light up with their surroundings. That really touched me the most. It was so tender to see all the kids there, many of them dressed up in little costumes, find joy from the simplest things. I couldn't help but smile at that. It was also tender to see a lot of older couples there and still finding joy in everything. You are never too old for Disneyland. I have to admit I felt my inner-child come out by being at the park. The biggest thing that did this for me was my encounter with Goofy. Now I know that all the characters are just people dressed up in costumes, but Goofy was just so sweet. When I went up to him, he put his arms around me and gave me the biggest hug ever. Seriously, he squeezed my guts out.
He wasn't the only character we saw during the day, but he definitely brought the most joy. We also stood in line to take pictures with the Disney Princesses, which are my favorite part of Disney. However, I was quite disappointed that I didn't get a picture with Belle, my most favorite princess ever. She was one of the princesses in the area to take a picture with; however, they switch the princesses out every half hour or so and the line was going slow, so by the time we got to the front they had already switched her out. I did, however, get to take a picture with Cinderella, my second favorite princess, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White.
We also ran into Aladdin and Jasmine in the park so we got pictures with them as well.
So it was still quite exciting seeing my fair share of Disney Princesses.
The rides were of course, also amazing to go on! Especially since there were hardly ever lines to wait in. So before we ate lunch, we went on basically all the main rides. It was awesome! I have a new found love with the ride, Space Mountain. This was my first time riding on it....or I guess first three times. I love roller coasters and the adrenaline rush that comes from riding them. We started off the day by riding Space Mountain, and ended it that way as well. It was the best! Big Thunder Mountain, and the Matterhorn are my other two favorites since they also bring adrenaline rushes and are just straight up amazing! Enough said!
Pretty much it was just a perfect day! There is nothing like having a day to forget about everything and just have fun and be happy. I definitely needed after being so caught up in the stress of work, car problems, and school starting again. It kind of stinks having to come back to them, but such is life and it goes on! I just have to remain positive and remind myself that it will all work out.
Anyways....back to Disneyland. I could spend hours and hours just raving about it. That's how amazing it was. But, I will spare those of you who are reading this and I'll just put some of the pictures from the day. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words.
These are just some of the many many many many pictures we took throughout the day. It was even hard for me to decide which ones I should put on here because each one of them reminds me of fun new memories, and I had to refrain from putting them all! So, these are just a glimpse into our fun times! I loved it and am looking forward to go back to Disneyland again.....hopefully it won't be another seven year wait!
This is just the last picture I wanted to put up from my trip because it is breathe taking! I love Sleeping Beauty's castle. It is one thing I always think about when I think about Disneyland. So as we stood in the evening waiting for the parade to start I looked up and saw this and just melted. I have never seen the castle lit up before that I remember, so it was just fantastic and a wonderful sight! I fell in love with it all over again! Ah! I just love everything about Disneyland! It is truly a magical place if you want it to be! I am so glad I was able to go and experience the magic!
I must admit I was a little nervous about going at first for a few reasons. First of all, we only threw it together a week and a half ago and second of all it was both mine and Jenny's first long trip where we would actually have to drive. I know that may sound silly, but I am still getting used to remembering that I am old enough to have freedom to go on trips like this with friends. So, it was just a new experience in my life, but it was amazing!
We headed out on Tuesday morning and spent the day driving. We weren't supposed to check into our hotel until 4 and we left a little too early so we were running about an hour ahead of schedule....or so we thought. When we crossed the California border and our phones changed times we realized we forgot to factor the time difference into our planning.....oops! So now instead of being an hour ahead of schedule, we were two. We just kept trucking on and decided when we got closer we would decide what to do with our extra time. Well, after driving for a while we decided to stop and each lunch. We saw a Burger King saw off the freeway and decided to stop in a little town called Cabazon, California. As we pulled into the parking lot, we saw this beauty:
and decided to check out this dinosaur exhibit. After all, we did have plenty of time to spare. Well, after we took our first steps into this place we discovered that it was ghetto! However, we decided to stay and check it out since we paid for our tickets. So we walked around and looked at the different dinosaurs.
Anyways, so after our adventures in Cabazon, and after about another hour and a half of driving, we made it to our destination. The Howard Johnson Hotel in Anaheim! Just a short 10 minute walk away from the gates of Disneyland! We were still about 45 minutes early, but they still let us check in, which was nice since we were exhausted. I was also faced with another fun adventure upon arriving to the hotel. Jenny decided that she would wait in the car while I ran inside to see if we could check in. So I went into the front desk to check in and ended up talking to the guy, who was probably like three years older than me, for a good ten minutes. It was kind of funny to me that he kept striking up more and more conversations. After I left the front desk, I thought he was just doing it for good customer service. However, I ran into him the next day as well when I was walking through the hotel and he chatted with me again for a couple minutes. It was kind of interesting and definitely not what I expected to happen, but once again it added to the adventures of the trip.
So after making it up to our hotel, of course the first thing we had to do was jump on the beds! That could possibly be one of the best things to do in a hotel room! Our jump wasn't too long, but it was well worth it. We just spent the rest of the evening lounging around and being lazy. Well, I guess we did go out for dinner and ran to the store to grab some things, but we were too tired to really do anything else.
Wednesday we spent the entire day at Disneyland!!! This was quite exciting for me because the last time I went was almost seven years ago. So, I didn't really remember too many things and it felt like I was going for the first time! On top of that it was the perfect day to be there. Not even kidding. The weather was absolutely gorgeous- it was cloudy and nice and cool. Also, there were not many people there, so the lines were very short when they were there. For the first couple of hours we pretty much had no wait for any rides and it was amazing!
I absolutely loved every moment of being at Disneyland and realized why it is called "The Happiest Place On Earth!" It was a day full of much joy! The whole setting of the park is just so happy, the thrill of the rides brings a lot of joy, seeing the characters brings a lot of joy, and the best is seeing all the children light up with their surroundings. That really touched me the most. It was so tender to see all the kids there, many of them dressed up in little costumes, find joy from the simplest things. I couldn't help but smile at that. It was also tender to see a lot of older couples there and still finding joy in everything. You are never too old for Disneyland. I have to admit I felt my inner-child come out by being at the park. The biggest thing that did this for me was my encounter with Goofy. Now I know that all the characters are just people dressed up in costumes, but Goofy was just so sweet. When I went up to him, he put his arms around me and gave me the biggest hug ever. Seriously, he squeezed my guts out.
On top of that, while he had his arms around me, he stuck his huge finger in my ear, causing me to laugh even more. Then as he was leaving he blew me a kiss. I couldn't help but smile and laugh after that. Who would have thought a stranger in a costume could bring so much joy? That's where I let my inner-child take over. I actually thought of him as Goofy, instead of just a stranger in a costume and it made all the difference.
He wasn't the only character we saw during the day, but he definitely brought the most joy. We also stood in line to take pictures with the Disney Princesses, which are my favorite part of Disney. However, I was quite disappointed that I didn't get a picture with Belle, my most favorite princess ever. She was one of the princesses in the area to take a picture with; however, they switch the princesses out every half hour or so and the line was going slow, so by the time we got to the front they had already switched her out. I did, however, get to take a picture with Cinderella, my second favorite princess, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White.
We also ran into Aladdin and Jasmine in the park so we got pictures with them as well.
The rides were of course, also amazing to go on! Especially since there were hardly ever lines to wait in. So before we ate lunch, we went on basically all the main rides. It was awesome! I have a new found love with the ride, Space Mountain. This was my first time riding on it....or I guess first three times. I love roller coasters and the adrenaline rush that comes from riding them. We started off the day by riding Space Mountain, and ended it that way as well. It was the best! Big Thunder Mountain, and the Matterhorn are my other two favorites since they also bring adrenaline rushes and are just straight up amazing! Enough said!
Pretty much it was just a perfect day! There is nothing like having a day to forget about everything and just have fun and be happy. I definitely needed after being so caught up in the stress of work, car problems, and school starting again. It kind of stinks having to come back to them, but such is life and it goes on! I just have to remain positive and remind myself that it will all work out.
Anyways....back to Disneyland. I could spend hours and hours just raving about it. That's how amazing it was. But, I will spare those of you who are reading this and I'll just put some of the pictures from the day. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words.
These are just some of the many many many many pictures we took throughout the day. It was even hard for me to decide which ones I should put on here because each one of them reminds me of fun new memories, and I had to refrain from putting them all! So, these are just a glimpse into our fun times! I loved it and am looking forward to go back to Disneyland again.....hopefully it won't be another seven year wait!
Cute! I love DLand Churros!! They are the best :]
ReplyDeleteOH MY GOODNESS GRACIOUS AM I JEALOUS?! That WHOLE trip sounded super fun! From the spontaneous dinosaur extravaganza, to the man at the hotel, right down to the silly picture of Jenny on the couch inside Minnies house :] You girls have too much fun together!
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