Ok, so after the previous entry, I didn't take any notes while we were away, so I am going to post the "Cliffs Notes" version because, to be honest, most of it blends all together in my head now.
On Wednesday, June 3rd, we switched hotels since Paul was finished with his conference. Jacob was nice enough to drive us to the new hotel, after having a fabulous lunch at an In 'n Out Burger. Our new hotel, courtesy of Camille and Rob, was at the Towneplace Suites by Marriott. Let me tell you, probably one of the best places I have ever stayed. We LOVED IT. It was like a little apartment with a bedroom, living room, bathroom and kitchen. It was stocked with all you could need in the kitchen and so much storage!! We were so excited to get everything put away in it's place. We were located a little bit further from Disneyland this time, so we took a little shuttle bus to and from the park. Ashley LOVED to get on the bus. She had to get up the steps all by herself! Once we got to the park it was about dinner time, so we had dinner at Toontown (Daisy's Diner). That evening our main goal was to walk around some more and see the fireworks over the castle! We did just that and Paul and I went on the Indiana Jones ride which was a blast! Disneyland is so accomodating because they try to fulfill the needs of every family. Knowing that Ashley was too small to get on a lot of the bigger rides, they invented this thing called a "switch pass". That way, Paul was able to go on first, and I stayed behind with Ashley and then when he was done, I used the pass and got pretty close to the front of the line. It worked out really well.
The highlights while at Disneyland were:
1.) Ashley dancing in the streets and enjoying all the music.
2.) The stellar fireworks display complete with a flying baby Dumbo and Tinkerbell!
3.) Eating breakfast at the little Main Street Cafe, and topping off our evenings with a sweet treat at the ice cream shoppe.
4.) Riding Dumbo, the Teacups, and the carousel with Ashley! She was so excited!
5.) Getting over some of my ride "fears" by going on the Tower of Terror and Splash Mountain.
6.) Riding on the Toy Story 3D Arcade ride with Ashley wearing the 3D glasses.
7.) The Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique when Ashley became "Princess Ashley Snow White"! It was absolutely precious!
8.) When we went to the "ball" after her makeover at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, for dinner at Ariel's Grotto and met all the princesses.
9.) Coming back to our hotel on the shuttle bus and Ashley telling us all about her whole day and all of her favorite things.
10.) The choo choo train ride that took us all around the park. Ashley just loved it! She says, "All d-board!"
It truly was a magical Disneyland vacation. After that amazing experience, we still had a day left to go to LA/Hollywood by limo! We got up the next morning in time to meet the limo driver at 9am. We were dressed to impress, you know, LA Style! :o) (well, we tried to look cool) Our first stop in the limo was to McDonald's for egg mcmuffins! That is how we roll - Mickey D's in the AM! :o) We hadn't had any breakfast, so that was the closest place and Ash was hungry.
As we were eating our egg mcmuffins on the way to Hollywood, we sat back and relaxed and enjoyed the drive - complete with Ashley's Disney Princess DVD playing on the TV inside the limo. How cool are we?! Our first stop was the Hollywood sign and we got as close as you could go and got great photos! Then we went to the Griffith Observatory which was amazing to view the city from way up there. Another great photo opportunity. Then we headed to Paul's cousin Margaret's house. She was kind enough to babysit Ashley while Paul and I went out to eat at the Ivy. Margaret and her husband, Aaron were so kind to do that for us, after not even meeting us. The last time she saw Paul, he was in grade school. Margaret and Aaron have a sweet little girl, Parker, with another little one on the way. We really enjoyed visiting with them.
The Ivy was awesome. What an amazing experience to eat the celeb hotspot. Unfortunately, we didn't see any celebs there that day, but it was still cool. We ate ourselves into oblivion! Paul ordered a mint julep, lime chicken, and tiramisu for dessert and I had champagne with crushed strawberries, a gigantic salad with shrimp and grilled veggies, vanilla and praline ice cream sundae for dessert and we each had a cup of coffee to finish off the meal. The coffee cup was like the size of a soup bowl, so I should really say a bowl full of coffee! :o) Sooooo yummy. After our glorious lunch, the limo picked us up and we headed to the Chateau Marmont for a drink at the recommendation of Margaret. The Chateau Marmont was gorgeous and you just felt like you were back in the time of Charlie Chaplin and the Marx Brothers. Paul had a drink and toasted one to his Hollywood homies!
After the Chateau, we headed back to Margaret's house for a short visit and to pick up Ashley before we headed to Chaplin Studios ( now Jim Henson Studios). Paul couldn't wait to see the studios as Charlie Chaplin is one of his all time favorite Hollywood actors/directors/creators. It was neat because the face of the building hasn't changed at all (kind of looked like a cottage) and they had a painting of Charlie Chaplin on the front door. The topper was that Chaplin's footprints were in the concrete going up the steps and he signed his name in the cement. Paul even did a Chaplin strut down the sidewalk. It was neat!
We headed to the Hollywood Walk of Fame next and on the way passed by the Capitol Records building. We got out of the limo and walked up and down the Walk of Fame taking photos and getting photos next to Grauman's Chinese Theatre and Kodak Theatre. We also got tons of photos of all the signatures and hand & footprints of the film stars. I especially liked seeing Shirley Temple's and Frank Sinatra's prints. We also went inside the old Roosevelt Hotel and I got a photo on the steps where Shirley Temple took her first tap dancing lesson from Bojangles!! Pretty neat! We purchased a shot glass souvenir to add to our collection from our travels as well as a Hollywood sign magnet. About the time, we were stressing from all the traffic and were ready to get out of there! Craziness!
We drove to Beverly Hills and went down the red carpet and got a quick peak inside the Beverly Hills Hotel. Honestly, it wasn't that great. Kind of Miami Vice-esq with the pastel paint colors. Vintage I guess...but still, not as grand as I thought it would be. Then off to Rodeo Drive. By this time, it was later on a Sunday and all the shops were closed. It was a shame because they all missed out on me spending my millions there. :o) We took some fun pics along the strip and also got a shot of the Beverly Wilshire Hotel (Pretty Woman!). After that, we were exhausted and headed back to Anaheim. On the freeway, we stopped at downtown LA and drove past the Staples Center while a Lakers playoff game was going on; so that was cool. (So that's where all the celebs were!)
We toasted a glass of champagne on the drive home while the sounds of Ashley's disney movies played in the background. It was a wonderful trip.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Our Vacation! Part One of Two
Ok, so here we are, almost two weeks since we've been back to Texas, and I am finally writing about our trip. The reason it's taken so long is because it's what you call, A) trying to get back into a routine, B) being exhausted, and C) procrastinating. The first couple of days I was there, I actually took notes. So the first couple of days might actually be more detailed, and then after that I just got lazy. :o)
Our reason for taking this trip in the first place was because Paul had an NCAA Regional Rules Conference to attend for work. Once he heard it was near Disneyland, he thought it would be a great opportunity to extend our time out here and make a vacation out of it once the conference was over. The fact that his plane ticket was covered, he got his meals, hotel and transportation taken care of for the first couple of days, we couldn't pass it up! Once Paul's sisters and aunt caught wind that we were going to Disneyland, they made the trip extra special for us. Paul's sister Camille gifted us some of her Marriott points, so that the hotel after the conference was taken care of which was a HUGE gift and then to top it off they all purchased tons of Disney themed Tshirts and paraphenalia from the Disney Store for us, reserved a limo to take us to Hollywood for a whole day AND money towards a lunch at the Ivy Restaurant in LA. How cool was that????!!!! We were beyond thrilled and speechless. It was more than we could have imagined. We couldn't wait to go on this trip!
Ok here goes....
Ashley was great on the plane, much better than expected. She loved playing with the plane shaped cookies they gave out and she even got her wings from the flight attendant! She played with all the fun gifts we got from Paul's sisters and Aunt and ate peanuts for the first time! She was excited to have her very own Southwest cup with apple juice in it.
When we arrived at the Hilton hotel where the conference was held, we asked for a room with a view of Disneyland (we were that close). We got it and that night we got to see the fireworks from our window!! It was awesome. The grounds and neighborhood outside of Disneyland were so beautiful and was very tourist friendly. There was a nice outdoor mall within walking distance called the Garden Walk, and our first day there we ate at California Pizza Kitchen for lunch after unpacking. After lunch that day were exhausted from early travel and tried to grab a nap back at the room. Ash had already fallen asleep in the stroller on the way back and Paul and I tried to sleep, but we both were just too excited about actually being in CA and near Disneyland that we just couldn't sleep! We were like two little kids on Christmas morning!! So funny!
After our "nap" we went to dinner with Jacob and Daniel (friends from work who attended the conference) at ESPN Zone in Downtown Disney. Downtown Disney is attached to the theme park, but you don't have to pay admission to get into it. It only goes so far and then you have to cross the gates to get into the Disneyland and CA Adventure Park. Downtown Disney is fun and there are tons of live musicians playing around you and tons of cool stores, like the Lego's store where we saw an entire life size dinosaur made out of Legos! We made our way to the World of Disney sore and I got a pot holder in the shape of Mickey's hand! I thought it was so cool. I saw a store called the Disney Vault and got excited because I thought you could find all the Disney movies that you can't find in the normal stores in there. We have been trying to find the Little Mermaid on DVD and right now it's in the Disney Vault. Well, I was wrong.... it was a clothing store. What an idiot!
When we returned to the hotel room, we waited for the fireworks and it was the most beautiful fireworks display I have seen in my life. And it was LONG. What an adventure for a first day!
The next morning I took Ashley to IHOP for breakfast since Paul started his conference. Ashley ordered a GIANT chocolate chip pancake and I had the Rooty Tooty Fresh 'n Fruity. Afterwards we went for a long walk through the Garden Walk and walked up and down the streets taking in the beautiful weather. It averaged 70 degrees, no humidity. The smell of the flowers along the walk were one of the things I remember most. Lots of honeysuckle. It was so pleasantly sweet. We played a lot outside in a courtyard between the Anaheim Convention Center and the hotel. It was lined with palm trees and so beautiful. We went upstairs and had a snack, watched TV and painted nails before meeting Paul, Jacob and Daniel for lunch at Johnny Rockets. Filled with yummy burgers and fries we went back to the room for a nap and some R & R. The hotel room had a channel that looped a fish aquarium and Ashley fell asleep to it each day while I read the paper and my book. After her nap, we went to the hotel pool and Ashley said she wanted to "Swim like Ariel" so that's what we did. However, it got a little chilly and windy outside after our dip in the pool and when she got out her teeth were chattering. We got some cute video of her blowing bubbles with chattering teeth. Super cute! For dinner, we went back to Downtown Disney with Jacob, and grabbed some snacks since we were still kind of full from lunch. We ate a pretzel, kettle corn (the best I've ever had) and I had beignay's( kind of tastes like funnel cake) for the first time. It was nice strolling around and enjoying the scenery.
The next morning, Paul brought us some muffins and croissants from the conference and Ashley and I hung out in the room for most of the morning, watching Tom and Jerry cartoons and eating. We got dressed went for a walk around town, and found the entrance to Disneyland since we planned to go that evening. Ashley and I walked a lot around town after deciding to head back to the courtyard to play until lunch time. Jacob joined us and we walked to Buca di Bepo. One of my favorite Italian restaurants. I haven't been to one since we lived in NJ, so it was a real treat. I love the atmosphere there!
That evening, we met up with Jacob and Daniel and walked to Disneyland! Our first stop was to go on the train that circled the entire park to get a lay of the land, err, Lands! :o) Ashley loved it! We got off the train at Tomorrowland and were planning on waiting in the line for the Finding Nemo submarine ride, but realized it was too long and decided to split up for a bit. While Jacob and Daniel went on Space Mountain, Paul, Ashley and I made our way to the castle and got pictures there! It was so magical and special to be there!! It wasn't just in a picture! We were actually there! We also went on the monorail and got a glimpse of the whole park as well. We met up with Jacob and Daniel at Adventureland, where we all went on the jungle cruise and had dinner at a barbeque place - chicken on a stick, a Mickey Mouse shaped pretzel with cheese, and fruit cup.
We split up again and Paul, Ashley and I decided to head back to Main Street just as it was getting dark. All Ashley wanted to do was DANCE in the streets! It was so cute watching her in her element with all the streetlights around her and the wonderful music playing in the park - it was truly magical! We went and picked out our Disney Mickey Ear hats and got our names embroidered on them. We met up with the boys again and headed to Toontown, where all of us went on the Roger Rabbit ride. It was so fun! These little taxis took you all around this crazy cartoon. Then it was time to meet the Main Man of Disney - Mickey Mouse! We went through his house and at the end you got your picture with him. Ashley just loved him and gave him hugs and kisses! So adorable. Afterwards, we headed back to Tomorrowland, where Paul got to ride Space Mountain with Jacob and Daniel, while Ashley and I people watched and sat by a pizza place called the Pizza Port. It looked futuristic and fun. By then it was late and we headed back to Main street to the exit. It was an amazing first night at Disney!! :o)
Our reason for taking this trip in the first place was because Paul had an NCAA Regional Rules Conference to attend for work. Once he heard it was near Disneyland, he thought it would be a great opportunity to extend our time out here and make a vacation out of it once the conference was over. The fact that his plane ticket was covered, he got his meals, hotel and transportation taken care of for the first couple of days, we couldn't pass it up! Once Paul's sisters and aunt caught wind that we were going to Disneyland, they made the trip extra special for us. Paul's sister Camille gifted us some of her Marriott points, so that the hotel after the conference was taken care of which was a HUGE gift and then to top it off they all purchased tons of Disney themed Tshirts and paraphenalia from the Disney Store for us, reserved a limo to take us to Hollywood for a whole day AND money towards a lunch at the Ivy Restaurant in LA. How cool was that????!!!! We were beyond thrilled and speechless. It was more than we could have imagined. We couldn't wait to go on this trip!
Ok here goes....
Ashley was great on the plane, much better than expected. She loved playing with the plane shaped cookies they gave out and she even got her wings from the flight attendant! She played with all the fun gifts we got from Paul's sisters and Aunt and ate peanuts for the first time! She was excited to have her very own Southwest cup with apple juice in it.
When we arrived at the Hilton hotel where the conference was held, we asked for a room with a view of Disneyland (we were that close). We got it and that night we got to see the fireworks from our window!! It was awesome. The grounds and neighborhood outside of Disneyland were so beautiful and was very tourist friendly. There was a nice outdoor mall within walking distance called the Garden Walk, and our first day there we ate at California Pizza Kitchen for lunch after unpacking. After lunch that day were exhausted from early travel and tried to grab a nap back at the room. Ash had already fallen asleep in the stroller on the way back and Paul and I tried to sleep, but we both were just too excited about actually being in CA and near Disneyland that we just couldn't sleep! We were like two little kids on Christmas morning!! So funny!
After our "nap" we went to dinner with Jacob and Daniel (friends from work who attended the conference) at ESPN Zone in Downtown Disney. Downtown Disney is attached to the theme park, but you don't have to pay admission to get into it. It only goes so far and then you have to cross the gates to get into the Disneyland and CA Adventure Park. Downtown Disney is fun and there are tons of live musicians playing around you and tons of cool stores, like the Lego's store where we saw an entire life size dinosaur made out of Legos! We made our way to the World of Disney sore and I got a pot holder in the shape of Mickey's hand! I thought it was so cool. I saw a store called the Disney Vault and got excited because I thought you could find all the Disney movies that you can't find in the normal stores in there. We have been trying to find the Little Mermaid on DVD and right now it's in the Disney Vault. Well, I was wrong.... it was a clothing store. What an idiot!
When we returned to the hotel room, we waited for the fireworks and it was the most beautiful fireworks display I have seen in my life. And it was LONG. What an adventure for a first day!
The next morning I took Ashley to IHOP for breakfast since Paul started his conference. Ashley ordered a GIANT chocolate chip pancake and I had the Rooty Tooty Fresh 'n Fruity. Afterwards we went for a long walk through the Garden Walk and walked up and down the streets taking in the beautiful weather. It averaged 70 degrees, no humidity. The smell of the flowers along the walk were one of the things I remember most. Lots of honeysuckle. It was so pleasantly sweet. We played a lot outside in a courtyard between the Anaheim Convention Center and the hotel. It was lined with palm trees and so beautiful. We went upstairs and had a snack, watched TV and painted nails before meeting Paul, Jacob and Daniel for lunch at Johnny Rockets. Filled with yummy burgers and fries we went back to the room for a nap and some R & R. The hotel room had a channel that looped a fish aquarium and Ashley fell asleep to it each day while I read the paper and my book. After her nap, we went to the hotel pool and Ashley said she wanted to "Swim like Ariel" so that's what we did. However, it got a little chilly and windy outside after our dip in the pool and when she got out her teeth were chattering. We got some cute video of her blowing bubbles with chattering teeth. Super cute! For dinner, we went back to Downtown Disney with Jacob, and grabbed some snacks since we were still kind of full from lunch. We ate a pretzel, kettle corn (the best I've ever had) and I had beignay's( kind of tastes like funnel cake) for the first time. It was nice strolling around and enjoying the scenery.
The next morning, Paul brought us some muffins and croissants from the conference and Ashley and I hung out in the room for most of the morning, watching Tom and Jerry cartoons and eating. We got dressed went for a walk around town, and found the entrance to Disneyland since we planned to go that evening. Ashley and I walked a lot around town after deciding to head back to the courtyard to play until lunch time. Jacob joined us and we walked to Buca di Bepo. One of my favorite Italian restaurants. I haven't been to one since we lived in NJ, so it was a real treat. I love the atmosphere there!
That evening, we met up with Jacob and Daniel and walked to Disneyland! Our first stop was to go on the train that circled the entire park to get a lay of the land, err, Lands! :o) Ashley loved it! We got off the train at Tomorrowland and were planning on waiting in the line for the Finding Nemo submarine ride, but realized it was too long and decided to split up for a bit. While Jacob and Daniel went on Space Mountain, Paul, Ashley and I made our way to the castle and got pictures there! It was so magical and special to be there!! It wasn't just in a picture! We were actually there! We also went on the monorail and got a glimpse of the whole park as well. We met up with Jacob and Daniel at Adventureland, where we all went on the jungle cruise and had dinner at a barbeque place - chicken on a stick, a Mickey Mouse shaped pretzel with cheese, and fruit cup.
We split up again and Paul, Ashley and I decided to head back to Main Street just as it was getting dark. All Ashley wanted to do was DANCE in the streets! It was so cute watching her in her element with all the streetlights around her and the wonderful music playing in the park - it was truly magical! We went and picked out our Disney Mickey Ear hats and got our names embroidered on them. We met up with the boys again and headed to Toontown, where all of us went on the Roger Rabbit ride. It was so fun! These little taxis took you all around this crazy cartoon. Then it was time to meet the Main Man of Disney - Mickey Mouse! We went through his house and at the end you got your picture with him. Ashley just loved him and gave him hugs and kisses! So adorable. Afterwards, we headed back to Tomorrowland, where Paul got to ride Space Mountain with Jacob and Daniel, while Ashley and I people watched and sat by a pizza place called the Pizza Port. It looked futuristic and fun. By then it was late and we headed back to Main street to the exit. It was an amazing first night at Disney!! :o)
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
We're back!!
We arrived back in San Antonio from California on Monday and boy did we have a wonderful time!! So much to write about. Disney was fantastic and LA was fun! I will be sure write about the trip as well as attach some photos and video very soon. We're back to work and trying to get used to being back in the Central time zone. I find myself hungry for dinner around 8 or 8:30 at night and not tired enough to go to bed earlier than 11:30pm. So it's been tough getting up for work at 5:45am to say the least!! I am so surprised that those 2 hours make such a difference. Anywho, I attached some "teaser" photos for now. I will be sure to attach more. Lord knows I have enough photos - all 975 of them! :) No exageration there either. We also took over 4 tapes of video!! Yep, we were those parents but it was so worth it!
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