A world of hopes and a world of fears
Oh, happy cocktail hour. It turns out this Embassy Suites has a "Manager's Party" from 5:30 - 7:30 with--you guessed it--free cocktails, wine, and beer, and popcorn. Oh, and slushees for the kids. Honestly, this is the greatest hotel ever. They completely understand what parents want: free booze. And lots of it. And free. And some sugar for the kids.
But let's start at the very beginning. And we'd better hurry before these free glasses of Cabernet Sauvignon render me completely unable to blog. Oh, the horror.
We woke up bright and early (Not by choice--you understand we have a small infant who awakens at the merest sliver of light through blackout curtains. He's obviously going to be a rock star.) and made it to our free breakfast by 7:30. By 8:15 we were dressed and out the door, where we encountered Mike's dream come true: an overcast day in southern California.
Even though we are born and bred Americans, we scoffed at the thought of waiting for the shuttle and walked the mile or so to Disneyland. The sidewalks were empty; nobody walks in L.A. We arrived moments after the gates opened and meandered over to It's a Small World with a stop first at the Teacup Ride.
We then did the train around the park, which we followed with lunch. Then we hit the Haunted House, Tarzan's Treehouse, and the Jungle Cruise. At this point, Thomas was asleep so we strolled over to Mickey's Toontown, where Emily enjoyed some more toddler-friendly attractions.
Toontown was where I realized that I was getting delirious. Mickey, Minnie, funny cars... it was all becoming too much, too surreal. Even though we were visiting Disneyland on a fairly un-busy day, the hordes of people, strollers, and kids was starting to make my head spin. We decided we'd had enough around 1:30 and made our way out of the park and back to our hotel.
The walk back to the hotel seemed considerably longer, but I still think it's a feasible walk for a family. It did help that it wasn't unbearably hot, but it definitely beat waiting for a shuttle.
After naptime, we had dinner at Buca di Beppo, conveniently located in the parking lot of the Embassy Suites Hotel. We love this restaurant, although the one in San Francisco is so popular we have never been able to go as a family. On a Monday night in the off-season in Anaheim, we had the place to ourselves.
And then there was happy hour and now we're home, safely nestled in our suite. Mike's about to give the kids their bath and I'm about to snuggle up with my latest book, This Book Will Save Your Life, which my book club is reading for June.
Tomorrow we're heading over to see the California Adventure theme park and maybe to the Mexican restaurant recommended by Squid. We're having a great time hanging out as a family. This trip is a nice beginning to our month, which is going to be filled with visitors, birthdays, baby showers, and other family gatherings.
***
Technorati tags: family vacation, Disneyland
But let's start at the very beginning. And we'd better hurry before these free glasses of Cabernet Sauvignon render me completely unable to blog. Oh, the horror.
We woke up bright and early (Not by choice--you understand we have a small infant who awakens at the merest sliver of light through blackout curtains. He's obviously going to be a rock star.) and made it to our free breakfast by 7:30. By 8:15 we were dressed and out the door, where we encountered Mike's dream come true: an overcast day in southern California.
Even though we are born and bred Americans, we scoffed at the thought of waiting for the shuttle and walked the mile or so to Disneyland. The sidewalks were empty; nobody walks in L.A. We arrived moments after the gates opened and meandered over to It's a Small World with a stop first at the Teacup Ride.
We then did the train around the park, which we followed with lunch. Then we hit the Haunted House, Tarzan's Treehouse, and the Jungle Cruise. At this point, Thomas was asleep so we strolled over to Mickey's Toontown, where Emily enjoyed some more toddler-friendly attractions.
Toontown was where I realized that I was getting delirious. Mickey, Minnie, funny cars... it was all becoming too much, too surreal. Even though we were visiting Disneyland on a fairly un-busy day, the hordes of people, strollers, and kids was starting to make my head spin. We decided we'd had enough around 1:30 and made our way out of the park and back to our hotel.
The walk back to the hotel seemed considerably longer, but I still think it's a feasible walk for a family. It did help that it wasn't unbearably hot, but it definitely beat waiting for a shuttle.
After naptime, we had dinner at Buca di Beppo, conveniently located in the parking lot of the Embassy Suites Hotel. We love this restaurant, although the one in San Francisco is so popular we have never been able to go as a family. On a Monday night in the off-season in Anaheim, we had the place to ourselves.
And then there was happy hour and now we're home, safely nestled in our suite. Mike's about to give the kids their bath and I'm about to snuggle up with my latest book, This Book Will Save Your Life, which my book club is reading for June.
Tomorrow we're heading over to see the California Adventure theme park and maybe to the Mexican restaurant recommended by Squid. We're having a great time hanging out as a family. This trip is a nice beginning to our month, which is going to be filled with visitors, birthdays, baby showers, and other family gatherings.
***
Technorati tags: family vacation, Disneyland
<< Home