Chronicles of Disneylandia ... (Day 8)

Day 8 and were still weren't feeling great - well - just Bert. Everyone else seemed to be okay. We had tickets for Sea World and so we packed up and headed toward the ocean. I had never been, I wasn't sure what to expect, and I can tell you, it was nothing like I expected. But I must factor in that we were there on a Saturday and so was half of Southern California. And since crowds and I just don't get along super well - that surely contributed to the fact that Sea World did not impress.

But we had been spoiled by an incredible few days at DLand and the Zoo - so, I guess something had to be subpar!

Anyhow - we pushed through the crowds and avoided the food lines and made it into the Orca show - which was the highlight of the day. I guess I was expecting to be able to see more of this, so the one show, about 30 minutes long, was fabulous, and then it was over. And then we realized there was nothing else for us to see at Sea World, so we left.

But, the Orca show was beautiful, and I did capture a little bit of it (okay - I took about 100 photos during the show - but these were my faves):

After Sea World we drove around San Diego looking for two things - gas and dinner. We found both and as it was still in the afternoon, we sent poor Bert (who was probably down 15 pounds by this point in time) and The King back to the suite to rest. I grabbed the kids and headed for Solana Beach.

We spent a few hours there. And as the sun set, we warmed up on a rock, gathered our belongings and headed back to the suite, hoping that The King hadn't wandered away while Bert was sleeping.

Sure enough, we got there and all was well. BUT, just for the record, The King did try to get out. Thankfully Bert was able to keep him in the room. We then sprinted down to the pool where we found out that we live 10 minutes away from the family we were sharing the hot tub and pool with - small world.

Then it was back to the room for showers and to start getting ready for the ride home - sigh!!!

Chronicles of Disneylandia ... (Day 7)

WHEW ... to make it to a new day and not have another sick person was a HUGE relief! (especially since I am the last one - it was like this dark cloud just following around, looming over my shoulder ... "you're next" it taunts - and I just hope each day to dodge the bullet - someone needs to keep this vacation going - ha ha)

We woke up this morning finding out all about the devastating earthquake in Japan - we didn't quite grasp the extent of the damage, as we were only catching snippets of information here and there. But we did hear that there were tsunami warnings along the coasts - so we opted out of Sea World and went to the zoo instead. We would go to Sea World tomorrow.

It was a good choice - we were feeling okay enough - the kids were pretty good - Bert was still struggling - he was pretty sure he dropped 10 pounds in one day - we would find out when we got home that that might have been true as he ended up losing 18 pounds altogether with this bug he caught - INSANE! And as much as I would love to drop 18 pounds - I wouldn't wish that method on anyone. I am still just so grateful that I never came down with all this garbage - what a blessing!

So, on to the zoo - this really is one of the most wonderful places to visit - I can't get enough of this zoo - we have to stop there every time we make it down to the lovely San Diego area. And isn't it great to be met by lovely elephant bush sculptures?

We went straight to the koalies ... The King couldn't get enough of them - he just kept giggling and pointing and saying, "Awww - look at the cute koalies". I am not sure who was cuter ... the koalie or the King. In fact, we gave the kids little disposable cameras to use that day, and I think The King took all his photos at that first stop with the koalies.

But can you blame him - look how darn cute and cuddley they are!

Then there were the flamingos - my goodness - they are just so striking - I couldn't keep my eyes off them!

And, we got a great view of the pandas.

In fact, we like the pandas so much we had a photo taken with them!!!

LOVE the moving sidewalks to get you up and down those steep hills at the zoo - such a great feature!

And now, the reason I go to zoos in the first place:

We watched one of the zookeepers feeding this sweet elephant - I loved how she interacted so tenderly with the elephant and the elephant responded with the same kindness. I was just mesmerized by the whole process - I really need to get a pet elephant someday! They are the most amazing, beautiful, emotional, intellectual creatures - I can't get enough of them. And since they have been my favorite thing as far back as I can remember - well - my family just gets to put up with my little obsession because it isn't going anywhere anytime soon!

Oh, and the Condors - such amazing ugly and fascinating birds - so great to see them.

And the meerkats - they were totally hiding until the kids started making funny little noises. Then, they were all over the place and posing for the camera - such silly little things.

And speaking of silly things:

The kids were finding favorite things all over the place - I can't wait to see the photos they all took - but I keep forgetting to get their film developed.

And then there was Bert, he was there for the tigers - and luckily we got some fantastic views of the tigers, too!

And toward the end of the day we made our way up to the polar bears. This guy gave quite a show - rolling and frolicking and taking a HUGE dump right in front of us. (yes, I do have photos - no, I will not be posting them here!)

It took everything out of Bert to make it through the day - so after the Polar Bears we jumped on the little tram and floated back to the entrance and took our leave. It was a beautiful day and we were all thrilled with what we had experienced - it really is one of my favorite places to visit.

With that, we went back to our lovely suite, spent some time in the pool and hot tub, The Boy almost drowning when a girl took his floatie away - sheeeeese. Thankfully Bert was on it right away and all was well. We ordered Megamind from the hotel PayPerView thing and nestled in for a great nights rest. It was a good day!

Chronicles of Disneylandia ... (Day 6)

Sure enough ... Day 6 brought the sickies to one more member of our family. Thing 1 woke up feeling fine, but right after breakfast she realized she was not fine. She spent the morning puking and spitting and just laying on the bed. But sadly, we had to be out of our room by 11 am and we couldn't check into our San Diego room until 3 pm.

So, we packed everything up, parked in the DLand parking garage and went in for a few more hours of whatever we could manage!

The Boy tried to get into the Jedi training camp, but they didn't pick him - clearly the stars were not in our favor today.

But Thing 2 was in top form and wanted to ride a few of the things we missed on our first day there - like the Tea Cups and Space Mountain. So we zipped around to the few other rides we were hoping to get on, enjoying a few more moments of DLand before we said goodbye for who knows how long (it had been 5 years since our last visit).

And my sweet Thing 1 just sat in the stroller with her head down, spitting all that excess spit into plastic baggies. What a pathetic picture, don't you think? The King passed out, Thing 1 wishing to just be in bed and Bert pushing them both around still feeling like garbage. But he insisted on doing the pushing as he said it actually helped him stay upright!

Now, just for the record - we were washing our hands and staying away from things while we were there, we knew it probably wasn't the most responsible thing we have ever done, but since we probably spread more sick germs on Monday and Tuesday before realizing we were sick, I didn't feel too terrible about going there after the fact and being a million times more careful!

But, energy was not on our side, so after a few short hours at the park, we were ready to roll on down the highway and check into our new home. The best part is that despite the illness that hit our family, we were able to take in the most of DLand that we ever had. The lines were short, the weather was PERFECT and we literally rode ever ride we wanted except for Splash Mountain which was closed. So, no complaints and no feeling jipped - it was definitely good enough.

And so we bid adieu to the proclaimed Happiest Place on Earth and headed for the actual happiest place on earth just an hour or so south! We found our new hotel without any trouble and checked right in. We were so happy to find out that the hotel not only had a full hot breakfast served daily, but they also served a complimentary dinner Monday through Thursday nights - and it was a Thursday night right then - YAY!

So we had our free grilled burgers and sides and then settled into our room for some much needed rest (especially for Bert and Thing 1). Again, going to bed with the hope that tomorrow would bring some much needed recuperation and healing for our family.

Chronicles of Disneylandia ... (Day 5)

Day 5 brought us one sick daddy! The boys were up and running and ready to go ... but not Bert - he was in a position where he needed to have immediate access to the facilities if you know what I mean. So, we hung around all morning hoping that with a little time he would start to feel better.

So, we waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And finally we realized we weren't going to have our 3rd day at Disneyland today - we would have to wait until tomorrow. So, we started thinking about the pool. We checked it out and sure enough, it was closed. There was a sign on it that said that it would be open after 2pm. That was something to look forward to. Being locked up in a hotel room ALL day is a bit of a slap in the face to kids in vacation mode ... especially DLand mode.

So, we ran a few errands, leaving Bert in the room. When we got back it hit me how bad that room was smelling ... so sorry to include such details, but it's for me to remember and sometimes all these little bits and pieces are important. So, I brewed my first pot of coffee, not a beverage I consume, but I have always enjoyed the smell - and that made the room so much more tolerable.

I also checked emails and phone messages and found out that the hotel we had booked for San Diego fell through (we had booked with hotels.com). And to make up for it, they upgraded us to a Hilton Suite near Del Mar - that brightened up our day tremendously!

And then we just sat on pins and needles waiting for the pool to open!

This next photo was taken at 6:15pm - apparently the pool wasn't going to open at all that day. We called the office and sure enough - we were OUT OF LUCK!

That's when the cabin (hotel-room) fever hit HARD and I had to get out of there.

So I dragged my poor, sick, puking his guts out husband and 4 crazed squirrels and buckled them all in the car and drove due west. I figured if I kept going west I would eventually hit the ocean. And we did, however, we ended up getting a little off course and it took a LOT longer than it should have. But we made it to Seal Beach - at dusk and it was AMAZING!

We didn't see any seals - but there was sand, surf and shells, and a beautiful board walk - that was all we really needed!

The ocean is beautiful, medicinal and magical - I probably should live a little closer to one - it made all the ickiness and frustration of the day just disappear. And Bert totally forgave me for forcing him into this little outing, well, until we got lost on the way back to the hotel. Then he was kind of miffed again. In fact, after the third time passing by a certain street he made me pull over and he got in the driver's seat and got us to our hotel in a matter of 2 minutes. (I do much better in the navigator's seat, I think.)

And just one more note, I am officially in love with those little old hippie/bohemian neighborhoods built near beaches.

The Chronicles of Disneylandia ... (Day 4)

We woke up ready and raring to go on Tuesday. We started off with breakfast at the hotel (which I must say was pretty decent - saved us a TON of $ by not having to eat at the park). We were feeling good and ready for some big rides, so we went to California Adventure first thing.

First things first - we got our Fast Passes for the Color Wonder light show thingy ... we were told that was a MUST! Then, we met up with some old friends ... (they couldn't keep their paws off the kids' hair).

And then it was off to the 3D Bugs Life Adventure ... love that little butterfly - I try to get it every time!

And then it was off for some serious riding ... (okay the kid rides first, but the girls were ready for the big stuff - so after hitting every ride in a Bug's Life, we were on the road to bigger and better things). But even if the girls claimed to be a little bored with the kiddie rides - I still caught some smiles on their faces. And the Boys - oh, the boys were in heaven - and you can tell!

They had so much fun that the King (soon to be renamed The Tyrant) just knocked right out. While he slept Bert took the girls on some of the BIG rides, they couldn't get enough of the big coaster and the rapids ride.

We loved soaring over California, and getting an amazing HIGH score at Toy Story Mania, and taking a few more rides on the rapids. And, as it turned out, we shared a raft on the rapids ride with a couple staying at our hotel (as we found out the next morning at breakfast).

Then, we headed over to the Tower of Terror - why? I still don't know. But The Boy enjoyed the army guys who stopped right there to do a little show for the crowd. And that would be the highlight of our venture to that side of the park!

I think I can safely say that this is the WORST RIDE EVER!!!

I don't love this, I don't think I will ever go on this again.

It was simply just horrifying, and all I can remember is holding on to my two precious girls the whole time so that I could make sure they were still in their seats and not floating over DLand.

Free fall things and I just don't mix!

With the disappointment of that horrific ride, the girls just had to go on the big coaster one more time. And since I hadn't been on it yet, I took them. Bert hung out with the boys while we hurried to take in one more ride, as it was getting to be close to sunset and we would want to get dinner before hitting the big water/light show.

Well, we enjoyed the coaster tremendously and got off to find Bert with a very sad little boy. The King had thrown up all he owned all over the midway there by the exit to the roller coaster. And when I say everything, I really do mean EVERYTHING! Poor kid - he was miserable and he couldn't stop - stuff just kept coming up even when it didn't seem that there could be any more. We strolled him to a quiet corner where there weren't many people so that we could get him cleaned up. And while we were getting him more settled I thought I could hear that familiar, awful sound of more vomit. Sure enough, there was The Boy, unloading all he owned right there in our quiet little corner. Holy COW!!! Have you ever seen the Barf-o-rama scene in "Stand By Me"? Seriously disgusting, but one of my favorite movie scenes of all time - I guess that says a lot about me - oh well - I am what I am. Anyhow - that kept playing in my head, which was good, because it helped me kind of step outside of the situation and laugh a little instead of losing my mind, or my lunch!

So now the task was just to get people to stop vomiting long enough to make it back to the hotel. First Bert set out looking for some Customer Service to 1. Let them know about the new piles of "stuff" that would need to be attended to (oh, that has got to be one of the more unfortunate duties - cleaning up vomit at the happiest place on earth), and 2. ask where we could find a taxi.

So, with the vomiting on pause for a bit, we set out to get to a taxi. I am pretty sure we walked just about as far to get the taxi as we would have walked to get to our hotel. But hey, now the kids can add taxi ride to their list of things they have done!

We made it back to the hotel, got the boys bathed and pajamed and the worked on getting those tummies settled for the night. And the good news is that they were ready for bed pretty soon and the vomiting came to a stop ... for them!

Once things were settled, I found a little Italian Restaurant close by and ordered Spaghetti and Meatballs, Salads and bread. I gave the fellow on the phone a bit of a heart attack when he asked for my name, as it very CLOSELY resembles a Hollywood A-lister when said quickly. He stuttered a little, I could feel his blood pressure climbing, and I totally knew what was happening. Then I cleared up the mix-up and let him know that he should not be expecting a visit from her:

Oh, it's never fun to disappoint in that way, but he took it well. And, just for the record, the food was good, much better than we would have had on the park, and for about half the price - YAY for that!

We gobbled it all up, got everyone else ready for bed and just when we thought we were finally getting settled in, hoping that we would be rested and ready for another day at DLand tomorrow, guess who had to join in on the fun ...