California sure pulled out all the stops! Pt 5 and final thoughts

**Mickey'sGirl** · 08-31-2008, 11:14 AM

Our Disneyland adventure July 26 to 30, 2008

Day 5 (Wednesday) and the rest

Cast of characters (and I mean characters!) Me (Jennifer), DH (Brian aka CanadianWDWFan), DS10 (Harry) and DS4 (Euan).

Well, we woke up and decided that we wanted to go, as in leave. We had another day pass, which we had intended to use at California Adventure, but we were just not into it. Don’t get me wrong. We loved Disneyland, but Tuesday had taken the edge off it a bit, and we were anxious to get on with things. So we checked out, and headed to the desert.

We finished our two week stay by heading out to Barstow and spending a couple of days in the desert. We drove over and saw the Hoover Dam (Brian and Harry walked over it), checked out some early man sites and the Route 66 museum. Then we headed up to Tahoe and spent the weekend with John and his family. We had a terrific day on Saturday at Lake Tahoe on the beach. It is one of the nicest days I have ever had. It was great to meet up with such good friends, if even for a short visit. Then we went down to Monterrey for a couple of days. A huge climate change from the desert!! The aquarium is INCREDIBLE, and the boys spent hours checking out the tide pools, and the very cool exhibits within it. Then we went to San Francisco for a couple of days. What a terrific city! Clean and interesting! We went to Alcatraz, rode the Cable Cars, ate in China Town, went up Telegraph Hill and down Lombard Street. It is a really fabulous city, and I would love to go back to spend some more time there in the future.

All in all, California pulled out all the stops for us! We had very good weather, saw many of the different things this great state has to offer, and we got Mother Nature’s extra features with the earthquake and the forest fire. This was very memorable holiday for us, quite different than what we usually do at WDW. We are fortunate to have had the experience.

The boys like to talk about the earthquake – and honestly, so do I “What an effect!” (What a dufus!) As nervous as it made us, it was nothing compared to riding down in the elevator at the Marriott Suites in Anaheim with the keynote speaker from an NRA convention. He wanted to make sure we understood how ridiculous he thought the ban on assault weapons was. “What did he mean, Mom?” A bit of a head scratcher for we tree-hugging gun-banning Canadians… I digress… The short of it is that we had a fabulous holiday (even if it took me a month to recuperate) in several really terrific locations in California. Disneyland and California Adventure are really fabulous parks. They are intimate and we felt a lot of “Walt” nostalgia throughout our stay. If you have the opportunity, go!

**Caroleh** · 08-31-2008, 12:10 PM

Sounded like a great trip, Jenn!!!

**Melanie** · 08-31-2008, 12:32 PM

Thanks for reporting, Jen.

**ElenitaB** · 08-31-2008, 03:25 PM

Jenn, thanks for sharing this trip with us and your great pics (I'm guessing that the new camera got a lot of use). You've had me walk down memory lane (seeing Barstow and visiting the Dam on my way out to San Diego for grad school, and how I reacted to my first earthquake), but also planted seeds for future travel destinations (northern California).

Great report!

**Dsnygirl** · 08-31-2008, 05:49 PM

Jenn, I'm glad to hear you had such a wonderful trip... boy, you guys did a lot!! I'll have to scroll through your pictures some time... they look absolutely beautiful. I'm glad you guys got some time w/ John... I'd enjoy meeting him someday. Thanks for sharing all your memories w/ us!!

**ChipnDaleGal** · 08-31-2008, 09:34 PM

You saw some really beautiful places after you left DL, Jenn. Sounds like you really had a great trip overall. Thanks for sharing it with us.

**Carol** · 08-31-2008, 10:13 PM

They are intimate and we felt a lot of “Walt” nostalgia throughout our stay.

Perfectly said. I love the up close and personal feel of Disneyland.

Your trip was amazing - as were your photos. Thanks for sharing them with those left behind.

**NotaGeek** · 08-31-2008, 10:55 PM

Thanks for taking the time to do this awesome report. I love that you enjoyed the Pacific side of the US ...

**tinkwest** · 09-01-2008, 12:51 PM

Thanks for the wonderful and in depth reporting on your trip to California. I'll catch your pictures later.

It's nice that you had the time to visit a good deal of the state, even though I'm sure the Disneyland Resort was the highlight!!

**Marla** · 09-01-2008, 03:16 PM

Very nice pictures, and just an incredible trip report. Thank you

.

**MegaDisney** · 09-01-2008, 08:21 PM

I am so glad you enjoyed the Disneyland Resort!

You can now officially call yourself a Disney Fan, having visited the Original (and the best IMHO)

Thanks for taking the time to report on your California Adventure!

**offwego** · 09-01-2008, 10:19 PM

Jenn, I'm so glad you go to see some of San Fran and so many other sites. The pics are amazing!

Thanks for sharing it with us!!

**disneydrmr** · 09-02-2008, 09:32 AM

Wow! Your Tahoe pics are beautiful!!! Did you see any ghosts at Alcatraz?? All in all you guys had a great time it appears! I"m so glad you were able to go and Euan had a 'normal' arm for the trip! I've enjoyed your reports and pictures! Thanks for sharing!