This past week our RV park was undergoing some major paving work so we made some plans with our friends (the Pitaoulis family) to head to Anaheim for a Disney overnight trip, because we knew that no daytime naps would be had, and it would be a messy disaster in more ways than one if we stuck around here.
Luckily for us on sunday morning we took Nixon to our (here’s hoping) last doggy sitter for an initial meeting. I had such high hopes for this place, just from speaking with the lady on the phone that we made arrangements to drop off Nixon for two nights to see how he would do. Though, when we learned she had a cat, we thought our fate was sealed. Within a few minutes of my leaving him there, she sent a snap shot of him laying by her feet and another of him on her couch all curled up with the cat in the same room. Was this even our dog?!
The day we arrived, we wandered around Downtown Disney to see the shops, and have a bite to eat. Then, Monday was the big Disneyland day, and we were lucky enough to have a decent (yes, not super) hotel in a fantastic location. Walk half a block, then cross the street and you are at the gates. That’s good. And, really, you can’t beat that with a baby who still naps, because we went into the park when it opened (at 9) and had a great couple of hours at her and her friend Payten’s favorite attractions… the dumbo ride, the carousel, and the tea cups, and still had time for a visit to three princesses at the castle (Cinderella, Snow White, and one unknown Princess because her parents are out of the Disney Loop), before walking right on to the Pirates of the Caribean all before noon with virtually no waiting. It was great.
After Rylie’s marathon nap (with assistance, I put her back to sleep after an hour for another 1.5hr), we headed back to the park for some more fun. First we took photos with Pluto, then went on the Jungle cruise, and The Small World. By late afternoon it was time to find food, and headed to find a spot on the parade route to watch Santa and all the characters. We didn’t get to see the parade last time, so this was a first for us. We sat for about 45 min waiting and having a chaotic and messy street dinner in a tight space with 3 kids. Even before it started Rylie was getting restless. But once it got going, it was exciting enough to keep it’s wee audience member captive for the whole 45 min show. Pretty impressive when you’re one and tired.
We were back home at the hotel by about 7, just in time to have a nice warm wind down bath and head to bed. Josh and I felt that we were ditching out early, but these are the new times when you can’t just “go till you drop” like we used to.
We stayed two nights in Aneheim, and the next morning we spent some time at the Outlets at Orange. We hit up the Hurley outlet and stocked up on summer clothes like we have done in Hawaii in the past… shorts, t shirts, board shorts, and Josh even got a new toasty warm fleece lined hoodie for the low price of $35. The prices were great, so we went a little nuts. Merry Christmas to us, just a bit early. You just can’t get this stuff at home with this kind of selection, or price. Rylie was a lucky girl too, we took her to the Nike outlet and got her a nice new pair of little Nike runners in hopes maybe she might think they are cool to WALK in. We also had a nice sit down lunch without too much drama, before heading back on the road to beat the rush hour LA to San Diego traffic.
Nixon was happy as a clam when we picked him up, and thankfully their cat also survived. That, was a bonus and a good sign that he will be invited back to stay for the Christmas break.