cALIFORNIA aDVENTURING!

As you might recall, last weekend we went on a trip with my siblings to celebrate Tia Locita’s birthday. It was the first time my siblings and I had gone away on a weekend trip together. Yes, we’ve done day trips to Roscoe’s Chicken and Hollywood, but never a weekend trip without the parentals. We are finally at that age where we are somewhat grown up and have some form of income, at least enough to spend a weekend together!

Just to recap, our trip was to Disney’s California Adventure and we stayed at the beautiful Hilton Anaheim.

Our day started out eventful as Pinky refused to get back into her carseat after we stopped for some money and coffee. We were in the parking lot for 30 minutes and literally all five of us adults (me, Daddy, Uncle Moe Moe, Auntie Chicka and Tia Locita) tried one by one to put her in her seat. We all failed and finally we just had to force her little butt in there. I hate doing this, but I always tell her it’s safety, not torture. After this I was sure it was going to be a horrible trip. Then when I thout things could not get any worse, Pinky spills her smoothie all over herself right before we enter the freeway. As Daddy takes the sharp turn, I fly across the back seat and land on the door handle! I am furious at this point…then Pinky laughs at me. I wanted to break down and cry. To make a long story short, I vented to Daddy, calmed down and even wrote an article on the ride up – we had an amazing experience. Here are some of the highlights of our trip!

Turtle Talk with Crush Pinky was so excited to see this show. We couldn’t keep her in her seat. She kept running up to Crush to point to him. She was so excited!

The Aladdin Show I was the only one who didn’t fall asleep. If you haven’t seen this show, you must go and see it TODAY! It is Ah-MAZE-ing! The Genie is hilarious, and the storyline is almost exactly like the movie minus Abu and Raja. The writers did a great job of keeping the musical short, while not taking out the main parts. It was so good, I got goosebumps, especially when they performed A Whole new World. It was like a Disney Fairytale in real life. It’s just so amazing how creative Disney is.

They sell chicken salad here? So, we smuggled some white bread and chicken salad into the park, using the baby’s bag. No big deal. I read on www.mousesavers.com that you can bring it as long as you don’t make it so obvious. It helped save us some time and most of all money. Besides, with the money we saved we were able to buy more important things like ice cream, churros and bubble blowers! It held us over for most of the day, but we were starving by night time.

ThunderCats This was random. We sat down to watch the Disney Dance Crew Show while we ate our sandwiches. Before the show begins a host/usher is making conversation with the crowd, entertaining them, ,making sure they’re enjoying their stay. Meanwhile, m brother stands up and starts heading for the trashcan. The host stops him in his tracks calling him ThunderCat (because he was wearing a shirt with the ThunderCat logo on it)! Naturally we all start laughing. What made it more hilarious was that he was talking to my brother like her knew him, asking him why he missed his birthday party and that he was supposed to bring the bean dip! He said the party was sans bean dip! LOL! What was up with the stinking bean dip? I joked and said it was because he was Mexican…I hope that wasn’t the case though.

Ice Cream “Icy creamy ice cream, cold and sweet…icy creamy ice cream, what a treat.” Ice cream was only $4.99 for two scoops in a waffle cone. That’s pretty decent even for a Disney establishment. We all enjoyed this yummy treat especially Pinky!

 

Redwood Creek Pinky loved going on the slide and walking through this trail gave us another travel idea…Yosemite!

World of Color The World of Color show was spectacular! Unfortunately we got tickets to the late showing bu we still stayed. One can never be disappointed with a Disney show that involves water, lights and a coordinating music.  It was a beautiful presentation of the many Disney movies. My only complaint was that the picture was not well projected on the water backdrop. Other than that, another must see.

Adjacent Rooms with a connecting door Some people might not appreciate this, but this was perfect for us, especially for Pinky. It was the closest to a sleepover she’s ever been to. It was nice for me  because all I had to do was open the door and walla…instant baby sitters! It was nice for the siblings because they had immediate access to their favorite niece! Here’s a shot of Peaceful Pinky in her very own queen bed! This is the life…

A Chinese Restaurant that delivers until 2am! After checking in at almost 11pm we were not only exhausted, we were starving. I called the front desk hoping they would suggest a place other than pizza that delivered. The Hilton staff was so great I have to say – they guy who offered three options: pizza, room service (that was about to close in 5 minutes) and CHINESE! Oh my, Choy’s Chinese, delivers to your hotel room until 2am! I was so excited. I yelped it for reviews and they were all good! When the food arrived, it smelled so good, even better it tasted delicious. Daddy made a good point, that if that was how their food tasted delivered, imagine how good it would have been served at the restaurant. We are definitely staying at the Hilton again and eating at Choys! We ordered honey walnut shrimp, beef fried rice, salt & pepper chicken, orange chicken and egg drop soup! All VERY GOOD!

Stewart’s Coffee Shop The next morning, Pinky woke us all up. Daddy slept in a separate bed because we ended up with two queens. She was a bit confused but excited when she found out who was sleeping next door. We all got ready to head home, but before that we definitely needed some fuel. I again called the front desk, asked for the concierge and asked for their recommendations, unfortunately we were too late for the morning brunch which would have only been $23 +tax for a buffet…I went to my trusty old BlackBerry for yelp and found a few options. Just when I was about to give into the dull and drab Denny’s that we get all the time at home, I found a place called Stewart’s Coffee Shop. It was a 20 minute drive but the yelp reviews really made it sound worth the drive. Decent food and CHEAP prices! I called and talked to the owner and he was very nice, when we arrived the staff was very welcoming. When I told the owner we were the ones who called, he was so happy to serve us and even chatted with us for a while talking about San Diego and how his son now resides here. A great family owed restaurant, they really do have great deals of meals and friendly staff. We are definitely going there again!

This trip was one to remember! We’re already looking forward to the next one! Next time we’ll stay a little longer. I hope our highlights help you out on your next trip to Anaheim whether it be to CA Adventure, Disneyland or just to hang out!