Hot Sun in the Summertime: Our Southern California Vacation

We just completed our first vacation with baby and toddler- it went well. We drove to Southern California, and it only took 7.5 hours. Graham slept for the first 4 hours. We stopped in Buttonwillow both ways, one of the highlights being their Starbucks with a drive thru. Graham cried the last 45 minutes of the drive south and Spencer discovered he really likes his ear being touched. We stayed with my Aunt in Orange County and used her lovely home as our base camp. We visited the Huntington Library, Arts and Botanical Gardens and the babies enjoyed our stroll through the gardens, the galleries not so much. We were able to view some key pieces and briefly tour the first floor of the historic home before it was clear it was time to go. That evening we had a lovely visit with our friends the Turners and Gwen enjoyed playing with their kids. We went to the LA Zoo with my sister and her family. There we met her 3 foster boys who are amazing. It was an incredibly hot day, and we were thankful for the misters around the park, and had to indulge in ice cream. The highlight of the LA Zoo was the Orangutans in the Red Rainforest and the new Asian Elephant enclosure. We met up with Spencer’s sister at the Orange County Fair for yet another hot day walking around on a blacktop. We saw the animals (including 3 week old piglets), went on some amusement rides (Gwen is a fan of the Ferris Wheel), and drank Orange Julius’ and ate roasted corn. The highlight was probably the Elephant ride Gwen went on with Spencer. And the grand finale: we went to Disneyland, for yet another very hot day walking around on a blacktop. Have I mentioned we walked a lot in the relentless Southern California sun? Overall Disneyland was great, but man it was hot and crowded. We were there for 10 hours and Gwen went on Dumbo, the Storybook Boat Ride, the Circle D Coral (petting Zoo and cabin with coloring), visited with Winnie the Pooh, Eeyore, and Tigger (after a one hour wait!), went on the Winnie the Pooh ride twice with me and a third time with Auntie B who met us there for the second part of the day)- it was the only ride with less than a 30 minute wait), It’s A Small World, we then hung out in Toon Town for a bit before Spencer and I went to dinner at the Blue Bayou without the kids! This was the highlight of our trip. We have always wanted to eat there, and with Auntie B watching the kids for an hour we could have a little much needed respite. After dinner we saw fireworks, followed by the Carrousel, and then shuttle back to the car. We have pledged to never go to Disneyland in the summer again. They really need to limit the number of people they want to accommodate if they are to succeed in maintaining the happiest place on earth experience. The other takeaway from Disneyland: Gwen is easily amused and entertained, she doesn’t need an extravagant outing. Two cute observations on the long drive down I-5: the first water tower she saw she said, “Hey! There’s a lighthouse.” And on the drive home, “Look there’s the ocean.” We assume she said this because you can’t see anything beyond the horizon in the nastiness that is the Central Valley. Overall we had a lovely time and are so pleased with our babies for being such great little travelers.