Coast to Coast

We arrived home from Florida last night. It felt good to be back. I was happy to see our little CC cat, and she was happy to see us. We ran some laundry, repacked our bags, and got a few hours of sleep before getting up this morning and heading to the airport. This morning we flew from Salt Lake to LAX. Most of Alison’s family was on the flight with us.

Skylee was in a really funny mood. They had to wake her up pretty early and she did not want to go back to sleep. She had a lot of energy. Fortunately, we had three rows together on the airplane and lots of extra seats. Skylee had a lot of fun moving between the rows and we all pitched in to help keep her entertained. We were all really happy it was a short flight.

We arrived in LA, picked up our rental vans, and headed straight to Disneyland. Arriving at Disneyland is always the best. It truly is the happiest place on earth. Skylee could sense it. She kept smiling and laughing. It was easy to see she was so excited. At one point as we are walking in she started spontaneously clapping. It was so funny. We snapped a few pictures on our way in – the first of many on this trip.

We headed to fantasyland first so Skylee could get on a ride. She wasn’t thrilled about waiting in line, but once we got to the ride she was pretty excited. Her first ride was Dumbo and it was fun to watch how much she loved it. Later on, after we rode a few more rides we walked past Dumbo and she said, “ride, ride?” It was so much fun.

Being in Disneyland with the family is very different than any of the trips Alison and I have had here before. Our pace is a lot slower, but I think this is way more fun. It is nice that there is such a wonderful place where parents and children can both find joy. Alison was commenting on how Walt’s desire to create a place where parents and children could play obviously applies to Dan, Kristin, and Skylee, but it also applies to Blake and Debbie and their children and to Kent and Aleene and their children. We have four generations together on this trip and it truly is a place where we can all share in the happiness together.

We are so thrilled that Kent and Aleene came with us on this trip. It has been delightful to spend time with them. They rented scooters to help them get around the park. The scooters are awesome and maybe a little too much fun. Aleene had to turn down the speed a few times because she is fearless and more than a few times ran into something. The scooters help them keep up a good pace and keep us all together, which makes them worth it.

We rode a bunch of other rides together – the Carousel, It’s a Small World, The Haunted Mansion, and Pirates of the Caribbean. Skylee loved It’s a Small World. As soon as we got going and she heard the music she started to dance (kind of like a robot), and she kept dancing until the song ended. The look she had on her face was pure joy. 

In the middle of the day, we rode Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters. We placed a small wager to make it interesting. The person with the highest score would win $5. It was close, but I ended up winning. We also grabbed lunch at the Plaza Inn. The fried chicken there is amazing and it is a must-eat item every time we visit Disneyland. 

We also rode a few of the bigger rides like Big Thunder and Indiana Jones. Kent and Aleene came with us to Indiana. Aleene loved it and when Kent came off Indiana Jones and he says, “What the HELL was that!” It was so funny. The sharp turns kind of caught him off guard, but it seems like he enjoyed it. 

One of our last rides of the night was Space Mountain. I am glad we got to ride that one today. It is one of my favorite rides in Disneyland. It is so thrilling and it was fun to go on it as a family. We got a great pic at the end.

Today was Jake’s birthday. He and Meg flew in from Seattle this morning so they went to the beach instead of coming to Disneyland. We met up with them and went to this random Italian restaurant near our accommodations. It looked a little sketchy but ended up being great. We got a bunch of pizzas to share and at the end of dinner, they gave everyone ice cream and sang happy birthday to Jake and Dan.

It has been a great start to our trip together. I can’t wait to see what the next few days have in store.