Disneyland During the Christmas Season

Surprise! We hit up Disneyland again this year! 

Our anniversary was on December 13th so we thought hey, why not go to Disney for our Anniversary and see all of their Christmas decor. We’ve only ever been during the Halloween time or during no holiday so this would be all of the winter decor. This time we knew Presley was going to have even more fun because we’ve been letting him slowly watch Cars and he’s really into them so Radiator Springs was going to be real life for him. 

We only have one full day in the parks so we started the morning in California Adventure. We wanted Presley to be able to see Cars Land and enjoy his time there seeing all of it. He was even tall enough to ride Mater’s tow ride. We also visited Stanley the founder of Radiator Springs and saw everything they had to offer from Fillmore’s Organic Fuel to Sarge’s Surplus. We also got to meet Mater, see Lighting McQueen and meet Cruz Ramirez. 

Once we left Radiator Springs, we headed over to Pixar Pier. I do want to tell you though that I got the Macaroni and Cheese/Bacon bread cone at Cozy Cone and it totally changed my life. Probably some of the best Mac and Cheese I’ve ever had in my life. If you go to RS, get the cone... trust me.

Once we got over to Pixar Pier, Presley rode the carousel and the Imagine ride. We also rode the Cars ride and Incredicoaster while Presley got to pick out a toy in the shops.

We had went to a character breakfast earlier in the morning but Presley was thrilled to run into Mickey and Minnie again.

Next we headed over to Disneyland to spend the rest of the day there. We of course did all the fun photos in front of the Christmas tree and Castle. We rode Jungle Boat, Pirates, the Matterhorn and by then we were worn out. We will be back though! Christmas was super nice at Disney and this was our first time but it won't be our last!

A Lake Tahoe Thanksgiving

This year we did something different for Thanksgiving. We loaded up the car (three cars to be exact) and hit the road to South Lake Tahoe. 

This was my first time to spend Thanksgiving in Tahoe. My husband has spent many Thanksgiving holidays there but this was our first time together and as a family. This was also my first time travelling to Tahoe in the winter. If you've ever been to South Lake Tahoe or even Tahoe in general then you understand the tortuous road that it takes to get there. You climb to a grueling 7,382 feet at Echo Summit to then fall down into the basin of Tahoe. Oh, did I mention there's no guard rails at some points along the road? All that keeps you from falling to your death is white knuckles on the steering wheel and 2 feet of dirt on the side of the road.

With all that said, that's the main reason why I had actually never ventured over to Tahoe in the winter. However, a few months ago, my husband's cousin and I had the brilliant idea to plan a Thanksgiving out of town and dreamed of loading up 9 adults and 2 toddlers to make the trek for a winter trip at Thanksgiving. What we didn't know when we planned it months ago, was that it was going to become a winter storm advisory with whiteout conditions only hours before we were set to hit the freeway. 



This live camera feed of Echo Summit saved us all because I religiously checked it. We got chains for the cars and loaded them down with all the bear necessities. When it came time to pull out of the driveway we headed into the snow and grueling pace of 20 mph with one lane of traffic moving through chain control and what is usually a 2 hour drive turning into almost 4 hours of being in the car. But hey... we didn't go off the mountain so that worked for me!

When we arrived in South Lake we were greeted with a winter wonderland. It was like living in a snow globe with never ending snow flakes, freezing temps and bears galloping in the background on people's house steps. We not only saw one bear but two along with it opening our unlocked car door to get a piece of gum. At least he left our cash.

We went to Heavenly and the beach which was covered in snow and ice all the way down to the water's edge. 

Presley got to play with his cousin, we all enjoyed the view and company and we made some winter memories in the snow. It was a great time. I think we will do the same thing next year but hey... you never know where life can take you. Also, the place that we rented was great with a wonderful view above the lake. You can see it here if you are interested where we stayed. It was close to the shops and Heavenly and it was pretty easy to get in and out of considering the weather. 

Presley’s First Birthday

Last week Presley turned ONE! 

We didn’t celebrate with a huge, blowout party. We just had a few family members over and friends. We didn’t even do party invites that’s how small we kept it. We did eat cake though!

We opened gifts all day long, we played with our new gifts then we would repeat that cycle. In true fashion, Presley was having so much fun he refused to take his last nap so by the end of the night he had been up for almost 8 hours. I was rewarded with him sleeping the majority of the night and getting up at 6:25 a.m. 

The weather was not cooperating on his birthday so we had to wait till President's Day to take him to the Zoo and boy did he LOVE it! He got to see all kinds of different animals and reptiles, take part in the Giraffe encounter and even saw some real life water hogs from the Lion King. 

I think for a first birthday party we did pretty good! Next year will be completely different because he will be so much more aware. We will have to start planning a great birthday theme and plans!

Disneyland 2018

When I was on my hiatus from blogging, we took Presley to Disneyland and California Adventure. It was also my husband's birthday trip. Usually we head north to Seattle but this year we decided to do something a little different. My husband's birthday is just a few days before Halloween and for years now he always makes a comment about how it would be nice to go to Disneyland at Halloween. Well... we never go because we go to Seattle instead and the cycle repeats of me hearing about how we should go to Disney for the Halloween décor.

Well October 2018, I booked the annual trip to Seattle and then promptly cancelled it. I then rescheduled a trip to Disney and told my husband that this year we were in fact going to Disneyland.

Since I had never been to Disneyland this was going to be my first trip there and clearly Presley's first time as well. Presley was already very familiar with Mickey Mouse because he gets taken to the Disney store several times and gets to pick a new Mickey each trip. His eyes light up and he gets so excited so I knew he'd like meeting the "real" Mickey at the park.

If you've never booked a trip to Disneyland then you are in for a price surprise! Even before the increase in ticket prices, the happiest place on earth will give you the blues once you've spent all your money on the trip. I enlisted some of my husbands family and we rented a large house via AirB&B to stay at. The owners were crazy but that's a whole different story.

We did three days in the park with 1 park each day and 1 magic morning. Maybe we didn't do our Magic Morning right but half the park's rides weren't even running during the magic morning. The restaurants weren't open nor were the gift shops so unless you just wanted to take photographs or ride the ride It's a Small World then I didn't get the point of Magic Morning.

I did appreciate the nursing room located in both parks. It was clean, easy to locate and air conditioned! They also have baby supplies in case you run out and a place to feed and change Presley who of course had many poop explosions while we were there. I also appreciated the rider swap on the maxpass (which cost extra by the way) because that did save us several minutes when we had to switch off. If you were like me, and knew nothing about Pirates of the Caribbean ride, when they offer to let your family sit in the front row- decline as you have a small child who doesn't want to be splashed. Wish I would have known that it was going to have a dip at the beginning....

The price of food, water, mickey ears etc.. well you can go bankrupt without ever leaving the park. BUT they do take your photos!

I was clearly unimpressed by this ride lol! Also I loved the new COCO ears! And Presley even got in on wearing them...

Our It’s A Small World Ride. I’m glad we rode it when we did because it shut down the next day to star the refurbishment.

Clearly my husband wasn’t digging the ride either.....

What’s your favorite part of thing to do in/at Disney? 

Welcome to Palm Springs

The week before Thanksgiving, I ditched the 60 degree temperatures of Northern California and hit the road to Palm Springs. There I found myself in a heat wave of 90 degrees in the middle of November. My jeans felt sweltering and I quickly changed into shorts to walk around in their historical downtown. Knowing that Thanksgiving was just a few short days away it felt odd sitting pool side and lounging in my swim suit. But hey... someone has to do it.

This our first time to Palm Springs and it definitely has a different kind of vibe. It felt like traveling back in time but with tons of spas and restaurants. On this little mini getaway (Sunday-Tuesday) we spent some time by the pool, ate at three really unique restaurants and did the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. The restaurants that we ate at were Pinochio, Sherman's Deli & Bakery and Peaks. Pinochio's was a great place for brunch. Sherman's was a great lunch spot as you can see from the pastrami sandwich...

And then Peaks. Peaks is only available if you travel to the top of the Aerial Tramway. You can eat your meal at over 8,500 feet high in the sky. The wait is a little long but the view will keep you busy while you wait.

The Tramway was by far the most fun thing we did while we were in town. First you have to drive 2.5 miles up the mountain to reach the tram. Once you reach the tram you rise up to 8,500 feet above the desert sky.

The tram ride to the top takes about 15 minutes to complete. Once you step out of the tram you are rewarded with amazing views of Palm Springs and the surrounding areas.

Even though we were there for a short time we had a great time in Palm Springs. We may go back next year but you never know. We have so many places we want to go so places like this go back to the end of the line once we've visited them. I think if we were big into hiking then Palm Springs would have been the place to visit. For us it was just a fun place to go for a few days and relax and do something new.
 

It's Game Day!

Football season has started and tailgating is underway! We are season ticket holders for the Oakland Raiders and attend the majority of the home games. I think we'll be skipping their Christmas Eve game again this year but besides that we are at the games. We don't just attend them we tailgate at them and have a lot pass to do so. Our typical home game day timeline...

The night before we load up the car. We put our tent, grill, ice chest, chairs, charcoal, utensils, food that doesn't need refrigerated, paper towels etc. If we need it for the game it goes into the car the night before.

Game day...
5:15 a.m.- Wake up and get ready.
6:00 a.m.- Leave the house.
8:00 a.m.- In the line of traffic at the gates of the Oakland Coliseum.
8:15 a.m.- Park in our spot and immediately get the tent up.
8:30 a.m.- Get the grill heating up.
We grill out, eat some food. I people watch hardcore. Have you ever been to a Raiders game? These people are crazy! They come in costumes, they sell items in the parking lot, your tailgating neighbor asks for forks or foil etc. Anything goes during this time.

So what do we grill? Well hot dogs are a must. I love eating hot dogs off the grill. We will also do either chicken or a tri-tip. Sometimes we will do all three. It just depends on if we are expecting to see anyone we know during tailgating. First game of the season we did hot dogs and chicken.

If it's a 1:30 p.m. start time we have the tent and dismantlement done by 12:15. You've got to walk from the lot to the security lines and then fight the crowds to get into your seats. If you've ever been to an Oakland game then you know walking and maneuvering through the crowds can be tough! The lines for the concessions go out in to the walkway making it extremely difficult to make your way through the crowds.

Once we are in our seats, I try to stay there! We do love getting a Round Top pizza for the 3rd quarter. So one of us will face the crowds or we will get lucky and one of the guys walking around selling items will come near us with the Pizza. We usually get the cotton candy guy or the lemonade guy always coming down our row. During this time I'm people watching yet again. You never know what can happen in the crowd. Last week I watched two Raider fans actually get in an argument about them winning. After a touchdown one man ran down the isle and acted like he was going to punch the guy but ended up giving him a hug.

You just never know what you'll see at a Raiders Game!