California 2013

I just returned from a PERFECT weekend in California with my Mom, niece and her friend Ashley.

We left Friday afternoon and were surprised when we didn't run into any traffic (that should have been our first clue this was going to be an awesome weekend). We arrived, checked-in, unpacked and went to Wendy's. I am now addicted to the frosty waffle cones.

Saturday we started the day off at Topanga Beach.

This is a great place to take pictures and no one is ever there.

Mom wasn't paying attention and got hit by a big wave.

We attempted the cute "in the air" shot but Ashley and I had a hard time actually getting into the air since the sand made it hard to jump. Fail.

We spent most of the trip laughing. Sometimes laughing so hard we were crying

 (Good try Mom. You almost nailed it!)

After taking pictures we headed to Venice Beach.

The girls had never been there so we introduced them to the craziest beach in town!

It was there the guy in the pipe shop asked my Mom if she wanted a hit. He told her she had to be high on Venice. I'm thinking we might have been the only ones who weren't!

After shopping,

 (Just in case you wanted to see how the swimsuit looks on you if you have huge implants!)

people watching and eating yummy fruit,

we made our way back to the car. But not before catching the end of the sumo wrestling! What a sight.

We never actually got in the water, it was too cold. I'm pretty sure the water in California is always cold. And it was cool outside too so we would have froze. Reason #2 it was a perfect weekend, temperatures in the 70's!! It was actually cold at times and we all had to wear our jackets.

After we left the beach we went to the scariest Taco Bell I've ever been to. The counter where you order was closed off with bullet proof glass. They opened a little door to slide your food out to you. We decided not to eat inside after all. Scary.

Next we went to Downtown Disney to walk around. Bad idea. I knew I wouldn't be able to get that close to Disneyland and not go! We stopped a couple people to ask how crazy the lines were because I didn't want to spend $87 a ticket and only ride 5 rides. Surprisingly they said it wasn't too crazy and the longest line they waited in was 30 minutes. We found out they would be open 8-11pm Sunday so we decided we'd go. After all we were already there, might as well go. That night we went in the jacuzzi and tried to get to bed early so we could survive a full day at Disneyland.

Sunday we got to Disneyland around 9:30.

We went straight to the Nemo ride because neither one of the girls have been on that ride and that line is usually the longest. From there we went on the Matterhorn, Space Mountain, ate pasta/salad, went on Star Tours, Astro Blasters and Autopia. Then we took the Disneyland Railroad to Main street so Danielle could get a "Just Graduated" pin from City Hall and a graduation cap with Mickey ears that had her name engraved on the side. They had such cool graduation stuff.

It was there we saw Goofy and Pluto, the only characters we got our picture with!

After that we took the train to Toon Town. We didn't ride either ride in Toon Town because the Roger Rabbit line was long so we went straight to Fantasyland and rode Its a Small World, Pinocchio, Snow White, Mr Toad's Wild Ride, Peter Pan and the Mad Tea Party (tea cups). Then we walked through the castle to check out the new Fantasy Faire which my girls are going to love!

Next up we got fast passes for Indiana Jones, went on the Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean (or Carrots of the Pirabbean if you're delirious), ate clam chowder bread bowls, went to the Tiki Room, got our dole whips, went to the Haunted Mansion and then on the Pooh ride. As we were walking back to ride Indiana Jones the fireworks started so we got to watch those too. Disneyland has the best fireworks ever! At the last minute I decided not to go on Indiana Jones because I didn't want to hurt my back anymore than it is. As soon as the other 3 got off they said it was a good idea I didn't go. Guess it's worse than I remember.

We ended the night going on the monorail and shopping. We left around 12am. We were there 15 hours, rode 20 rides and made memories to last a lifetime! The longest line we waited in was 30 minutes, so hard to believe it was a holiday weekend and the beginning of summer.

Monday we went to Hollywood to eat at Hard Rock and walk around Hollywood Blvd.

We walked by Jimmel Kimmel Live and had to take a picture knowing that is where the famous "Channing all over your Tatum" took place (one of our many laughs from the trip).

We went in this new Sweets store which was awesome. They had every kind of candy you could imagine, the place was huge.

Then it was time to head home. Sadly, all good things must come to an end. We really had a perfect time. No traffic, beautiful weather and short lines at Disneyland. I think everyone left California for the weekend!

We made so many memories, laughed until we cried and kept a notebook of all the funny things that were said. The laugh of the trip was Mom petting her mustache.

Of course there was the "Channing all over your Tatum" song that got stuck in our head and our somewhat inappropriate theme song that we listened to no less than 20 times. That was Dustin's fault, he snuck it on the USB plug with all the other country music. All in all it was a wonderful trip!