Tuesday, January 18, 2011

San Diego to Anaheim

After only a quick visit and relax in San Diego it was off to Anaheim for Disneyland.

After a short trip up the coast we reached Anaheim at about 9.30am and were able to check into our hotel straight away (very unusual). The hotel was pretty average but was close to the Disneyland entrance and convenient to everything else. After unpacking the car it was straight across to Disneyland to hit the rides! It was a Sunday so the park was relatively busy but we still didn't have to wait too long to go on anything. We stayed on until the early afternoon before heading back to the hotel, jumping in the car and going for a drive to see what we could find. We ended up at Downtown Disney wandering through the shops. Dinner tonight was at Rainforest Cafe (where we had a really nice meal)! The cafe is set up like a rainforest and every 20 minutes they simulate a rain storm. After dinner we headed back into the park to see the night time fireworks.

Next day we were up and at it early and headed a few doors up to IHOP for their all you can eat pancakes (for $4.99)! Then it was back across to the parks, only this time we headed into Disney's California Adventure Park. Here we went on a couple of tame rides/attractions first, before the brave ones (Jo & Wade!!) went on the California Screamin rollercoaster and Tower of Terror. As it was a Monday and school was back in the US the parks were really quiet (I think we heard more Aussie accents than anything else!). By lunchtime we had pretty much finished in the park so we headed back across to Disneyland to go on a few rides we had missed the day before. For dinner a few of us headed into one of the restaurants for the World of Color dinner package (where we got a three course meal and then priority viewing for the World of Color show that was on that night). The World of Color show was amazing - similar concept to the Bellagio Fountain show but also incorporating colour, and video projections on the water. Seeing this would have to be one of the highlights of the trip as well.

On Tuesday, after a slower morning, Wade and Jo decided to head across to Knott's Berry Farm (as Wade had a need for more rollercoasters!!). This park was only about a 10 minute drive away and when we got in there it was like a ghost town!! There was hardly anyone in the park and there was no wait on any ride we went on. After riding about 6 rollercoasters in less than two hours we were pretty much done and headed back to the hotel for a bit of a rest. Later in the afternoon the boys headed into LA for their Lakers Game. The boys had some great seats - on the floor about 8 rows back and saw some celebrities while they were there (including Andy Garcia, Will I Am, Cameron Diaz and Nate from Gossip Girl). The game was well and truly won by the Lakers (final score of Lakers - 112 Cleveland Cavaliers - 57).

Wednesday = last day of holiday! Today we took our time getting up and finishing off packing as we had a long day ahead of us. Our flight wasn't due to leave until 11.50pm so we had the whole day ahead of us. After checking out around 11, we headed across to South Coast Plaza - which was one of the big malls not far from Anaheim (to do some last minute shopping)! After some shopping and a bite to eat we started on our drive up the coast (with the ultimate destination being LAX). Our drive took us past Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, Long Beach, Manhattan Beach and on to Santa Monica. We had a bit of a wander at Santa Monica, before we jumped back in the car. By this stage everyone was pretty much done but we still had over 6 hours until our plane left! We went for a bit more of a drive before finding a Westfield where we wandered for a while and then grabbed some dinner before dropping the rental car off and heading across to the airport to wait for our plane.

And so that is another holiday over (now where to next....)!!

Here are the photos from this last part of the trip.

San Diego




Disneyland






Jo and Wade on California Screamin (three from back)

Disneyland - at night (for fireworks show)


Boys trying on hats at Rainforest Cafe

Dinner at Rainforest Cafe

At our World of Color dinner



Disney California Adventure park - at night



World of Color Show






Lakers Game


Sunday, January 9, 2011

Vegas & San Diego

On our next day in Vegas we picked up a basic hire car so we could get out and see a few more things. First stop after picking up the car was Walmart to stock up on chips, drinks and lollies (all vital snacks for the car!). Then it was off to the Hoover Dam, which was about a 45 min drive outside of Vegas.

After the Hoover Dam it was off to the the Premium Outlets for some shopping! After hours of shopping we came home with a boot full of shopping bags - was a successful trip for everyone! Dinner was at Planet Hollywood tonight and then after wandering through the casinos we watched the Bellagio fountain show outside (done to "One" from Chorus Line).

On the next day (just in case we hadn't bought enough) we went shopping again! This time we headed up to Fashion Show Mall and then down to Town Square. Dinner was just down in one of the restaurants in the Miracle Mile shops under the hotel and then we took a drive up the strip and to Freemont St to see everything lit up at night.

Next day we were up bright and early to pick up our second hire car (bigger this time) and it was off to the Grand Canyon. We left the hotel just before 8am and didn't get back until just after 7.30pm so it was a long day of driving, but well worth it. There was plenty of snow building up on the side of the road on the way out and by the time we got to the Grand Canyon it was everywhere! It was pretty amazing to see, especially with all the snow around - but of course was pretty cold up there. Of course the drive back seemed much longer than the drive there and by the time we got back we were starving! Our plan was to go back to the Bellagio Buffet for dinner but when we got there the line was huge to go in (probably would have taken more than an hour to get a table) so we headed next door to Caesar's and ate at their buffet. It definitely didn't match the one at the Bellagio, but we did have some awesome desserts.

Next day, after some strategic packing of the car, we were off on our way to San Diego. We arrived here about 4.30pm and checked into our hotel - which is just out of town but still quite a nice hotel. We headed across to the local supermarket to pick up some bargains (it is crazy how cheap the alcohol was)!After a long day of driving dinner consisted of pizza delivered to the room and the drinks we had purchased earlier!

Today we took a drive through downtown San Diego and across to Coronado. San Diego is a really nice city - very quiet in comparison to some of the others we have been. After our drive we headed south to the last exit before crossing into Mexico to another Outlet Shopping Centre - to do - you guessed it - even more shopping! We came home with a boot full of more shopping bags again and an extra suitcase (really not sure how that is fitting in the car for the rest of the trip!).

Thanks to our driver - Wade for all the miles of driving you have done so far - you have only gone onto the wrong side of the road once and through a stop sign once (both today and within seconds of each other - lucky there was no one else around at the time)!!

Here are some photos from this part of the trip:

Bellagio Fountain



Our Initial Hire Car



Hoover Dam






Bel's Shopping Efforts


Our Second Hire Car


Grand Canyon Day












Our Packed Car on the way to San Diego