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| Newport Beach |
This is our last family vacation before Ali and Jackson leave for college, and we'll only get to see Jackson for part of it. He is traveling to Disneyland with the River Ridge High School band. They have an incredible opportunity to attend a backstage clinic in Disneyland, where they will learn about playing music for movie soundtracks, and then perform in both parks. Jackson and the band left Thursday morning on a bus, stopping at various colleges and conservatories for other performances and clinics along the way. The four of us flew out last night at 6:00 with plans to meet the band in Disneyland on Sunday morning.
Walking through the Sea-Tac airport Friday afternoon, we ran into my friend Kelly, who was leaving for vacation with her family. They were flying to San Francisco for the night and then on to Mexico in the morning. We chatted for awhile and then went our separate ways. A few years ago, we ran into Kelly and her family in Disneyland, where we later spotted them through a window eating dinner at a restaurant in the park and I took pictures of them from the bushes and then texted them to Kelly. Some might call it "stalking," I might call it "hilarious."
Walking through the Sea-Tac airport Friday afternoon, we ran into my friend Kelly, who was leaving for vacation with her family. They were flying to San Francisco for the night and then on to Mexico in the morning. We chatted for awhile and then went our separate ways. A few years ago, we ran into Kelly and her family in Disneyland, where we later spotted them through a window eating dinner at a restaurant in the park and I took pictures of them from the bushes and then texted them to Kelly. Some might call it "stalking," I might call it "hilarious."
Imagine my surprise when, once we were seated on the plane, Kelly and her husband Eric boarded our flight about 5 rows in front of us. So I took this picture and texted it to her:
It turns out they didn't get on the flight to San Francisco, so they took ours instead. Eric is a pilot for Alaska Airlines and they were flying standby. Chad and I wished we were sitting next to them so during the flight we could ask all the questions we wanted: "Hey, Eric, is that clunking sound normal?" "Hey, Eric, could you fly this plane faster than this guy?" "Hey, Eric, do think girls should be allowed to be pilots?" And other important aerospace topics that we all wonder about.
They are cool people and I hope you get the chance to run into them on vacation some day. If you know them, please don't tell them I wrote this; there may be a restraining order in the works.
When we arrived in California, we picked up our white Volkswagen Beetle and drove 5 minutes to Embassy Suites. We checked into our room where Ali and Ashley immediately crashed, so we headed downstairs to the hotel's Mexican-fusion restaurant Vibrante for drinks and appetizers. Luis was our server and, as we were finishing up, he pointed to his name tag and told us to remember how well he treated us. The sheer number of his tattoos plus the creepy eye contact he made as he slowly pointed to his name tag equals me being too scared to NOT tell you how good Luis treated us.
We woke up this morning in no rush at all. We eventually made our way downstairs for a delicious buffet breakfast and then sat around our table for an hour talking about recent events in the media. We also discussed O.J. Simpson (he comes up a lot in our family for some weird reason.) And we talked about missing Jackson and what he'd be doing if he were here. Probably cracking us all up or showing us memes.
We checked out of the hotel and Ali and I dropped off Chad and Ashley at Costco so Chad could replace his broken phone, and then we drove to the South Coast Plaza. South Coast Plaza is the largest mall on the west coast and with stores like Cartier, Hermes, and Gucci, is it any wonder that a fashionista such as myself wanted to go there? Ali and I walked into Versace and both of the employees immediately looked away in disgust, as if they had just witnessed a fat homeless man vomit on his own shoes. We took one look at an ugly $3,000 dress and we actually almost did vomit, so we stormed out like an angry Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman (minus all the glamour) and drank lattes at Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.
After a while, full of caffeine and indignation at the 1%, we picked up Chad and Ashley and drove to Newport Beach.
We stopped for pizza and gelato at a beachside dive and then played in the sand for a couple of hours. It was a beautiful day and we were enjoying ourselves, but we all felt Disneyland calling.
We drove to Anaheim, listening to the Beach Boys the whole way, and checked into our hotel. The girls took off for Downtown Disney as fast as they could, and Chad and I followed at a much slower pace. We went on a date to The Disneyland Hotel to enjoy a relaxing evening at Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar. We drank fun drinks with names like Hippopoto Mai Tai and Zambezi Sour and we ate ahi poke and panko-crusted Chinese beans. The girls joined us for awhile before getting bored and leaving us alone to enjoy being old together.
After dinner, we made our way through Downtown Disney, stopping by the Wonderground Gallery to look at all the art we want to decorate our house with but probably never will, and then we stood outside Marceline's Confectionery and watched women make caramel apples that are works of art themselves.
When we were all in bed trying to get a good night's sleep for our first day in the park and the fireworks started, for just a fraction of a second, I thought North Korea had finally made their move, but then I remembered where we were and the $50,000-a-night firework show became music to my ears.
Tomorrow we get to see our boy and none of us can wait. And after we visit Mickey, we'll probably look for Jackson.
"There is old Trader Sam, head salesman of the area. Business has been shrinking lately, so this week only, Sam's offering a two-for-one special: two of his heads for just one of yours."
--Rachel
They are cool people and I hope you get the chance to run into them on vacation some day. If you know them, please don't tell them I wrote this; there may be a restraining order in the works.
When we arrived in California, we picked up our white Volkswagen Beetle and drove 5 minutes to Embassy Suites. We checked into our room where Ali and Ashley immediately crashed, so we headed downstairs to the hotel's Mexican-fusion restaurant Vibrante for drinks and appetizers. Luis was our server and, as we were finishing up, he pointed to his name tag and told us to remember how well he treated us. The sheer number of his tattoos plus the creepy eye contact he made as he slowly pointed to his name tag equals me being too scared to NOT tell you how good Luis treated us.
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| Our beautiful hotel |
We checked out of the hotel and Ali and I dropped off Chad and Ashley at Costco so Chad could replace his broken phone, and then we drove to the South Coast Plaza. South Coast Plaza is the largest mall on the west coast and with stores like Cartier, Hermes, and Gucci, is it any wonder that a fashionista such as myself wanted to go there? Ali and I walked into Versace and both of the employees immediately looked away in disgust, as if they had just witnessed a fat homeless man vomit on his own shoes. We took one look at an ugly $3,000 dress and we actually almost did vomit, so we stormed out like an angry Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman (minus all the glamour) and drank lattes at Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.
After a while, full of caffeine and indignation at the 1%, we picked up Chad and Ashley and drove to Newport Beach.
We drove to Anaheim, listening to the Beach Boys the whole way, and checked into our hotel. The girls took off for Downtown Disney as fast as they could, and Chad and I followed at a much slower pace. We went on a date to The Disneyland Hotel to enjoy a relaxing evening at Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar. We drank fun drinks with names like Hippopoto Mai Tai and Zambezi Sour and we ate ahi poke and panko-crusted Chinese beans. The girls joined us for awhile before getting bored and leaving us alone to enjoy being old together.
After dinner, we made our way through Downtown Disney, stopping by the Wonderground Gallery to look at all the art we want to decorate our house with but probably never will, and then we stood outside Marceline's Confectionery and watched women make caramel apples that are works of art themselves.
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| Who needs The Louvre? |
Tomorrow we get to see our boy and none of us can wait. And after we visit Mickey, we'll probably look for Jackson.
"There is old Trader Sam, head salesman of the area. Business has been shrinking lately, so this week only, Sam's offering a two-for-one special: two of his heads for just one of yours."
--Rachel
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