A Long, Long Weekend
Around Christmas time this past year, while I was gearing up for my intensive teaching from January to early February, the planning wizard living inside me started to go wild, persistently pushing for the realization of an idea for me and kids to spend a winter break in a sunny southern state like Florida or California when my teaching would be done. After a few rounds of comparison of my schedule with kids' school schedule, and a few rounds of online browsing to search for a destination, I finally locked in a plan to take kids to CA the afternoon when I would finish proctoring the final exam on that morning. In this plan, kids would miss 1.5 days of school (0.5 would be at Valentine's Day party, big deal!), but gain 5 full days of pure vacation fun (three days of President's Day plus two weekend days). And I would get to enjoy a relaxed weekend after the heavy weeks.
The flight was booked back around Christmas, but our itinerary was finalized a week before the departure. Last Wed late afternoon we got on a nonstop flight which arrived at LAX around 6:00pm local time--thanks to the time zone difference. After a short transition from LAX to a car rental office, followed by a quick dinner (in Panda Express sadly--yeah, LA may have many good Chinese restaurants but just not near LAX), I drove to San Diego nonstop with kids sleeping in the back seats. We arrived at one of my SD friends' home around 9:30pm safe and sound.
The next four days we began our daily excursion to San Diego Zoo, Legoland, Wild Animal Park, and Sea World. Each day kids had a blast with the new things, new shows, new rides and new toys. Each night we enjoyed a dinner party at different friends' houses--I have a few close friends who took turns to treat us dinner at their homes. By Monday morning, kids were completely exhausted so we stayed in and they got to play with their new friends--my host friends' kids who only had Monday off for President's Day. It worked out perfect.
What had worked out better was the weather. Before our trip, the forecast predicted two days of sunny and three of rainy days. While we were there, the forecast kept changing and we ended up having four sunny/cloudy days and one rainy day. The rainy day fell on Monday when kids didn't want to go anywhere but stay "home". Couldn't be better!
Another thing that could beat the weather is my newly found appreciation to our GPS. This gadget was actually a Christmas gift from my sister-in-law Morag two years ago. When she gave it to us, my gadget-addictive husband would use it more than I ever did, to which I just sneered and named "her" his mistress (and he protested openly against my name-calling game). This time, he made a suggestion of me bringing it on the trip. Since I'd be doing quite some driving, I wasn't stupid enough to reject it.
The first night in my rental car, the GPS turned out to be a life-saver. With several hours of time difference, by the time we got in the car to head onto a highway, it was way past kids' bedtime. Although I was still awake, driving a new car on an unfamiliar highway in the pitch dark, "her" voice was so soothing that it gave me an unfamiliar comfort. From that moment on, I relied on "her" direction and obeyed it 100% with a sincere trust that I never felt for any human navigator. For the rest of the days when I hauled kids to the theme parks or friends' houses, I became addicted to "her" guidance, and I kept thinking, "I should send Morag a Thank-you note!" Finally after two years, I accepted "her" whole-heartedly. So Thank You, Morag! I mean it.
A few words on the theme parks:
1. Legoland is wonderful, especially when Matthew suddenly released his feeling for the Beetle Bounce by exclaiming "I LOVE it!" over and over, or when William described to me his feeling on the Technic Coaster. "Mommy", he said, "when you told us to close our eyes (my strategy to handle the scariness on roller coasters), I didn't. But then I felt so scared and thought, OMG, I am going to die. But then it was over. And then I thought 'Do it again! Do it again!'" It was so hard to pick out his favorite rides 'cause he loved them all. Matthew had two: Beetle Bounce and Captain Cranky's Challenge, and he enjoyed the Eiffel Tower in the Miniland. Tips for future (new) visitors: when you go in, start from the left to right (easy to challenge). We did the other way around and it was quite a shock for Matthew at the beginning and a downhill for William afterward. Oh, and don't miss the Firefighter show.
2. Zoo and Safari: William got to see Cheetah! At one point, he was only about 5 feet away from one. Matthew loved the skyfari in the Zoo and asked to take it twice! We saw polar bears catching yams, patted lambs and deers, and counted 20-30 giraffs! Zoo and Wild Animal Park are both nice, but if you are short on time, one is enough, and with younger kids, I'd go with the Zoo. Don't miss the Sea Lion show. And if you go to safari, shows are a must-see.
3. Sea World: William and I did Journey to Atlantis, and we all did Shipwreck Rapids. You may not get wet from the rides themselves, but you may not be able to escape the random spectators' "cannon" shots that were set along the path and were operated by dropping in quarters--some park visitors took a great pleasure by flushing their quarters down on you! Shamu show is a must-see, so is the dolphin show. Pets Rule was Matthew's favorite 'cause a pig sprayed on him! (only water).
All in all, kids may have been over-stimulated, but I'm certainly rejuvenated. It was a great trip for me. The only obvious downside from kids is, "We have had enough Chinese food! Four days in a row." So the last meal on the trip was: they split a (16 inches) large size of pepperoni pizza and I enjoyed a Hawaiian BBQ short ribs.
The flight was booked back around Christmas, but our itinerary was finalized a week before the departure. Last Wed late afternoon we got on a nonstop flight which arrived at LAX around 6:00pm local time--thanks to the time zone difference. After a short transition from LAX to a car rental office, followed by a quick dinner (in Panda Express sadly--yeah, LA may have many good Chinese restaurants but just not near LAX), I drove to San Diego nonstop with kids sleeping in the back seats. We arrived at one of my SD friends' home around 9:30pm safe and sound.
The next four days we began our daily excursion to San Diego Zoo, Legoland, Wild Animal Park, and Sea World. Each day kids had a blast with the new things, new shows, new rides and new toys. Each night we enjoyed a dinner party at different friends' houses--I have a few close friends who took turns to treat us dinner at their homes. By Monday morning, kids were completely exhausted so we stayed in and they got to play with their new friends--my host friends' kids who only had Monday off for President's Day. It worked out perfect.
What had worked out better was the weather. Before our trip, the forecast predicted two days of sunny and three of rainy days. While we were there, the forecast kept changing and we ended up having four sunny/cloudy days and one rainy day. The rainy day fell on Monday when kids didn't want to go anywhere but stay "home". Couldn't be better!
Another thing that could beat the weather is my newly found appreciation to our GPS. This gadget was actually a Christmas gift from my sister-in-law Morag two years ago. When she gave it to us, my gadget-addictive husband would use it more than I ever did, to which I just sneered and named "her" his mistress (and he protested openly against my name-calling game). This time, he made a suggestion of me bringing it on the trip. Since I'd be doing quite some driving, I wasn't stupid enough to reject it.
The first night in my rental car, the GPS turned out to be a life-saver. With several hours of time difference, by the time we got in the car to head onto a highway, it was way past kids' bedtime. Although I was still awake, driving a new car on an unfamiliar highway in the pitch dark, "her" voice was so soothing that it gave me an unfamiliar comfort. From that moment on, I relied on "her" direction and obeyed it 100% with a sincere trust that I never felt for any human navigator. For the rest of the days when I hauled kids to the theme parks or friends' houses, I became addicted to "her" guidance, and I kept thinking, "I should send Morag a Thank-you note!" Finally after two years, I accepted "her" whole-heartedly. So Thank You, Morag! I mean it.
A few words on the theme parks:
1. Legoland is wonderful, especially when Matthew suddenly released his feeling for the Beetle Bounce by exclaiming "I LOVE it!" over and over, or when William described to me his feeling on the Technic Coaster. "Mommy", he said, "when you told us to close our eyes (my strategy to handle the scariness on roller coasters), I didn't. But then I felt so scared and thought, OMG, I am going to die. But then it was over. And then I thought 'Do it again! Do it again!'" It was so hard to pick out his favorite rides 'cause he loved them all. Matthew had two: Beetle Bounce and Captain Cranky's Challenge, and he enjoyed the Eiffel Tower in the Miniland. Tips for future (new) visitors: when you go in, start from the left to right (easy to challenge). We did the other way around and it was quite a shock for Matthew at the beginning and a downhill for William afterward. Oh, and don't miss the Firefighter show.
2. Zoo and Safari: William got to see Cheetah! At one point, he was only about 5 feet away from one. Matthew loved the skyfari in the Zoo and asked to take it twice! We saw polar bears catching yams, patted lambs and deers, and counted 20-30 giraffs! Zoo and Wild Animal Park are both nice, but if you are short on time, one is enough, and with younger kids, I'd go with the Zoo. Don't miss the Sea Lion show. And if you go to safari, shows are a must-see.
3. Sea World: William and I did Journey to Atlantis, and we all did Shipwreck Rapids. You may not get wet from the rides themselves, but you may not be able to escape the random spectators' "cannon" shots that were set along the path and were operated by dropping in quarters--some park visitors took a great pleasure by flushing their quarters down on you! Shamu show is a must-see, so is the dolphin show. Pets Rule was Matthew's favorite 'cause a pig sprayed on him! (only water).
All in all, kids may have been over-stimulated, but I'm certainly rejuvenated. It was a great trip for me. The only obvious downside from kids is, "We have had enough Chinese food! Four days in a row." So the last meal on the trip was: they split a (16 inches) large size of pepperoni pizza and I enjoyed a Hawaiian BBQ short ribs.