We took our first "big" vacation as a family of 5 to Santa Clara, CA to visit Great America. The trip began in the wee hours of the morning (4 a.m.) on June 28th. After the car was packed with the last bag we woke the boys up and transferred them and Alesha to the car to begin our 12 hours drive to Cali. Our hope was that by leaving so early the kids would fall back to sleep and we could make some great time missing all the traffic. To our surprise the kids did not go back to sleep for at least 2 hours after we left the drive way. It could have been all the rain crashing down on the car or all the splashing sounds under the car or all the bright headlights, or all the semis whizzing by. Who knows, but Alesha was hysterically laughing, which made all laugh as well. I figure she wasn't sure what to do or what was happening, but she was having fun and that is all that mattered. They would fall asleep eventually.
Our first stop was in Grants Pass. We stopped at a Shari's for breakfast and to stretch our legs. The kids had gotten about 2-3 hours sleep by this point. After a full stomach, fresh diaper, and stretched legs we piled back into the car. The time passed as we watched a movie, read books, and listened to music. To our surprise the rain didn't let up! It actually got worse and fog was added to the equation as we neared the border into California. I thought California was the sunshine state! After several more hours we made a lunch stop just as Alesha was starting to have her first and ONLY mini breakdown. We changed and ate and then mommy moved to the back set for the last leg of the trip. Nap time was on the horizon for Alesha and the boys lack of sleep was catching up to them.
I could not be more thankful that my husband driving! The driving conditions were horrible with torrential rain combined with fog making visibility nearly impossible. Great fun when you are watching for exit signs and getting loads of water splashed on your windshield by semi trucks. At last we approached the final exit and the road that led to our hotel was within reach. The journey to California was a success. We made it! The kids were fantastic!
It was still raining, but at least it was fairly warm outside. Unloading the car in the rain was less than ideal. After getting settled into our room we ventured out to find a grocery store and a place to eat dinner. With a few wrong turns and severe irritation we eventually found a Safeway and a Red Robin. After getting some food in our system we headed over to Great America to get our passes for the next day and take a look around.
Upon our final approach to the entrance we heard the announcements being made that the park will be open until 8 p.m. Perfect, we still had an hour to look around. Although as we entered the gate we were told that the park was CLOSED! We said "They just said the park was open to 8 p.m." They replied "We are CLOSED!" We asked if we could just get our passes so we didn't have to wait in line tomorrow, which they replied NO we are CLOSED! Apparently because of the rain there were only a few people at the park and they decided to close early. I felt as if we were in the scene from National Lampoon's Vacation when they finally arrive at Walley World to be told by the talking Moose "We are sorry, but Walley World is closed for 2 weeks for cleaning and repairs" Total bummer! Not the ending to the day we had hoped for. On a brighter note the rain had stopped and the sun began to appear for the first time in the last 15 hours since we left our home.
As we walked back to the hotel we discussed a game plan for tomorrow and decided to go to the hotel pool before settling in for sweet slumber.
Things I learned on Day 1 -
1. Our kids are ROCKstar travelers!
2. Driving in rain and fog for 12 hours SUCKS!
3. Found it strange that we were stopped on the border and asked if we had any fruit. We said we had bananas and grapes. The reply was "Do you have any oranges or cherries?" We said no and off we went. How weird. Anybody could just say no to the question and drive away even if they were carrying oranges and cherries. Who would know? They don't do an inspection of your car or anything. It seemed like an odd stop for the "fruit patrol" to really do nothing but take your word for what kind of fruit you had in your car.
4. For someone who doesn't wear flip flops very often it was discoved that walking in the rain in flip flops results in blisters.
5. Trying to find a specific location in a different state with limited directions after driving for 12 hours is fuel for tempers to flair.
6. I discovered even when you pay over two hundred dollars for a hotel room, that doesn't mean you get free wi-fi. Nope, you must pay $10 each day. We didn't pay for internet for the simple fact that we were annoyed that it wasn't included. For pete sakes there was FREE internet at Peet's coffee and McDonalds!
7. An outside pool in California would be great if it were actually HOT and not windy.
8. My husband and I are very simple travelers. We know not the way of the "high-class" travelers or the high-class hotels.
9. One should not assume that there would be towels available at the pool and that you need to bring some with you from your hotel room - hence the way of the high-class hotel etiquette we are not familiar with. Although lucky for us there were 2 towels nicely folded under the cabana on a lounger that I just used. My thought was that they possibly pulled all the towels from the chairs since it was raining earlier and it wasn't the ideal swimming weather so why leave towels out for the guests.
10. You can crank out SEVERAL hours of your summer reading log on a LONG road trip :-)
11. The staff at the Hyatt is very friendly.
12. It is strange that they keep the lobby of the Hyatt so dark with their dimmed lights. I guess it is to set the mood for your luxurious stay.
13. There are a great number of people from India living in Santa Clara or visiting the Hyatt. We received quite a few looks throughout our stay.
14. Alesha, enjoys drinking the small half and half shots they give you for your coffee. This may be a new item to add to her menu in efforts to help her gain weight :-)
Our first stop was in Grants Pass. We stopped at a Shari's for breakfast and to stretch our legs. The kids had gotten about 2-3 hours sleep by this point. After a full stomach, fresh diaper, and stretched legs we piled back into the car. The time passed as we watched a movie, read books, and listened to music. To our surprise the rain didn't let up! It actually got worse and fog was added to the equation as we neared the border into California. I thought California was the sunshine state! After several more hours we made a lunch stop just as Alesha was starting to have her first and ONLY mini breakdown. We changed and ate and then mommy moved to the back set for the last leg of the trip. Nap time was on the horizon for Alesha and the boys lack of sleep was catching up to them.
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| The look on Alesha's face cracks me up. It is as if she is saying "We have how many hours left of this trip?!" So thankful for the DVD player in our Pilot for long road trips. |
It was still raining, but at least it was fairly warm outside. Unloading the car in the rain was less than ideal. After getting settled into our room we ventured out to find a grocery store and a place to eat dinner. With a few wrong turns and severe irritation we eventually found a Safeway and a Red Robin. After getting some food in our system we headed over to Great America to get our passes for the next day and take a look around.
Upon our final approach to the entrance we heard the announcements being made that the park will be open until 8 p.m. Perfect, we still had an hour to look around. Although as we entered the gate we were told that the park was CLOSED! We said "They just said the park was open to 8 p.m." They replied "We are CLOSED!" We asked if we could just get our passes so we didn't have to wait in line tomorrow, which they replied NO we are CLOSED! Apparently because of the rain there were only a few people at the park and they decided to close early. I felt as if we were in the scene from National Lampoon's Vacation when they finally arrive at Walley World to be told by the talking Moose "We are sorry, but Walley World is closed for 2 weeks for cleaning and repairs" Total bummer! Not the ending to the day we had hoped for. On a brighter note the rain had stopped and the sun began to appear for the first time in the last 15 hours since we left our home.
As we walked back to the hotel we discussed a game plan for tomorrow and decided to go to the hotel pool before settling in for sweet slumber.
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| The cloudy skies didn't stop these kids. |
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| With no warmth from the sun the hot tub seemed to be the better fit for the evening. |
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| First glimpse of real sunshine. I really liked the palm tree shadow on the wall. I finally felt like I was in California. |
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| Alesha, was very cold! |
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| Walking back to the hotel room for a good night sleep! |
Things I learned on Day 1 -
1. Our kids are ROCKstar travelers!
2. Driving in rain and fog for 12 hours SUCKS!
3. Found it strange that we were stopped on the border and asked if we had any fruit. We said we had bananas and grapes. The reply was "Do you have any oranges or cherries?" We said no and off we went. How weird. Anybody could just say no to the question and drive away even if they were carrying oranges and cherries. Who would know? They don't do an inspection of your car or anything. It seemed like an odd stop for the "fruit patrol" to really do nothing but take your word for what kind of fruit you had in your car.
4. For someone who doesn't wear flip flops very often it was discoved that walking in the rain in flip flops results in blisters.
5. Trying to find a specific location in a different state with limited directions after driving for 12 hours is fuel for tempers to flair.
6. I discovered even when you pay over two hundred dollars for a hotel room, that doesn't mean you get free wi-fi. Nope, you must pay $10 each day. We didn't pay for internet for the simple fact that we were annoyed that it wasn't included. For pete sakes there was FREE internet at Peet's coffee and McDonalds!
7. An outside pool in California would be great if it were actually HOT and not windy.
8. My husband and I are very simple travelers. We know not the way of the "high-class" travelers or the high-class hotels.
9. One should not assume that there would be towels available at the pool and that you need to bring some with you from your hotel room - hence the way of the high-class hotel etiquette we are not familiar with. Although lucky for us there were 2 towels nicely folded under the cabana on a lounger that I just used. My thought was that they possibly pulled all the towels from the chairs since it was raining earlier and it wasn't the ideal swimming weather so why leave towels out for the guests.
10. You can crank out SEVERAL hours of your summer reading log on a LONG road trip :-)
11. The staff at the Hyatt is very friendly.
12. It is strange that they keep the lobby of the Hyatt so dark with their dimmed lights. I guess it is to set the mood for your luxurious stay.
13. There are a great number of people from India living in Santa Clara or visiting the Hyatt. We received quite a few looks throughout our stay.
14. Alesha, enjoys drinking the small half and half shots they give you for your coffee. This may be a new item to add to her menu in efforts to help her gain weight :-)
2 comments:
What a bunch of troopers! I am so behind on posting about our summer fun . . . but it sure is fun reading about yours. :o)
Nancy
Hi,
I like your lists at the end of your posts. They make me laugh.
I think I may have e-mailed you, but maybe I just thought about it and never actually did it...we are also in the process of adopting from India. We're only in the beginning stages, though. It is so helpful to read your blog, and see someone who has gone before us.
Meredith
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