Warning: Picture Overload
Before my mom died she asked my Dad to use part of her life insurance policy money to take the family on a vacation. So all of us on the Woodstock side were able to get together for a few days to take a trip to Southern California.
I don't know what Spencer was more excited about-spending a whole week with his cousins or flying on an airplane.
We rented two 15 passenger vans once we were in California so we could all stay together.
Day #1: Six Flags - Magic Mountain
Waiting in line to get in, Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck came by. Spencer was so excited to see all the characters the entire trip. I looked ahead to see what Characters would be at the parks and watched movies with them in it a couples months leading upto the vacation so Spencer would know who they were. I know I'm weird.
Bugs Bunny Took Spencer's Hat (that's the only thing he remembers about Bugs)
It was so hot that day. Even at 9am in the shade- we were sweating with red faces.
They had a whole Looney Tune land with rides for the little kids. Because it was the middle of the week and it was so hot- no one was there so Spencer got to walk onto all the rides. He loved every second it. And was kind of a dare devil. There were a few "roller coasters" I thought he would be scared on, but he wanted to go again and again.
Bugs bunnies House above.
It was so hot that all the little kids and some of the adults decided to head back to the hotel about 2pm. We jumped in the cold pool, took a shower, relaxed, got a bite to eat. Then Kimball and I went back about 7pm until the park closed. We thought we'd only be able to hit a couple roller coasters but because it was the end of the night we got to walk onto everything and I got to ride about 8 of the big kids ride. It was a fun mini-girls night with my oldest niece. Dream come true-I've always loved roller coasters and always wanted to go to Six Flags.
Day #2: Channel Islands
We took a boat ride out to the Anacapa Island- one the Channel Islands.
Jace took charge of Rod and they both promptly fell asleep.
We spent the day picnicing, hiking and learning a lot about seagulls. Apparently Anacapa is some kind of Seagull preserve. There were thousands of them all over the island.
The only total bummer of this trip happened towards the end. We were waiting at the dock for our boat to come in and take us back to shore. The boys were jumping and swimming in the water-having fun. A workers boat came in to pick up the volunteers and employees of the island. Unfortunately one of the volunteers slipped on the ladder and fell between the boat and the dock suffering a major head injury. Jace and another crew member jumped in to help him and get him onto the boat. The boat sped off while the crewman tried to treat the wound and administer CPR, but sadly he died about 15 minutes out to sea. It was a very shocking and crude reminder of the fragility of life. It made me appreciate and love my family even more.
On the way home (as if to cheer us up) we had some dolphins that followed the boat for a while. I had never seen a dolphin before so I was pretty excited and amazed. They are beautiful creatures.
Day #3: Universal Studios Hollywood
The weather this day was perfect! Overcast and about 70-80 degrees.
The very first thing we saw when we entered the park was the House of Horrors. I had a park guide and it said something about seeing famous sets from movies etc. So I thought that would kind of cool to see a museum of all the different scary movies over the years. It had stairs so they wouldn't let Rod and his stroller go in. So Steve went in with Spencer while I waited outside. Spencer still has nightmares about this place. It was not a museum it was a haunted house with real actors dressed up as the iconic horror characters jumping out and scaring you. Oh man...we're great parents.
Luckily Spencer shook it off and loved the rest of the park.
If you notice the badges we all have around our necks: My dad paid extra to get us 'front of the line passes'. With the pass we got to skip to the front of the line once for each ride. Which is about all we had time for anyway. It was amazing! While some people waited 2 hours to get on a ride- we waited about 5-10 minutes if not just walking on. I don't know how I'll ever go back to regular lines again.
As you can see from all the other pictures with Rod- being a cute baby has it's perks. Everyone totally spoiled him the entire trip. Which was a nice break for mom and dad.
The trip was over way too soon. But totally amazing!!! Thanks mom and dad! Love you.
