Happy Anniversary!

Actually, our anniversary was in August, but Mike's work schedule didn't allow for a week-long trip back then.  So, we went to Disneyland the week before Christmas!  Had a great time shopping for our little peeps there.  And because most kids weren't out of school yet, the parks were pretty quiet.

We used GetAwayToday for our reservations.  On our first visit with the kids, we had used their service and had a wonderful experience.  This trip was no different, great hotel, great location, great prices!  We stayed at the Buena Park Radisson Suites.  It's only a couple of blocks from Knott's Berry Farm and has a shuttle to Disney.  Best of all, it had banana trees...

 

The hotel has a beautiful center court with all sorts of tropical plants.  This was literally the view out the door of our room.  The view out our window was filled with citrus trees, so we enjoyed that, too!

We went to California Adventure on your first day.  We'd never been there so it was all new to us.  We had such a great time that we didn't take a single picture that day!  Our favorite ride, without doubt, was California Screamin', an awesome, huge roller coaster.  Enjoyed it so much that we rode it two different times.  We also loved the parade.  We managed to find a bench to watch it from, near the end of the parade route.  The cast members interact with the crowd so beautifully.  It's kind of like being part of the parade.  lol!

Those of you that know Mike well are going to be really surprised by what we had for dinner.  Chinese food!  He ate his with a fork rather than chopsticks, but he seemed to even enjoy it.  I was in heaven.  I haven't had Chinese food in a very long time.  Luckily, using chopsticks is one of the skills like riding a bike...you never forget how.  

The next day began with a little rain, but we headed out to Disneyland anyway.  By the time we got to the gates, the sprinkles had stopped and our fun began.  We were able to ride four of the really popular rides before 10 am with our early entry pass.  There was actually no wait at all at any of those rides.  It took a few minutes to walk the winding path to get to the loading zone.  At about 10, more people began to show up so we started seeing some of the non-ride attractions that we'd skipped.  Look who we found back at the ranch where Santa keeps his reindeer while he's visiting Disneyland...

 

Truthfully, we're lucky to have this picture.  These two were hamming it up so much that I had a difficult time getting a good shot!  Silly guys.  I've been telling everyone that this is my picture of Pluto and Goofy.  lol!

We spent a big chunk in the middle of the day at New Orleans Square.  As a late morning snack, we had Mickey-shaped beignets!  So yummy.  Then we went off to see the Haunted Mansion.  Turns out, Jack Skellington had taken the Mansion over for the holidays.  

Next stop, the Mark Twain river boat.  I really enjoyed that!  There weren't very many people riding with us, so we were able to wander around the boat during the ride to look at everything happening on the banks.  

I had filet gumbo for lunch.  Papa had clam chowder, both served in yummy bread bowls made right in a bakery in California Adventure.  While we were eating, Princess Tiana and her Dixieland band kept us entertained.  She is the only Princess we saw up close as most of the princesses are now down in a special area in Fantasyland.

The big event of the day was the Disney Christmas parade.  It was much more crowded than the Pixar parade was the night before, but we managed to get close enough to see pretty well.  I got lots of pictures of that...

Donald got to lead the parade.  You know how jealous he gets if he's not the star.

 The Mouse himself!  And his lovely lady friend.  Ice skating.  On a float, no less.  Pretty impressive!

So glad we got to see Belle and the Beast.  *sighs*  My totally favorite fairy tale of all time.

And, last but certainly not least, Santa!  Looked like he was really enjoying himself.  Heard lots of "Ho, ho ho's"!

We also spent a day at Knott's Berry Farm, but alas, it was pouring rain the whole day.  (Biggest storm in southern California in 20 years, or so their weathermen were saying.)  We did enjoy seeing Snoopy and friends in their ice show.  We also saw an interesting show filled with special effects about Native American legends.  Really enjoyed Mrs. Knott's fried chicken dinner for a late lunch.

Learned a couple of interesting things from this trip.  One, the best things about being away is how much more that you appreciate being home when you get back there!  And two, although traveling isn't easy for me, I can do it if I really want to.  Sooooo, I'm going to be braver from now on.  Nauvoo?  Albuquerque?  Hawaii?  Maybe so!