Tuesday, April 21, 2009

California: part one

Being that it was Elijah's first trip to California,and first (really long) airplane ride, he did remarkably well on the journey.

Aside, of course, from the minor melt-down he had after only 5 hours of travel I can't complain about his patience level considering his age and degree of wigglyness (did I just make up a word?). I pitied the passengers near us on that second flight due to the tight quarters and the fact that my boy wanted to squirm free of my grip every 30 seconds for the final two hours before we landed at LAX.

The trip was nice, too short in some ways, and just right in others. We will miss Manny's family and the warm sunny weather. But we are glad to be home, sleeping in our own roomy beds, and able to let him run and play with more freedom.
[we slept here]
The vacation was jammed-packed with activity. Without spilling every little detail, here are the highlights...

Day One:
First things first... In-N-Out (of course)

Then a short trip to the park to enjoy our lunch and let Elijah get some wiggles out.

Manuel & Gloria

Dinner that evening was at a yummy Thai place with John, Nancy, Barb, and Samantha. So good!

Day Two:
Road trip to Beaumont, CA - near the mountains
to visit Gloria's sister Marty, her kids, and grandkids.

I don't know all these peoples' names.
Gloria & Manny
We shopped at an outlet mall. It was freezing cold and VERY windy! I got sand plastered to my face and in my eyes. Then later...
that night...we stayed here.
It was old, but comfortable and big. We slept well there.
Day Three:
We headed back home after a breakfast at IHOP (just the 3 of us) and relaxed a while.
Then Manuel, Gloria, Manny, Elijah and I drove to Monrovia, another small town in the foothills...
...to eat at a place called TBurger that afternoon.

The town is adorable - quaint, with a lovely well-kept downtown, cute shops, a street trolley, and a gorgeous mountain backdrop. The weather was impeccable - sunny and in the upper 70's most of the week!


Day Four:
Long Beach Aquarium -- Elijah had a ball looking at all the fish, Sea Lions, ducks, sharks, and Lorakeets.

starfish petting stream
Sea Lions
Lorikeet
There was a lighthouse nearby in the same harbor used by the cruise ships.
A Grand Prix race was taking place right next to the Aquarium, so naturally we heard the deafening roar of the cars. Manny was able to find a spot where he and Elijah could see thru the fence and watch the cars zoom by. Elijah was mesmerized! His jaw dropped and he stared shocked when he saw them for the first time. One of the most exciting moments of his young life, I'm sure.

We had a lovely day seeing the sights there, but I would be amiss if I did not mention Manny's directionally-challenged sister, Gina, getting lost while following us home! The standing joke now is that Gina needs to meet us at Burger King. ;)


Day Five:

LA Zoo - self explanitory.
In this photo: Danielle, Joelle (Danielle's boyfriend), baby Daniel, Gina, Manny, Barb, Samantha, Gloria, Monique, and Elijah.
baby Daniel
the babies.
petting zoo.
my boys.

our little family
he thinks he's a rock climber.
I love him.


There is more. SO much more, but I'm tired of uploading pictures right now.
Part two of the California trip to come at a later time. Stay tuned...

1 comment:

C said...

Looks like a wonderful time...can't wait to read and see more:-)