Our Own California Adventure - Leg 1 UPDATED 6/16 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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So let's get on with the players:
DH and DS (11). DFIL lives out in CA and the last time DS was out here he was 3.
Me.
We split this trip into 2 parts. Part one we went to Lompoc CA and stayed there visiting DFIL for a few days. Part 2 was the DL section, which was a total surprise to DS.
To start we have to go back to Friday the 25 even though we didn't leave until Sat morning. That's because it was Friday night where it became obvious DS was getting sick. We were out at dinner and DS wasn't eating much, being very quiet, coughing every once in a while. We got home, gave him some cold medication, and got him to bed early. The poor kid. We were leaving early Saturday. Of course we've all been healthy all winter. It figures the night before we leave is when someone gets sick. I felt horrible for anyone stuck on our plane with us. DH and I were hoping we weren't going to be 'those people' on the plane with their kid hacking and sneezing everywhere for 5 hours.
Sat March 26 It's departure day!! DH and I had really been looking forward to getting away. He's been working tons and we both needed a break. Luckily DS got up feeling much better. I had bought some of those little kleenex packs you can toss in a purse so I was all set for DS and the plane. And DH laughed that I bought those kleenex packs.....HA! Who's laughing now buddy?
We actually left for the airport on time around 7:00am. We had a 10:15 flight but it's a bit of a drive. Besides it was the beginning of spring break for our schools so you knew it was going to be crowded. Sure enough the airport was packed. Even the parking lot was more full than usual already before 8:00am. It was in the 30's that morning and the forecast was calling for snow later in the day. It just made us want to get out of here all the sooner.
While waiting for the bus in the parking lot, the boys discovered a button that turned on a heat lamp. Ahhhhhhh........
We made it through the security, grabbed some breakfast, and about 15 minutes later our flight started boarding. We were on United out to LAX. They showed True Grit which I'd been wanting to see so that was a nice little bonus. Once we landed at LAX, we had our luggage and were in the rental car in about 20-30 minutes. Unbelievable. DH kept saying he hadn't ever been out of an airport that fast in his life. Me either. Maybe we're just used to O'Hare where it takes 20 minutes before your luggage even begins to show up on the carousel.
We picked up our rental car and decided to get out of LA before traffic got really bad. We stopped for a quick bite then finished the drive to Lompoc where DFIL lives. It's about 45 minutes north of Santa Barbara. We stopped along the way to stretch our legs for a bit. It was gray and drizzling but at least it wasn't 30 some degrees and snowing.
We finished driving up to Lompoc and checked into the hotel.
We loved this hotel. I'd stay in a Holiday Inn Express again anytime. They had a great little breakfast every morning and cookies at night. Coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and fruit are always available. The staff was so friendly and the room was nice too. Once at the hotel we called DFIL and he came over to see us. We hung out in the room for a bit catching up and then it was off to dinner. We went to this chinese buffet place. I remembered eating here before. DFIL loves it but to be honest the food kind of scares me. It's really not very good at all and pretty limited for my vegetarian self. There was this vegetable egg noodle thing that was tasty so I filled up on that. After dinner DFiL was ready to get home and get to bed. He's around 80 and was recently treated for bladder cancer. He's in remission now but he tires easily. Besides he's one of those early to bed early to rise kind of people.
DH only brought children's tylenol and nothing for DS's cough so we stopped by a grocery store before going back to the hotel. DS was starting to wilt during dinner so we figured going back and getting him to bed early was probably a good idea anyway. I picked up some vitamin c drops too. I wanted every bit of protection I could get for DH and myself so hopefully we wouldn't get sick too. After all we were going to be spending the next week sleeping in the same room.
We got DS in bed and turned on the tv. It didn't take long for his little eyelids to get heavy. He fell asleep eventually and DH and I spent some time just watching tv, reading the paper, and lounging around. DH went to bed next and I sat reading for a while. I'm a complete night owl so pretty much every night I'd break out my book light and read while they slept. I catch up on a lot of reading over vacation.
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I woke up at the lovely time of 5:30am. I tried to get back to sleep but it was no use. I could hear DH tossing and turning too. Suddenly I hear him say 'I can't sleep anymore'. Of course it feels like 7:30 to us. For some reason we had the worst time adjusting to the 2 hour difference this time. Not DS. He was sound asleep. DH and I took turns going down to get coffee.
Loved the hotel but tell me this hallway isn't like something out of 'The Shining'? Red rum!! I was half waiting for twin girls to show up.
Yep, it's early. But if you get up this early you can sit and watch the fog burn off the mountains. Lompoc (which is pronounced like lom-poke) is surrounded by mountains on the North, South, and East side with the Pacific on the west. After a while DS got up and we all headed down for breakfast. DS looked much better and said he felt fine. He just had a runny nose. But I was prepared with my kleenex packs!
They had the coolest pancake machine down in the breakfast area. You pushed a button and it would pour and cook two pancakes which moved along a little conveyor belt onto your plate. It was a pretty good breakfast. There were eggs, cereal, bagels, muffins, fruit, etc, etc, etc. After breakfast, we went to DFiL's office. He manages a mobile home park for seniors. He had to work for a couple hours this morning so he suggested we head to the beach for a bit. Off we went to Surf Beach.
DS kept wanting to know what we were going to do. We told him we're going to the beach. 'Then what?' he next wanted to know. We said that was it. We're going to the beach. He looked confused. I don't think DS thought he could easily find enough things to do at the beach to keep occupied for a couple hours.
I completely forgot that I read about this in the Chicago Tribune a few months ago. Signs like these kill us out here. We're not used to these things. I saw a 'Warning: Mountain Lions' sign a few days later.
It was a gorgeous day. Last night it rained half the night but that was the only rain we had our entire trip.
I love this picture
There's a large military base out here. That's part of their property. I know some of the work they do is on missile defense systems.
Me enjoying the sun and fresh air while DS was running up and down the sand dunes. He had a blast collecting rocks and shells, climbing and running around, avoiding the waves. He found part of a sand dollar so I explained how if he found a whole one we could break it open and there's five little doves inside. So he was on a mission to find an unbroken one. He never did find one. The waves break up almost all the shells so finding any shell that's not broken is pretty rare.
Tons of these small plants cover areas of the dunes. They turn from green to red and have bright pink flowers.
Last time we were here the beach access was closed because it was Snowy Plover nesting season. We adore the little birds. They were all over the beach and whenever the waves went out, they'd run on their little bird legs to the wet sand and start pecking away. When the next wave came they'd run on those tiny legs away from the water. And repeat. Again, and again, and again. It was a funny sight. You'd think there would have to be an easier way to eat. It would be like taking a bite of food off your plate, then run around the table back to your plate for another bite. Before we knew it, it was an hour and a half later. DS was shocked that much time had passed. We went back to the office to get DFiL.
Three generations. DS squints in every picture. There's just no way around it.
We headed to La Purisima mission. We loved this place so much we ended up coming back another day. We walked through the museum waiting for a walking tour DFiL suggested. The mission was founded in 1787 and was originally built where the Lompoc downtown area is now located. There was a major earthquake in 1812 so they moved the mission 4 miles northwest. It's now just on the outskirts of the town. They started restoring the mission in 1933.
As we went along on the tour, the guide starts telling us how it's supposed to be haunted and all sorts of odd happenings there. Guides, tourists, and locals have all reported seeing strange lights move, hearing flute music, and according to the guides the blankets on one of the beds in the priest's room get rearranged even when the doors are locked. Now I don't usually go for all this ghost stuff but if any place is haunted, this would be it.
This large cross is placed atop a hill as a sign for travelers they were nearing a place they could eat and rest.
Part of the grounds and buildings. On the far end of the building is a cemetary. Next door was the soldier's quarters and chapels.
Pastures with animals from the time the mission was up and running.
Next up: what a miserable place to have lived with lots of mission pictures
Awesome first and second posts!! Subscribing so I can keep up with your adventures.
I love the Kleenex story–I buy all sorts of crap like that (floss, tissues, those little disposable tooth brushes), and my husband is always making fun of my "mom bag." Joke's on him, for sure. I can't even count the number of times he's asked me to borrow my floss or what have you.
LOL – I love your reference to The Shining. I have often found myself in hotels thinking the same thing. Creepy!
How cute is it that your son didn't think he'd find things to do at the beach! I swear–that's what TV, Facebook and cell phone are doing to young kids!! When I was 13, I would BEG to go to the beach just to relax and have fun. Maybe I have just always been lazy.
LOVE the family photo of the three boys. So sweet.
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Can't wait to read more! I love reading about others' adventures in California. Having been born and raised here, I tend to take certain things for granted. Hearing about other people's experiences often opens my eyes to new places I never would've thought to visit!
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So this is the story of our very own little California adventure. I have a pre-TR over in the DL section. 
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Of course it feels like 7:30 to us. For some reason we had the worst time adjusting to the 2 hour difference this time. Not DS. He was sound asleep. DH and I took turns going down to get coffee.
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