Skip to main content

Rose Parade, Part 2

Image
By

Let's continue on with the southern California adventures...

Day 3, Friday, December 30, 2022

We learned our Disney lessons on Thursday, so I knew that we needed to get to Disneyland early on Friday morning, to ensure that we were able to purchase Genie+. We got there 20 minutes before the gate opened, and we couldn't figure out why we couldn't get in. We certainly had our patience tested with waiting in lines on this trip!

But once we made it in, we secured Genie+ and then we were off to the rides! It made it so much easier to be able to book the lightning lanes. We were able to go on so many more rides!

The RHSMB was supposed to play in the parade at Disneyland on Friday, but due to the rainy weather, it got cancelled. The kids were able to use their park hopper passes for the full day/night, so they still had fun.

Waiting to get into the park


Pirates of the Caribbean


Haunted Mansion - two times!




Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage







Autopia


Monorail (G was so excited about this...he loves trains!)



Millennium Falcon - Smugglers Run




it's a small world



Star Tours - The Adventure Continues



So proud of his trashcan keychain that matches the trashcans in the park...haha!


Taking a Dole Whip break in the Enchanted Tiki Room




Wrapping it up with a presentation about Abraham Lincoln (G was also really excited about this)


See ya later, Disneyland!


We were so tired...room service and sleep made up the rest of our night!


Ava only took two pics from her time at the Disney parks...



Day 4, Saturday, December 31, 2022

G and I went on a group tour of Hollywood and Beverly Hills. We were able to meet up again with my friend Kristin for a very short time (she lives in the city right next to Hollywood.) Due to the weather we weren't able to see the Hollywood sign, which was a bit of a bummer, but G was able to find a magnet of the sign, so we made our own pic (see below, lol.)

Dolby Theater with the Academy Award winners for best picture, for each year since the awards started

Ava's year


G's year




Off to Beverly Hills!









We spent the afternoon at Bandfest, which is where the marching bands in the Rose Parade have the opportunity to play their field show. Again, due to the weather, things were modified a bit...no props, no pit, and the band played at a standstill. But, they still had a great turnout and much support from the crowd!



We were so tired and didn't have any fancy plans for New Year's Eve. We ordered some more room service and were sleeping by 8pm. What a way to welcome 2023!


This week was...weird. I was really busy at the end of last week (like 3 nights out in a row, all with wine) and didn't get much sleep. I woke up on Sunday feeling off, and by Monday, I tested positive for COVID. 

I won't lie...it was a bit nice being isolated in the evenings away from everyone (except Pria, she stayed with me.) Since everyone was out of the house during the day, my work location didn't change, but at night, I turned over all responsibility for everything to Scott, and enjoyed the room service deliveries to my room. 

More importantly, I'm feeling much better. All of the symptoms have eased up...headache, fever, body aches, cough, and congestion. The only thing left is a slight cough. I just need to get more sleep and I think we could knock that away, too. No one else in the house picked it up from me, so I'm very grateful for that!

This is the face of an exhausted person...who has COVID and doesn't know it yet. Yay.


Ava had the end of season marching band banquet on Monday night. I am really disappointed that I wasn't able to go, but mingling with 700+ (!!!) people would have been really irresponsible (since I had COVID.) And exhausting. Ava looked great and had fun seeing her marching band buddies again.


This upcoming week should be a little more normal, and less hectic. And hopefully filled with more sleep!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Exploring Local Places

By
Last Sunday was the perfect day to explore an area that neither Arya nor I had been to before. We headed east to walk around the Vermillion Falls/River and Greenway area. The path was nicely paved, with lots of overhead shade from trees; there were so many families out on bikes and walking, and we had a nice view of the Vermillion River. Arya got some great pics, and I enjoyed spending time outdoors with my sweet girl. This weekend, G and I will be heading out to explore a creek area in a few towns just south of us. And I've already got an idea for another creek I want to walk by next month (it's a bit further away, and I'd rather put that aside until Arya is off at college) The tree leans to find the sun On the way home, we stopped at the DQ in another town (we have a love/hate relationship with the DQ in our town, so I wanted to avoid it.) The warm weather felt great, and we enjoyed some sweet treats while watching the world drive by. We're counting down the days unti...
Post a Comment
Read more

What a Week

By
The weather has been unseasonably warm this fall, so we've been able to extend our outdoor projects just a bit.  This past week Scott's been working in the garden, cleaning everything out, and repairing the back wall of our garage.  Ava was such a good little helper, scooping up dirt, but still trying to keep her hands clean while doing it! I swear, a box is all she needs to make her happy. Princess Darla. Princess Darla has had enough.  I personally like how she and Ava have the same expressions in this picture. Apparently Spanky was bored - check out that yawn in the background! We went down to Grand Meadow this weekend, and as always, it was so fun to see Ava and Isabel play together.  They actually had several little conversations with each other - and they were so polite while doing so!  We even had them share a room last night...boy, that was a challenge.  I think they finally fell asleep around 10:00pm.  And of course, Ava wa...
2 comments
Read more

Half of a Century

By
I celebrated my 50th birthday this past week! When I was younger, 50 sounded reaallllly old. But now that I'm there, I recognize that it's really not. As I mentioned last week, the iron supplements I'm taking for my anemia have kick-started me feeling a million years younger, as well.  We had a wonderful birthday dinner at my parents' house last weekend (complete with my favorite kind of birthday treat - yellow cake with chocolate frosting. Basic, yes, but I love it so much!) I had a really busy week planned at work, so taking my birthday off (Tuesday) was a relief and gave me a chance to slow down and reflect on my life. The weather was sunny and warm (I've had my share of rainy birthdays, so anytime the sun is out on my birthday, I'm grateful.) Scott picked up flowers and a Starbucks gift card for me, so I had breakfast courtesy of Starbucks and read while sitting on our front porch. Pria loved having me home on a Tuesday and wanted to sample some of the goods...
Post a Comment
Read more