California Two

On to our second week. Southern California - or SoCal as the cool kids say. And though I'm not cool, I'm saying SoCal as well. Less typing.
We thought we would try to cram as much in as we could this week. Top of our list - all the theme parks - and I do really mean all of them - sailing, surfing and eating. I decided to get us the SoCal City Pass (http://www.citypass.com/city/socal.html) because it's crazy cheap (I think we saved at least a few hundred dollars) and it covers all the parks. Two days at Disney, one at Universal, one at Sea World and one at the San Diego Zoo. That should be easy to do within seven days right?
Wrong. My recommendation would be to take two weeks and buy the City Pass. That way you'll have days to relax by the pool or shop or do whatever and you won't feel like breaking down and sobbing every time you have to line up for a ride. Stay somewhere gorgeous - we stayed at the Hilton Anaheim (http://www1.hilton.com/en_US/hi/hotel/SNAAHHH-Hilton-Anaheim-California/index.do) while doing Disney. Great pool on the fifth floor and awesome beds.
OK - tips for Disney. And keep in mind I was travelling with two parents and four children so I've done my time in the trenches.

1. Get there first thing in the morning. Staying close by helped because we could walk to it. Our plan of action was to figure out the furthest ride we wanted to visit and make a beeline for it the minute we walked in. There will be time to enjoy the main gate splendour later. Believe me. The most popular ride while we were there? Finding Nemo in Tomorrowland. So we started there and made our way back to the entrance as the day continued.

2. Use the Fastpass. I wish I could tell you how the Fastpass worked, but my wonderful, energetic mama was in charge of Fastpasses. All I know is that she would come bounding up to us out of nowhere, purse bouncing on her hip and fist full of Fastpasses, crying out 'We need to be at Pirates of the Carribean in 10 minutes!'. It was awesome.

3. Leave for the afternoon. Seriously. Go back to your hotel. Swim. Nap. Eat lunch off site if you can - although this year Disney does have a great all-inclusive plan where you can eat for free. Afternoons are busiest and families are crankiest. Come back around supper time. Wander around. Check out the parade. Ride some of the outdoor rides at night - I highly recommend an old classic, the Jungle Cruise, at night. Totally different experience.

4. Stay hydrated. Use the cooling stations. And if you have daughters who want to dress as Princesses for the day...for the love of God, bring them a change of clothing! I don't know how many little girls I saw wearing wilted dresses and dropping tiaras at the end of the day.

As for the other theme parks - I have to say, they didn't really measure up. Sea World was pretty cool - feeding the dolphins, checking out Shark Encounter and the penguin exhibit - but it lacked a certain something. Plus, it felt odd watching those shows with Shamu. Particularly after the organic experience of Monterey Bay. The marine biologists who work with the whales had to get up and do a little salsa dancing while Shamu splashed us in time to the music. Weird.

San Diego Zoo was lovely. Universal Studios - not a fan. I was all about the Jaws ride. They didn't have a Jaws ride or many rides at all, to be honest. I'm not sure who their target market is. There wasn't much for my younger boys, pretty much nothing for the older two and I was ready to go after a few hours. Hmm.

Once we were finally done our exhausting tour of the parks, I took the boys over to Long Beach to try their hand at surfing. They took lessons through Toes On The Nose (http://www.toesonthenose.com/lessons.html), a great little outfit out of Huntington Beach. I was terrified. I kept hearing the Jaws theme in my head, sure they were going to be eaten by sharks.

They weren't. They loved every second of it. All of them managed to get up on their board - even little Nathan - and stayed surfing for hours. The instructors were very hands-on and supportive. The beach was beautiful. And at one point, I watched Cal and Ben sitting on their surf boards looking off into the ocean, relaxed. It was exactly what we needed after a few hectic days.

Our last night was spent on Coronado Bay at the Loews Coronado Bay Resort (http://www.loewshotels.com/en/Hotels/San-Diego-Resort/Overview.aspx). If I had found this place on my first night, I doubt we ever would have left. First of all, San Diego has the most perfect weather you can imagine. And Coronado Bay is this little slip of an inlet just off the coast. The hotel is to die for. We went sailing again with our own personal skipper, a cool young barefoot-type who hung out with the boys and taught them about the whole sailing lifestyle (if I remember correctly, it involves alot of sleeping in hammocks). The resort sent us a gorgeous picnic lunch.

Their pool was rated the absolute best by all of the boys. Now, I found the pool a bit unnerving - there were an awful lot of perfect looking moms in string bikinis with rock hard bodies floating around. But sometimes you just have to get past that. Jack and Nathan spent the afternoon looking for minerals and shells on the beach with the Kid's Camp staff. Cal and Ben played giant chess and ping pong by the pool. They loved the Pottery Barn Teen Room - that was seriously what it was called. In fact,the whole thing was like living in the Summer Pottery Barn catalogue.

We ate dinner looking over the Bay that last night. Then we went outside to watch a movie by the pool. Everyone slept like angels.

And my heart said good-bye to California. Even though it wasn't really ready yet.