On the road again....to California....and Disneyland

Well, I wasn't expecting to get in another trip to Disneyland, but was pleasantly surprised when my friend, Jen, invited me to take a rode trip with her and Kelly, a family friend from Australia. Here is a log of some of our fun:                                                                                                 

Sunday                                                                                                                                                       

It was a super long day.  Dallas came by at 8 to spend some time with me before I left.  How sweet!  We got on the road at about 9:30 or so and stopped in Nephi to go to sacrament meeting, and we were back on the road.  We were able to share some good stories and have a few laughs, but it felt like we would never get there!  We got there at about 10 California time.  We tried to settle down and got to bed at around 11 or so.

                                                                                                                                                      

Monday                                                                                                                                                  

 We took our time getting up and getting ready which was nice.  Our first stop was the San Diego temple.  It took my breath away!  It was so gorgeous.  The weather was really nice as well-not too hot or cold. 

Then, of course you can't take a trip to California without stopping at the beach.  It was a bit chilly to stick your feet in the water, but still felt good.  Our trip to the beach put us in the mood for fish and chips which is what we decided to eat for lunch.

Next, we were off to Hollywood.  We stopped on Mulholland Drive to get a view of Hollywood from on top.  I actually learned something.  It used to read Hollywoodland, but a land slide destroyed the letters "L," "A," "N," and "D."  I found that to be interesting.
Of course, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to see the star name plates and foot and hand prints down town.  We saw Farrah Fawcett's star which was modestly covered with items to commemorate her.  Michael Jackson's star was insanely covered  (see my Facebook account for pictures).  The part I found funniest what a cardboard white glove covered in white flowers.  I also found it crazy that people were lined up clear down the road just to get a picture on his star....oh well.  I had to get a picture with the star that had a crush on me as a kid.  :)

I couldn't pass up the opportunity to hold hands with Matt Damon.
Then, we decided we would take a tour of the Stars' homes riding in a car that Will Smith used in a movie.  Our tour guide was quite the flirt and surprised by the fact that we were Mormon.  We even drove by Danny Glover, but I wasn't able to see him because of where I was sitting.  Sad!  As funny as it was, it was kind of fun because we saw the paparazzi up and about.  It was kind of funny because we couldn't actually see most of their homes because they were covered up with big fences.  I don't blame them.  It's probably the only way to ensure some sort of privacy.  It was unbelievable to see how big some of the homes were.  How often are they even there?  We even saw Michael Jackson's home which wasn't hard to miss with all of the people standing outside of it....crazy....if you ask me. 

Tuesday and Wednesday

We spent two whole days in Disneyland...and no I am not tired of it yet.  In fact, I am wondering when I will get to go back.  It was pretty funny because Kelly had mentioned that she would be okay with just spending a day in Disneyland, but after going the first day realized why we would need two days.  The weather was nice, and the lines awesome-no more that 40 minutes.  We were able to get all the major rides in as well as watch Fantasmic and the fireworks.  The fireworks show was new and absolutely amazing (they let out confetti in the shape of Mickey's head at the end of the show)!  I was also able to get Jen and Kelly to have a taste of many of the Disneyland treats that you can only get there.  By the end of the second day, our feet were absolutely worn out.  We had considered getting a wheelchair on Wednesday to take turns pushing each other around.  It was tempting to crawl back to the car.   

Thursday

I was hoping to fly home standby to avoid a ten hour trip in the car, but it didn't up working out.  The car ride home went well as I was able to help with the driving and both hear and share some good stories.  We had quite a few good laughs.  We were surprised as we came to realize we had miscalculated and would be home an hour later than planned.  Oh well, it gave us some more time to share stories.  We ended up getting home at around 10.  I was pretty wired from the trip and the hour time difference.  So I decided to unpack.  Luckily, Dallas even came by to see me....maybe he missed me?!  :)

Well, I really enjoyed this trip as it gave me a break from studying and more importantly helped me build a greater relationship with a great friend.  In addition, I gained another friend from whom I was able to hear an Aussie accent.