Disneyland

We are back in Ventura after our trip to Disneyland. It was fabulous!

We were lucky enough to stay with family in Orange, a short drive from Disneyland. Our friend stayed in Howard Johnson hotel which was a quick 10 minute walk to Disneyland gates and she had a good-sized room and access to a kids water playground area. I'm not sure how much she paid but I would recommend it for convenience.

A benefit to staying close is that we took a break in the afternoon during the hottest and busiest time at Disneyland.

The other adults took the kids to the water playground at the hotel and I had a blissful couple of hours with bottomless iced tea and a mimosa at Café Mimi's across the road.

We then headed to Captain Kidd's for dinner because kids love a buffet. The food was mediocre but the price was great and there was enough to keep everyone happy.

Feeling refreshed we headed back to Disneyland.

I don't know if it was the early evening air being the perfect temperature or the cheerful piped music but that moment walking back up the promenade is one of my favourite memotes of the trip. The kids were walking holding hands and laughing and playing together. Across the road a family was leap frogging over some road cones. I really felt that innocent sense of wholesome fun that Disneyland promises.

I didn't go on a lot of the rides but I loved the atmosphere and the baby rooms were amazing. Staffed by these lovely grandmotherly ladies in period costume and with very comfortable facilities for changing and feeding little ones.

We stayed until just before closing time. One thing I would do differently is find a good spot to watch the 9.30pm fireworks. We were walking from one space to another when they were on and there were lots of attendants waving glowing batons and urging us to keep moving so we couldn't really enjoy the show.

There is so much more I could say but this post is already mammoth so perhaps I will say more at a later time. I would definitely recommend Disneyland as a great family day out.

California dreaming

We have been in California five days now. It's been jam packed with visiting friends and activities.

We went to the county fair and Rangimarie and I got to watch a talent show while Manaaki and the rest of the family tried out the rides. We ate hotdogs and caramel apples.

My favorite activity was the big bubble cauldrons right next to the mechanical bronco ride. Rangimarie and I say on a hay bale and watched the bubbles to the strains of country music playing from the bronco stall.

We walked through the livestock hall. Pigs are so freaky. A pink pig's back looks just like a pale white guy's back at the beach.

We've been to the beach and today we went to Ojai and played at Libbey park. Even after 5pm it was still really hot but the park had this cool walk through mister that was very refreshing. Afterwards we went to Bliss frozen yogurt where Manaaki got the most massive tub of froyo and luckily it didn't bankrupt us. They even had a little kid size table that was perfect for Rangimarie.

So far so good. The only sore point had been that as a parent you never really get a holiday and this has been a source of friction. Out of our usual routine we both feel like we've had even less time to ourselves than usual. I'm not quite sure how to do this better but if I find a solution I will let you know.