Weekend #1: Yuma, Arizona
My mom and I drove to Yuma (with just 2 pit stops!) and it took about 4.5 hours from her house - it went relatively fast too! We went straight to my mom's favorite restaurant, Cracker Barrel, where we had a nice lunch. Then, it was off to check into the hotel, rest a bit and head over to see my cousin Bobby (finally) marry Drea!! The ceremony was short and sweet and the reception was fun and upbeat! Here is the happy couple with the framed 1,001 crane artwork (cranes folded by the groom's mom, 3 aunties and myself, images constructed by cousin Fernando):
We stayed in Yuma one night and hopped back on the road first thing in the morning. We stopped in San Diego to have lunch and visit with Shawn and then got back on the road. The drive from San Diego back to LA seemed to take FOREVER!! Ugh! But, it was all worth it :)
Weekends #2 & #3: Orlando, Florida
Our bi-annual trip to see Mickey was finally here! We've been talking about it and planning for it for about 6 months. This time, we planned the trip with Kristen and her family, our Disneyland buddies! Larry & Shirley drove down from Burney to pick up Kristen & Jackson and headed to the Sacramento airport. Shawn drove up from San Diego and picked up myself and my mom and we headed to LAX. All of us got on the same plane at LAX and headed east on the red eye. We arrived at about 5:30am ET :) Luckily, we were able to check into our room early - a 2-story, 3-bedroom, 4-bathroom Grand Villa at the Animal Kingdom Lodge - yes, it's good to travel with Disney Vacation Club members! Our three balconies looked over the Savanna where we saw Ostrich, Zebra, Wildebeest, Antelope and Giraffes daily.
On our first day, we didn't do much more than rest, but we did make it out to the Magic Kingdom park for a bit, before heading to the Contemporary Resort for a Pirate Excursion where we hopped on boats to see the fireworks.
On day 2, we went on an Wild Africa Trek @ the Animal Kingdom Park. Out of the whole week of exciting times, this was one of the things I enjoyed the most! We got all hooked up in safety harnesses and walked through the "jungle" to some suspension bridges:
We then got to be about 9 feet away from some sun-bathing crocodiles!
We then hopped on a truck and leisurely roamed around the savanna and got pretty close to some animals. It was such a treat to be able to stop in multiple places and get up to take pictures around us. On the regular safari "ride", the jeep hardly stops moving and it's almost impossible to get a good picture!
We took a break right in the middle of the savanna and it was yummy!
What an awesome adventure! Here is a group shot!
Day 3 was also a great day - we went to Universal's Islands of Adventure to see Harry Potter! As soon as we got into the park, we walked straight over there, but were surprised that we ended up having to stand in a 45 minute line, not to get in, but to get a ticket to come back later! Wow, really?? It was totally worth it though, they did a good job! Aside from the massive crowds, we had a good time!
Mom even had a Butterbeer!
The line for the Harry Potter ride was 2-hours!! It was a very unique experience, to say the least! Kind of a virtual reality, motion simulator, 4-dimensional ride that tilts you every way you can think of. There were times that I actually closed my eyes and put my hands up as if to protect myself! We probably spent half the day in that land, figuring that once we left, we would not be able to get back in. There were people everywhere and lines for everything! We topped off the day with dinner at Mythos, the #1 Theme Park restaurant in the world, apparently. I had the Risotto, which was okay, but I had my favorite dessert of the week - Chocolate Banana Gooey Cake. Maybe it doesn't look like much, but trust me, it was FABU!! Flourless chocolate cake, bananas, candied banana, peanut butter ice cream and caramel drizzle!!!
Day 4 was at Epcot. Well, the Future World part, anyway! The boys did some diving with the fish in the "Sea". None of my pictures came out very good though :(
Day 5 was at Disney Hollywood Studios:
Day 6 we had breakfast at the Kona Cafe at the Polynesian (can you say Tonga Toast??) then, we went back to the Magic Kingdom where mom got to go on one of her favorite rides, the Carousel of Progress (her other favorite is Tower of Terror, of course!)
Later in the evening, we went to Downtown Disney, but I took a much needed break and did not bring my camera! We had dinner at T-Rex, which is a Rainforest Cafe-ish restaurant, but with dinosaurs. The food was surprisingly good!
Day 7 we went back to Animal Kingdom and did the Pangari Forest Exploration Trail to see my favorite gorillas and the Maharajah Jungle Trek to see the tigers. We also saw my favorite Festival of the Lion King show before we left.
We ended our trip by walking around the World Showcase at Epcot, where we saw some amazing landscaping...
And a beautiful sunset - the perfect ending to an AWESOME vacation!
Weekend #4: Las Vegas, Nevada
The Annual Nomura Golf Classic seems to come around so quickly! Only two of us actually do the golf tournament - Joyce (who won a prize for being closest to the pin) and TJ (who came in 4th place in the family flight!). The rest of us gamble, eat and shop (not necessarily in that order!). It's a quick weekend trip, but we always pack a lot of fun into it!
Okay, that's it for now - it's taken me a couple of days to recuperate, but starting tomorrow, I'm going to be ready to get my craft on!
Cheers!
Lin :)
Love the pictures!!!
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