post·script

The end of our trip brought a lot of reflection.  (as only sitting three hours in an airport can provide) The last two weeks have been incredible and we were incredibly fortunate.  There are a lot of things that can go wrong during a trip across the country and relatively speaking, compared to some of the things that could have happened, we were very lucky.  We never really hit horrible traffic, we never experienced mechanical failure and everyone remained on speaking terms the entire ride!  The trip was not without incident - we had swimmers ear that required a phone call to the doctor and drops properly administered. We got lost - if only for a few miles - in a not so nice section of St. Louis. The kids had their moments (as kids do) and parents got frustrated (as parents do).  There were moments but that is all that they were.  We planned as much as we could and we went into this adventure with our eyes wide open... well some of us did anyway...

On a whole and in summary the trip was exactly what we hoped it would be - a memorable family vacation that none of us will ever forget.

Death Valley CA

If the day ever comes that i need to dismember a body and bury it in the middle of no where, I now know where that spot would be.  Death Valley California is a magnificent place that can be as hot and unforgiving as it is beautiful.  One cannot help but notice the white board in the visitor center that keeps track of the heat related deaths during the current calendar year.  The crooked black "2" on the board is a warning to those that enter to pay the park fee - don't be number "3".  Helping to take our mind off of the harshness of the landscape was the oasis accommodations we experienced at the Furnace Creek Inn.  Built in the 1920's the Inn is incredibly charming with large rooms, gorgeous views and a spring fed swimming pool that required no chemicals due to the constant inflow and outflow of the spring. Amazing!  The inn garden, which is in bloom during the spring months, was watched over by a coyote that on our final day decided to get a little closer to pop-pop than perhaps he was comfortable with.

During the day we explored places like Devils Golf Course, Golden Canyon and Badwater Basin which is over 200 feet below sea level.  In the evening we looked at the stars and drank prickly pear margaritas made fresh by Gary, the soft spoken bartender whose useful knowledge and conversation could only come from a guy that has been tending bar in Death Valley for 26 years.

The pool was a refreshing 96 degrees (which is only refreshing because the air temperature was 111 degrees). When we showered, you only had to turn on the cold water, because in Furnace Creek, even the cold water is pretty warm.

The two nights we spent in Death Valley were a wonderful end to our trip.  On Saturday, Jen, the kids and I flew home out of Las Vegas and mom-mom and pop-pop (those with unlimited vacation time) continued the drive home.

Disneyland & California Adventure

We have spent the last three days running wild in Disneyland and California Adventure.  We had a great time on the rides in Disneyland and enjoyed trying new thing we normally would not get to try in Disney World.  The differences between the two parks are interesting to experience and while we have been to Disney World more times than is healthy to admit, the experience in Disneyland was unique enough to be truly original.  On this trip, Mia tried Space Mountain for the very first time and Mom-mom and Jen were brave in attempting this new version of Space Mountain as well. Coralie and Mia both thought Space Mountain was the best ride in Disneyland. Cameron found enjoyment at Star Tours.  The five randomly rotated Star Wars experiences was something he really wanted to experience.... all of them... several times.

For us, California Adventure was completely underrated.  We knew the new Cars Land was supposed to be impressive be we did not appreciate how impressive it was until we got there and then even more so at night when the neon comes out. If you have a child that is a fan of the movie, Cars Land has a lot to offer.  The Radiator Springs Racer ride is the main attraction and it is a lot of fun.  It is so popular that the line to get a fast pass for the ride can often be an hour long and fast passes are gone by midmorning.  The rest of the park has plenty to do for kids young and old, from kid rides in Bugs Land to rides like California Screamin, a extremely long and fast roller coster with a loop right in the middle.  Coralie thought this was the best ride in the park!  While California Adventure has Disney classics like Soarin and Tower of Terror, it also has new experiences like Grizzly River Rapids to make the experience seem fresh and new.

We were impressed with not only the rides in California Adventure but also the concessions (lots of food to enjoy) and the end of the night show, World of Color.  The 27 minute show is extremely well done with water features and fire set to music in an incredibly creative way.


After 4 nights and 3 days in Anaheim CA we are ready for the final leg of our trip.  Tomorrow we drive to Death Valley to experience one of the hottest - driest places on earth.  After Disneyland? who came up with that idea??

California

We did it! NJ to California.

Today we drove from Williams AZ to Anaheim CA for a 4 night stay at Disneyland.  Shortly after leaving Williams we drove through the sleepy little town of Seligman Arizona which inspired a lot of the scenery in the animation done for the movie Cars.  It was Sunday morning and many of the businesses were closed but just to drive down old Route 66 in the center of town was like stepping back in time.

We also drove through some of the most desolate areas of the entire trip.  We literally drove 150 miles through the Mojave Desert that was unbelievably harsh looking - and yet there were towns that would seemingly pop-up out of no where ... in the middle of no where.  Towns like Twentynine Palms CA.

Tonight the kids got their first taste of Disneyland - tomorrow is our first full day and the beginning of our final week on this journey.

Grand Canyon

On Saturday we took the trail to the Grand Canyon and it was well worth the trip! The canyon itself is beyond words, you cannot help be look out over the vast landscape and just be in awe.  While we were visiting Grand Canyon National Park we walked the rim and took in some of the attractions along the canyon like Kolb Cabin and the Hopi House.  We were treated to a special, up close appearance of some endangered California Condors

A few of us also hiked down a very small section of the Bright Angel Trail and saw some of the bad decision making (teens climbing out onto a ledge for a photo) that has lead to over 30 deaths at the canyon so far this year.

The train ride to the canyon was a great way to travel.  It takes about 2 hours each way, but the entertainment on board makes the time go by pretty quickly and traveling through the Ponderosa Pines gives you the opportunity to see some wildlife - like Elk.

Williams AZ

We said good bye to New Mexico this morning and headed to Williams AZ to catch the train to the Grand Canyon on Saturday.  On the way to Williams we stopped at the Painted Desert and the Petrified National Forest. They are about 130 miles east of Flagstaff AZ and the 28 mile auto tour through the park is some of the most breathtaking scenery we have seen on the trip.

When we left the National Park we found ourselves on an old original part of Route 66 and we got a chance to see one of its most treasured businesses - still in operation today. The Wigwam Motel was used as a model for the Cozy Cone Motel in the original Cars movie, just seeing the TeePee's and the classic cars almost makes you want to re-live the days of one way highways, window unit air conditioning and poor gas milage... almost.

New Mexico II

Today was a day of leisure.  We ate a great breakfast at the Santa Anna restaurant and we lounged by the pool when not going down the water slide about 100 times.

At 5:00PM we took a ride to the Tamaya Stables to do out hour and a half trail ride.  It was awesome.  We each had our own horse and the ride stretched from the stables across the base of the Sandia mountains, down to the Rio Grande river and back to the stables.  Matt (and his horse, Spot) saw a 4 foot rattle snake moving along the trail under hoof. Luckily, Spot was less spooked than Matt. The entire family did great on the trail ride, Coralie, Mia and Cameron did a great job handling their horses.  MomMom and PopPop looked like a couple of old pros on horse back!

The night was complete with a family outing to the pool/hot tub.