this time it was me as the adult, the parent, the planner, it was quite a heavy burden to shoulder. hubby was busy until the evening of our flight out and had no time to even look at the file i prepared for the trip. he fell sick a couple of days before the trip and was on antibiotics, flu meds and cough meds.
researching about the trip was wonderful though, everything was available on google. but researching and experiencing are two totally different things. i had a year to go through all the travel websites, the reviews, look at opinions, matching to our needs. but come the day of the travel i was a nervous wreck. i was anxious about everything from the flight to immigration to all the hotel, theme parks booking. i was scared i mixed up the dates of booking, i was scared about looking for food, i was worried about health, everything basically.
alhamdulillah. the trip was wonderful. the time i spent locked up in my room, browsing websites after websites was worth it. they were not 100% accurate, of course but they did prepare me. some were not at all prepare-able, paying for tips is the main one, but at least i had basic information with me.
san francisco
absolutely lovely, lovely, lovely city. from the apartment we booked to the sightseeing we did to the cable car and street car and muni to the majestic golden gate bridge. the whole family love this place. we walked around a lot, for hours and hours a day, and the weather was just wonderful. we had the citypass and it gave us access to a lot of places we wanted to see. union square was beautifully decorated and so easily accessible from our apartment and fisherman's wharf was a stone's throw away, we had a bus stop and a cable car stop right on our doorstep. we will definitely come back, soon i hope, and spend more time here.
anaheim
this was purely for disneyland. we parked ourselves here for 7 days. 4 for disneyland (and yet still not enough!!), 1 for universal studios and 1 was a free-and-easy day. i absolutely love disneyland. i can't begin to describe the feeling you get when you walk through the entrance, all warm and fuzzy and ahhhhhh, just beautiful. no other disneyland, though i've only visited the paris, anaheim and japan parks, can compete to the anaheim disneyland. now i can't wait to visit orlando!
las vegas
i like the hotel we were in and the adjoining miracle mile mall. i like the strip. i like cirque du soleil. i like the deuce, its very convenient. i like the trip we took from anaheim to las vegas. but we had a terrible experience there and i'd sooner rather forget las vegas.
san diego
another city i love. so relaxing compared to the hustle and bustle of las vegas. the hotel we were in were so close to a trolley stop and to the amtrack station, so getting around was easy. we were close to the kebab shop so eating was easy too. the hotel we were in were great, in need of refurbishment which they were currently doing, but great nonetheless. the fellow guests we meet at breakfast were so nice and approachable. i wish we were there longer so that we can explore nearby places, like carlsbad for legoland and the outlet, and coronado island and the zoo. i can't pat my back enough for the decision to take the surfliner to los angeles, it was a wonderful journey and the train was super duper comfy.
los angeles
los angeles is such a wide and vast city. we were there only 2 days and only saw a fraction of the city. but somehow, it felt more 'enough' than san francisco and san diego. yeah i know there's more to see but the pull isn't as strong as the other 2 cities. if i could, i would love to spend a couple of days more, to see downtown los angeles for one, to spend time away form hollywood blvd where we were at 90% of our time in los angeles.
so…my take-aways from the 21 days we spent in america:
1. 21 days is not enough
2. make sure your hubby takes his 1-a-day medication so that there's no drama and you won't have to try to forget any place you've been to
3. tips can burn a hole in your pocket
4. shopping in disneyland can burn a crater in your pocket but its sooo worth it
5. heck what people say, spend as many days in disneyland as you want
6. hot chocolate is your best friend who can become your enemy
7. taking the different transportation was a wonderful way to see and learn - it was ok not driving
8. the safety demonstration on virgin america was so cool and on southwest was hilarious
9. i loved all the accommodation choices i made - score two thousand for me!
10. the cable car rides in san fran were far better than most theme park rides - ok, i exaggerate because i'm too chicken to go on any theme park rides
11. i love target and walmart and macy's
12. citypass is a must - we got the san francisco and southern california ones
13. there's wifi everywhere - wish it was stronger in disneyland, though. the strongest wifi surprisingly was in mcdonald's
14. we love mimi's cafe!!!! we love, love, love mimi's cafe.
15. kid's meal in disneyland is wonderful - i love the apples and carrots and chocolate milk that come with it
16. i miss sourdough bread like hell-o
17. doing laundry while on holiday is a stress reliever - that is a major take-away.
18. the surfliner is wonderful
19. even with astro and unifi, nothing can beat american tv. i would be the ultimate couch potato there.
20. oh you ghirardelli
21. and you cheesecake factory
22. where in the world are the baked beans
23. you can actually survive walking with 4 children under 10 for an average 10 hours a day for 21 days, ppsssshh small matter
24. you do feel horrible for walking with 4 children under 10 for an average 10 hours a day for 21 days once you get home when your legs and feet finally give in
so…on for the next one, i am ready!
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