Traveling Snyders

A perfect vacation for me is a mixture of relaxation, adventure, action, reading,
good food, weather cooperation and the simple pleasures. All shared with those I LOVE the most. This was just that. And a visit to nearly every public bathroom in Southern Cal. I have never attempted to take my three children on an 11 day road trip but they did well and adjusted to a new sort of schedule. Brighton did say he was ready to go home around day 9 but he still managed to enjoy himself. I think above all the glitz and glamor of Disneyland and the other attractions my kids will remember the simple things like picking strawberries in the fields or eating lavender banana bread at a lavender farm. We started our adventure to Southern California spending a night with my brother in Las Vegas. From there we headed to Laguna Beach, a favorite family beach spot.

LAGUNA BEACH

In this little beach town we spent as much time as possible splashing in the waves and building sand castles. We also went to a concert on the main cobblestone beach. A street performer was blowing HUGE bubbles for the children to catch. We also visited cousin Pete who lives in a beach cottage there in Laguna with his cute pregnant wife Katie.

LEGOLAND

Legoland was next on the agenda. This is a great park for about ages 3-12. So it was perfect for my kids. I did find a five day pass for the price of one. So we went twice and made sure we hit every attraction at the park including the aquarium. Miles was thrilled to find he could drive the lego cars and there was a whole section for building cars and racing them. The mini land is amazing as hundreds of thousands of legos build a mini USA. It is not Disneyland but worth the visit.

MOTHER'S DAY ~LAVENDER FARM

After Legoland we went to Lawrence Welk Resort where we would spend the next seven days with my parents. This is a great resort in the vineyard hills of San Diego. On Mother's Day we attended a festival at a nearby Lavender Farm. They had great live music and all the lavender scones, bread, and lemonade you could eat. Surprising, I didn't feel like I was eating some sort of lavender toiletry. It was all very good with a little zing of lavender. A perfect way to spend Mother's day. I also attended church with my parents in the ghetto of Escondido. There were some great talks, the first by a women that spoke of the beauty of motherhood. And second a man who basically said we could be doing better. I laughed and took them both in, giving my self a pat on the back and kick in the pants. Motherhood is tough and wonderful all wrapped up. Don't worry Spencer still made breakfast and was well equipped with flowers and a gift. I think one of the greatest gifts was sleeping in. We had a BBQ at my aunt Peggy's all made by the men. A great day to celebrate women.

Legoland Aquarium

This is a great little aquarium that we visited on our second trip to Legoland. There were a lot of cool sharks in this tank. Brighton LOVES sea life and can name each kind of shark.

Strawberry Fields

I felt like I was living in a Beatles song as we roamed the strawberry fields, eating the most sweet strawberries I have ever tasted. We collected a bucket full and got a stomach full.

DISNEYLAND

Disneyland is exhilarating and exhausting. There really is no place like Disneyland. The production that they put on every day is amazing. The parade is top notch. They must have some sort of pixie dust creating the magic there. We could hardly contain the kids as we rode the Buzz Light Year bus into the park. I think that would have been good enough for them. I was a little shocked at the excitement gushing from myself. We ran from ride to ride hardly sitting down. I was worried about Brighton because he is so little and still needs a nap. And he did get a little ornery around nap time but crashed in the stroller, making for a pleasant experience.I love that we can ride nearly all the rides together. Although Spencer and I noticed how each ride has a little demented twist to it. Even the innocent Winnie the Pooh ride has a twisted dream about Hephalumps and Woozles. The only ride that really seemed to get the kids heart racing was Pirates of the Caribbean. Brighton kept repeating that he wanted to go out, because to those little brains it is real. Can you imagine thinking you were being shot at by pirates and your parents are all smiles and repeating "Isn't this fun!". Needless to say, none of them were interested in the Haunted Mansion located right next to the Pirates of the Caribbean. But the rest of the rides were great fun and they were all smiles all the way to the car ride home where all three crashed on contact.

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SAN DIEGO BEACH DAY

After all the Disney excitement we needed a day to rejuvenate so we spent it at the beach collecting sea shells and basking on the rocks. There were some really cool seashells. Of course Miles rolled around in the sand and water, making sure every inch of him was covered in sand. I don't think the kids ever stopped eating.

San Diego Wild Life Park

This park is amazing and so close to our resort. All of its proceeds go to helping endangered animals. It makes you feel better about the dough you fork over to park your car and to enter the park. The animals have a great habitat to dwell in. They know that it is satisfying to the animals because they are reproducing at great rates. The gorrillas were so entertaining and resembled a few relatives. There were two monkeys that followed Miles and Stella along their cage. I think they were salvating over the apples they were eating. We rode the safari bus around for a closer look. Did you know that giraffes only sleep 3-4 minutes at a time for a total of about 25 minutes a day. We learned all sorts of interesting facts. There is a lot of hiking in this park making it feel a little more rugged. We hiked and hiked to get to the Elephants. It was worth seeing all the baby elephants. We didn't have to hit the resort gym that day.

Lawrence Welk Resort

And when we weren't running around we were enjoying the great ammenties of the resort. They have several great pools but this was our favorited equipped with a huge beach front pool, splash pad, waterslide, and giant jacuzzi. We swam nearly every day! We took advantage of the crafts and activities they had there as well for the kids. One night we went to a magic show that was very entertaining. They have a professional theatre, where my mom and I went to see the musical Footloose. There was some great talent in the musical!

I usually am ready to come home after such an extended trip. But I was so sad to leave and return to life. I always get the travelers blues and it takes me few days to recover. Spencer and I look forward to taking our family to many places over the years. We both love to move around this globe. I always perk up when I dream about the next place we will visit. And then I find the simple pleasures all around me and enjoy being HOME!