My story began when my sister informed she wanted to do the Neverland 5K in Disneyland and that she wanted me to do it with her. I thought to myself that I had never done a 5K before, so why not have my first be in Disneyland! I had 6 months to train! 6 months flew by and it was time to do this! My boyfriend, Travis and I jumped in my little yellow car (I like to call Minni) and we were officially on the road to Vegas. Our plan was to drive to my hometown of Las Vegas to meet up with my sister and brother in law. It was the first road trip I had ever driven myself. We finally saw the view of the Strip as we came up over the hill. Every time I go to Vegas, I know I am home when I see that silver lining. :)
Day 1! Jan. 15th 2014
We planned on leaving the next day, but not till later in the afternoon. So, I got to take Travis on a miniature tour of my old stomping grounds. We first went to get coffee at Sambalatte in Boca Park (shopping center). It was delicious! The only thing I would complain about would have to be that it was a little over priced but I had to remind myself, "Hey! You're in Vegas!." We then went to the Total Wine & More store. My heaven! Being from Utah and someone who loves spirits, it's like a kid in a candy store when you visit normal states that have liquor for sale in lets say a 7-11. This is what I grew up used to, so you could imagine how it would be moving to a state with abnormal liquor laws.
We hit the road for Cali and arrived in the evening with time to spare. But first we had to check in to the hotel! Yep! We stayed at the Super 8 on Disneyland Dr. just 15 minutes walking distance from Downtown Disney. Since we had some time to spare we decided to go see what Downtown Disney was all about!
Downtown Disney reminded me of the Caesars Palace Casino shopping center in Vegas, except Disney! I think my favorite store besides the Disney Store was the Lego Store. So much time and work had to of gone into those Lego statues. They were phenomenal!
Day 2! Jan. 16th
Big Day! 5K & Disneyland! Our morning started early! The race started at 6:30 AM, so we had to be up and ready by 540 am. We walked down to Disneyland in our cute Tinkerbell & Periwinkle race costumes that my sister made us! Once we made it to the main entrance, we sadly had to part ways with our cheer squad as we entered the gate. It was insane to be standing on Disney Main Street with thousands of other racers before the park even opened! They began with a firework show orchestrated by Tinkerbell of course!
Everyone waited in their Lost Boy & Fairy outfits to get the ok to go as the people who were there to truly race started. Throughout the race they played Following the Leader from Peter Pan as well as themed songs from the areas we were going through. Photo opportunities were also available with Mascots but the lines were way to long to even want to stop. As we continued through, we realized we were in the back stage areas. Bet you can't say you've been behind the scenes! They also had props from the holidays brought out from storage for photo opportunities as well. The sun began to rise as we made our way to California Adventure to finish the race and meet our guys! Watch us cross the finish line below! :)
Heading back to the hotel, we rested, got something to snack on then proceeded to spend the rest of our day in Disneyland! First, we had to get our Mickey Ears right?! We headed to the Mad Hatters Shop. Just like sisters, we both ended up getting the same Pirate Mickey ears. Travis wasn't about the Mickey Ears, so he got a grey Grumpy hat. Haha.
I had been doing my Secret Disney research the week before and found out that if you go to City Hall, they will give you a Honorary Citizen pin if you answer some questions correctly. Let's just say, we are good! And they weren't as easy as you would think!
Ride time! We hit Indiana Jones first, which is my favorite ride! This ride now stands where the Eeyore Parking Lot used to be located, so when you are in the projector room, look behind you, above the projector, and you will see the old sign! You can also pull ropes and such while in line and make things happen. As we were enjoying the ride, it broke down. AND it was our Jeep that broke it down. It was dark and we couldn't move until a cast member came to evacuate us. Luckily, we were at the end of the ride. We asked if they could take a picture of us but said it would ruin the magic so we did it ourselves! Now, I do have to say, walking through and seeing the boulder just spinning and spinning in one spot & the Indiana doll just dangling there will forever be in my mind every time I ride it. Perks of it breaking down? We got to see the cast members area AND we got 2 free any ride fast pass tickets! Score!
Funny enough, our space ship on Space Mountain broke down too right as the ride began. But we got to go behind scenes a little again to get to the front of the line to ride. After riding what we could at Disneyland we made our way to California Adventure. It was pretty cool! My favorite part was Radiator Springs, & I never even really like Cars. Maybe I need to give it another chance now that I've been there! Haha. It was time for fireworks and The World of Color, so we ran to Disneyland to catch that, then back to California Adventure to see The World of Color. It was amazing!.....Until 5 minutes in, it broke......What is with things breaking down?!
My legs hurt sooooooooo bad by the end of the night from doing the race and a whole day between Disney & California, that I had to go back to the hotel. I hurt sooooo bad, I cried all the way back. We had to stop and get me some Bengay pain reliever and a couple of beers.
Day 3! Jan. 18th
The next morning came & we packed up our stuff and went to Coco's Family Restaurant for breakfast. This place was pretty darn good! I recommend it if you are ever in Cali or Vegas.
Next stop, Seal Beach! I hadn't been to a beach since I was 7 or 8, so I was beyond excited. Well, as excited as I could be considering I literally couldn't walk from the day before...I loved all of the beach houses and tried to imagine what it would be like to live on a beach like that. It was so foreign to me I couldn't!
Now this is where Travis & I geeked out. We were on Ocean Ave. If you know pop/punk type music at all, you should be familiar with Yellowcard with a song called Ocean Avenue. Click here for the song! Ocean Avenue - Yellowcard. We were standing right there!!!!! I will forever hold that memory :)
We had lunch at an Irish Pub called O'Malley's on Main just located near the beach. We ordered potato skins to share, which were to die for! Then I ordered a Cobb Salad & 2 pints of Blue Moon. Now remember, I am from Utah, who has lower alc. %'s. One pint alone got me feeling pretty decent since I am not used to normal. Hey, you spend less money I guess?! Haha. Sadly, it was time to go back to Vegas.
Day 4! Jan. 19th
We went on an adventure with my niece & nephews around Vegas. We first hit the outlet mall, where I bought Travis a plaid shirt that has now become his favorite piece of wardrobe :p Then we went to the Container Park Downtown. This place was awesome! It was a little outlet mall, but all of the buildings were made out of huge metal storage containers. They also had a play park in the middle and a stage where musicians can perform!
That night we decided to have a date night on the strip. I had forgotten just how crazy the strip can be, let alone driving when you're a "tourist". We decided to go wonder around Planet Hollywood and grab a bite to eat. That's pretty much all the time we had because we had to go back to Summerlin to meet my brother in law at the Red Rock Casino for some Bingo! I love Bingo and if I still lived in Vegas, I have no doubt, I would be one of those old bitty women playing bingo with a glass of wine. I love this casino specifically because its off the strip, It is also about a mile or so away from my old high school, so we all used to go to the movies & bowling there all the time!
The next day we had to leave the warmth of Vegas and head back to the cold, snowy Salt Lake City. Before we left, I made it a priority to stop back at that wine store and get a big bottle of my favorite wine that is normally $13 at home, but was only $6 there! How could that not come home with me?!
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| Goodbye to warmth! :( |
The trip was an amazing adventure and I wish I could go back and live it day after day!
Jealous
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