Disneyland was magical as it always is, but the heat wave California had last week really saps the energy. It was in the 40’s Wed,Thurs and Friday was pretty close. Couple that with the EXTREME crowd on our last day we were happy to move on to the next part of our trip.

We had checked in last Tuesday and the parks were quite quiet (for Disneyland) and then each day got a little busier with Friday being the busiest I have ever seen it. It was Grad Night, so I think every teenager in Anaheim was at the park.

Obviously I enjoyed everything, but the highlights for me were California Screamin, Radiator Racers, Space Mountain and Star Tours. But the best moment for me was watching the World of Color. For those unfamiliar, it is a water and light show timed with the music and video of various Disney movies. It was a half hour long and I think touched every emotion for me. It was a moment that I didn’t want to end. I wanted to crawl into it and live there with all my family and friends. If you go to Disneyland make this a priority, but make a reservation for the dining package at Wine Country Trattoria and you get premium passes to watch the show.

Disneyland does make you feel like a kid again. But watching the excitement from Audrey and my niece and nephew really makes the day.  They each had their favorites being different ages but as kids are, they were up for anything. So special to see and they are so close they may as well all be siblings.

We checked out Saturday morning and drove down the coast and spent the day at Sea World. It was my first time to Sea World and I didn’t realize what Sea World was. I thought it was just like a bigger version of the Vancouver Aquarium. Wow was I wrong! It was an amusement park with sea animals. It was a nice change from Disneyland even though I have mixed feelings about it. **My opinion – Dolphin show was cool, Shamu show was not. Penguin exhibit in Calgary crushed theirs. As far as their aquarium exhibits, Vancouver and Boston were better. Stingray touch pool was good, Boston was better. Feeding the Sea Lions was cool and being that close to the Dolphins was awesome!  (That’s my 10 second review…)

After Sea World we drove back up the coast to the town of Encinitas where we rented a beach house. Very cool place and definitely a surfing community. I think we just walked into the set of Point Break. “Utah, get me two!”

We ordered pizza when we got in and the staff were incredibly friendly. I think they may have all been smoking the left handed cigarette and if you can visualize the stereotype of a “surfer” you would be spot on. Loved it!

We had a plan to hit the San Diego Zoo today (Sunday), but we all decided to take the “day off”. We all needed to recharge after being on the go for the last 5 days. Plus we have such a great place we wanted take advantage of the pool and beach. I definitely needed it…feeling pretty worn out today.

So, going to enjoy a relaxing day and then we will head to the Zoo, Safari Park and Legoland the next three days. Although I think I could just chill here for the next three or three hundred days too… 🙂

“Surfing will change your life, swear to god” ( Hahahaha, I could quote Point Break all day!!!)

Dan