We just got back from a family vacation in Southern California. We had a wedding out there last weekend (the 2nd and 3rd of October) with my husband’s family. Then we headed to Anaheim for Disneyland but stopped by Laguna Beach on the way. The weather was a bit cool and it drizzled off and on but we enjoyed it anyway.
We spent the next couple of days at Disneyland. (I look like I am having a great time in this picture…LOL! I think I was caught mid-sentence.) The weather was drizzly and overcast for about 24 hours. But it wasn’t too bad. We actually enjoyed it due to the fact that many people stayed away from Disneyland. The longest wait we had for a ride was 15 minutes. And most we were able to walk right on the ride with no waiting at all. Also, many of the ride lines are covered so we were able to stay pretty dry!
The last day at Disneyland, the weather was perfect and sunny but the crowds were back!
It was so much fun! I LOVE Disneyland! It had been 4 years since we had last been and the younger kids didn’t remember much and the baby had never been. Half the fun is in seeing how excited the kids get over the rides and meeting their favorite characters.
I have to say that as much as I LOVE Winnie the Pooh…I am glad I don’t have to go on that ride again…for a while at least!
Then after we were finished at Disneyland, and swimming in the hotel pool, we headed back up to Laguna Beach. This time the weather was absolutely perfect for playing at the beach. We had planned on staying over night in Laguna Beach at another hotel.
But when we checked in and went into our room we knew immediately that we would NOT be staying. The room was FILTHY and smelled like urine. We flipped back the bedspread and the sheets had crumbs and a hair on them…YIKES! Ummm…No Thank You! So we turned and walked right back out. Luckily they gave us a return on our deposit so we weren’t out any money. We decided that we would just drive back to St. George, Utah (where we knew we had somewhere we could stay) from California (about 6-6.5 hours) instead of staying over night and trying to find another hotel.
We were able to find a great parking spot near some bathrooms and a shower at the beach and we were able to change into our swim suits.
The beach weather was perfect and there were very few people there! Love that! We played all afternoon at the beach. Then shortly before we were ready to head home, my hubby and boys went body surfing one last time. My husband was suddenly “hit” by something on the top of his foot while in the water and something brushed up against his leg.
He came hobbling out of the water clearly in pain. He had a puncture wound on the top of his foot and it was bleeding. We are pretty sure he was stung by a stingray. Apparently they are common in that area and several people are stung by them every year. He is now one of the statistics. Hot water and ibuprofen helped ease the pain considerably.
While the hubs was recovering, a big ball of tangled sea weed washed ashore. The kids drug it up onto the beach and soon discovered that it was full of sea life. They found a crab, a baby lobster, some sea shells and several brittle sea stars!
The kids were SO excited. We collected as many as we could and put them in a clean container we had with us. Then we threw the seaweed back into the ocean because the kids didn’t want any other creatures we might have missed to die. Then we took our rescued creatures and found a nice tide pool for them to live in or head back out to sea.
Well, while we were releasing them, I stepped on a bee. Poor bee and poor me…although he did sting me, I am afraid I came out of it better than he did. Now the hubs and I were both hobbling. This day is not turning out how we planned!
We were able to drive to St. George (very late into the night and early the next morning) where we had a place to crash for the night. Then we played there all the next day and just layed by the pool and relaxed from our crazy day before. My husband’s foot is feeling much better and the swelling is almost gone. We had a great time but it is always nice to be back home safe and sound!
Have any of you had some crazy/scary/unexpected things happen on your family vacation?
★Amy
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Christene says
Wow! What a fun trip with some crazy happenings. I hope you and your hubby are both recoering well. Thank goodness his injury wasn't more serious. Our craziest time was getting stuck right behind a serious accident for 6 hours on the intrestate with kids and a trailer full of horses. Or 2 hour drive turned into 8. Boy was that fun. You just never know what life will bring you. Glad you're all home and safe!
Christene {WhipperBerry.com}
Wow, AMy! We had almost the exact same trip. We went to Disneyland last Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Tuesday's rain wasn't much fun and Thursday and Friday were so crowded! We also went to Laguana Beach on Saturday. The tide pools were so fun! Luckily, we didn't step on a stingray or bee, but we did use those showers and bathrooms. Instead of driving to St. George, we drove all the way to Sandy. We got home at 6am:( That would have been fun to cross paths and "meet" you.
So glad you guys had fun at Disneyland, how lucky to have short lines! I agree with you about the WInnie the Pooh ride, it's kinda freaky if you ask me! Sorry about you and the hub's stings! That little lobster is one of the cutest things ever though! What a great find!
For our honeymoon, my husband and I went to Disney World (we haven't made it out to the west side yet) and were having a great time! We left the park around lunch time to miss the lunch-time crowds and we were driving his mazda miata and got rearended by a company van. He of course fled the scene and our trunk in which we needed to put our luggage was useless, but insurance paid for it all so just like yours, ended happily. ;)
We live right by Laguna and my husband is a hotel manager here…wish we could have helped you out of your hotel dilemma!!!!! :)
Glad to see you enjoyed my home town of so cal. The was a bit weird last week and this week we are back to being hot and sunny. go figure. But what a bummer to hear about the hotel in Laguna. Which hotel was it so I can make sure to stay away from there.
Taylor from My Modish Moods
My husband was stung by a stingray on our summer vacation. The hot water instantly made him feel better but the doctor gave him an antibiotic to prevent infection. They also did an x-ray because small pieces of the barb can break off inside.
Wow!! Sounds like a fun trip sprinkled with some "ouchies" in between! Hope your and hubby's feets are better!
In 1999, hubby and I planned a vacation to Virginia Beach. While we were driving down (a mere 3-hr. drive from our home), the storm clouds kept getting thicker and thicker. What we didn't know was that Hurrican Dennis was bearing down on the Atlantic Coast. When we checked in to our hotel, our beach-view room had sandbag barriers and we were told to keep our suitcases on the dresser. We kept losing power and we watched as a runaway sailboat crashed into the pier. A bonus though – the bar was giving away free drinks! The next morning, we packed up and headed to the Carolinas – which was behind the hurricane and very, very sunny!
My husband just got stung by a stingray too!! Last week in Oceanside. When we went to Sea World the next day, the lady at the stingray pool said that there are more than usual closer to the shore because the water is colder than normal this time of year. Interesting fact, but it still didn't make his foot feel any better :)
Wow! First of all, I would love to know how long you waited to visit the Princesses! We have season passes to Disneyland and have not yet tried our luck. You are so super lucky that you had a day at Disneyland like you did!!!! Now, about Laguna Beach…what a day! I cannot believe you found such a disgusting hotel there! As for the injuries, I am so sorry to hear about those. But now you do have some stories…lol. I love the pictures you captured, they are so lovely. Glad you are all home safe and sound.
Sounds like a great time! Do you homeschool by any chance?
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Great Pix! Sorry about you and your hubby , hope you're recovering well. I just came back from my first trip to So. California a couple weeks ago. Went to Disneyland and had a blast. It was also my first trip on an airplane. All the way from Massachusetts. Long flight with almost a 2 hour layover. With Panic disorder I never thought I'd fly, but I'm so happy I did. Of course with the help of some extra meds that my doc. prescribed. While on our vacation, my fiance and I were depending on his pay check to go in so we could do other things like go to the san diego zoo and sea world but he never got paid and we barely had money for food for the last four days of our trip. We had about five dollars for our plane flight home. That was our vacation nightmare.
Thanks for sharing your photos, love the baby lobster!