Caret, Carol, Nancy, Cari: the midwest meets the beach

My newly retired mom is being true to her wish to travel. She brought Kaylin to California for a fun-filled girls weekend. We had a blast!!

First stop, of course was the mall ;) like mother like daughter like niece - you can tell we are related. We had a pretty chill night with pizza and the Wii. Tom’s parents came by to say hello and meet some of the other members of my family. They were just coming off of a weeks vacation and we were about to start ours so everyone was pretty schleepy.

We woke up early and were some of the first to arrive at the Aquarium of the Pacific. After seeing the movie "The Cove", I don’t really know if I support keeping animals in captivity, especially since its not remotely close to what the real Pacific would actually be to the creature. But I will say this particular place is very educational, treats and cares for the animals and they also don’t have any dolphins so I felt a little better about going in.

They have over 11,000 fish and other types of animals and I think we saw every single one of them.

We saw jellyfish,

touched sting rays (Kaylin could not get enough of these slimy things)

and sharks of all kinds and sizes (she got to touch the little ones).

We tried to feed some birds (this took some patience, but Kaylin finally got one).

We learned about sea hares and other little creatures like the sea urchin, which gives "good luck hugs" - you stick your finger into its spiny lil spines - he/she moves his little spines and gives your finger a squeeze.

And then we got to watch divers feed the fish. He must not get claustrophobic. They totally surrounded him. I would have been freaking out, just one more reason why I work behind a desk.

We saw sea lions makin babies or so we thought until the trainer informed us that all of them were males. I wish I had this bit of information during my college years when I would argue for gay rights. Its a natural thing, people…... :)

What better place to go after learning all about the ocean??? to THE BEACH!!

The water was freezing but Kaylin didn’t seem to mind…. She stood through wave after wave crashing into her and enjoyed every moment until she tasted it, “it’s disgusting!”

We finished out the night with a concert on the beach

and a walk on the pier - where we were lucky enough to see dolphins - in their natural environment!

just hangin loose.

On our way home, we walked by the Comedy Club where Jay Leno performs every Sunday night, trying out his jokes for the upcoming week. My Mom got the bouncer to tell us that the Jaguar parked in front was in fact, Jay's ride for the evening. And she may or may not have offered to let him hang out with Kaylin while we went in to the show :) of course, she was kidding - maybe she should have preformed at the comedy club.

my mom - the jokester.

The next day was Disneyland!! And what a day it was!
We saved the best for last.
Plus it was a Monday, so we were hoping for shorter lines.

First stop was Safari/Jungle Land… and we went on a Safari Cruise and then to the Indiana Jones ride. Kaylin passed the height test, but man, they should have warned us how scary and bumpy this ride was. I thought my Mom and Kaylin would call it quits on the wild rides after this for sure. I think Kaylin had her eyes and ears closed the whole time. To my surprise they came out with huge smiles and ready for the next one!

Kaylin had the chance to meet Cinderella and show off her princess pose.

Of course, no trip to Disney would be complete without the Dumbo ride. Same ride, different players this time around – again a lil fast for me… will I ever learn?

We found Pluto hangin out on the streets of Toon Town

and even Minnie Mouse was home. Don’t these folks work?!?! :)

Tom and Kaylin taking a break on Minnie’s couch.

Chip and Dale weren’t home but we snapped a photo at their tree house anyways.

We went on the Finding Nemo ride, which takes you underwater in a submarine (another rough one for claustrophobics) to the land of Nemo.

Kaylin in line for Thunder Mountain – this one even got a “can we do that again?” I can’t believe how brave she is!!!

Our final ride of the day was Splash Mountain and apparently it was everyone elses. The line took soo long. Kaylin was more patient than some of us adults (tom). Little secret – Get the fast pass. People with the fast pass walk straight on while we stood in line for-ever…. The ride was totally worth it though.

Or at the least the drop at the end was. And yes, Kaylin is in there…. She is sitting next to Tom, somewhere..

I think Tom's pose pretty much best sums up our day in the picture above - YEAH!!!!!!!

The trip ended all too soon of course.. :( but I am very thankful they had the chance to come. I feel lucky to have shared this time with the both of them.

One kid down, two to go!! Next in line - Grace.

but I think Kaylin will need to come too so she can show her the ropes:)