We started our drive early morning on Saturday April 7th. Our plan was to drive about halfway to Sacramento and stop for the night to rest. The kids were way more excited than they look in this picture.
It was beautiful all the way down.
We had reservations at a Best Western Hotel that we've stayed in before, so the kids knew that there was a pool. They wanted to get in the pool as soon as we got there.
...Until the frogs were discovered. Then no one wanted to be in the water except Alex.
He happily played in the water even though the frogs kept jumping back in.
It was completely clear, and only a little chilly. This is the hotel we were at for the night.
The next morning we got up, had the free breakfast at the hotel, and were on our way. It was another beautiful sunny day. We pass so many fields, farms, and orchards between Oregon and southern California.
But, mostly it just looks like this in CA. We were getting closer to our destination!
We decided to stop for dinner about a half hour before we arrived at our hotel in Carlsbad because everyone really wanted Red Robin. Our stop ended up being at the Irvine Spectrum Center, a huge outdoor mall. It was our first dose of the busyness of So. CA. Alex played clapping games with Dad while we waited for our table.
After dinner we walked through the mall to the other side where there was a Target to grab a few things. They had a ferris wheel! It was huge.
That is all of the pictures I got on the first day.
We arrived at our hotel in Carlsbad. The one we'd be staying at for 5 nights. Our longest stay. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of it, but the reservation I made through priceline put too many people in this particular room, so our room was super small. We only had 2 queen beds. They didn't have anything available to put us in a bigger room. It was a pretty stressful evening when we arrived. So, Dad and Aaron went to Walmart, and found a sleeping bag so a kid could use it on the floor. Fortunately we brought Alex's sleeping bag with us, so he was already set. We had to make it work in that tiny room all week, and we did. We were just glad they let us stay in that tiny room with too many people! Oh, and I don't think I'll ever use priceline again. Very disappointed, they could do nothing for us. I learned my lesson to just book directly through the hotel.
That wraps up our journey down there. Next up, our first day at LEGOland.
