Brandi, Nick and I took a short weekend vacation to California for some much needed time away. They flew in from Atlanta, and I from Detroit. Nick was awesome on the plane ride, watching videos and eating snacks, even a nap squeezed in there. I'm happy he likes flying.His first impression of California: "It smells like stinky dead fish." (We were driving along the PCH by the ocean.) He finally got to see all the planes he watches on TV up close and in person at LAX. (His favorite YouTube video is 'planes taking off from LAX' so of course he went nuts in person.)
After visiting with our friend Nancy on Friday, we headed to Disneyland for the afternoon. The place was packed with people - why aren't their kids in school! Nick was most interested in riding the trains. He rode the Snow White ride also, and we saw the parade in the evening, which was cool after dark. The barbeque wasn't half bad, either.
Nick was sick on the second day, and we spent most of the day in our hotel; fortunately Nancy set us up with an awesome room at the Irvine Marriott, and Nick had the perfect view of John Wayne Airport. So he spent the day laying on his bed, calling off the flights like air traffic control as they took off and landed. In the evening, we went to South Coast Plaza for shopping, where Brandi bought a dress from Mango, and Nick got a toy plane. Having never been there before, Brandi now knows what this place is all about (all the designer stores of LA.)
We started off Sunday at Mimi's Cafe for breakfast, one of my favorite Ca
lifornia eateries. Then we drove down to Dana Point Beach for the view high above the harbor, and a couple hours down on the beach. Nick was into it at first, but then became 'afraid of the crabs' and needed to be carried the rest of the way. This was his first experience with the ocean and beaches, picking shells, burying his feet, and tossing stones. Oh, the picture of him spurting at me isn't him being rude, he just loves the noise!He knew we were in Los Angeles, and flew in from Atlanta on Delta. Then at one point, Brandi asked him where we were, wanting to hear his cute response, and he says, "Vegas!" Go figure. On the drive to the airport, he got to see the Goodyear Blimp along the 405, and more planes flying in, while he gripped his last California muffin tightly.
- Jason
