After our marathon drive from southern Oregon to southern California, we awoke to blue skies and just a slight chill in the air. Guess what? We were just one hour north of Anaheim, which, if you don’t know is home to Disneyland.
Disneyland
There is something about Disneyland that makes it just about impossible for me to miss out on an opportunity to spend a day in the Magic Kingdom and with the park all decked out in holiday goodness, we decided to take a day and have some fun. And that’s exactly what we did. To see more photos from our day, please browse our Facebook album.
Cinderella’s Castle decked out for the holidays
Disneyland Marathon
Spending a day in Disneyland is a little like running a marathon; not that I’ve ever run a marathon, I just usually wake up the next morning feeling as if I did. Having that much fun is exhausting, especially when you only have one day and you want to capture all of your favorite moments in the park. We are seasoned Disneyland visitors but if you’ve never been, I would highly recommend a minimum of two or three days for your first visit. In this way you can Park Hop between Disneyland and California Adventure, which is right next door.
A Sense of Style
After a day of marathon driving followed by a day of marathon fun behind us we slept the sleep of the exhausted. We hit the snooze button multiple times this morning before dragging ourselves out of bed to begin another day on the road. Today, we drove about 350 miles from Anaheim, CA to Phoenix, AZ. This is a drive we have made many times. It’s been at least five years since the last trek so it felt a little like visiting an old friend. We actually appreciate the desert; it has its own sense of style.
Nothing but straight…
Taking a picture of Abi who was taking a picture of the highway – on a random deserted overpass
The Woes of Car Sickness
When it’s my turn to be a passenger I am left with nothing but my eyes and imagination. Unlike Abi, I get ridiculously car sick so I cannot read, write or sleep. I stare out the window and try to find anything that will stir my imagination. I think about how it must have sucked for the ranchers who tried to scratch out a living in the desert. Or, when we pass by an abandoned mud/brick/rock house I make up little stories about who built the house and why in the hell they built it in the middle of such an unforgiving environment. When you really pay attention to what you’re seeing, it’s pretty cool what you find.
Desert hills
Desert sunset as seen from me twisting around in the seat to capture the moment out of the back side window.
Brink of Boredom
When I’m on the brink of total boredom I can stare at Susie GPS and watch our progress on the map. But only for a few blinks at a time or nausea here I come.
Abi’s phone which serves as our GPS. Technology is an amazing thing.
On to Tucson
Day 3 on the road has come to an end. Tomorrow, it’s on to Tucson, AZ where we will catch up with a friend of ours who is on a 2-year RV trek around the country. As we continue eastbound we are ever vigilant of the storm front moving through the mid-west and how it may impact our path. More importantly, we continue to be inspired by the journey itself.
Instagram Feed
Love the desert sunset picture and the fact that you stopped off in Disneyland 🙂 I kinda like those hours of travel when there’s nothing to do but think and slowly empty your mind as you stare out the window.
Amy recently posted…Visiting Koh Tao
Thanks Amy! Disneyland was a nice reward for our Plan B efforts!
Typed beatiful. Meant beautiful. Blaming it on the keyboard.
Gran Canaria Local recently posted…Four family-friendly Gran Canaria beaches
Train is by far our favourite mode of travelling. However, Gran Canaria is rail-free. So we’ve made many a road trip, enjoying some scenery not dissimilar to the beatiful images you share here.
Gran Canaria Local recently posted…Elba Vecindario Aeropuerto
We enjoy train travel as well, it’s just always practical here in the U.S. and on this trip we really wanted the car. Thanks so much for reading!
That must have been a cool trip! I’ve never visited Disneyland, it was me dream when I was a child, from what you wrote it’s really fun! Good luck with your trips 🙂
Tom recently posted…Dun Laoghaire, Dalkey and Killiney – “Subtropical” coast of Ireland
Thank you Tom for the well-wishes, I hope you’re able to visit Disneyland one day!
I love going to Disney, just like a little kid. I guess you don’t do a lot of the crazy rides. Hope you have heaters, even for Phoenix tonight.
Gaelyn recently posted…Foto Friday Fun 36
Disneyland is always fun with or without kids in tow! One of our favorite rides is the Indiana Jones Adventures – so much fun and pretty wild.
Disneyland…I’m glad you two had fun! My buddy and I had a guys weekend in L.A. many years ago and “tore” the place up flying around the park to hit up all of the rides. We were zonked by the end of the evening. Ahhhh, the I-10! That brings back several wonderful road trip memories with my fiance’ many years ago. I wrote my Seduced By A Girl On The West End Of Phoenix post to this freeway drive! Thanks for the flashback, Patti! 🙂 Drive safe always please…
Mike recently posted…How To Make The Best Gourmet Chicken Salad Sandwich
You’re welcome, Mike. I do what I can do help my friends! 😉 And thank you for the continued well-wishes, we travel as safely as we can. Maybe you could talk to those 18-wheelers out there on the open road for me!
I can’t believe that you love car trips so much if you get that carsick. When I was growing up I got carsick, so I found family road trips to be, well, nauseating. I still can’t really read in the car which makes my job as official map reader kind of uncomfortable.
I’m trying to imagine you and Abi at Disneyland. We made a few trips to Disney World with our boys when they were little. I enjoyed watching them wide-eyed having fun, but I’ve pretty much resolved not to return unless we’re blessed with grandchildren.
Suzanne Fluhr (Boomeresque) recently posted…Passports with Purpose 2013 – Donate to Help Build Schools in Mali (And You Might Win Cool Prizes Too!)
I know, it’s odd, but I do love a good road trip! I just know what I can and can’t do while riding in the car. I can’t swing on a swing either, super sensitive to motion, that’s me. Disneyland without children is a completely different experience, much more calm. This was most likely our last hurrah as we have no reason to travel to southern CA again. I wanted to see the park decked out for Christmas and I have a lot of memories associated with the park both from my childhood and from all the times we took our son so it was a “remembering” kind of day.