Labor Day Weekend at Legoland, California

This past weekend, my family and I took a rather impromptu trip to Legoland again.  We hadn't made any plans for Labor Day, but work has been particularly stressful, so we loaded up the van and set out for Carlsbad for 2 days and 1 night of fun.

First off, it's a bad idea to drive from the Los Angeles area to Carlsbad on any Friday afternoon, let alone a Friday that starts a 3-day weekend.  My son got out of school early, so I took a half-day at work and we all hopped in the van to leave around 1:30.  I thought, okay, it might take 4 hours in traffic since it normally takes 2.5-3 without.  Well...it took 5 hours to get there!  We stopped at the IKEA shopping center in Carson at 3:30 when my son could not hold his bladder any longer.  Ended up grabbing an early dinner there.  Glad we did since we were only about half-way there at the time.

Once we actually got to Carlsbad, Legoland, of course, was already closed for the day.  So, we checked in to our room at the Hampton Inn.  We've never stayed at a Hampton Inn before, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but the room rate was better than any other decent hotels in the area for a last minute booking.  The hotel itself wasn't fancy, but it was clean, comfortable, and got the job done.  There was a pool, a spa, fitness equipment, and a free continental breakfast including all the stuff we've come to expect from the modern continental:  fresh waffles, fruit, yogurt, breakfast meat, eggs, etc.  The room itself had 2 queen beds which were quite comfortable, a bathroom with a bathtub (a plus for the kids), a refrigerator, a microwave, a tv, and a desk.  While it wasn't a room I would typically select for a longer vacation (3+ days), it was perfect for our short stay as it was close to Legoland and many places to eat. 

Legoland, as usual, was pleasant but more fun for the kids than adults.  It was surprisingly not terribly crowded on Saturday.  We were able to ride many rides without any wait until about 2PM.  My older son especially enjoyed the water play areas while the little ones were too cold, so they hung out in the duplo area for a while.  The best highlight was seeing the replica of One World Trade Center, which was under construction when we were there in June.  It was beautifully made and an incredible work of lego art.  As an added bonus this trip, my oldest was finally old enough to go on the big kid side of the driver school ride.  He loved it!

Thankfully, the drive back was painless.  Even less traffic than normal going up the 405.  It wasn't the easiest weekend ever, but it was so nice to get away if even for one night.  This may be our last Legoland trip of the year unless we squeeze a short one in before Christmas.  Glad we got the chance to go.