Be Our Guest at the Red Rose Taverne

This past weekend, my family ended our spring break with a day trip to Disneyland.  We wanted to experience the limited time Beauty and the Beast offerings.  I went in expecting it to be packed because it was a Sunday in Spring Break season, but we were pleasantly surprised.  It felt nearly empty in Disneyland considering how beautiful the weather was.  Don't get me wrong--the rides still had long waits--but we didn't feel like sardines in a can while we walked.

So, one of my favorite additions is Gaston.  He's hilarious and knows just how to impress the ladies.  Don't miss him on your next trip.  He's super...well...he's Gaston.  What more can I say?

The Red Rose Taverne was also fun.  The formerly themed Pinocchio restaurant has been completely transformed to resemble Gaston's dream house.  He uses antlers in all of his decorating after all.

The food there was also good.  They have some old favorites, such as the children's portioned cheese pizzas.  Burgers now come with pomme frites, AKA french fries with garlic on them.  I had the poutine, which was an interesting blend of beef, cheese curd, and waffle fries with some pickled onion on top.  It was delicious, but very filling and could easily feed 2 people.  And, of course, for dessert, there was the gray stuff.  And yes, it was delicious!

While we were there, we stopped by autopia to check out the new campers.  In case you haven't heard, Asimo, formerly a famed resident of the innoventions exhibit, is now camping in various scenes along your autopia drive.  It's quite fun actually and adds a bit of cohesion and a more futuristic feel.  I would have preferred there to be more movement.  And, of course, I still feel the cars should be solar powered, but it's definitely an improvement.  And I love seeing Asimo again.

It was a wonderful Sunday at the park.  I only wish every trip to Disneyland was so nice.  Here are a few other shots from the day:

California's Central Coast: Monterey and Santa Cruz

For Spring Break this year, my oldest son (almost 7 years old) and I took a road trip to Santa Cruz and Monterey for 4 days and 3 nights.  As I've written before, I had the wonderful opportunity to live in this area for a brief time in my life and it always feels like coming home when I visit.  This trip was no exception.

My son and I stayed at the Fairfield Inn in Capitola.  It was a nice hotel, though definitely more geared toward business people this time of year than tourists and children.  Still, it was enjoyable.  We had a 1 king junior suite.  No exciting views, but the room was spacious, there was a bathtub, which is my son's primary request in a hotel, and it was a lot nicer than the old hotels you find on the beach.  The free breakfast was pretty basic fair, but my son did say this place had the best waffles he's had in the past 2 years of trips he remembers.  As an added bonus, one of my local favorites, Erik's Deli, is only about a 5 minute walk from the hotel.  And the mall, which includes a Target and Kohls, is only about 7-10 minutes on foot.  Great location overall.

I let my son lead the trip this time.  We took our required trip to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk for a bit to play miniature golf.  My son went on a couple of rides, but as it's the off-season, not much is open and they're doing a bunch of construction, so our time there was limited.

On our second day, we took a brief drive to Felton before driving down to Monterey.  It was a beautiful morning.  A little fog, still damp from rain the night before.  The forest has never looked more beautiful than it does right now with all the rains this past winter.

By the time we got to Monterey, the day was gorgeous.  Weather was in the 60s with plenty of sunshine.  We started off our day by taking a walk from Fisherman's Wharf to Cannery Row.  This walk is not too hard, but it is a long walk (about 2.4 miles each direction), so don't do it if you aren't good with walking long distances.  It's worth it though for the beauty.

Once we got to Cannery Row, we went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium.  My son enjoyed it much more this trip than he did when we went a year ago.  Without the little ones, we were able to go at his pace and explore what he was interested in.  He was especially fascinated by the jellies and sea stars. 

On our final full day in the area, we decided to take it easy and explore Santa Cruz.  My son and I woke up early to see the sun rise over the Pacific Ocean.  There are few places on the Pacific where you can do this since, you know, the sun rises in the east and we're on the west coast.  So, it was a special experience for my son.  We watched the surfers and fishermen, took a walk along the paths on West Cliff Drive, and tried to soak up the beauty of nature.

It's amazing how much beauty is in such a small area.  I can't wait to go back again sometime soon.  If you're thinking about taking a trip to this area, do it.  You won't regret it.

Last Minute Trip to Universal

My annual pass for Universal is about to expire.  Since I don't plan on renewing it this year, I decided to take a day off work and squeeze one last solo trip in before I ran out of time.  It was a beautiful day with clear sky and weather in the 70s.  It's refreshing after weeks of rain, which is not normal at all (though definitely welcome with the drought we've had).

I started my day touring the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  The main ride wasn't open, but it gave me the opportunity to tour the castle without being rushed through the line.  Here are some of my favorite shots:

After that, I took a tram tour, my favorite part of going to the park (outside of Harry Potter of course). I think they were training, so there were some awkward pauses, but it was still a good tour.

I spent the rest of the day just wandering, taking random pictures.  It was a pleasant way to spend a few hours.  I didn't see any shows, but the shows aren't really why I go anyway.

Universal, it's been fun.  Can't wait to see you again in a couple of years when my little ones are old enough to enjoy it a bit more.