24 March to 25 March

After saying goodbye to Jo for the last time on this trip we pulled the car out and started heading south. The persistent rain reminded us why were heading a day early. 

Despite the near constant rain and high winds over the last few days, there was one solitary redwood grove that was still open in the whole region – tucked in at the bottom of the I17 just outside Santa Cruz. This would be our first stop for the day, so Anthony could finally get his arms around a redwood, before we took to the highways to get down to Anaheim as quickly as we could. Our initial plans of taking Route 1 along the coast had been scuppered by the landslides which closed the roads around Big Sur. That part of the trip would have to wait for next time.

It poured the whole was to Santa Cruz, and the redwood grove at Henry Cowell was soaked when we got there, but the mile long hike around the grove was pleasingly open. We navigated through the muddy ground, deep puddles and debris from the recent storms and were rewarded with the sight of many of these amazing trees. Fun fact about redwoods (apart from the fact that they are really tall), is that they have multiple trees (we saw up to 5) sharing the same root system. Most of this ‘branching’ happens at ground level, but in some cases it happens 100 feet or more up the tree – so you end up with one massive trunk spawning multiple trunks further up on its way to some 300 feet in height. Some of these trees were literally hundreds of years old and big enough for us to camp in holes in their trunks. Absolutely awe inspiring – despite the sogginess. 

Tree hugging completed, we made our way back into the car, rang out our socks and headed south, pondering when we would see the much promised but yet to be delivered blue sky. 

We made our way down the 101 and onto the Interstate 5 and got our first real experience of just.how.big California is. Sure, we come from Australia, and we do big stuff pretty well. But the scale of what we saw as we drove through the inlands plains of California was just enormous. 

The horizon seemed bigger than what we were used to. There were vineyards which stretched as far as they eye could see (and we weren’t anywhere near Napa). Irrigated fields that went on forever. Old fashioned but still operational oil derricks that nestled somewhat self consciously alongside giant solar and wind farms. Roads as straight as an arrow all the way to the horizon. This was proper ‘big’ country. 

Along the route, we broke the news to the kids that we were re-routing our trip to Disneyland on the following day. It took them about 20 minutes to stop the squealing. 

Now that we had committed to spend the day at the ‘Happiest Place on Earth’, Liz got into the researching of how to do it ‘right’. The deeper she got into her research, the more furrowed her brow became. Strategies started to emerge, then contingencies, then counter strategies. 

To make Disneyland ‘the happiest place on earth’ we would attack with military precision, clear thought and determination. We would not be distracted by sparkly things or cowed by crowds. And we would emerge victorious. And happy. Right? 

We pulled into The Hampton Inn Anaheim late that evening, via Whole Foods which was catering our microwave dinners and wine that night. We ate, packed our bags, and set our alarms for 545am the following morning. The lights of Disneyland glimmered like an unfulfilled promise in the distance. 

The following morning we bounded out of bed, ready. We made our way downstairs to breakfast, and joined the first of many lines for the day, this one for breakfast – with all the other true believers (most in mouse ears). We were not alone in our planning. Uncowed, we ate and jumped in the car, making the park by 7am, queuing patiently for the parking but still running to time. From the parking to the security, to the train to the gate – we progressed steadily and managed to keep to our schedule, under the carefully watching eye of Liz the beat sergeant.

By 7.30 we were in the park, by 7.45am we were queueing with plenty of others waiting for “the rope drop”. Even at this speed, we marvelled at the environment that has been created at Disneyland – there is not a hair out of place across the whole park, it is spectacularly well maintained and seems to effortlessly straddle the 1950s to today. Pleasingly, judging by the attire (all Disney merchandise) we were in a crowd of true believers, and so far holding our own. The strategy was working.

At 8am the rope dropped and we did our best speed walk (‘no running!’) to Peter Pan, the teacups and reserved Space Mountain. By 9.30am we had managed to also ride Space Mountain and the Matterhorn. Liz had met had worked through her Space Mountain childhood phobia, and Jessie and Sena had discovered a new found love of roller coasters (although still declined to open their eyes). Ellie was already a true believer on this front. We were making a great dent on our ‘must do’ list, had reserved some of the more popular rides for later in the day, and were ahead of schedule. Liz looked pleased. 

We hit our first snag of the day as we went off piste and sought to capitalise on a shortish (i.e. 45 mins) wait for the newest Star Wars ride in the park ‘The Rise of the Rebellion’. We were 40 mins into our wait when disaster struck and the ride broke down… and stayed that way for the next hour, when we left disappointed. It would stay offline for the next couple of hours. 

Throughout the middle of the day and early afternoon we ticked off the haunted house and the rest of the 4 ‘mountains’ – loving the Big Mountain Railway, but being a little less convinced about the splashing part of splash mountain – especially considering it was about 15 degrees and we came off drenched; and generally just loved wandering around the park. 

It is such a unique and incredible place, and feels completely entwined with the culture of southern California and the US more broadly. Almost everyone that we saw (on a Friday) was American, most had some level of Disney merchandise on, and almost all were repeat visitors (the girls got ‘first timer’ badges) – and the place was packed, both during the day and after work (it is open from 8am – midnight). You can read about what an amazing job Disney does to create the right ‘experience’ for park goers, the training of the cast, and the meticulous effort that goes into each of the attractions, but it’s not until you are there and you are immersed that you appreciate that this goes down to the detail in every exhibit and ride. It truly is exceptional. 

It’s worth calling out 2 more rides for a special mention – we loved the Millennium Falcon ride, were Jessie and Sena were able to pilot us into almost certain death whilst Ellie and Liz had almost no impact on the enemy with their guns. And we absolutely loved the new Star Wars ride (Rise of the Resistance) – which we finally got onto as the last ride of the day when the queues had slowed a bit. We had no idea what to expect, and I won’t describe what it was like here for fear of spoiling it for others, but it was sensational. 

We had plans to stay for the fireworks, but by 8.30pm (and after almost 14 hours) the kids were broken (or maybe it was the corn-dogs we called dinner). We made our way out of the park, via the hotel to grab our bags and onwards to Hollywood to continue our whistle-stop tour of LA. 

We woke the next morning with 3 very tired children, suffering an enormous Disneyland hangover. What goes up must come down. We needed to have a chill out day to let them recover. 

We spent out day driving around the Hollywood Hills to check out the Hollywood sign (Jessie’s request), having a long, lazy lunch at The Grove (Liz’s request), and then driving around Beverly Hills, mainly to check out the offices of The Oppenheimer Group (for Ellie). Just what the doctor ordered. 

That evening we caught up with Barry at his house in North Hollywood which was awesome. We haven’t seen Barry since we were last passing through LA some 10 years ago and it was lovely to see him. We ate amazing homemade tortilla and pizza, drank champagne, terrorised his beautiful dogs and caught up on the last decade. What a great way to spend an evening. 

And that was it for LA. Short and sweet, and it left us wanting more.

I remember not liking LA very much the first time I visited some 25 years ago, but each time I come back I like it more and more. There’s something about the vibe of the place, the weather and the physical location that I find myself drawn to, perhaps more than any other US city. Perhaps it’s the promise of a surf in the morning, a ski in the afternoon and a good vibe and great food in the middle. 

The one thing that is certain about LA (particularly as a Sydney-sider)  – we would be back here the next time we visit that US, and would absolutely look forward to it.