Family Travels

Getting Ready for California

Getting ready for another family trip to California. Yup, we just went to Disneyland this past October and hadn’t really planned to go on another trip so soon. This time we’ll be going to San Jose, San Francisco, Yosemite and Monterey. My sister and brother-in-law were originally going to go with us on this trip, but plans changed and they are not able to make it. We’re thrilled that the Jinohara’s will be joining us again. The boys love Uncle Dennis and Aunty Pam and are happy that we’ll be going to Yosemite and Monterey together. Hopefully, we’ll get to go skiing again or at least play in the snow when we go to Yosemite.

This is probably the worst time for me to travel; however, it’s Spring Break for Wendy and the boys, so it’s the only time we can travel besides summer and Christmas. I’ll be posting as much as possible, hopefully it’ll be everyday, but it all depends on whether or not I have Internet connection.

dean

We’re Home!

Back in Hawaii. We had a great time in California. It’s nice to be home.

It was nice to sleep in a bit on our last day. Wendy and Sandy went out to get coffee at Starbucks and to pick up some goodies for us to bring home. Andy cooked spam, eggs and rice for breakfast - yum! It’s like being at home when you start out the day with spam, eggs and rice. Thanks Andy! After breakfast the guys went to REI and the gals went shopping in LA. Here’s how our day went…We went to REI, came back home, took the kids to the park, and ate lunch. Wendy called to say it would probably be easier if they just met us somewhere between Fullerton and LA. “Okay, but what about all the bags?” I asked. “Am I supposed to pack all the bags?” Nope. She had that all figured out already…she packed all the bags before she left to go shopping. Ha…that was the plan all along…get out of the house to go shopping…leave all the kids at home…and then say it’s too far to come back, and it’s easier to meet close to the airport. Good one! Nah, I’m glad that Wendy and Sandy were able to spend time together shopping and hanging out. That’s great! We had a good time, too, going to REI and just relaxing at the park. What a nice way to cap off our trip to Disneyland. Much thanks to the Fukudomes for their hospitality. It was great spending time with them at their place.

Great memories were created through the experiences we had spending time at Disneyland with great friends. But we know that all good things must end, and tomorrow it’s back to reality. Both Wendy and I return to work. The boys are fortunate to have one more day off because of Teacher’s Institute Day.

Thanks for joining us, virtually, on our Disneyland adventure. Stay tuned for our next adventure.

Some reflections…

• Build memories with your kids. Time is short. Time is precious.
• Spend time doing things as a family.

The next time…

• I was just thinking about our last evening at Disneyland when Colby fell asleep at dinner and I had to carry him back to our room. That was probably the last time I’ll get to do that at Disneyland. The next time we go back, he’ll probably be too old, too heavy - or both. Great memory.
• Our boys will probably not be asking us to ride rides with them anymore or wanting to hang out with us.

Well, enough for now.

dean

Day 8

Today was spent at Wendy’s amusement park - Ontario Mills Shopping Outlet. We checked out of our hotel at 9:00 AM and headed to the Fukudomes to drop off our bags before heading out to Ontario Mills which is about a 35 minute drive from Fullerton. Sandy had some errands to do in the morning and decided to meet us there.  Ontario Mills is a huge indoor shopping outlet and well worth the 35 minute drive. The outlet is divided into 10 neighborhoods - designating sections of the mall as neighborhoods should give you an idea of its size. There were shops for all of us, from the Lego Store to a Spy Shop and all kinds of clothing and shoe stores. We spent about three hours there. By 2:00 PM the boys had enough of Ontario Mills and decided to go back home with Sandy. Wendy and I checked out a few other shops before heading back to the Fukudomes.

We enjoyed an awesome steak and shrimp dinner with home cooked sticky white rice - the “real kine.” Thanks to Sandy and Andy for opening up their home to us and for treating us to such a great dinner. Both Sandy and I share the same birthday -  October 10, and we celebrated our birthday’s with a delicious chocolate layerd cake that must have been at least 8 inches tall. What a treat! After dinner, Wendy and Sandy went shopping at the mall down the street while Andy and I chatted and the kids played Wii. It’s about 1:00 AM and the boys are still awake.

We feel so fortunate to have such wonderful friends and are glad that we are able to see and spend time with them while we’re here.

It’s been a long but productive (shopping) day. We came to California with 3 bags. We’re going home with 5. Go figure.

Again, I can’t believe our trip is almost over.

A couple more highlights from our trip:

• A person staying in the room next to us at the Desert Inn blew their nose just like Wendy - Loud! When I heard her blowing her nose I told Wendy to answer her call by blowing a response back.
• Shopping at Ontario Mills
• Spending time at the Fukudomes - Dinner, dessert, and most of all the company
• Shopping at Harbor Freight Tools - highlight for Dean at least

That’s it for now. Good night!

dean

Day 7

It was fun. It was magical. It came. It went. It’s over.

Hard to believe that the Disneyland part of our trip is over. We had a blast and feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to spend our Disneyland vacation with the Serika was. What a great last day at Disneyland and California Adventure Park. The Tings joined us again today and that was fun. We rode quite a bit of rides today including The Tower of Terror, Space Mountain, and the Grizzly Raft Ride???  We used our early entry pass and started our day at 8:00 AM and stayed to watch the fireworks at 8:00 PM, and then had one final ride on Astro Blaster Buzz Lightyear before saying goodbye to Disneyland for now. The Fukudomes met us for the fireworks show and I was amazed that they were even able to find us in the sea of people. Thank god for the blinking necklaces that Alan bought for the boys. We used it as a signal. Anyway, if you haven’t seen the Halloween fireworks show from in front of the castle, you have to make it a point to do so the next time you’re at Disneyland. It was spectacular!

After Disneyland, we had dinner at the Storyteller’s Cafe located in the Grand Californian Hotel. I thought the food was just OK. After dinner, it was time to say goodbye. Colby was already asleep and had to be carried, but the rest of us said our goodbyes in the Disney Store in Downtown Disneyland.

I must say that although I didn’t get to do crossfit for the last week, I definitely got a good workout walking around the park.

Some highlights of Disneyland…

• Spending time with the Serikawas
• Seeing and spending time with Mike, Sharon, Trisha, JR, Cole and Haley on Saturday
• Spending time with the Tings
• Meeting and spending time with Gayle’s cousin Chris, her husband Seiju, and their two sons, Tyler and Gregory.
• Attending Mitchell Young’s church - Montebello Plymouth Community Church
• Finding out that we know people who attend Mitchell’s church
• Finding out that Dean’s mom’s is good friends with Ann Nomura whose husband was the pastor at Montebello Plymouth Community Church back in the 1950’s.
• Hearing Aaron scream when riding The Tower of Terror and Space Mountain. Talk a scream filled with shear terror.
• Dinner at Joe’s Crab Shack.
• Dinner at Coco’s.
• Stale danish pastries and toast for breakfast.
• Shopping with Gayle and Chris on our first day in California
• Seeing the boys growing up and experiencing the rides and Disneyland in a different way.
• Fastpasses.

There are many other fond memories that we will remember from these last 7 days. These times are so precious and we know that all too soon our boys will be all grown up. We’ll be able to smile when we think back on all the cherished memories we were able to create through the times we spent on family trips together. Our hope is that our boys will all be able to create these same experiences with their families someday.

Okay, enough for now. We still have a day and a half left in California. Tomorrow we check out of our hotel and will spend the night at the Fukudomes. We started the trip by going shopping and we’ll end it the same way. Need to teach the kids balance - fun and shopping. If we had girls, that wouldn’t be an accurate statement, but with three boys, fun and shopping don’t necessarily go together. Consider tomorrow training for them. I’m the trainer for this part. I’ll teach them how any flat surface can become a chair, how to occupy themselves for hours, how to find food, etc. You get the point.

Well, better get to bed, because tomorrow is another long day at the outlets.

dean

Day 6

Just got back from dinner at Olive Garden with the Serikawas and the Fukudomes. On the way home we made a stop at Fry’s Electronics. Not fun when you only have 15 minutes before the store closes. It kinda felt like one of those shopping sprees where you only have a few minutes to fill up your shopping cart. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to fill up a shopping cart of free items - oh well.

Today was a non-Disneyland day. We went to the Discovery Science Museum and spent a couple of hours there with the Tings (Wendy’s friends) and the Serikawas. The kids and the adults enjoyed the visit.  The boys loved playing with the silica sand troft and made various dams and waterways. We capped off our visit there by lying on a bed of nails. Only a few of us required medical attention after…just joking.

Our next stop…IKEA. One of our favorite dining places. Yes, it’s a furniture store, but the Sweedish meatballs are delicious, and so are the desserts. After walking through the store and wishing they would either open a store in Hawaii or at least ship their products to Hawaii, we stood in line and purchased whatever small items we could fit into our suitcases. After IKEA we decided to split up, the boys and dads to miniature golf at Camelot Golf and the moms to the shopping center for more shopping. Alan and I took on the boys in miniature golf and got our butts whooped.

The day was fun. It was nice to get away from the crowds for a day and have some food other than burgers, pizza or chicken strips. Ky is spending another night with Brad at the Grand Californian. That means we’ll have peace at our hotel for another night. It’s amazing how much of a difference it makes when there’s only two boys at home. It really doesn’t matter which two either. Go figure. Anyway, we hope to get to bed early so we can have energy for a full day at the park tomorrow. It’s our last day at Disneyland, so our plan is to use our early entry pass which means an 8:00 AM start. We also want to see the fireworks show from the castle and that starts at 8:00 PM, so it looks like a 12 hour day for us. I’m really going to need a vacation when I get back from this vacation.

One thing I realized while driving on this trip, and I don’t know if I mentioned it before, but I’m becoming more and more dependent on my GPS and losing my sense of direction. Before, I would always try and establish reference points and would always have a sense for which direction I was headed. Now, with my GPS, I find that I am constantly looking at the screen and not really paying attention to my surroundings. Don’t think I would ever go back to just maps, but it does cause me to think how technology is affecting us in both good and bad ways.

Just thinking…what if my GPS could talk…

Me: Stupid GPS
GPS: Stupid human
Me: If I miss one more turn I’ll be tempted to throw you out the window
GPS: Don’t go there, or I’ll drive you in one big circle - again and again and again.

Okay, enough for now. Time to go to sleep.

dean

Day 5

Getting ready to wind down for the evening and it’s only 10:20 PM. We had another full day at Disneyland. The day started out with a ride on Splash Mountain. It was great because everyone went on the ride - including Aaron who doesn’t really like to ride those types of rides. The whole group, except Aaron and me, went on the ride a second time. After that we all went to Pirate’s Island where the kids were able to run around and explore. After spending time on the island we took the raft back and had lunch at Pizza Port. Alan and I made a stop off at the kiosk and bought two smoked turkey drumsticks each. It’s HUGE and tastes great! After lunch the group went on Space Mountain while Aarona and I played games in the arcade. Our last ride for the day was Autopia. Kylan definitlely did better today. After Autopia we headed to the Lego store where they had a make and take activity for the kids. I’m amazed how many people there were who were willing to stand in a long line to get a small lego pumpkin. Oh well, I guess that’s Disneyland.

Some highlights of today…Aaron lost his cell phone. Lego make and take activity. Dinner at the Boiling Crab - for Wendy and Gayle. Dinner at McDonalds for the boys (Dean, Alan, Brad, Aaron, Kylan and Colby). Aaron facing some of his fears and riding Splash Mountain. Turkey drumsticks.

iIt’s hard to believe that we’re at the halfway point of our trip already. There’s so much that we didn’t get to do yet, and we only have one more day at the parks. Tomorrow we take a break from Disneyland. We plan to visit a museum, play miniture golf, and eat dinner at Olive Garden.

I’m tired!

dean

Day 4

Hopefully, I’ll be able to post an entry for the day before the day is over. Anyway, another full day at the park. We spent the entire day with the Serikawa’s enjoying both California Adventure Park and Disneyland. The boys rode the most rides today from Soarin Over California to Pirates of the Caribbean. I threw in the towel at the end as I really didn’t want to see what I had for lunch. It’s funny because the last time we were here the rides didn’t really affect me like it did this time around. Even Soarin Over California was too much for me. It’s okay though, because the boys are having a blast and enjoying the rides this time around. Anyone have advice for not getting quesy? Right now, the advice I’m going with is to stay off the rides.

Dinner tonight was a Joe’s Crab Shack on Harbor Blvd. which is a couple of miles up the road from where we’re staying. Wendy and I shared a bucket for two - crab, corn on the cob, sausage, shrimp. It was GOOD! Alan and Gayle also shared a bucket for two. The boys ate their usual, pizza for Kylan and Brad, chicken strips for Aaron, and mac cheese for Colby.

Now, about our room, the one thing that I don’t like about it is the hot water - or should I say the lack of hot water. It’s been pretty chilly in the evenings, and it would be great to come home and take a nice hot shower to warm up. Well, the faucet should say C and W for Cold and Warm. It’s kinda like coming up on your last bite of your meal where you have one bite of rice and one bite of meat left and then you drop your piece of meat on the floor. You know what I mean, it’s just not right ending a meal with only a mouthful of rice. You need the meat to go along with the rice to make it a satisfying meal. Same with the shower.

Highlights of the day…rides, rides, rides, and good food.

dean

Day 3

It’s 12:15 AM, and we just got back to our hotel. Another long day. We started out our day by attending Montebello Plymouth Community Church where our friend Mitchell Young is the pastor. We really enjoyed fellowshipping at Montebello this morning. Our friends the Fukudome’s (Sandy, Matthew, Maya and Maile - Andy was working) also joined us. What was so great is all the connections we found out we had with those who attend the church. There are a bunch of people who are Hawaii transplants and that was fun to meet them. I totally enjoy visiting other churches and especially enjoy meeting the people. It’s so great to see how people at other churches worship God. Each has their own flavor that’s unique, yet all worship the same God. Pretty cool!

After church we went to lunch with Sandy and her family at the Citidal Outlets. Sandy took the kids to her house after lunch so Wendy and I could spend a little time shopping at the Citidal. We only went to a few of the shops then went to pick up the boys. It was fun spending a little time talking with Sandy. I totally enjoyed listening to Sandy playing a Disney song on the piano while her daughter, Maya, sang along.

We got back to our hotel around 4:30 PM and headed right to Disneyland to meet our friends the Serikawas. We spent the rest of the evening at California Adventure Park and Disneyland. The kids had a blast running around and riding rides with Brad and Uncle Alan and Aunty Gayle.

OK, enough for now. More tomorrow.

Day 2

A good day. Not too much, not too little - just right. That was our day today. We got up at 9:30 AM, got ready and had breakfast at the Denny’s right next to our hotel. Breakfast was good. Hotcakes, egss, bacon and hash browns. The boys had kids meals, and Wendy had a little bit of each of our meals. After breakfast, we made a trip to Target to pick up some water and other snacks before heading to Disneyland. The park wasn’t too crowded today. We went to California Adventure Park first and rode some of the rides, went to A Bugs Life, walked around Paradise Pier and played in the recreation area. I think the boys had the most fun there. After that, we walked around Downtown Disney and met Wendy’s family at Tomorrowland. At 6:00 we watched the parade on Main Street. I must say that it was very well done and Cole (Wendy’s cousin’s son) and Colby even got to dance in the street with some of the dancers. We were sitting with another family from Hawaii. Yup, you can spot them anywhere. By the way, the guy lives in Makakilo, and is an ‘89 grad from St. Louis. You know I had to ask. Isn’t that one of the first things we ask - “Eh, where you from?” & ”Where you went grad from?”

Dinner tonight was at Coco’s which is around a mile away from our hotel. We ended up walking there and back. It was a good thing since our dinner was pretty rich. Wendy and I both had the steak with shrimp scampi and pasta.

We just returned to our room and are getting ready to call it a night. Tomorrow we visit Mitchell Young’s church in Montebello.

So here’s what I’ve been thinking about today…parents come to Disneyland with all different expectations. For some, it’s to build lasting memories for their kids, for some it’s to fulfill an expecation that as parents it’s something that they’re supposed to do, and for some it’s a testing ground of sorts -  a place where courage can be tested.  I must say that I’m probably guilty of the later. Since our goals are to create wonderful memories for our kids, to spend time together as a family, and to let our kids experience as much as they can, I need to remember that these are more important than riding California Sceaming or Tower of Terror. Walking around together, eating, enjoying the sights, smells and sounds of Disneyland, laughing and talking together - that’s what is important - that’s what builds memories.

dean  

Day 1

What a loooong day. It’s 12:20 AM and we just returned to our room. We left Honolulu at 8:30 PM on October 1 and arrived in California at 5:00 AM on October 2. Here’s how our day went. Arrived at LAX, got our rent a car, drove to Gayle’s aunty’s house to drop off her luggage, ate breakfast at Corner Bakery, drove to Desert Inn and Suites to drop off our luggage, drove to Lake Elsinor Outlet and stayed there till around 3:30 PM (around 5 hours), drove back to our hotel and checked in, ate dinner at Denny’s, met everyone at Disneyland to watch Fantasmic, watched the fireworks show, rode a couple of rides and came back to our hotel. All this with only a few hours of sleep on the plane. Funny, I don’t feel too tired as I write this, or maybe I’m at the point where I’m too tired to even know that I’m tired. The kids had a blast at Disneyland and can’t wait to go back tomorrow. As I write, the they are winding down and in bed. I think two Star Tours rides to cap off the evening gave them their second wind because it doens’t seem like they’re ready to sleep just yet.

More fun and adventure awaits us tomorrow. I’m glad that we’re not planning to start off too early.

Time to sleep!
dean