Last updated on November 26, 2023
Disneyland, Disney California Adventure, Monterey, Morro Bay, the Central Valley, and a fly over the Golden Gate Bridge at night. That was our ten-day (or eleven-day) vacation trip to California for the summer of 2018.
Daddy and two excited little girls met up with friends and family for much of the trip, with three days on our own at beaches along the Central Coast.
Our itinerary changed, becoming:
- Arrived in Orange County, Sunday before noon on July 22, via a stop in Dallas.
- Visited Downtown Disney that afternoon.
- Spent much of Monday and Tuesday at the Disney parks.
- Left Wednesday morning, though we had passes… and that was not fun.
- Drove to Monterey on Thursday, returning late Friday night.
- Spent Saturday morning and early afternoon on a medical emergency.
- Drove to Morro Bay on Monday.
- Visited family on Tuesday.
- Left Wednesday morning…
- Arrived back in Pittsburgh on Thursday morning, after 24 hours awake.
We learned several things from this trip:
- Our girls are excellent travelers, loving to fly and to see the sights.
- Central Coast beaches are their favorite places — and mine, too.
- Disney FastPass is worth the extra money, and the PhotoPass is nice, too.
- Central California is too hot for me and the girls.
- Our six-year-old has some serious allergies or other breathing problems in Central California during the summer.
- Flight delays and cancellations are common.
The most important takeaway: Daddy can and did manage the two girls (six and four) pretty well, all things considered. When it was the three of us at the Central Coast for a total of three days, the girls were outstanding. They were also great during a six hour layover at LAX, for which I am extremely grateful. They even did much better than Daddy on the ride from Disney, as my body was struggling with the heat.
I will write more about the trip in a series of posts and I will prepare a podcast episode on the summer adventure, too. There were a lot of experiences to reflect on and write about following this vacation.
We owe the girls another Disney trip because they earned it. Next time, with Mommy along, too!
More posts to follow…