In August my grandmother celebrated her 90th birthday in sunny Anaheim California. We wanted to surprise her with our visits so only our Auntie Char knew we were coming. My folks surprised her on her birthday and we surprised her two days later. I hadn't seen my grandmother in around 10 years and of course she hadn't met Maci so this was an extra special visit. The day we arrived, Grandma took us to her favorite Mexican restaurant that was a couple blocks away. There we had the most delicious and CHEAP dinner ever! Never had we tasted better Mexican. It was fantastic!
The
next day my parents took us around the "city." They had both grown up
near L.A. and want to show us everything. We went to the Santa Monica
Pier, which was so not what we expected. Talk about a HUGE amusement park
on the ocean! It was too packed so we just drove down it and back.
They showed us where they lived and what church they got married in and the CBS
station that my other grandpa worked. We went to the LA temple where
these first 3 pics were taken. We ate at a Kosher Deli that my parents
visited regularly when they were dating/newly weds. We saw their first
home and the apt that my dad stayed in during college. We went down to
Long Beach and saw the Queen Mary (David's favorite part) and a battleship.
Then spent 2 hours getting home because of traffic. Each day was super
busy and Maci only took cat naps, but was still a trooper. She was
attached to the binky most of the trip, that was the only downfall.
When we got to grandma's she mentioned to my dad that she thought she had a box of toys in her garage. Dad went to look but he only found a box of Dominoes which she learned quickly to play.
Saturday was the birthday party over at Auntie Char's house. Grandma was pretty tired by the time we were taking pictures but that didn't stop her from having the biggest smiles.
This is Cookie's bed. Maci took it upon herself to share his bed. Maci and Cookie became fast friends the moment they met.
This was our one stop at the Beach. Maci still doesn't like the ocean :( The only time she was happy was here when David was making a sand castle and if she was being held. We were able to do some Tide Pooling, that is where you look for sea life on rocks/reafs when the tide is low. We found lots of crabs and a few Anemones and a dead lobster.
This was Maci's favorite part of Grandma's house: the doggie door. She would climb in and out of that all the time. Even Cookie would follow sometimes.
Here, we were sadly saying goodbye. The end of our trip was near. Pic below is with Auntie Char.
Overall it was a wonderful, fun packed trip. We didn't have to be in the driver's seat so kudos to my dad! We were able to see my grandma and Maci finally got to meet her California family. I was able to see some family history which I have never had the opportunity before. And the best part of the trip you ask? (mostly for Maci) Every night at 9:00 we were able to see the fireworks from Disneyland. We would grab the chairs from the pool side and sit on the sidewalk and watch. Maci just LOVED it. We all can't wait to go back to California. We miss it already!
