I am writing this as one of five very tired Perry’s who have had an amazing but very long day! Our hotel is only a 15 minute walk from Disneyland so we were inside the park shortly after it opened at 8am. We invested in Max Passes all round which gave us unlimited park photos and fast passes throughout the day for $10 each, all controlled from an app on my phone. It worked flawlessly and really took the stress out of the day because at no point did we ever have to queue for anything for longer than about 20 minutes, which was great beacause it was the sunniest, hottest day we have had so far (33 degreees).

Highlights of the day are too numerous to mention but we loved meeting our Disney heroes and princesses, enjoyed the parade and rode numerous rides including Space Mountain.

We eventually got back to the hotel around 7pm, had a quick swim in the pool to freshen up and then got a mixture of Chinese and Pizza takeaways from local restaurants before settling in for an early night ready for round two tomorrow!

The day begin with mixed feelings as we said farewell to our lovely condo in Newport Beach. We had such a good time that in one way I wish we were staying a few more days but we were all also very excited for the next leg of our trip.

We had five hours to kill between leaving Newport Beach and being able to check into our hotel in Anaheim so we took a little road trip. Our first port of call was Huntingdon Beach, just a few miles up the coast on the Pacific Coast Highway, where I spent a great couple of weeks almost 18 years ago to the day. It still looked very much the same and it was great to remember such a great trip from all those years ago.

We then decided to drive to the University of Southern California campus in LA where Becky’s Dad studied nearly 40 years ago. Sadly, the campus was shut so we were only able to drive around it but it was worth a try.

From USC, we headed to Beverly Hills and took the palm tree lined Rodeo Drive into the Hollywood Hills where all the stars live. We bought a map of stars houses and spent a fun hour or so driving around looking at enormous houses belonging to the likes of Julie Andrews and Elvis.

We then headed up Mullholland Drive which was a wonderful experience. It’s an incredibly windy mountainous road with several viewpoints which provided some amazing views of LA and Hollywood and of course our first sight of the famous Hollywood sign!

We then drove the 40 miles to check into our hotel in Anaheim and within minutes of arriving, the girls were in the pool! After cooling off, we set off to the Downtown Disney district, which you can visit without a park ticket, for some supper and to soak up the Disney atmosphere.

We had our first burger and fries of the trip and the girls enjoyed looking at all the merchandise and deciding how to spend their money! We went to bed listening to the fireworks going off in Disneyland and all looking forward to entering the parks tomorrow!

 

Today was our last full day in Newport Beach and we certainly made the most of it. We drove the two miles from our condo to the end of Balboa Peninsula and started the day with a walk along the 1906 pier. At the end of the pier was Rubys Diner, a retro 1950’s place which made us all feel like we were in ‘Back to the Future’. We stopped for one of their famous shakes which the girls absolutely loved, but couldn’t finish!

We then walked down Main Street towards the Balboa Fun Zone. Along the way we picked up some souvenirs and one or two little nic-naks from various shops. On the first day, Issy had lost her glasses in the Pacific Ocean after being taken out by a large wave so we stopped at an opticians to see if we could get her a new pair. The couple who ran the business were quite incredible in what they did for us. Amazingly, they were able to send her prescription off to the lab to make her a new set of glasses, drive the 90 minute round trip to collect them and ensure that they were ready for us so that we could return to the shop at 4pm to pick them up. It pretty much sums up the way I feel about the American people in the short time we have been here. They are so friendly and cannot do enough to help us.

When we made it to the fun zone, Issy, Tess and I had a go on the 1930’s Ferris wheel and we all spent some quarters in the arcade and did quite well, winning a few prizes.

We returned to the condo for lunch and then hit the beach for the final time here. The sun came out just as we arrived and we spent a blissful afternoon body-boarding, swimming and sun bathing (briefly interrupted to go and collect Issy’s new glasses). Amazingly, we saw a dolphin swimming just slightly further out from where we were all playing in the surf! We didn’t really want to leave but at around 6pm we packed up our things and went home covered in sand for a good shower.

As it was our last night, we ventured out to Mama D’s Italian restaurant which has rave reviews on Trip Advisor. The wait for tables was at least an hour so we left our name with the waitress and returned to the beach to watch the sun set, which was beautiful.

 

When we returned to Mama D’s we had a little wait in the queue with lots of others. They were happy to serve up garlic bread and drinks on the pavement while we waited which kept us going. When we eventually got seated, it was absolutely buzzing and a great place to spend our last night. We had pizza’s all round and ended the evening with three very tired girls and a slow walk back to our condo for bed and the next stage of our trip – Anaheim and Disneyland!

After two sleeps here, we are gradually settling in to the time difference. We all woke up at a slightly more civilised hour and were up and about around 7.30. Weather throughout today was much more cloudy although still nice and warm.

We all took a morning stroll via the local park and marina into the village and then returned via the beach to our condo.

Picnic lunch all packed, we then set out down the coast in our rental car on Route 1, the Pacific Coast Highway, which we will get very familiar with throughout our trip. We drove south for the 7 miles to Crystal Cove State Park where we had initially tried to book a beachside cottage last winter without any luck. The beach was lovely although quite busy, and there were lots of quirky beach huts dotted along the cliffs.

I would like to point out that its not me in the picture, on the right!

Despite the rather grey and cloudy skies, we picnicked on the beach and treated ourselves to the first ice-creams of the holiday! The girls spent the afternoon playing in the surf and had a wonderful time.

Before we left, we spent some time learning about the history of the conservancy which I found fascinating, not sure the girls felt the same but they did enjoy the shop where they all (including Becky) bought a dolphin necklace. I got to pay!

On the way home we stopped off at Inspiration Point for a fabulous view of Corona Del Mar beach with both Balboa Pier and Newport Pier in the distance.

After showers all round and roast chicken back at the condo, we taught the girls how to play rummy before bed time. We obviously did a good job because over 5 hands Eliza won, much to her delight.

Day 2 started early with the girls waking at 4am! We managed to spin them out until 7ish and then went for an early morning stroll along the beach and had our first paddle in the Pacific Ocean which was glorious. At 7.15am there were already an incredible number of surfers in the ocean and the water was lovely and warm.

We walked about 2 miles to the centre of Newport Beach village and found a little place to have breakfast outside. We then continued our stroll and walked to the end of Newport Pier before making our way back home, totalling around 4 miles and all before 10am.

We drove to the supermarket for some much needed supplies and then hit the beach. We spent the afternoon playing in the shallows and bodyboarding and enjoying the sunshine. The surf was very strong, apparently due to hurricanes in South America sending the swell up the West Coast. We saw several lifeguard rescues for swimmers who went out too far and got caught in the rip, dangerously close to the rocks. It was all very ‘Baywatch’.

We eventually headed home and freshened up. After supper we returned to the  beach to watch the sunset before another early night!

 

The day started with a 5am alarm call in West Byfleet and ended with a cold beer in Newport Beach some 23 hours later.

We had a great flight from Heathrow to LAX. The girls enjoyed their maiden flight with sprite, sweets, magnum ice creams and back to back movies. Not sure they will want to go back to being under canvas again after this! Becky and I were treated to some Champagne courtesy of the Captain (Thanks Andy Holland!) who also invited us to sit in the flight deck after we had landed which the girls absolutely loved.

Then we started queuing which was not so great. 2 hours at the airport to clear immigration, then a further hour at Avis Car Rental. After eventually getting the car sorted we went into the lot to collect it only to find another gentleman putting his suitcases into it! It seems they rented us both the same vehicle. He very kindly stood down and let us have it and we started the 40 mile drive to Newport Beach.

Due to the time wasted queuing it was now rush hour so we spent another 90 mins in a queue on the 405 Southbound leaving central LA before finally arriving at our little condo in Newport Beach at around 6.30pm local time (2am GMT). Girls had fallen asleep in the car and then went straight to bed. Becky and I unpacked and chatted to Rollo, the caretaker of our condo, who was amazing and provided lots of useful info, but boy he can talk!

I did a quick sortie to the local convenience store to pick up some supplies and am writing this whilst having my first cool beer.

Looking forward to tomorrow.

 

 

This is our very first attempt at a travel blog as we embark upon,what is for us, an extravagant 4 week road-trip around California. We are flying into LA and visiting Newport Beach, Disneyland, San Diego, San Luis Ospiso, Monterey, San Francisco and Yosemite National Park before returning to LA to fly home.

Follow our progress along the way throughout our trip of a lifetime!