Day 2: Deserts, Diners, and Disney

Now we get to the photo part of the journal. Click on images for larger versions, which will open in a new window.

At left is the Sunday morning view from in front of the house. We slept in and had a very leisurely morning, complete with homemade blueberry pancakes and sausage. Afterward, the six of us (baby + parents + grandparents + me) piled into the minivan and set the GPS for Anaheim. Sirius radio is a wonderful thing to have for a long drive, so I'm glad I brought it.

A few views from the drive to Anaheim:


The Nevada Landing Hotel and Casino was closed by MGM Mirage earlier this year, to be replaced with a master-planned community. This will swell the population of Jean, Nevada from its current size of... two (yes, two).

We drove past the World's Tallest Thermometer in Baker, California. Unfortunately, the picture I snapped isn't the greatest.

Mrs. Landes's delicious breakfast kept us satisfied pretty well into the afternoon, at which point we stopped at Peggy Sue's 50s Diner, off of I-15 in Yermo, California, right across from a Marine Corps installation. Peggy Sue's is not retro -- it's the real deal! The first thing that struck me when we walked in was the waitress uniforms, which were the same style and colors as the ones Rhetta and Prudie wore in the recent production of Pump Boys and Dinettes I was in (in fact, one set of costumes we considered had the pink and green reversed, and looked almost exactly like the Peggy Sue's uniforms).

Compare:




The food was tasty, the fries crispy, and the Coke chocolatey (yes, they had chocolate Coke on the menu; it was pretty good actually). However, I forgot the cardinal rule of chicken/turkey sandwiches: Every chicken or turkey sandwich in America is required by law to have mayonnaise on it, even if it's not listed in the menu description. Normally I ask, but I guess I was so caught up in the cool 50s decor that I forgot. Thankfully, there wasn't much mayo anyway, so I was able to scrape most of it off.

We got to the Hilton Anaheim just before check-in time, but one of our rooms was ready, so we hauled our stuff in. Chloe did an Edith Ann impersonation in one of the hotel chairs, as you can see to the right. (Awwwwwwwww!)

We had some time to kill before we were ready for dinner, so we thought we'd take a dip in the alleged pool. As the short winter sun began to set, it was in the 60s and rather chilly for an outdoor pool, but we were told there was an indoor pool on another floor, in the fitness center. We got there and found it not only had a separate fee, but children under 8 weren't allowed. Laurie and child went back to the room, while Stu and I decided to just relax for a bit in the outdoor hot tub. That was a nice way to unwind after such a long drive.

Our hotel was very close to Disneyland, so we decided to walk around Downtown Disney and look for a place to eat dinner there.

I don't know how much it costs to have a Cinderella wedding at Disneyland, but I'm sure it ain't cheap. I didn't want to disrupt their ceremony with a camera flash, so this picture doesn't really do it justice, but everything was very silvery and sparkley.

More from Downtown Disney:


The LEGO®™© store featured a life-size Darth Vader made out of LEGO®™© brand plastic interconnecting blocks, along with a few other large Star Wars displays, a giant giraffe, and the Eiffel Tower.

The Department 56 store had several displays of their various "village" collections:

Halloween

In the third picture there, notice the green projection on the left wall. That shines through the turning water wheel on one of the village pieces. I also like the ferris wheel (lit up in the first picture).

Christmas in the City


50s Village


Chloe wasn't quite agreeable to our schedule, however, so we had to make a brief stop to let her eat, during/after which we discovered all the restaurants had 45+ minute waits. It was already going on 8:30, so we drove back to the hotel. Stu's parents ate at the restaurant there, while Stu and I went to In-N-Out Burger, which he had been raving about.

In-N-Out fanatics would probably kill me for making this comparison, but it reminded me a lot of Steak & Shake. Here's the thing though: I love Steak & Shake! The seared burger patties, the butter-fried buns, the gooey cheese, the thin crispy fries all tasted like good ol' S&S to me. And a quick google seems to show I'm not the only one who thinks this. So while I enjoyed it, it didn't really seem like anything new to me either. I guess that's the danger in having high expectations. Had I been hungrier, I would have liked to compare their milkshakes as well.

After that, we were pretty much done for the night. With the baby on board, I was wise to have brought ear plugs, since I'm an incredibly light sleeper. (Actually I was more worried about certain adults' snoring more than the baby's noises, but we can pretend it was the baby for argument's sake.)

Tomorrow: Knott's Berry Farm!