We are back from our Christmas trip to Southern California. We had a good time at Disneyland and at the Holiday Bowl in San Diego. We had originally planed a trip to Disneyland for Christmas. We felt since our daughter now works and lives in Washington DC and our son is graduating from college this May that this may be one of the last times all four of us could go on a family vacation together. We all love Disneyland and have taken many family trips there so we agreed we would spend Christmas 2005, there. As some one once said about going to Disneyland: "I have seen the world and I don't like it" so I am going to Disneyland. After we had planed the trip to Disneyland the Oregon Duck's were invited to the Holiday Bowl in San Diego(college football) so we agreed to extend our trip a few days and go to San Diego. The details of the trip are as follow.
Disneyland:
We left Medford a few days before Christmas and drove down I-5 to Anaheim. It rained very hard but we made it to the Harris Ranch and checked into a motel and had dinner at the Harris Ranch. The next day we drove on to Anaheim and checked in to the Candy Cane Inn right next to Disneyland. A very nice place I would highly recommend to anyone going to Disneyland. Our daughter flew in from DC and took a cab from the Orange County John Wayne Airport to join us. On December 24th, 25th and 26th we did Disneyland, Downtown Disney and Disney's California Adventure. As would be expected Christmas is a crowded time at Disneyland: however, we were able to do everything we wanted without long waits in line. I purchased the Unofficial Guide to Disneyland 2006 and followed its strategy and its Touring Plans. Disney's Fast Pass is a great tool to avoid long lines. We got there early each day. We saw three different Disney Parades, fireworks and Fantasmic. My son and I went on the roller coaster California Screamin. We had dinner Christmas Eve at the Blue Bayou Restaurant and at Disney's Grand Californian Hotel on Christmas Day. We even took of a couple of hours off and saw a movie at the multiplex at Downtown Disney... "Rumor Has It". We eat the day after Christmas at the ESPN Zone. We rode all the popular rides. The Candy Cane Inn was within walking distance but the Inn also had a tram to and from the park every half hour. While in line for Space Mountain a couple behind us asked if we were the Wickre's from Medford, Oregon. It turned out it was my daughter's choir teacher from middle school. This is a Christmas we will not forget!
Holiday Bowl
On December 27th we headed for Sand Diego. We checked into the Oregon team hotel The San Diego Marriott Hotel and Marina. Without charge we were upgraded to a room with a view of San Diego Bay. We could see two US Navy Aircraft Carriers in port from our roomÂ?. The USS Ronald Reagan and the USS Nimitz. What a site to see these instruments of American Power. At the hotel we ran into people from Medford, Oregon Athletic Department Officials, coaches and team members. There was even a woman groupie, my age, getting autographs from all the team members. Several nights we sat in one of the hotels lobbies and watched other bowl games on TV with other Oregon Fans. We walked down to the Gas Lamp District and had a beer and did some shopping. There were Oregon Fans everywhere. We went on a tour of the Aircraft Carrier USS Midway, which is now a museum. We went to an Oregon Duck Pep Rally at a park right on the bay the day before the game. We went to the Holiday Bowl balloon parade the morning of the game and then took a trolley out to the game. The Ducks Lost!!! The Holiday Bowl folks put on a great show with a US Navy jet fly over and lots of fireworks. In spite of the Ducks losing, in a close game, they shouldn't have lost we had a good time. Maybe some day all four of us will go to the Rose Bowl and Oregon will win. The day after the game we drove up to the John Wayne Airport so our daughter could fly back to DC. We then drove back to Medford and hit some bad rain storms along the way.
One of my favorite memories as a kid were our family vacations. This one, was my wife's idea and I will remember it a long time. Not for what we did but that we did it together one more time.
Only four months to the Duck's spring football game and almost a month to "letter of intent day" for new football recruits. Life is good!
