The Gray's Wild Adventures: Day 38 - Disneyland, Huntington Beach and Havasu

Today was what we called a 'bonus day'. We got up, packed, loaded the truck, checked-out & wandered over to Disneyland for a few hours. We thought yesterday would be our final day, but with the new annual passes, we were able to slip in a few more hours. :) It was a Friday and the crowds were a lot heavier and the line ups longer than they were during the week days so we hit our favorites right away. The boys did Splash mountain a couple of times and us girls did Star Tours & Big Thunder Mountain Rollercoaster, then we all met & did Big Thunder a couple more times before heading over to Downtown Disney to do a little shopping. After wandering through the shops, we took the monorail back into Disneyland and stopped by Toy Story Blasters for a final ride. We waved goodbye to Disneyland (which we considered a holiday within a holiday!) and walked back to the hotel to get in the truck & head to the beach!! We figured being in California and this close to the coast line we HAD to hit a beach. So, off to Costco to pick up some food & ice-cream then back on the road to our next destination - Huntington Beach, CA! We were surprised to see offshore oil rigs and oil pumps near the shoreline, but as we drove down we came to a spot to get out and meander down the sandy beach. It was windy and so pretty to see & hear the waves crashing again! Last time was Lincoln City and this was definitely warmer! We had about an hour to enjoy the salty air & watch the surfers and kites... then we ventured on and stopped in at another Costco location so David could get some energy drinks for the drive home - It didn't take long for the sun to go down and the city lights to appear as we travelled back to Havasu. We did have a lot of traffic getting out of LA but, slowly, we did! I think we all slept once we hit the LONG stretch of highway between Barstow & Havasu - except David of course who sipped his Monster and munched on sunflower seeds! :) We arrived in Havasu around 11pm and the kids quickly got into bed and were fast asleep again. Unfortunately Megan tossed and turned & ended up getting sick. That girl cannot do late nights! She had a rough hour or so and then finally got to sleep. We had a wonderful time and now look forward to a visit from Grandpa & Grandma Gray, and another week of adventures!

As you enter Disneyland, this is the sign overhead :)

We rode Big Thunder rollercoaster so many times, that by the last day Sarah was brave enough to join the other two and get her hands up in the air -- and scream! She usually held her breath... we were amazed with how she went on so many rides that she was so nervous to do without ever complaining! :)

The park was all decorated for Halloween. Not our favorite holiday season, but it was all done up in a child-friendly way :) It was only the fireworks (which were spectacular!) that were a bit scary for the kids with the music & images.

Downtown Disney is full of shops & restaurants.

They have every kind of mickey hat you can think of - these we believe are the originals! I think growing up we had a pair of these black beauties in our dress-up bin!