Day 9 : Going Around San Francisco

The first day back was spent in San Francisco. Aunty Pam and Uncle Sam suggested that since it was a weekday, the crowd at the tourist spots would not be so large. So we packed into 2 cars and headed out to San Francisco. Here we are keeping ourselves entertained on the drive to the city:

We were lucky to get a nice parking spot nearby the first stop which was the Fishermans Wharf. A short walk and we were at the wharf, where there were boats to Alcatraz, many tourist riding bicycles around and the wonderful aroma of food. 

The food smelt so yummy and we were so hungry. So we headed to this famous Boudin Bakery which was famous for their sour dough breads.

This was among the selected of lunch which we had. Sooooo yummy, chowder in their famous sour dough bread:

Then, we wanted to take a ride on the San Francisco cable car. Daddy had to move his car as the parking was only for 2 hours and we'd certainly not make it back from the cable car ride within the balance 1 hour. So daddy had to run off to move the car, only to realise that he did not bring his car keys along. Had to run back to where we were waiting for him. So while waiting, Ah Ma noticed that the queue to the cable car was very long, so she went to buy the tickets and queue up first.

Here' the beautiful scenery which we enjoyed while waiting for our turn:

At last it was our turn. And yet, daddy worried that there wouldn't be enough time on his parking. So halfway through the ride, daddy and Ah Kong hopped off the cable car while we continued on the ride till the end. 

 

Daddy took the "standing seat":

The cable car stopped for a while at the Cable Car Museum for a change in the driver. Mei-mei had fallen asleep by then. So we continued until the end of the ride and we waited for daddy to come with Ah Kong to pick us up in the car. 

Then we headed to try to drive down Lombard Street, which is well known to be the world's most crooked street. It sure was a steep drive, but very scenic and not too scary with daddy behind the wheel *grin*

 

Then we went again for a drive on the Golden Gate bridge, since Ko-ko was sleeping when we went on it the first day when we arrived. This time we drove on the bridge and then stopped at the lookout point for a few pictures. It was so windy as you can tell from our hair flying in all directions.

Then it was time to head back to Menlo Park. It was almost time for dinner. Dinner that night was in a small, simple restaurant called "Little Shanghai" which served very nice Chinese food. 

Day 8: Back to Menlo Park

As daddy had already decided, we would be heading back to San Francisco using the 101 Highway which would be more scenic. It didn't feel that long but was certainly more beautiful and not so boring. As with the trip to L.A. you napped most of the way and was very well behaved when you were up. 

You enjoyed the snacks and drank a whole bottle of the chocolate milk bought on the first stop we took (at a petrol station).

Here's some of the scenic coastal view which I managed to take:

King City

This were the many silly faces you made. But halfway along the way after Ah Ma gave you a piece of paper to draw on, you got sick and vomited all over yourself and some parts of the car. Aihhh..... daddy quickly found a place to drive off the highway so that we could stop and clean you up and put on some clean clothes.

One last stop for us was in Gilroy where the premium outlets were located for a final toilet break and soon we were in Menlo Park where Aunty Pam and Uncle Sam we waiting for us with dinner all ready.

We had a yummy dinner of rice cooked by them and rested in their beautiful home. (Oh yeah.. and I had to quickly wash the car seat cover else we would not be able to go out the next day).

Day 7: Going Around LA

It was a lazy day after the long day in Disneyland. We slept in late and then got ready to go to LA for lunch and to drive around. First stop was Chinatown. We found a place to park the car and walked around looking for a place to eat lunch.

We stopped at this place called Yang Chow Restaurant which was listed as a good place to eat (I had taken screenshot from Yelp! before leaving the hotel). As we stood outside looking at the other choices, we realized that Ah Kong and Ah Ma had already walked into the restaurant! Oops.. looks like we didn't need to think anymore. 

We ate rice, which was something we hadn't had for a while and which Mei-mei obviously missed a lot. As she was eating rice, she said "We come back to this place, ok?". Yup.. it certainly got her stap of approval.

We walked around a little after lunch. It was rather warm and soon we were tired, so we headed back to the car and headed to Rodeo Drive.

Sun Yat Sen Memorial

Some of the shops in Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills:

We went for a drive after that to enjoy the view as well as look at the beautiful houses around. Then it was time to head back to Anaheim. But oh boy.. it was heavy traffic leaving L.A. It took us almost 2 hours to reach back to the hotel. Before going back to the hotel, we stopped by a supermarket to buy some groceries for the long drive back to Menlo Park the next day.

When we finally reached the hotel, we parked the car and wanted to stretch our legs. So we walked to this place called "Joe's Italian Ice" which was down the road and which we had spotted the last time we walked along Harbour Boulevard which our hotel is located. 

This was what you had: 

Joe Latti

Went back to the hotel after that to rest. Then it was time for dinner. We had already booked a table at Bucca di Beppo again so no need to think hard on what to eat. This time we had the appetizer and also 2 pasta's. Looks yummy, right?

Large Linguini Frutti di Mare and Small Spaghetti with Meatballs (giant sized ones!!)

Day 6: DISNEYLAND

We were all so excited. Even yesterday we saw these banners all over Anaheim as we drove in and as we walked around. 

                                    

This morning was an easy task to wake up the both of you. Just a reminder that we needed to wake up early to go to Disneyland and you were both up. We all showered and got ready to go. By 7.10 a.m. we were outside and ready to hop into the first shuttle of the day heading to Disneyland. It was quite a walk to get to the first entrance where our bags were checked. Then we walked a little more and reached the main entrance but we could not get in yet as it wasn't 8 a.m yet. 

Since it was still early, daddy set up his tripod to take a family picture. But we were informed by the guard not to use that to avoid any accidents. Instead he nicely said that any of the Disney staff would help us take our pictures. 

Soon it was time to go in. We had bought the tickets in advance and got in easily. It was amazing to see that there were many designated slots for "stroller parking". Yup, there sure was a lot of strollers!!

First ride Ko-ko and I took was Star Tours, a 3D ride. While we did that, daddy and Mei-mei took this ride. They continued with another Buzz Lightyear ride while waiting for Ko-ko and I to finish our "Star Tours".

Waiting to "board" our ship for the tour (wearing our 3D glasses):

And yes you picked and assembled your own lights saber right after our first ride!!

We went on other rides after that. One was 4 of us in Space Mountain while Ah Ma took Mei-mei for the submarine ride (Finding Nemo). We both also did the Matterhorn Bobsled (which was a long queue for such a short ride). Then we went back to have lunch and while Ko-ko waited for the "Jedi Training Academy", Mei-mei and I headed to the teacups.

Ko-ko wiating for the show to start

We went for the teacups. You asked to sit in the pink cup, but they were taken.

This was the first time we sat on the carousel. Yup, even a first time for mummy *grin*

One of the rides which had a very long queue was the flying Dumbo ride. Ko-ko tried to convince you to take another ride, but you insisted that we needed to take this ride. This queue was very long and very slow. It was finally our turn. Mummy asked the attendant if Ko-ko could ride on his own elephant. She said he could when we told her he was 9 years old. Happiness. You had asked to ride on a pink elephant, but too bad they were quickly taken by other families. So we settled on yellow again:

Another ride with a VERY VERY long queue was the Jungle Safari. It looked short from the outside, but the queue snaked and soon it was our turn to hop onto the boat. This was a little more worth the wait as it was a longer ride:

By then it was 4.30 p.m. and many people seemed to be getting excited. It was almost time for the parade (actually was to be at 5.30 p.m.). So we sat around and waited. There was a slight delay, but it was well worth it.

The parade was spectacular. Ko-ko had my camera and took may beautiful shots. Some were taken by daddy too.There was one float with the Lion King. Coincidentally, it turn to our direction and roared at us. Poor Mei-mei jumped onto my lap in fright, saying that she was frightened. So I told her not to be afraid and to roar back at it. And she did "woarrrrrrrrr". That was so cute.

Then we also took a ride on the monorail:

It was dinnertime and we ate at the Plaza Inn. This was recommended by another visitor who sat nex to Ah Ma while she rested and waited for us. After dinner, we left Ah Kong and Ah Ma to rest while we headed to sit in the boat ride in the "Small, Small World". 

After this very lovely ride, we had to walk a very long distance to get back to the Plaza Inn as many routes were closed in preparation of the night's parade. We finally made it back on time for the parade which we watched from our garden seats. Then it was time for the fireworks. It was apparently even more grand as Disney was celebrating their 60th anniversary.

After the fireworks finished, we had to fight the throng leaving Disneyland and back to where the bus stopped us in the morning. By then, Mei-mei was too tired and slept in the stroller and all the way back to the hotel, until the next morning. 

14 hours in Disneyland and we could not cover all of it. A massive park which was so much fun. 

Day 5: Drive to Anaheim

We woke up, ate breakfast and quickly finished up the rest of the packing up. Then it took poor daddy almost 15 minutes (or more) to figure out how to put in our 4 bags plus Mei-mei's stroller. In the end, all went in and we headed to the first stop: to pump petrol.

After much deliberation and opted for I-5 which was supposed to be the the shorter route. Unfortunately, it was a very boring drive. Ah Kong started the drive and drove for 2 hours then daddy took over and drove the rest of the way.

So this is how she kept herself entertained when she wasn't napping for the long drive:

This was some of the random shots I took of the view. It gets a little boring after a while.

(This was 1 of the 9 or 10 taken by Mei-mei.. told you she was bored!!)

This was the start of the mountain range which was very long and quite steep

We had stopped once for toilet breaks and to change drivers. Then we stopped for a late lunch. Final stop was nearby LA and then we headed for another round of driving and traffic jam (I had mistakenly thought we were there..) before finally reaching Anaheim. The first thing we spotted the moment we turned off the highway was Disneyland!! Yay... but of course, that was for the next day.

First was to check into our hotel. Ta-da.. this was our room in Hilton Garden Inn. 

Soon it was dinnertime. It was actually close to 8p.m. by then. We walked around as no one wanted to get into the car anymore.. after such a long drive. But there didn't seem to be much choices other than fast food nearby the hotel. So we headed back to this restaurant which we had spotted on our way out of the hotel (it was 1 road away from our hotel: not even a main road!!). We had to wait a while to get a table and this was our super delicious dinner:

The place was called Buca De Beppo. It was so yummy that we even made a reservation for the night after the next so that we didn't have to go food hunting. 

Tried to sleep early after a long day cooped up in the car and knowing we were to have an early day the next day at Disneyland.