As a Christmas/birthday/family vacation thing, we gifted the girls with a trip to California. (Also, as a make-up trip that Jeremy and I were going to take back in October to celebrate our 15th anniversary.) The girls were very excited – maybe more excited than I have seen them for any trip. They were excited for Hawaii, but I think this was different because they are older and actually can anticipate and dream about what will be happening. So, it was fun to watch their anticipation build.
We left on Friday, January 14 fairly early in the morning to get to Canton-Akron Airport. Our flight left around 8:30 with a 45 minute layover in Charlotte before arriving in Las Angeles, California around 1:45pm.
We hadn’t been to CAK for awhile, and they had made a lot of upgrades and remodels. It is very nice for a small airport. We were glad to get flights out of here that were reasonable because it is just less driving time on either end. One fun feature we noticed was the pet area – very posh with a fire hydrant, fake grass, and wash area. Madison and I were seat buddies for the first leg. She loved looking out the window, recorded take off, and watched the changing scenery.
We were thankful that our connection wasn’t missed. It was the one thing we were a little concerned about. But we had enough time to get to the gate and relax a bit. The girls practiced navigating through the airport, reading the signs, and getting us where we needed to go. Trying to raise some travelers… might regret it when they get older and I have to let them fly solo. For the long leg, Madison, Ellie and I were on one side of the plane and Jeremy was across the aisle. It worked out pretty well. I hadn’t been on that size plane for awhile. It was pretty comfortable and they had some fun amenities – like a little drop down “table” for your electronic device so you didn’t get a crick in your neck from looking down. Anyway you fly it, the 5 hours or so in the air can get a little long. The girls watched a lot of “tv”; Madison read quite a bit, too.
When we landed, we were greeted with sunshine, palm trees, and comfortable temperatures.
After getting our rental car, we took off to Hermosa Beach and the Sea Sprite Hotel. We splurged a bit on this one, but I think it was worth it. We wanted part of a day just to be on the beach, hear the waves, dig in the sand, and enjoy the sights. This allowed us to do that. It was literally right on the beach. And the room was very comfortable.
We ventured down to the beach as soon as we got there. The girls went knee deep in the water. It was so cold! I barely touched a toe in it. I did just sit there and enjoy it though. As we walked the pier and the sun started to set, it did get pretty chilly.
By 7pm (11pm Ohio time), we were pretty tuckered out. I am pretty sure we were in bed and asleep no later than 8pm.
No comments:
Post a Comment