Our Road Trip to California
So my in-laws have had a trip planned to Disneyland. Jade graduated from high school last year and is about to head out on his mission so they wanted to take him and Chum there before he left. They mentioned to us a few times about going with them, but at the time we just didn't think we could afford 3 flights to California plus all the theme park expenses. About a week before they headed out, Jay and I got some crazy idea to drive there all together instead of flying and making it much more affordable. We did some last minute planning and things just fell into place for us to go. Within a few days we went from taking the Denali, to my parents joining us and all driving in the motorhome. We took off Friday, March 5th and drove all day and into the night. Heather had flown to Baltimore for a friend's wedding, so she was joining us in Cali on Sunday evening. Josh couldn't miss too much work, so we used our flier miles to get him there on Saturday with the rest of the Ricker fam.
Securing the car seats in. Not a lot of space while we drive.
The kiddos buckled in and ready to go. It was 7am...a bit early for these late risers!!
Joaquin watching a movie
Sawyer watched a lot of movies too!
We let the kids out every once in awhile to stretch their legs. Sawyer always wanted to be up front by Grandpa and Grandma!
Miss Gwen during the ride.
And Mr. Finno.
Bedding down for the night!
The kids did super on the way down. We decided to stop outside of Bakersfield, but the next day we were kicking ourselves for not going all the way into Anaheim. There was SO MUCH TRAFFIC that our 2+ hour drive on Saturday turned into twice that! There were 5 accidents just to get into LA. How do people live in that?? It was crazy.
The Rickers and Josh had arrived and got the rental cars and checked into their resort before we even made it to Anaheim. We went straight to In & Out and met them for lunch before heading over to the RV Resort.
We finally arrive....
Gwen is READY to be out of this thing!!
Gwen's excited to see Chum!
That night we went to Downtown Disney and did some shopping.
Finn loves to shop!!
Loved our Chariot. Doubled as a stroller or it can carry all your crap! (not that Finn is part of our crap :))
Sawyer LOVED the Lego Store.
Playing with some Legos
Joaquin and Jay/Heather/Gwen stayed with Rickers and Josh/Soy/Finn and I stayed in the RV with my parents. The next day we were up early for a long day at Universal Studios.
First up....Shrek 4D....loved it!
Sawyer and Gwen got to meet Sponge Bob (notice Soy's shirt?)
Sawyer loved the Curious George play area
Stopping for lunch after riding the Revenge of the Mummy and Jurassic Park rides.
These escalators were pretty cool
Jathan
Chum, Soy, Josh, Me and Finno...they seriously go straight up!!
At the top...me, Chum, Soy and Josh
So random, but I love this photo...so funny!
You go down 4 of these escalators to get to the bottom lot
Hangin' in the Chariot....oh my red haired Finno :)
We all loved the Simpson's Ride...Soy wasn't tall enough so we took turns.
Waiting for Water World to begin....John, Chum, Gwen, Kat, Jay and Joaquin
Pretty cool effects
Sawyer got to meet lots of characters
Dora
Diego
Feivel
Josh, Chum and I took Sawyer and Finn on the Studio Tour
Chum and Soy
Josh and I (and Finn)
Some Daddy time for Finno
Finally awake from his snoozer
The floods are coming!!!
The Great Outdoors
Murder She Wrote
"Psycho" with "Who-Ville" in the background
Sawyer's "prize" from Universal Studios...a Build your own Sponge Bob
Finn was such a tropper! He did great the whole day....
All done and heading home.
Next Up....Disneyland!!
So my in-laws have had a trip planned to Disneyland. Jade graduated from high school last year and is about to head out on his mission so they wanted to take him and Chum there before he left. They mentioned to us a few times about going with them, but at the time we just didn't think we could afford 3 flights to California plus all the theme park expenses. About a week before they headed out, Jay and I got some crazy idea to drive there all together instead of flying and making it much more affordable. We did some last minute planning and things just fell into place for us to go. Within a few days we went from taking the Denali, to my parents joining us and all driving in the motorhome. We took off Friday, March 5th and drove all day and into the night. Heather had flown to Baltimore for a friend's wedding, so she was joining us in Cali on Sunday evening. Josh couldn't miss too much work, so we used our flier miles to get him there on Saturday with the rest of the Ricker fam.
Securing the car seats in. Not a lot of space while we drive.
The kiddos buckled in and ready to go. It was 7am...a bit early for these late risers!!
Joaquin watching a movie
Sawyer watched a lot of movies too!
We let the kids out every once in awhile to stretch their legs. Sawyer always wanted to be up front by Grandpa and Grandma!
Miss Gwen during the ride.
And Mr. Finno.
Bedding down for the night!
The kids did super on the way down. We decided to stop outside of Bakersfield, but the next day we were kicking ourselves for not going all the way into Anaheim. There was SO MUCH TRAFFIC that our 2+ hour drive on Saturday turned into twice that! There were 5 accidents just to get into LA. How do people live in that?? It was crazy.
The Rickers and Josh had arrived and got the rental cars and checked into their resort before we even made it to Anaheim. We went straight to In & Out and met them for lunch before heading over to the RV Resort.
We finally arrive....
Gwen is READY to be out of this thing!!
Gwen's excited to see Chum!
That night we went to Downtown Disney and did some shopping.
Finn loves to shop!!
Loved our Chariot. Doubled as a stroller or it can carry all your crap! (not that Finn is part of our crap :))
Sawyer LOVED the Lego Store.
Playing with some Legos
Joaquin and Jay/Heather/Gwen stayed with Rickers and Josh/Soy/Finn and I stayed in the RV with my parents. The next day we were up early for a long day at Universal Studios.
First up....Shrek 4D....loved it!
Sawyer and Gwen got to meet Sponge Bob (notice Soy's shirt?)
Sawyer loved the Curious George play area
Stopping for lunch after riding the Revenge of the Mummy and Jurassic Park rides.
These escalators were pretty cool
Jathan
Chum, Soy, Josh, Me and Finno...they seriously go straight up!!
At the top...me, Chum, Soy and Josh
So random, but I love this photo...so funny!
You go down 4 of these escalators to get to the bottom lot
Hangin' in the Chariot....oh my red haired Finno :)
We all loved the Simpson's Ride...Soy wasn't tall enough so we took turns.
Waiting for Water World to begin....John, Chum, Gwen, Kat, Jay and Joaquin
Pretty cool effects
Sawyer got to meet lots of characters
Dora
Diego
Feivel
Josh, Chum and I took Sawyer and Finn on the Studio Tour
Chum and Soy
Josh and I (and Finn)
Some Daddy time for Finno
Finally awake from his snoozer
The floods are coming!!!
The Great Outdoors
Murder She Wrote
"Psycho" with "Who-Ville" in the background
Sawyer's "prize" from Universal Studios...a Build your own Sponge Bob
Finn was such a tropper! He did great the whole day....
All done and heading home.
Next Up....Disneyland!!
