The 9 Days of Thanksgiving (Vacation)
Sunday, November 30th, 2008I am lucky enough to work for a school district that gives us the whole week of Thanksgiving off. We finish parent-teacher conferences the week before, and then we get 9 glorious days off! Hooray!
This year, Frank and I decided to spend the first few days of my break in the ‘happiest place on earth.’ However, on the first day of vacation, I had a full-blown cold. Of course, the timing was ridiculous! Anyway, here’s a recap of our 9 days of Thanksgiving vacation:
Day 1 (Saturday, Nov. 22): I woke up feeling yucky and spent the whole day sleeping on the couch. I tried watching the Big Game (Cal/Stanford) on t.v., but my body needed sleep and I couldn’t keep my eyes open. Frank worked a session at the store, came home for about an hour or so, then headed over to Katie and Alan’s for their pre-Thanksgiving dinner. I bowed out due to my cold–didn’t want to pass it on to anyone, especially baby Ava or mommy-to-be Theresa–and continued to rest. I was determined to make it to Disneyland the next day. The battle was on. Thanks to Katie and Alan for feeding Frank and giving him much needed non-ill company!
Day 2 (Sunday, Nov. 23): I woke up feeling pretty good and figured I won the battle with all my sleep from the day before. We packed up the car, loaded Kiya, and hit the road for Turlock. We arrived in time to drop Kiya off at grandma and grandpa’s, had some lunch with them, then hit the road again–this time for L.A. Frank started the drive, but whimped out on me before we hit Fresno, so I took over until just after the Grapevine. I don’t like driving in the L.A. area, so we stopped for a bathroom break and switched drivers again. We got to our hotel, which was right across the street from Disneyland, checked-in, and then wandered around looking for someplace to eat dinner. We ended up eating at Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen in Downtown Disney. Pretty good Cajun cuisine–Frank really liked the shrimp. On our way back to the hotel, we bought two yummy sweet snacks–a caramel apple (my favorite) and some kettle corn–that we were able to enjoy over the next few days.
Day 3 (Monday, Nov. 24): We spent the entire day exploring California Adventure and Disneyland. We hit California Adventure first and planned to go on just a few rides since we had visited there before a few years ago. The only new ride they had there for us was the Twilight Zone’s Tower of Terror, so we headed there first. The ride zooms you up and down, up and down, and boy, did we feel old! Both of us used to be able to handle these kinds of rides with no problems, but ended up totally dizzy. We went on “It’s Tough to be a Bug” and “California Screamin” and then had lunch at one of their restaurants. We had surprisingly good ribs and a chicken sandwich. We spent the rest of the day at Disneyland and hit all the big rides (Indiana Jones, Space Mountain, etc.), along with some small ones like Peter Pan. The only big ride we weren’t able to go on was the Matterhorn because it broke down on us twice! We were about to reach the front of the line the first time it broke down and then when we tried it again later, it broke down right before the park closed when we were actually sitting in the car, buckled in, about to head into the mountain. Figured we were out of luck on this ride and didn’t even try it the next day.
In front of Sleeping Beauty’s castle, all decked out for the holidays. Looks beautiful at night.
In line for Pirates of the Caribbean
I had to get a picture with the bride and groom Mickey ears. Frank was really embarrassed. Can you tell?
Scoping out Club 33 for our lunch the next day
Day 4 (Tuesday, Nov. 25): This was probably our favorite Disneyland day because we got to eat at the exclusive Club 33. Club 33 is Disneyland’s 5 star restaurant and the restaurant itself is pretty hidden. You need to be a restaurant member or a guest of a member to eat there. My dad hooked us up with a noon lunch reservation, so we went on a few rides in the late morning and headed over to the non-descript Club 33 entrance door (see photo above). We pushed the button, told them our names, and were buzzed in. Needless to say, lunch was fabulous! Frank ordered the lamb sirloin and I had the pasta 3 by 3 (three little bowls of pasta with different sauces). According to Frank, it was the BEST lamb he’s ever had. He couldn’t even speak while eating it. He just ate and ate, with his eyes closed, as if to savor the flavor even more. When he was done with his lamb, he did say “Holy cow. Holy Cow. Holy Sheep!” It was hilarious! Along with our entrees, lunch included a buffet–salads, seafood stuff, fruit, a dessert bar, and the most yummy cream of broccoli soup I’ve ever had. Mmmm. I hope we make it back there again sometime…Thanks Daddy for the hook up!
Frank reacting to the lamb sirloin on the menu
Frank eating his lamb sirloin. He looked like this the entire time. He was in heaven.
All done and very happy!
On one of the balconies of Club 33
Outside, in front of the restaurant’s balconies. Frank’s holding our Disneyland candy stash. We also bought a second caramel apple. Yum.
On our way out…can’t wait for next time!
We had planned to head home to Turlock after lunch to avoid any holiday traffic, but decided to visit a fellow Dream Dinners owner that we met at training last year. We met up with her at her store and chatted for a bit and then met up with a family friend for dinner. This was a surprise–my mom had mentioned to her that we were in the area and she wanted to see us, so we ended up having a very nice dinner with the whole family! Thanks to the Wong family for your hospitality!
After dinner we hit the road, and of course got stuck in crazy L.A. traffic. An hour and a half later, we made it out of the L.A. area and were cruising home. It rained the whole way back to Turlock and we got home at about 1:30am. Yuck!
Day 5 (Wednesday, Nov. 26): Totally slept in due to arriving home so late. And then guess who made a visit? The cold bug! Frank felt yucky and my cough picked up again. We spent the day resting and hanging out. We did visit good ol’ Dairy Queen for a yummy chicken strip basket (my favorite), chili dogs, and onion rings. Oh, and of course a blizzard, which isn’t the smartest idea when you’re coughing, but they’re so good I couldn’t resist.
Day 6 (Thursday, Nov. 27): Happy Thanksgiving! We had much to be thankful for this year. We had a low-key Thanksgiving day at home, with us both feeling under the weather. We played some Wii games, watched some football, and ate a yummy Thanksgiving dinner prepared by my mom. Thanks Mommy for the great meal!
Day 7 (Friday, Nov. 28): Frank woke up feeling better, but my cough and asthma were in full swing. We decided to avoid Black Friday shopping, as it gets pretty crazy in Turlock. We had lunch with my parents at Chipotle (they make the burritos smaller in Turlock compared to Fremont. Boo.) and then Frank and I went to Turlock Subaru to check out cars. We headed back to my parents’ house, packed up the car, got Kiya ready, said goodbye to my family, and then hit the road for Fremont.
Day 8 (Saturday, Nov. 29): Spent the day coughing, doing laundry, cleaning the house a bit, and watching Disney’s Bolt. Oh my gosh! What a cute movie, especially if you’re a dog lover! We laughed, I got teary…I was thinking about Kiya the whole time. Dogs really do devote themselves to their ‘people’ and they truly are so loyal. The movie made me appreciate Kiya even more. Momma loves her puppa!
We went to Pet Food Express to pick up more dog food, and because we had just watched the movie, we ended up buying Kiya another toy. This one is a huge Loofa-type toy that we’ve named Monkey. It’s almost as big as her, so we weren’t sure she’d be able to play with it as well as her others, but boy, were we wrong! She LOVES jumping on it, biting it, and shaking it all around. And of course, she knows it by name already!
Day 9 (Sunday, Nov. 30): The cold officially wins. I concede defeat. We battled for a week, and I won a few, but in the end it broke me down. I headed to Kaiser this morning to get my lungs checked out. I’ve had asthma since I was a kid, so anytime I get a cold, I end up with a nasty cough that lasts for a week or two after all other cold symptoms have disappeared. My cough has been so bad that it’s been keeping me up at night so I can’t sleep, which of course isn’t helping me get better. I now have some cough syrup with codeine, which is supposed to knock me out at night so I can get some rest. That, along with my 2 inhalers…I’m pretty drugged up right about now. Frank’s been making me hot tea with honey and making sure I’m nice and warm. What a good hubby! 
It’s back to work tomorrow. Double boo! This vacation was fun and we had a great time! Too bad we had colds to contend with pretty much the whole time. Let’s hope Christmas vacation is cold-free!
