Month: November 2016

Rebecka’s school has a two week fall break every October. This year the stars aligned in our schedules and we managed to plan a small mini vacation. 3 days at Disneyland and California Adventure. We haven’t been to Disney in a few years. I knew we most likely would not go again before we leave San Diego. I wanted to go all out. I have been setting aside a little money every month for a year so I could make this trip special.
I got 3 day park hoppers, got tickets to Disney’s Halloween Party, a special event that happens a few times a week in the month of October. I booked Rebecka for Bippity Boppity Boutique. Marc always talked about wanting to eat at the restaurant inside Pirates of the Caribbean ride, so I made a reservation. I even looked into staying at a Disney hotel.
The price for the hotel was a bit over budget, so I was shopping around for a hotel within walking distance. Came up with a great idea, why not bring our new trailer and stay in it. We’d be more comfortable in our little home on wheels than in a small overpriced hotel room. I found two RV parks within a mile of the park. Only one of them had a space available for the time frame we needed, so I booked it.
We parked the trailer in front of the house the day before we left for Disney. It is otherwise parked at a storage lot since our property now does not have space for it. We spent part of the day finding plastic storage containers that were just the right size for the storage areas in the RV. The other part of the day we spent packing those containers and loading the trailer. Excited, packed and ready to go!
We arrived at Harbor RV Resort right at check in time. The back section of the park was for long term residents, but the front was for people like us. Our spot was a nice size. A space for the truck, one for the RV, and one with some fake grass and a picnic table. I took a tour video for you.

Our first afternoon/evening we decided to walk to downtown Disney. Took us about 20 minutes, we needed to cross some major intersections and walk over the freeway. Plus we took our time. Downtown Disney is lined with many stores and restaurants. I’ve never eaten at Rain forest Café, but had heard great things. We decided to check it out.

We then walked thru Downtown Disney a little more and got a Halloween dessert. Yum!

We walked back to the trailer, put on a dvd and relaxed. Around 9 we heard fireworks, pulled the curtains back and was able to see the fireworks while sitting on the couch in the trailer. Pretty awesome.
Sunday, bright and early, off to Disneyland for a special day. We caught the bus, and got to the park as they opened. Bippity Boppity Boutique was great and Rebecka loved it. Tip* it is not necessary to buy the big package; your girl will still feel like a princess all day. We had a great day 1. The post would be too long if I gave you a play by play, so I won’t.

Day 2, started rainy. We moved a bit slower in the morning. Marc woke up with a bloody nose, so we took our time getting ready. My sister and her kids met us at the RV park. They got the grand tour and then we headed to California Adventure. The only thing on Rebecka’s must do list was to see the Frozen show. It turned out the Frozen show was cancelled for that day. She was sad, but felt better when I told her we could try to see it the next day. We had 3 day park hoppers after all. It was a nice day in the parks with my sister and her kids.
That evening was the special Halloween event. We went over to the Disneyland in the afternoon. The kids were excited to wear the costumes we stashed in a locker earlier. I was excited to finally participate in an event I heard so much about from my friends who are Disney fanatics and visit the park every chance they get.
I was not disappointed. The feel of the park changed. The majority of guests were in costumes. It felt like Halloween even though the true holiday was still a few weeks away. There were designated “Trails” where you stood in line to walk through a path that had candy booths and cast members throughout. We did a few of those. After all, you pay extra for the Halloween event you might as well get some candy out of it. The best part though was while all the other guest were waiting in lines for candy, there was hardly anyone waiting in line for rides. How wonderful to just walk onto the rides that attract the longest wait times during the day. We walked onto the Matterhorn, Indiana Jones, and Space Mountain. Really! How often can you do that!! Amazing.
When we had our fair share of candy and rides we settled in to find a spot to watch the special Halloween Parade. Can’t miss this special event, people were sitting in spots more than an hour before the start. For a video of the parade go to Marc’s post here.

After the parade our trip took a turn for the worst. We had split up. My sister stayed to watch fireworks, I took her kids to another candy trail on the way to Thunder Mountain. Marc took Rebecka to the locker to get her jacket then meet us at Thunder Mountain. Then it happen, outside of Thunder Mountain Marc’s nose started to bleed again. This time was worse than in the morning. I found a cast member and explained we needed first aid to come to us. The fireworks had just ended and the crowds between us and First Aid were to crazy to maneuver through in his current condition (plus 3 kids).
Disney First Aid service was wonderful. They came to where we were in the park. When they realized they could not stop the nose bleed, they placed Marc in a wheel chair and escorted us to the first aid center, clearing a path the whole way. (At some point in the chaos, my sister found us and took the 3 kids, while Marc and I went with First Aid). We spent a bit more time in the First Aid building where they gathered information on medicines he was taking and other vitals. It was determined that Marc’s nose bleed had gone past the point of general first aid and he needed to see a Doctor. They called an ambulance.
Anaheim global medical center’s ER is not a place I ever want to go again. A review on the cleanliness would be a struggle for 1 star. Marc and I were there until 1 or 2am in the morning. Went back to the trailer for maybe an hour. Marc’s nose started bleeding heavily again even through the packing they put in. We went back to the ER. Left around 6 or 7am with packing in one side. We tried to get some rest. We weren’t sure what our plan was. However, I knew that Marc was in no shape to drive home anytime soon. I decided that it would be up to me to get my family and our trailer back to San Diego. No way I was driving during the time when traffic is terrible. I needed to wait until after the evening rush hour to tackle this task.
Around 10 or so, Marc said he felt comfortable enough to be left alone, and that Rebecka and I could go to Disney, try to salvage something for our third day. I didn’t really want to leave him, but knew he might have a better chance of getting rest if Rebecka and I were not right there. I explained to Marc that if he needed me for anything we would leave the park and be back as quick as we could.
So I took Rebecka to California adventure to see if the Frozen show was running that day. It was, but not until a few hours later. I went over to the Pirates of the Caribbean restaurant and cancelled our reservation. No way Rebecka and I were going to have lunch at the one place Marc wanted to ear without him. (They will charge you a fee if you just don’t show up). After 2 rides we decided to grab some food and head back over to wait in line for the Frozen show. While we were about to sit down to eat, Marc called. He started to bleed heavy again. He was tempted to call an ambulance. I told him we would head back right that second.
This was Marc’s third trip to this ER. He got a room this time. We stayed with him for a few hours. Then I decided we HAD to get back to San Diego. We HAD to get him back to doctors that were familiar with his medical record. I left Marc in the ER and Rebecka and I went back to the trailer to pack up and get ready to drive home. We were finishing up when Marc called to say they were releasing him. I put gas in the truck and picked him up from the ER. We went back to the trailer and got it ready to go. We needed out of Anaheim . I wasn’t staying a moment longer.
Driving the truck with the trailer attached has been a fear of mine. Time for my big girl panties. I had to do it, and I did. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. I was lucky to not have many turns in my route. I think it was around 11pm when we got home. We left the trailer and truck parked on the street in front of the house. There was no way i could park it in our RV storage spot.
I took Marc to the Navy Hospital the next day. It was so nice to be back in a real hospital. The staff took great care of him. We were there for hours, but he was being attended to appropriately, so that is what matters. They were not able to find the source of the bleeds, but they made him a little more comfortable with softer packing in both sides. Followed up with ENT a few days later. He is back to himself now. We still don’t know the cause of the nose bleeds, but glad he is OK.
Disney has went above and beyond and impressed me yet again. While we were at first aid i was given a claim card. Once we were home and settled again I called the number. After retelling our story to the claims office we were assigned a claims manager. He reviewed our case and had me send him a copy of our tickets. We 100% know that the medical event that happened was no fault of Disney. However, since our time at Disneyland was less then a magical experience, Disney has given us three, 2 day park hoppers. Isn’t that great?! Now we can go back. We aren’t sure when we will go, but it is nice to know we have tickets waiting for us.
This was a long post. Thank you for reading it and supporting us. Have a magical day !

For 10 years we had a dog. A wonderful, big, loyal, lovable dog named Duke. If you knew him, just the thought of him brings a smile to your face I bet.
Well, Duke liked to chase (and try to taste) cats. We knew this from the day we picked him up from the Humane Society. Over the course of ten years the talk of trying to get a cat came and went. Rebecka expressed her desire for a cat often. She knew we couldn’t have one with Duke, yet still yearned for one.
Sadly this past summer we said goodbye to our old man Duke. It was a hard time for our family. We mourned his loss. The house seemed emptier. We thought we wouldn’t be ready for another pet until after we moved from San Diego.
In late September Rebecka started asking for a cat again. Marc also expressed he might be ready for a cat to join our family. He had them as a child and wanted Rebecka to experience the joy of a cat. For years we said that if we got another pet we would most likely get two. Two pets could keep each other company. Duke appeared lonely at times and it broke our heart.
I wasn’t ready for the responsibility of having another pet just yet. Plus with our new “plan” a pet didn’t sound like a great idea. A little research showed I was wrong and that cats are just as common as dogs for companions on RV travels. Some people even teach their cats to walk on leashes, but you have better luck with that if you train them as kittens. I decided to “think about it”, but I told Marc I was still leaning towards us not being ready.
A week later a coworker told me about three kittens her family found. The kitten’s mother had left them. These three kittens were starving and alone. My coworker could only take one. This left her two kittens to find homes for. When I told Marc, he was all for it, but left the decision up to me. I felt horrible at the thought of these two orphaned kittens being alone. I knew for years Rebecka wanted a cat. I felt a little selfish not being 100% on board.
I decided the timing of these orphans was a direct sign from a higher power. Just a week ago we were discussing possibly being pet owners again. Then before I knew it, these kittens needed us. Blam, in your face. It was impossible for me to deny that these kittens were meant to be in our life.
My coworker brought the kittens over the next day after work. We choose to surprise Rebecka, she had no idea.

She decided on “Pearl” and “Hunter”.
Their first night with us, Pearl curled herself up and looked like a pearl in a clam shell. Hunter appeared to always be looking for something.
They are kittens and they are cute! (in my humble opinion) We have weaned them off milk. I look forward to when they make less of a mess when they eat though. We have litter box trained them. I watched a movie once where a cat was trained to use the toilet. I might need to research that. They do not sleep all night. I am a light sleeper and I can hear them playing and wrestling at the wee hours. The other night they both learned to climb up onto our bed. This made for a tough night of sleep for me, as they had trouble with “personal space”.

They also thought I was a jungle gym at 3 am. Marc assures me that as they get a little older all these things will get better. Here’s hoping, because this lady needs some good sleep. Read about their first time in the trailer here. {link to Pala Casino post)
For those of you who like kittens, I have good news. You will be seeing more of them in photos and videos. They love to play and Rebecka loves to record them. For those of you who don’t, I apologize, they will be posted anyway.

We left the kittens with my coworker on our Disney trip. That ended up being a great decision as our Disney trip had some unexpected events. (More on that in my next post. Link here)
In the meantime, here are more photos and videos of Hunter and Pearl. Enjoy!

Finished up at the dealership and couldn’t wait to test it out. Marc is a “push every button and lever” kind of guy. He wants to know how everything works first hand, not because someone told him how it should work. Knowing this about him, I booked a campground in advance for this first night.

I choose Lake O’Neil. This location was a good halfway point, it is on a military base which offers cheaper rates and it wasn’t expected to be very crowded. We know there is a store and gas station nearby.

I reserved a “Dry” camping spot for $10. Dry camping means that the space where you are parked does not have access to power, water or sewage. The campground does offer all of those things under “full hookups”, but we needed to test everything out. We needed to see how much fuel the generator would use. How much fresh water we used. How quickly the grey and black tanks would fill. (grey water is the waste from the sinks, and black water is the waste from the toilet.)

After we detached the trailer from the truck and settled in a bit we made our way to a grocery store. Picked up some perishable items that we hadn’t brought with us. I wasn’t ready to test out the kitchen yet, so we picked up a late lunch and brought it back.

The evening was very relaxing. We went on a family walk around the campground, the goal was to explore. (We never do that at home, nothing new to see) There was a whole section filled with Boy Scouts tent camping for the night. Brought back some memories for Marc. I think Rebecka enjoys hearing her dads stories. There was a playground, that made Rebecka happy. The lake had been drained a little during our visit, but we were told that fishing was still allowed. Next trip we might bring the fishing gear.

After the walk we went back to the trailer. We played cards and listened to music……… It was peaceful and perfect (in my humble opinion).

Confession…… I didn’t sleep well at all! I am considered a light sleeper and hearing the generator all night made it hard to relax. I’m sure sleeping in a new bed didn’t help either. Rebecka also complained about the generator and woke up with a stuffed nose. Fingers crossed the next time we get more sleep.

On Sunday I made breakfast. Pancakes! It was an adjustment cooking in a small kitchen with no counter space to speak of, but I managed. We brought the Keurig coffee pot from home. After a super terrible cup of coffee, i realized we need to make coffee with bottled water while we are in the trailer.

After breakfast, Marc and Rebecka played with the remote controlled cars we brought. They had fun racing around until the batteries died. We went for another walk. The Boy Scouts were in clean up mode and doing a great job. Then we played mini golf. That’s right, the campground had a mini golf course on the other side of the lake.

The plan was to pack up and head home by lunch time. However, family vote came into play and we all wanted to stay longer. Marc had run back out to the store to get creamer for the coffee earlier and he picked up a few other odds and ends we had on a short list of things the trailer needed. (trash can, broom, ect.) He also picked up a DVD. I made lunch and we relaxed to a movie.

Finally, we all came to the realization that we had to pack up and head home. I can honestly say that the first night/weekend in the trailer was a two thumbs up success.

Be sure to read Marc’s post about the first night.