Marching Into Spring

My March update is a little late but . . . better than never, eh?

We visited Scott's family in California over spring break during the latter half of the month. We felt like making a big vacation out of this trip, so we planned on hitting several big tourist sites in the area while we were there.

We enjoyed a picnic at the Santa Ana Zoo with Scott's parents first. The zoo there isn't so large, but they have a huge collection of monkeys. Apparently, the zoo's founder requested that there be 50 monkeys at all times. It's easy to get to and not so expensive, so if you happen to love animals of the simian variety, it's a pleasant side trip if you're in town for the big theme parks.

The four of us hit the Pirate's Dinner Adventure next. We've already been to the neighboring Medieval Times, so we were looking for a little variety. It was certainly enjoyable, with plenty of singing and acrobatics, and it offered a lot more audience participation than Medieval Times. Still, Medieval Times was a bit more entertaining overall with its tournament -- after all, they have horses doing tricks!

Over the weekend, we visited Universal Studios Hollywood with Scott's parents and his cousin. We especially enjoyed the studio tour (among other stops, we drove down Wisteria Lane from "Desperate Housewives") and "The Simpsons" ride. It's pretty fun, with mostly entertainment-oriented rides rather than thrills -- better suited to me than Scott, but we both had a good time.

Scott and I met our friends for a Los Angeles Kings hockey game later in the week. It was my first NHL game, so it was appropriate I saw Scott's favorite team chalk up another victory (in sudden-death overtime -- but at least Jean-Claude Van Damme didn't have to save the day this time). After the game, we split a chili cheeseburger and chili fries from the Original Tommy's stand in LA, and Scott may have discovered his new favorite sandwich.

Of course, the headliner this trip was a visit to the Disneyland and California Adventure theme parks. Like for all these things, it was my first time there. Disney's a lot different from the Six Flags parks and Cedar Point. There's hardly any roller coasters (thankfully), and the ones that are there are mostly on the mild side. If you visit, I recommend checking out the Soarin' Over California ride at California Adventure, which is a virtual hang-gliding trip complete with an omnimax-style movie and wind and water effects. At Disney, it's worth taking in classic rides like It's a Small World for the true 1950s experience as well as updated standards like the Captain Jack Sparrow-enhanced Pirates of the Caribbean and Michael Jackson's "Captain EO" 3D movie.

It was a whirlwind of a trip, and we had a great time seeing the Southern California highlights. Check out our photos on Facebook if you haven't yet to see more of our grand adventure.

- Colleen