Guest reporting by Valerie LeeCalifornia can be an affordable place to travel. Now and then, fares to the West Coast from Hawaii get pretty cheap. I define cheap as $300, give or take ten bucks.
I’m budgeting for a family of five, so it has to be affordable for us to consider it. This year, we took a family vacation to Southern California. Here’s what’s possible in one week, with a minivan and some endurance.
BIG BEARThe drive from Los Angeles to Big Bear is two hours on the main road, but that road is closed due to a rockslide. The alternate route took three hours. With a stop for lunch, we made in there in four hours.
Our trip was in early April and much of the snow was melting in Big Bear, but the resorts make snow, and with the high elevation, it’s good to have a ski jacket, hat, gloves, and waterproof boots.
It's a small community based around a lake, so we made it a point to drive around the lake plus take in a hike. While hiking, we came across a little patch of snow, in which the kids all stopped to play and have a snowball fight. You can ski, but this year we passed on that.
ALPINE SLIDE AT MAGIC MOUNTAINThe children in our traveling party ranged in age from two to nine. For the most part, sledding and tubing at Alpine Slide was a perfect choice. It’s a recreation area with year-round family activities, offering snow play in the winter and water fun in the summer. There's also mini-golf and go carts.
The Alpine Slide replicates a bobsled. You ride a chair lift to the top and jump into a plastic sled with teflon runners and ball bearing wheels. You slide down a quarter mile long cement track filled with twists and turns and speed-gaining straightaways.
On this ride, you can either buy a ticket for just one ride, or a book of five rides. I recommend the book.
"Snowplay" is what the company calls its tubing activity. It's just the tubing. It's not all-inclusive of every activity. As of press time, $25 lets you play all you want during the day. (It's cheaper for a night pass.) It's easy and fun.
All you have to do is grab yourself a tube, stand on the moving conveyor belt that they call the Magic Carpet, and get deposited at the top of the hill in a minute. Once out, you pick a lane and go. There are five lanes.
First, we all just went down the straight lane. It takes a little while to push off, but you really pick up speed fast. I wouldn't think tubing requires strategy, but it did. Find the biggest tube possible or your butt will start scraping the ground, and that's not fun. While I'm talking tips, you should wear waterproof pants and shoes. Whatever you'd use for skiing, use for this.
For the next few runs, we tried variations on human chains. We linked together in a line or a circle and went down. That was actually more fun than we expected! Lastly, the lane at the far end is called the Snake for the fairly obvious reason that it's a twisty run. Try that with a human chain!
http://www.alpineslidebigbear.com/DISNEYLANDThe happiest place on earth is best when the weather's bad. The first day we went to Disneyland, it was in the low 60's, raining, and cold. I was pretty happy because I had a feeling it kept the crowds away.
I’ve been taking my kids to Disneyland nearly every year since the first one was born in 2001. I think we’ve done this trip a half dozen times. Here’s our strategy:
1) Disneyland is best done in a minimum of two days. Do one half the first day, the second half the next day. To give you an idea, we took in about 13 rides or attractions per day, with an average wait in line of 30 minutes.
We spent an average of eleven hours a day in the park. Our toddlers had no nap. We forced them to power through it.
If you are going to see California Adventure Park as well, which is right next door, that only requires one day, so to get the most for your money, a three day pass would be best.
2) Use a stroller. If your child doesn't ride it you can always pile your jackets on it when it gets hot in the midday. Nobody touches the strollers at any of the theme parks. It's amazingly safe.
3) Bring snacks. It keeps the kids busy while waiting in line.
4) Be prepared for lines, lines, lines. There's a security bag check before you even get in the park. There's a line for tickets. There's a line for bathrooms. There's a line for food, drinks, snacks. The crowds get bigger as the weather gets sunnier. On the sunniest day, it took us 30 minutes to just get the tickets. It took 45 minutes to get a chicken bowl for lunch. It took 20 minutes to buy a shake from the shake kiosk. It took 15 minutes to get coffee from the coffee/hot chocolate cart.
5) Pack a jacket. It will get chilly towards nightfall. Plus, there are wet rides.
6) Learn to use Fast Pass and Rider Switch. The Fast Pass lets you put in for a shortcut for the popular rides. The Rider Switch lets you sit out the ride with small kids (who are too short to get on), and then when the rest of the family gets off the ride, you could cut to the front (or nearly the front) of the line and ride it.
7) If you can afford it, stay on property. I suspect it would make it simple and fast to go to the room for midday breaks and naps. We stayed right outside the main gate, but even that was a bit far to walk to in the middle of the day, since the driveway from the public road to the park entrance was about a five or ten minute walk. Once we left the hotel we didn't return until night.
DISNEY’S CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE PARKBuilt in 2001, one day is enough to take in this 55 acre, California-themed park. It’s aimed more at adults, though like Disneyland, it's sectioned into themed areas; in this case, nearly everything ties into a region of California.
There is a bona fide roller coaster and other fast, blood-pumping rides that Disneyland doesn't offer. Put differently, the toddlers didn't meet the height requirement of more rides at California Adventure.
There's also a restaurant called Wine Country Trattoria. Yesss! Now when would you find that at Disneyland?
Our day began with a 9:40 a.m. reservation to have breakfast at Ariel's Grotto, where your daughters can meet four Disney princesses. We drag our feet in the morning so we ran late and ended up literally running through the park to get to the restaurant.
California Adventures opens a little later than Disneyland (and closes earlier, too). You can buy your ticket and walk around a small area in the front until park attendants open the ropes and let you in.
If you have reservations to Ariel's Grotto, as we did, you have to fight your way to the front of the crowd and tell the attendant where you're going. The crowd was five people deep. We had strollers. Ugh.
Don't take the most direct path. We then were turned away and told to to an alternate route, which required more running, and then another thicket of people to "excuse me" through. Basically, just don't be late like us.
Another reason you don't want to run: when you show up, the first thing your party does is take a photo with Ariel. So, we moms are sweaty and disheveled in the picture.
Then you're led to your table and fed a very hearty American breakfast. Actually, they have lunch and dinner, but multiple friends said breakfast is the best. You don't order. They just bring out food. You can box up what you don't finish.
The breakfast was $35 per adult, $18 per child. I thought it was worth it. The girls got to meet four princesses, which was a massive thrill. I got to avoid standing in a long line to do so (at Disneyland's Pixie Hollow or Disney Princess Fantasy Faire), which was my massive thrill. Everyone happy.
Following that, we went on to enjoy seven more rides. Again, as with Disneyland, we found the average wait to be 30 minutes (for a one minute ride), but mind you that we spent most of our time in the kiddie section, "a bug's land," so I don't know if the faster rides required a longer wait.
If you go in warm weather, bring a change of clothes for your kids. Princess Dot Puddle Park is a water park where the kids can run through water fountains.
One thing I'd advise against: don't take Mickey's Fun Wheel unless you have a lot of time to kill and you have done all the other rides. It took FOREVER to get on that ride because riders are loaded in one car at a time. I think we stood in line for 45 minutes or more.
You never get a full, uninterrupted revolution, either. Or at least it doesn't feel like it. It swings quite a lot - felt like it was going to topple over. Barf bags are included in this ride.
LEGOLANDLEGOs are a Danish invention, and the first LEGOland was built in the toy factory's hometown of Billund, Denmark. The 128-acre Carlsbad, California theme park is one of three LEGOlands. LEGOs, by the way, got their name from the Danish sentence "leg godt," which means "play well."
I like that the games and rides seem more interactive. I like that it is geared towards little kids ages two to 12, so the smaller ones really enjoyed their brief time there.
We only did six rides plus a walk through Miniland USA, which is a massive replica of various American regions or cultural landmarks, of course all done in LEGOs. The line for most of the rides was comparable to the Disney parks - about half an hour for one ride.
Still, LEGOland seemed to have a more relaxed atmosphere, which reminded me of the European vibe I've experienced. I also think the park was smartly designed, because a lot of the lines are under the shade of canopies, and some even have a little waiting area for the children to play - with LEGOs, of course - while the adults stood in line. Brilliant.
I've heard that Volvos get VIP parking at Legoland, because Volvo is a big sponsor. We were not driving a Volvo, but maybe you should if you can get your hands on one. The parking is crazy. In fact, the line into LEGOland starts not too far after you get off the freeway exit!
If you go in the warm weather, take a bathing suit. The kids will go crazy for Water Works, which is a big area with fountains to run through and water guns to squirt. Actually, LEGOland Water Park is slated to open in June 2010. I bet that'll be a hit in hot Carlsbad.
SEA LIFE AQUARIUM at the LEGOland California ResortSea Life Aquarium sits right next to LEGOland, making it easy to just walk over and enjoy a cool underwater experience. You can go nose to nose with a variety of sea critters at this interactive guide to life in the ocean.
I like that it also focuses on conservation, "helping safeguard our seas and their inhabitants for the future," according to its website.
It has several touch pools, LEGO stations, and LEGO sculptures decorating most of the tanks. Everything feels accessible and engaging- you aren't just looking, you're doing.
This was a great place to sit out the heat of high noon, and I think two to four hours would be a good amount of time to spend.
At the end, there's a great cafe to sit and have lunch. The prices are reasonable, and more importantly for me, the food choices were healthy, while there weren't any lines to select or buy the food, or find a table. It was awesome.
I think to do it justice, give one day to LEGOland and one to Sea Life Aquarium.
RONALD REAGAN PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY & MUSEUMMy nine year old, Donovan, picked this one, after doing a school project on it. He wanted to see the Ronald Reagan Presidental Library & Museum. A library?, I thought. But it turns out Presidential Libraries aren't actually libraries. They're archives and museums, preserving the history of our presidents.
It started with President Roosevelt. He raised private funds to build a library, which he gave to the US government through the National Archives. It's so that we can explore our country's heritage by looking at the documents and artifacts that make up our President. There are 13 in all across the country.
This museum opened in 1991 atop a mountain with gorgeous views of Simi Valley, clear to the Pacific Ocean. It's 100 acres, so allow for at least half a day to meander through the building and grounds, especially if you're going to drive the 45 minutes from LA.
It's pretty much set up like a museum, with rooms that guide you through Ronald Reagan's life, starting from birth. While looking at his old high school photos, I heard a lot of people remarking how handsome and athletic he was. Next, a series of photos and artifacts about his Hollywood years, during which he met Nancy Reagan. Then, visitors can follow his campaign trail, from two-term Governor of California, to 40th President of the United States.
There are rooms dedicated to historic periods in his administration, like the Cold War. You can look at his motorcade. You can even tour Air Force One. Yes, there is an ENTIRE JUMBO JET in the building!
No flash photography is allowed, so pardon the yellow and blurred quality of my photos. No photography at all is allowed in Air Force One.
We were lucky to catch a traveling display of the world-famous White House Exhibit, a 20 foot wide by 60 foot long dollhouse of the White House. It's a one inch: one foot scale. Amazing.
It took John and Jan Zweifel over 600,000 hours to create, and it's a replica of the entire house and grounds, from the Lincoln bedroom to the Oval Office. It's only there for a year, so it leaves in March 2011.
There's an actual piece of the Berlin Wall, which was presented to President Reagan on April 12, 1990. The Wall is outside, sitting in a reproduction of the White House South Lawn - except this lawn has great vistas of the Pacific Ocean.
We played out there for the better part of an hour.
There is a little grove of well-manicured trees, which ladybugs apparently really like. The children found them, and we all ended up huddling around the base of the trees to count and admire them. There were dozens on and around each tree.
We met up with a friend, so in all, there were six kids, and I think they needed this outlet. They were starting to bounce off the walls of the museum.
http://www.reaganlibrary.com/CELEBRITY SUITCASE: What won’t they travel without?
Russell Siu, chef and restaurateurChef Russell Siu owns three restaurants: 3330 On the Rise in Kaimuki, Kakaako Kitchen in Ward Center, and Kakaako Kitchen Express. He found time in his busy schedule to talk with Small World.
He mostly travels for pleasure, and likes to take his family to one or two trips a year. Siu says he and his wife Mercy like to plan educational trips for their 12 year old stepdaughter Jenna, like an East Coast trip to see historical sites.
When Siu gets on a plane, he likes:
- Smart phone, because he needs GPS and Google
- Bose noise cancelling headphones
- Snacks. “Any snacks. Arare, beef jerky, just something to eat.”
The affable Siu says, “I love to travel because I always learn something new about how people live and eat. If I can bring back two to three food ideas from any trip, I consider it worthwhile.” He’s been to about 15 or 20 countries.
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