Not According To Plan

One can plan all one wants, but one might still find that things don't go to plan despite one's careful planning.

Such has been our California Adventure.

We stayed Sunday night in Las Vegas. The girls were awake before roosters and milk men, and my efforts to work out were thwarted by a $15 fee to use the fitness center. I wasn't aware that there was a hotel in the universe that would charge a paying guest $15 A DAY to use a fitness center. We decided to take a dip in the Jacuzzi instead only to find it shockingly cold. We couldn't get Las Vegas in the rear view mirror quickly enough.

Or so we thought.

Maybe if we had known that THIS:

would be the view from our hotel room we wouldn't have been in such a huge hurry. We had decided to just keep the curtains closed and suck it up, but then the window started leaking. I'm generally not too picky on hotels, but I do have the general expectation that I will be able to walk shoeless in the room and not wind up with wet socks. The maintenance man's solution was to place an industrial grade fan right next to our bed, at which point Bruce was able to convince the hotel management that an upgrade was in order.

Thanks to the torrential rains, we decided to delay Disneyland for one day and spent the morning at a local museum.Notice Bruce in the background- go ahead and print this picture for his "Father of the Year" award.

The museum had a special Christmas display of gingerbread houses- some were really amazing- the Taj Mahal, the Great Wall of China, and a Victorian mansion.

But the Taco Bell was the best in our eyes.

Bruce learned all about the Mars Rover.
He was seriously obsessed- the girls had to drag him away.

Bruce wouldn't let the rain stop us from seeing the ocean.

Kate was frustrated that she couldn't find any "whole shells."

If only her goal was to collect cigarette butts or pieces of plastic or other assorted trash she would have had better luck.

Huntington Beach is shockingly, disgustingly dirty. We have been spoiled by the Oregon coastline.

All in all, we've had a fun day despite the bad weather. The girls are very excited to see Disneyland tomorrow, so we are praying for better weather the next couple of days. They have been very good- our hotel room has a little room with bunk beds and their own TV, and they have really been enjoying it. Tonight at dinner I rewarded them for their good behavior with a package of Silly Bands for each of them, and Kiki told me, "Thanks, Mom! I love you now!"