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Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey, California
In California

A Visit to Monterey Bay Aquarium

When we plan our long road trips, Kristin is always hoping for a chance to see some animals. She was super excited to learn that we’d be visiting the Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey, California, during one of our road trips out west. We love a good aquarium, and Monterey Bay is one of the best in the country. This aquarium is right on the water, which makes a visit there all the better. It’s also on a road in town known as Cannery Row, an old sardine packing district. These details make Monterey Bay Aquarium a unique place to visit. Arriving at Monterey Bay Aquarium At the time of our visit, the aquarium was still operating on a reservation system due to reopening restrictions after Covid-19. We scheduled ahead of time to be sure to get an opening reservation so that we could explore some other attractions later in…

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Yosemite Valley Lodge
In California

Staying at Yosemite Valley Lodge

Yosemite Valley Lodge turned out to be the perfect place to relax on our trip. When planning our trip to Yosemite National Park, one of the first things we narrowed down was lodging. Since national park lodging can fill up early, it’s best to plan your trip a year out or more. And though I would’ve loved to stay at the flagship lodge, The Awahnee, it’s a little pricy. Since we were on a three-week road trip, we chose a more economical choice this time–Yosemite Valley Lodge. On this road trip, we’d already had several adventures that included four national parks–Grand Canyon, Sequoia, Kings Canyon, and Death Valley. We’d also been to some great cities (and towns) in California–Lone Pine, Monterey, and San Francisco. Even after all those experiences, we still were awed by the sheer beauty of Yosemite. It’s like no other place we’ve seen. Arriving at Yosemite Valley…

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Alcatraz Night Tour
In California

Alcatraz Night Tour

As we learned about visiting Alcatraz, it was soon apparent that the Alcatraz Night Tour was the option for us. We initially weren’t planning to stay in San Francisco on this road trip; we planned to drive through on our way to Yosemite National Park from Monterey, California. But as we planned our trip, we realized we’d need to stay a night near San Francisco. So why not check out some of the attractions in the city? And though the Alcatraz Night Tour isn’t technically a ghost tour, the description sounded close enough. After all, we love a good ghost tour in a new city. Planning Our Alcatraz Night Tour To visit Alcatraz, you need to buy tickets for a tour, and the tickets are only available through the Alcatraz Island Tickets website. If you purchase tickets from another source, they may not be valid. If you visit Alcatraz during…

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San Francisco's Chinatown
In California

Exploring San Francisco’s Chinatown

If you’re heading to San Francisco, you simply must plan to spend some time in Chinatown, the oldest in North America and the largest outside of Asia. San Francisco’s Chinatown is a sensory delight; the art, the food, the music, the shopping–China’s culture is a fantastic experience and was a highlight of our road trip. Though we only spent a few hours there, it’s one of my family’s favorite memories. Planning Our Visit to San Francisco’s Chinatown We only spent one night in San Francisco, but our limited time was packed with experiences. Honestly, as we planned this three-week road trip from Missouri, we didn’t initially plan to stay in San Francisco; we intended to drive on through. I thought San Francisco would be its own trip for us one day. As we continued to plan, we realized that we’d be staying somewhere nearby anyway as we drove from Monterey…

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Fantasmic! Dining Package Malificent Dessert
In Disneyland

Why You Should Do the Fantasmic! Dining Package at Disneyland

The Fantasmic! Dining Package can save you some time by allowing you to explore the park rather than stake out a spot to view Fantasmic!. As we planned our first Disneyland trip, we knew we wanted to see this nighttime show. Though we’d seen the Walt Disney World version several times, Disneyland’s Fantasmic happens right in the middle of the park on Rivers of America rather than in a separate outdoor theatre. We knew we didn’t want to miss this, and we knew we didn’t want to spend time staking out a viewing spot early if we didn’t have to. The solution? Booking a Fantasmic! Dining Package. Disney Dining Packages and Dessert Parties When we go to Walt Disney World or Disneyland, we like to find ways to minimize waits for some of the special experiences Disney offers. Sometimes we book a dessert party in order to get special viewing…

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Jedidiah Smith Redwoods State Park
In California

Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park: A Stop in the Redwoods

If you’re into amazing national parks, eventually you’ll find yourself in the Redwood National and State Parks in northern California. We really only spent about 24 hours among these magnificent old trees, but any time you can make for one of the most awesome places on earth is totally worth it. One of our first experiences in the redwoods was taking a hike in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. We’d stayed the night in a cabin at the KOA in Crescent City, California, the night before. Besides sleeping among these enormous trees, we hadn’t had any redwoods experiences yet. Since we drove down from the north, our first experiences were with the Redwood National and State Parks. Unlike most national parks, this national park merges with three California state parks to preserve and maintain the area. This is a rather recent development; the merge happened in 1994. Farther south, the…

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Malibu Beach California
In California

Getting a Glimpse of Malibu

What do you think of when you think of Malibu? Hollywood stars? Expensive homes? Barbie? (Yes, I’m a child of the 80s.) I think of all of these things, so when we had a chance to make a quick stop to Malibu Beach, we took it. Malibu: The Plan or More Accurately, the Non-Plan When we planned our first trip to California in 2019, we knew we wanted to include some beach time. Kristin and I had never even been near the Pacific Ocean, so squeezing in a beach visit or two was definitely a goal. There are a lot of choices, of course, but in the end, we chose Malibu and Santa Monica Pier.  One reason we chose Santa Monica is that it’s the end of Route 66, and we live blocks away from the historic highway in Joplin, Missouri. If you want to check out more about our…

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Knott's Berry Farm
In California

One Day at Knott’s Berry Farm

When we began planning our first trip to Disneyland and Southern California, Knott’s Berry Farm came up in our planning. I’d always wanted to go, and we didn’t know how often we’d make it to to the area since we’re from Missouri. Little did we know that we’d find our way back to California in July of 2021 and that we’d plan a Halloween trip to Disneyland for September. But at the time, you know, it seemed like we should pack as much in as we could. In fact, that’s always how we roll: if we can swing it, we’ll make it happen. So, we thought we may as well give it a go, and I’m so glad we did! It’s a charming park with some pretty high-thrill coasters. It also reminded us of the theme park near us that we call home–Silver Dollar City. If you’d like to read…

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Oogie Boogie Bash
In California

Oogie Boogie Bash and Disneyland at Halloween

Disney Dreamin’: The Background We’d never been to a Disney park in any other season but summer.  June and July, to be exact. When you’re a teacher with a school-aged kid, it’s difficult to get away during the school year. This past summer, we planned a trip that included Yellowstone and Seattle, and, originally, the plan was to fly from Kansas City to Denver and rent a car. When reports of rental car shortages emerged, we canceled the flight and drove the entire trip from Missouri. In the end, we were glad it worked out that way; we ended up adding an extra week to the trip. But, we had a flight to reschedule or we’d lose the funds. What to do? Plan a long weekend to Disney? Yes, please! In the end, we chose Disneyland over Walt Disney World. Since we’d only have a couple of park days, a…

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