The Golden State Says Crazy

We somehow landed stand-by tickets to go visit family and friends in southern California. Having never flown stand-by we were concerned that we’d get bumped to a later flight and end up having to hang around the airport all day. We arrived early and got our seat assignments on the plane we wanted without incident. The kids did great on the 2-hour flight. Our checked bag was already going around the carousel by the time we got to baggage claim and grandma was waiting for us outside. Mt Baldy stood proud above us as we made our way toward Cajon Pass. Mrs Smitty and I got a little nostalgic as we drove over the PCT crossing under I-15.

We had a relatively quiet Friday in Barstow before more family would come for the weekend. Trains fascinate the kids, so we walked down to the train station to get a closer look. We checked out the Route 66 and railroad museums but the kids were most interested to explore the locomotives and cabooses in the yard.

On the walk back to the house we found a preying mantis. The cousins had a great time playing and getting to know each other over the weekend. After a couple days with family we made our way down to Orange County to visit our old stomping grounds. Our friend's D&S put us up in their guest room.

We weren’t planning to go to Disneyland but D (who works for Disney) offered to sign us in for an afternoon. We jumped on it. The kids were scared on most of the rides but had a great time anyways. The highlight for Anza was seeing Mary Poppins. We were able to borrow a few sand toys for our outing to the beach. The kids loved playing in the sand and were especially interested in the ebb and flow of the waterline as the waves rolled in. The week went so quickly, and we were suddenly on an airplane headed home.