The End of the Ultimate California Experience

This year, Chris got the ultimate California experience, minus Disneyland...we will hopefully do that next year!!  On the 29th, we went to Medieval Times with Tyler's family and had a blast!  We celebrated my nephew, Ben's, birthday and he was knighted before the tournament began.  We sat in the front row!  Our Knight didn't win, but my niece, Laura, was honored as our Knight's queen of the tournament.  

On New Years Eve, Chris and I said goodbye to the beach and rode the Amtrak train from Oceanside t Glendale.  We spent the evening with my two brothers' families ringing in the New Year banging pots and pans with the kids out in the front yard.  Chris took that tradition to a whole new level when he brought out the metal folding chair and started banging a pan lid against it!

Chris hadn't experienced any of Pasadena's Rose Parade/Rose Bowl activities before, so we took in as much as possible.  Chris had been asking me for months if we could go to the Rose Bowl.  I grew up 10minutes from the Rose Bowl, and to most natives, the Rose Bowl is a hassle.  Crowds, traffic...added to L.A.'s crowds and traffic!  I finally gave in the night before the college football playoff selection show.  Sure enough, Chris' favorite team, Florida State, was chosen to play in the Rose Bowl.  Despite the score, Chris loved every minute! It's an event he's always wanted to attend.  Because I knew the hassle with traffic, parking, etc, we bought parking ahead of time in Old Town Pasadena, just north of Colorado Blvd (the Rose Parade route).  After watching the Stealth Bomber fly over the house on its way to the Rose Parade, we got ready for the game.  I left my memory card at my mom's with the video of the Stealth, but that plane was a huge part of our family as my dad worked on it for years before and during its production.  We called it the 5th child of our family.  Chris and I arrived in Old Town Pasadena just as he parade was ending..perfect timing! We walked along the parade route so Chris could see it as we made our way to the Rose Bowl.  It was a 2 mile walk..because of our detour!  Upon arrival at the Rose Bowl...we just took it all in.  We walked around, bought Rose Bowl game gear, ate lunch, and took a lot of pictures!  We saw the Stealth fly over the Rose Bowl and enjoyed the game, sitting in an Oregon section, but people were good sports and nice to Chris, who was decked out in FSU gear!

On January 2nd, we went to lunch with my good friend Chris and his wife, Erica.  We enjoyed chatting with them and playing with their cute baby!  She loved Chris' beard!  After lunch, we decided to go see the Rose Parade Floats.  We loved it!  

We flew back to DC on the 3rd, with a layover in Salt Lake City long enough to visit with my brother, and friends Nicole and Ambree Bennett.  

It was a great trip and very hard to leave!!!  We can't wait to go back for another visit!