Trip Report Let’s Hit It Outta The Park!!!

It’s been about 3.5 years since my last Disney trip report and I’m really rusty. While not truly live, I want to try and do sort of a day by day as we go. Of course, I’m already behind as today is day 3!

So, where are we? At a Holiday Inn about .5 miles from here…

This isn’t exactly a Disney trip. In fact, it’s going to be nearly a week and a half until we set foot in a Disney park. Sam…the kid who had just turned 2 in my very first trip report, is now almost 16 and playing travel softball. We’re in town for PGF nationals to cap off our summer season. Between our crazy summer tournament schedule, college stuff for Kendall, and recent hurricane related lodging, I feel like we’ve been living in hotels for nearly 2 months. Most of the team opted for beach adjacent/front rentals when we bought out of the stay to play requirement, but Disneyland was our priority. Imagine that!?!

Speaking of Kendall…she stayed home to organize things for dorm move in next month and give the dog a break from boarding after her storm experience. So, this is how she’s getting to experience much of this trip…

(Yeah, that’s me up there too)
It’s too bad because the fun stuff planned towards the end was supposed to be for her. I was going to head to Yosemite, but she insisted on Disney. She gave me this whole heartfelt speech about it being her childhood. Kids!

So, we decided to drive to California. It’s been drama trying to get my vehicle back for this (damaged in the May derecho that went through Houston) and it’s probably going to have to go back in. We were hoping we’d have it before Sam’s two tournaments in Colorado, but they ordered some incorrect parts. Oh well…I have it now even though it’s still got issues. We set out around 4:45am CT on the 17th with a goal of Tucson by dinner time. I was driving, so not much in the way of photos aside from this Texas Spiny Lizard at a gas station west of San Antonio.

The most surprising drama of the day was just west of El Paso. All traffic was being individually inspected by Border Patrol. So that was fun. We also had to keep an eye out for dust storms and dodge the dust devils in NM and AZ.

We got to Tucson around dinner. We checked into the hotel, but I was so road weary that we just opted for a nearby Denny’s and hoped the severe storm over the mountains didn’t hit us.

Thankfully, the storm lost its steam and we were all able to get some sleep. Well, sort of. I was up around 4:30am, which is probably good because I noticed an alert for one of Kendall’s prime day packages being delivered and saw this on the local Houston radar.

I have some serious PTSD from the derecho and Hurricane Beryl, so I woke Kendall up and had her move to a safer spot downstairs. Oh, and said a few prayers for the power to stay on. Thankfully all was good, but she’s going to Oklahoma, so I need her to be more weather aware.

I used sunrise to try and keep myself from freaking out.

It’s a really boring video, but I got tired of peaking, so I just put my phone in the window.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Before I get back to yesterday, I wanted to share live lunch.

The parking might be bad, but this field’s concessions are on point! Sam had tacos Al pastor and I had an asada quesadilla. David was boring with a cheeseburger.

Back to DTD…

My heel was starting to hurt and my Birks were just not cutting it with cushioning. So we started to head back to the hotel…with a few distractions along the way.

We popped into the Disneyland Hotel again for a restroom stop. I just decided to lounge out front.

I saw Sam gesturing towards me to come inside…and I got a GREAT surprise!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

All of the characters from Goofy’s Kitchen had come out to greet guests in the lobby. We hung back because there were a lot of little kids, but even characters agree that kids of all ages (myself included) need some fun.

In fact, Goofy saw Sam’s shirt and gave her an air guitar solo.

Chip, Dale and Minnie were being entertained by an extremely loquacious little boy…maybe 3 or 4 years old. I found myself fighting back tears again…reminded of a little Sam talking to characters like that.

David came out and it was time to head back. It was a slow walk as I was trying to save my poor feet.

We were really boring the rest of the day. Aside from taking a pic of our boring room view, we just napped and did nothing.

We needed to eat something for dinner but didn’t feel like driving. So we just headed to the hotel restaurant for pizza. I thought it would be fun to have the TVs at the table but it was locked to Nickelodeon and Paw Patrol was on after Hotel Transylvania 2. No thanks.

Too many people in the pool, but I did get a pic of the splash pad.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

After that, it was FaceTime with Kendall and then our “kiss goodnight.”

I walked out into the eastern side of the parking lot to a gorgeous moon and hopes that I would have a view.

I missed the start of the show and my hand slipped in the middle, so I missed a little of the middle. Still, this is the bulk of Disneyland’s fireworks from our hotel parking lot.





It’s not the same as being inside the park, but no complaints about our hotel view.

Ok, I think I’m caught up. We’re waiting on game 2 of the day. Our drive to CVS a little while ago was interesting… went by the Richard Nixon Presidential Library, but that’s about it. We’ll see what the rest of the day holds.

 

[Swissmiss]

Oh I had no idea Black Tap is a chain - we’ve had one here for almost a decade.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Well, I got tired and didn’t finish posting yesterday. I was so tired, I even fell asleep between games in my cheap chair. The girls ended up going 1-1 on the day. They really should have won that first one, but that’s how it goes sometimes. Now if only I could find the video of the defensive play she wanted to rewatch. It’s so bright that it’s sometimes hard to see the screen and ensure I’m filming. The team also records games and the software is supposed to pick up and tag this stuff but it hasn’t cataloged it yet. I might be stuck trying to find it in the YouTube video and pray that there were no bandwidth issues in that moment…which happens.

We went back to the hotel to drop things off after the second game and met up with the bulk of the team at a BJs. The kids were playing cornhole out front when we got there. Sam eventually jumped in for axe throwing.

It took a while to be seated, but that’s how it goes when you’re a party of 30+.

It’s not my favorite place to eat but it’s fun to be with the team. I had a peach boba margarita and an ahi tuna salad.

My heel was hurting and I wanted to talk to the front desk about new key cards, so it was back to the hotel. Part of me wanted to relax with a drink. We bought alcohol at Costco the other day (something we can’t do at home). David was enjoying a hotel room cup of Glenlivet, but I was just tired.

I did find the energy to go back out for fireworks. The moon was even more spectacular last night.

It’s times like this when I wish I brought the big camera. I got an iPhone 15 Pro just before Sam played in Colorado because video is our most critical need and a phone is often the best tool for what we need. Consequently, I didn’t invest in the sports lens I wanted and haven’t been as quick to lug around the bag of camera gear. Still, it would have been better for the moon and fireworks.

Last night I played around with still settings (haven’t gotten the hang of it) and time lapse.

Today, we have one game in Yorba Linda, then it’s off to Huntington Beach for official team check in and bat testing. I think they want to do some kind of team bonding at the beach. We shall see.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Oh I had no idea Black Tap is a chain - we’ve had one here for almost a decade.

I think they branched out as over the top milkshakes became the rage.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Whew…long day!

We had a morning pool game in Yorba Linda. We got there a little early so we could try the breakfast burritos

Messy, but tasty. I also went with the salsa verde today…but ended up spilling most of it into the wagon. This is our smaller wagon that was living in retirement until this trip, but that still doesn’t mean I want to haul it around with the scent of salsa.

After that, it was a mad rush to Huntington Beach for formal check in. It wouldn’t have been so bad if parking hadn’t been total chaos. It’s a large facility with a pretty decent sized lot, but there were pool games being hosted there as well as check in for what felt like every team at once. I was also shocked that college coaches weren’t given special parking. While I was hunting for spaces in a far part of the lot, I passed a head coach from a highly regarded D1 program. We played at a different tournament earlier this summer where coaches were given VIP parking up front (but outside of foul ball territory).

I eventually gave up on getting a spot in a timely manner and drove Sam to the front to drop her off. As I was turning back toward the lot, a spot opened up about 4 spaces in. SCORE!!!

There was mild panic during Sam’s bat check. Her primary bat was bought at an unveiling event at the end of June and just hit the mass market on 7/6, so they had a hard time finding it in their books. After that was pictures. I’ll spare you the team ones and just give you the individual of Sam.

We had the rest of the day off, so the coaches wanted some kind of team bonding. We were already in Huntington Beach, so why not hit the beach?

Everything was a madhouse, but we parked in a garage about a block off of the beach.

The public bathrooms attached to the garage are downright disgusting, but Sam needed a place to change. Still, it was bad enough that we gave up on her bikini and settled for a sports bra and athletics shorts.

Sam was craving Mexican, so we hit Fred’s, just across from the pier.

It was a really great view, and with the temps and sea breeze, it was comfortable.



I was too distracted by the view and all of the dogs that I totally forgot food pics. David had carnitas enchiladas, Sam had carnitas tacos, and I had these chicken cakes made similarly to crab cakes. Everything was pretty good, but the guacamole I ordered with mine cost $4 for a tiny cup full. David and Sam were also disappointed with black beans as the only bean option.

That first dog and a few others that arrived later were also going nuts with the bird that flew into our area.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

After lunch, we headed to the beach to meet up with the team. It hadn’t really clicked that they wanted a traditional beach afternoon. So we didn’t have things like towels and we left the chairs and wagon in the car.

We passed about half the team along the way…all on a mission to buy boogie boards. If only we’d known…we saw a ton at Walmart the other day.

One of the teammates stayed behind with Sam to take her to their beach spot.

I, fortunately (since I hate the beach), could not join everyone. My heel isn’t ready to be in the sand and definitely can’t be exposed to seawater. So, I sat and appreciated the cool temperatures, the great people watching, the artsy touches, and even got an ice cream.

I took a 5 minute people watching video, but it’s still uploading and processing. So here’s a mini version.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

The lifeguards were starting to leave for the day and a biker we befriended was ready to call it a day, so it was time for Sam to end her beach time. She got close to 3 hours out there and I think every single girl that was able to make it to Cali was there. So it was a great time for all of them.

We walked back to the car, climbed to the 4th floor of the garage (elevators all broken), and decided to drive to Irvine to check out tomorrow’s fields.

It’s a massive complex and it’s a bit confusing, but things are pretty nice. I also love fields with a view.

This park also has a feature that’s reminiscent of one of Disney Spring’s offerings.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

It was time to head back to the hotel, but David had to drive because I forgot my glasses for night driving. Man, I sound old! On the plus side, I saw the Matterhorn when we exited the highway.

We headed inside for a quick dinner at the hotel restaurant. We had different Disney art tonight.

I was too tired to head out for fireworks tonight, but here’s what they sound like from the room. If you look closely, you can see reflections in car windows and colors on the building.



After that was FaceTime with Kendall. Check out my raccoon face!

Love that K is not in the shot. Oh well. Time for bed. At least we don’t have to be at the fields until 11:30 am tomorrow.

 

[cgersic]

I'm soooo happy to see another trip report with you and your family!! I agree, you do some great reporting, and it's so cool so see places I've never been. Thanks and keep up the great work!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

I'm soooo happy to see another trip report with you and your family!! I agree, you do some great reporting, and it's so cool so see places I've never been. Thanks and keep up the great work!

Thank you!!!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

So, yesterday was sort of a blah day from a trip report perspective.

We drove through the edge of Disney in the morning. I was driving, so it’s just done stuff around the parking garage while I was stopped at a light.

We were on our way to Granny’s for more donuts…

Then it was down to Irvine for our only game of the day. These big tournaments draw things out like this due to sheer size, which is in stark contrast to fall when we could be playing double digit games in a single weekend. At least the fields at this complex have high netting and fencing.

In our region, most of the facilities have it high like this, but the one we started at for this tournament and several recently in Colorado were keep your head on a swivel for foul balls experiences.

This was their first bracket game, which is when things count. They won, so we’re guaranteed to be playing at least into Wednesday. We’re all scrambling to make travel decisions right now over this because bracket dates weren’t posted in advance and everything made it sound like play could be going to the 27th. We at least drove, so we’re not impacted by the issues still plaguing air travel from Friday’s meltdown, but it still has Disney impacts for us.

1. The 3 day tickets I wanted to buy are Sun-Thurs. We might be done playing and ready for a park day starting Friday. I also risk not being able to buy a LL for things like RotR if we have to pivot last minute.

2. I have to see if the hotel will let us out early and refund the unused days if we do this.

3. Disneyland employees may be getting ready to strike. Not sure how this will impact things.

So, a lot of decisions to be made. I was able to get a later breakfast at Plaza Inn for Friday if that becomes the day.

Back to yesterday…

I went looking for bluebirds while the team met after the game.

After that, we found a Ralph’s for some essentials and then met some of the team at Buffalo Wild Wings for a late lunch early dinner.

I spent much of the meal texting with Kendall and watching our home security cameras. Houston has been getting pounded with rain and they were under a flash flood warning. It’s supposed to be like this for several days, so I’m going to be on edge. At least Kendall’s boyfriend gets home from Italy in a couple of days, so it’s an extra helpful person back in the mix in the near future.

Sam, on the other hand, was bugging me to go to the beach. Three of her teammates were in a home in Newport Beach. We really needed to get laundry done. It turns out our hotel’s laundry facilities are actually laundry valet. I can’t trust uniforms to leave my hands. I found a well rated laundromat up the road, which we will probably still need, but the families staying at the beach were doing a load of uniforms in their washer. So, it was off to the beach!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Parking was a challenge. These homes have teeny tiny garages along narrow alleys. Still, this seemed like a better solution than parking on the street…about 5 blocks away.

Everyone went up to the beach while I stayed behind with the laundry. So, I got this for my sunset…

While everyone else got this…

At least it looks like the kids had fun.

I’m guessing Sam is now going to be begging to boogie board on all trips.

Laundry was still going when they got back, so one of the moms took the kids up the street to a liquor store that also sells ice cream. The girls wanted to go to Cold Stone - only a 7 minute drive, but approximately a 27 minute walk. No.

David and the guys were drinking whatever good bourbon they picked up, so he was having fun. I was tired and ready to drive back to Anaheim. I finally got everyone out of the house and carefully guided my vehicle out of that narrow garage and alley just to find out that David forgot his phone and wallet. At least we hadn’t gotten far.

It was odd, but at 10pm, Google Maps took us an entirely non-highway route. On the plus side, it brought me in on Katella and I could see some of DCA lit up. I think the park closed at 10, but Disneyland was still open and there was a lot of foot traffic.

So, here we are…another morning in California. I went out to the car to get a few things and there’s a steady stream of mouse ear clad people headed towards the parks. There’s also a steady stream of vehicles heading into to adjacent Disney garage.

We have practice at 10 and a game at 5, so not much time for anything else.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

We’re getting into a bit of a routine. We start our day taking Disneyland Drive to help get us to Granny’s for breakfast. Today, I even got David to take some pictures.

After our Disneyland drive through and our stop at Granny’s, we headed to a park in Westminster. We were on the early side and I needed gas, so we headed a bit further to a Costco on the edge of Huntington Beach. It’s worth the drive. Regular at most stations is anywhere from $4.65-5.20/gallon (or more). Costco is $3.99. There’s my pro tip!

We got back to Westminster and found a nice picnic table in the shade while practice got started.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Now I have to be honest…this did not look like a park where we’d normally practice. We are on the road and making the best of it, but this was a little commute park.

It turns out two of the coaches and a couple other families were staying in an AirBnB right next to the park. When they couldn’t get a true field for practice, they came up with a practice plan for the grassy area…and we got to go relax inside.

The house had a great orange tree out back as well as a nice pool area. It’s too bad the birds poop all over the chairs.

Practice came to an end around lunch time. Everyone decided to do their own thing. We opted for German. While we were at Costco, I saw a Biergarten across the street. Hey, they might not have Epcot here, but I can get some of that vibe. It turns out this place is part of an entire themed shopping center.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

The place was really quiet, but apparently Mondays and Tuesdays are their slow days… to the point that they offer a limited menu. I decided to explore a little after we’d been seated.

Yeah, there’s a mini mountain outside! I’d check out more later, but it was time for food and drinks.

I can’t remember what David had, but mine was the grapefruit beer. It was really good! Almost like a cider.

Then it was time for the real food.

David and Sam each got some kind of schnitzel and I had weisswurst. I really wish they were offering the full menu as there were other things I wanted, but we might go back.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

After lunch, we explored for a bit. There was neat dining area under the mountain and an awesome deli and store that were part of the restaurant. I got to see some of the desserts that are on the full menu.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Then it was time to explore the village a bit and get some silly pics.

We headed back to our hotel to rest up for a bit, but we did wave hi to the Disneyland Hotel along the way.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

We all took naps. To be honest, I think we could have slept the rest of the afternoon, but there was a game to be played. So, we pulled ourselves together and headed down to Irvine.

I think the kids were still pretty pumped from practice earlier. It was a real battle and the defense was tight. Sam didn’t have a great day at the plate, but she was lights out at 2B. I was nervous because she’s been playing a lot more 3B of late, but she and all of the girls did great! They won 1-0.

They had a first round bye, but with today’s win, they’re now into the fourth round of the winners bracket. They’re psyched for tomorrow because they get to play in the stadium. Still a lot of work to be done, but it’s always great to see them do well.