We decided to stay at Paradise Point Resort, which to my fun surprise was actually a place I had stayed with my family on one of the vacations my grandparents took us on. Back then it was called Vacation Village. It’s a sprawling maze of a place with a private beach on the bay and a marina. I remember playing in the landscaping with my cousin cohort and pretty much feeling like we owned the place. Now, this may come as a shock to some of you, but I managed to get lost on the property trying to get from our room to somewhere and had to hitch a ride on the housekeeper cart to get to the lobby and try to locate my parents. I’m pretty sure they found me, unless I went home with a completely different family – which could explain A LOT.
Here are some hightlights:
- We splurged on a bayfront studio that promised a kitchenette - always useful with a kid. The grounds were gorgeous with a Balinese inspired remodel, but when we started poking around, there were some odd discrepancies – ie, our kitchenette? Yes, there was a sink, a little fridge and a micro microwave, but no coffee pot, plates, utensils, cups, napkins...nada. Made it a bit hard to actually use. No soap or glasses in the bathroom, and the bed was the most uncomfortable rock we have encountered. We were a little jealous of Colin’s cozy nest, also known as the walk in closet. Oh stop. He picked it, we just went along with it! He saw the closet, declared it his room, and we set him up with a couch cushion lounge.
- Legoland was great! Really, non-sarcastically so much fun for all of us. It is geared towards younger kids, so we were able to go on all the rides. I even went on the roller coasters with the boys, something I normally pass on since they scare the bajeezus out of me, but I am trying to live my life a little more bravely so on I went. Plus, Rob said that riding a roller coaster was a lot less scary than starting my consulting business (more on that later) so I better hop to it. Colin confirmed his daredevil personality, declaring “that was Awesome!!” after any ride that shook, twisted or turned him.
- Sea World was super! Not quite as action oriented as Legoland, and Colin wasn’t really into the shows. But he was so excited to say “I saw Shampoo!” after the Shamu show. I’m not sure if its living in Oregon that has gotten to me, but I have to say that I find the balance between enjoying watching the animals and feeling bad that they live in such a confined place tipping toward the latter. But I kept that opinion to myself as we showed Colin the dolphins, fed the Bat Rays (have you ever petted one? UUUDGGGOODgGG makes my skin crawl, but I DID IT since Colin egged me on and again with the brave theme). Colin loved it, let them suck up fish from his hand and kept his cool when they swarmed his outstretched had like they were pigeons of the sea. We also fed sea lions, got drenched on the raft ride, wnet on a faux helicopter adventure in the arctic, hung out with the manatees and explored the tide pool. I nearly lost my (figurative) shit on the last ride of the day – a bona fide roller coaster that was disguised as a log ride. I’m not sure it’s a good thing for a mother to sit behind her teeny tiny helpless defenseless child as he’s being whipped around at mach speeds next to his father who is laughing like a maniac.
- In a growing trend of repeating my childhood wanderings, we got lost at Paradise Point. We got back after dark, took some kind of wrong turn and ended up at the exact opposite end of the property from where our room was located. Rob wanted me to flag down a roaming service cart and ask for directions. Who needs acid when you can have flashbacks like this?
- Our day in LA was wonderful. We went to see Rob’s Grandma, who is 100 years young, and enjoyed seeing her reaction to the wonderfulness that is Colin. He has always brought a smile to her face with is no small feat. We bought him a lego set at Legoland to bring with us and keep him busy while we visited, and he did great. After our visit we went to a gorgeous park and picnicked with Rob’s Aunt Susan, Uncle Phil and cousins Pam, Michael, Stephanie, Frank and Nina. We were spoiled with tasty food, great conversation and sunshine. Love you guys!
- We got stuck on a sandbar in our pedal boat and had to get rescued by a bunch of teenage boys who pushed us back out. So hilarious. We required several drinks to recover from that one!
