We packed everything but the kitchen sink (just about literally) in the Prius and headed for Orange County to see Grandma Geri and Aunt Vanessa for Thanksgiving. We were a bit nervous about logging those kinds of hours in the car, so we split up the drive and stayed the night in San Luis Obispo. Here is Norah before she realized she would be strapped in her car seat for the next 6 hours (yes, we let her take breaks)...
It was a long drive battling the Thanksgiving traffic and the rain. She did really well until the last 45 minutes or so when she decided she wanted OUT. I didn't blame her, so did I. We stayed at the awesome Madonna Inn, a kitchsy wonderland. The most sophisticated of the roadside motels (an oxymoron for sure), the Madonna boasts 120 rooms decorated in a unique style. We stayed in the 'Villa Room' which had an exceptionally cool red velvet couch and lamps that I swear were in the shape of leperchauns. This is how Norah felt about the drive:
But it was nothing a little 'superman' couldn't cure:
We had dinner in the hotel coffee shop, which was decked out for Christmas. Norah had a mini meltdown before dessert, so we got it to go. I had a piece of toffee cake and BVZ had chocolate creme pie. Both slices were bigger than my head (and I have a huge head). I swear I got diabetes by my third bite of cake. I should have taken a picture.
There was another (fancier) restaurant that was a winter wonderland. I am not sure I have ever seen so much holiday crap in one place. It was awesome.
The next morning we could explore the rest of the Inn, as the rain finally cleared. The views were spectacular and the grounds were really very lovely.
Norah was fussing like nobody's business after breakfast (I think she knew she was going to have to get back in the car), so we let her have a special Thanksgiving treat--watching football.
It took another 6 hours or so to get to Orange County (gotta love LA traffic), but Grandma Geri and Aunt Vanessa were waiting with an incredible Thanksgiving dinner (and cocktails for all).
It was a long drive battling the Thanksgiving traffic and the rain. She did really well until the last 45 minutes or so when she decided she wanted OUT. I didn't blame her, so did I. We stayed at the awesome Madonna Inn, a kitchsy wonderland. The most sophisticated of the roadside motels (an oxymoron for sure), the Madonna boasts 120 rooms decorated in a unique style. We stayed in the 'Villa Room' which had an exceptionally cool red velvet couch and lamps that I swear were in the shape of leperchauns. This is how Norah felt about the drive:
But it was nothing a little 'superman' couldn't cure:
We had dinner in the hotel coffee shop, which was decked out for Christmas. Norah had a mini meltdown before dessert, so we got it to go. I had a piece of toffee cake and BVZ had chocolate creme pie. Both slices were bigger than my head (and I have a huge head). I swear I got diabetes by my third bite of cake. I should have taken a picture.
There was another (fancier) restaurant that was a winter wonderland. I am not sure I have ever seen so much holiday crap in one place. It was awesome.
The next morning we could explore the rest of the Inn, as the rain finally cleared. The views were spectacular and the grounds were really very lovely.
Norah was fussing like nobody's business after breakfast (I think she knew she was going to have to get back in the car), so we let her have a special Thanksgiving treat--watching football.
It took another 6 hours or so to get to Orange County (gotta love LA traffic), but Grandma Geri and Aunt Vanessa were waiting with an incredible Thanksgiving dinner (and cocktails for all).
I know this is sort of wrong, but I love the picture of Norah screaming her head off. Lilah looks very similar when she is unhappy.
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