another weekend in paradise (pier, that is)

with the hub off to vegas for his world series of poker weekend, the kids and i headed down to anaheim to check into paradise pier hotel for our own weekend of fun.  the check-in process was really easy, with half of it done by an ipad-wielding cast member while standing in line at the front desk and leaving nothing but swiping a credit card once it was our turn.  we were on the 13th floor (which i found a little odd, because i thought most hotels didn't have such a thing for superstitious folks), and the room was spacious, clean and nicely decorated.  i loved the pixar ball on the bed and remembered how people had posted about taking them home and then finding a $50 charge on their credit card later on. 

 we had a pretty fantastic view of california adventure:

back downstairs, i snapped a photo of the old lady that we always take whenever we stay at this hotel.  cracks me up every time.

just for fun, here's the other ones we've taken over the years.  so great:

of course, the bean wanted one too.

and then when we got to downtown disney and walked into the lego store, i had to do this. 

we browsed through our favorite shops and i eyed lots of fun new merchandise.

at california adventure, we decided to grab some drinks and snacks at alfresco tasting terrace, located upstairs right above the wine country trattoria restaurant.  we ordered the bruschetta:

the meatballs marinara:

charcuterie and cheese board:

and a few cocktails.  i don't actually remember what they all are, but i do know that the one on the far right is the blood orange mimosa, because that was mine.

when we were done, we headed into pixar pier to use the one fastpass we'd been able to secure - for the incredicoaster.

from there we decided to take our first-ever spin on jessie's critter carousel.

we wandered around a bit and then it was time to head across the esplanade into disneyland for our dinner reservation at carnation cafe on main street.  we ordered up some fried pickles, because they're delicious:

this is the chicken-fried chicken, served with mashed potatoes & gravy and veggies:

walt's chili:

and the "tv dinner," which offered gravy-smothered meatloaf with mashed potatoes as the main entree with a savory scone and peas & carrots on the side, plus a delicious brownie for dessert.

because we rarely stay at the resort, we wanted to take advantage of being so close to the parks and stay later than we usually do.  except that it was a busy saturday evening, and the crowds were overwhelming and a little annoying.  and so we decided to head back out to downtown disney to see if we could snag a spot at the black tap to try some of their outrageously decadent milkshakes.  the line wasn't too terribly long for once, and as we waited to be seated we took a menu to see what our options were.

the "sweet 'n salty" was a delicious peanut butter and chocolate concoction that the bean and i shared:

the old lady and her special friend went with the strawberry shortcake.

and then when we got back to the hotel, we decided to go up and take a look at the fitness center.

the kids decided to change into workout gear and head back down to burn some calories, while i opted to stay in the room to catch the "world of color" show from the window.  the soundtrack for the show was playing on one of the channels on the hotel tv, and it was fun to watch from the comfort of my bed.

a few minutes after the show ended, the kids came back and got ready for bed.  we had an early wake-up call the next morning, so we were all tucked in before 11.  party animals, we are.