An unanticipated sister trip to California happened April 3-7. =)
It was planned in conjunction with one of Megan's business trips. She travels kind of regularly, and this time she had to be in Napa, which isn't far from Six Flags, so she naturally asked her sisters to join her. =) She brought it up only a month in advance. At first I didn't think I'd be able to go (and even shed tears at the idea of missing out) but it all worked out and I obviously went.
I'm soososossssoooo glad. =)
The first two days Megan had to work, so Erin and I had to find ways to stay entertained.
We liked the hotel decor.
We loved the tall-backed chairs in the entry.
Erin and I ventured to the Jelly Belly factory the first full day. It was packed! Both with candy and people wanting to get a look at that candy.
We waited in line for roughly an hour and a half (the first portion of which was spent standing outside in the rain). My hair was a sorry spectacle by the time we moved indoors, so I was actually glad we were forced to put on a paper hat for the tour.
What I wouldn't give for some of that candy corn wall paper!
Looks like he's in the process of a belly flop.
Art made of Jelly Bellies. Pretty impressive.
I liked the vintage artwork hanging on this one wall...
Excuse the weird glare on the glass.
Cute, huh?
The wall didn't taste as good as I'd expected. =(
I LOVED the candy carpeting. And those are my multicolored toes.
No photos allowed on the tour. (This was before we went in.) It's like we're really going to be able to recreate what we saw just by studying snapshots of the process.
I'll tell you what we saw in there, though. You know those carts in bakeries with all the layers of trays filled with fresh goodies? There were rows, and rows, and rows of jillions of those rolling tray carts, all filled with multicolored Jelly Bellies.
Oh, hey. I found an illegal picture of this online.
It was unbelievable. And the super sweet smell in there was enough to give all the guests a complimentary sugar high.
Here we are out front after we'd seen all we could see inside.
Such a pretty flower bed!
Slug bug Jelly Belly!
Icky chin, but I think my eyes look right for someone who suspects the presence of a ginormous Jelly Belly right behind her.
A sampling of the souvenirs I grabbed up.
The drive to and from the factory was gorgeous. These pictures don't do it justice, but they're sure going to try!
Everything was so green. It is wine country, after all. I liked the big, billowy trees atop the rolling hills.
As I mentioned, it was a rainy day. Kind of dreary, but still appealing.
Rows of grape vines.
Erin doing a slow blink, but it looks like she's asleep!
"Jesus, take the whee-eeel!"
We had a little time to kill before picking Meg up for dinner, so we checked out some factory outlets.
I guess I won't give a complete play by play on everything we did. Mostly because I can't remember which day we ate where, or what the sequence of events was.
We ate at Panera twice, first enjoying some yummy-fresh, soup-filled bread bowls, then back later for the pasta bowls and salad.
I think Friday night we went to see "The Host" (a movie). It was pretty good. I read and liked the book during the summer of '09. Being so long ago, I didn't remember all the deets to adequately compare the book to the movie, but much of it seemed familiar, so I guess that's a good sign.
Saturday we went to Six Flags!
Erin and I are shown in the second row in coordinating capris.
This ride was super, man!
So fun!
Our sister in law asked later if the three of us ever take normal, smiling pictures. =)
I don't think we really did on this trip, but I know it's been done in the past.
We went to Great America on Sunday, our last day.
By this point, after going on insane rides for hours at a time the day before, our aging bodies were definitely feeling the effects. Well, I know mine was. I felt more than a bit queasy after our first roller coaster of the day, and right after that I had to vacate the carousel when I noticed my mouth preparing for the expulsion of my breakfast. I'm happy to say I didn't lose it. I talked myself out of it, taking deep breaths and getting sips of water. I sat out for a couple rides, then I mercifully started feeling normal again. YAY!
This was right before I fled the ride. Can you see the hint of panic in my eyes? The carousel wasn't moving yet, but I knew if I stayed on there the other passengers would have gotten a lot more than they bargained for.
(I'd given up on my hair by the last day after the previous days' styling efforts proved pointless.)
I'm relying on Megan and Erin's in-park photos, as I didn't bring a camera in.
On the gondola.
Meg doesn't do spinny rides. This one was fun! Sorta reminiscent of the Tilt-a-Whirl, except it whirls automatically.
We enjoyed the sky coaster at both parks, but the second day was 153 feet high instead of 100 feet at Six Flags. It made a huge difference. Quite the hair-raising experience it was.
We went on all the rides we could handle, intermittently nabbing snacks and pausing for souvenir shopping. All too soon it was time to head to the airport and go home.
I was rejuvenated and all set to get back to my at-home duties.
This sisters' trip was sooo fun! I'm way glad I got to go - and even more glad that I have such entertaining sisters. I love them!
