Each year, Kaitlin and Alice try to get together to celebrate their birthdays and sometimes I get to tag along. This year, they decided they wanted to celebrate at Harry Potter World / Universal Studios in California and both Adam and I went as well.
We had a grand time and managed to hit all the major rides in the first day by using the Express pass to get to the front of the lines. When we returned later in the day, Adam and Kate dressed in the best Hogwarts outfits and brought their wands – they has must have looked authentic as Adam was asked if he worked there , which I think was the highlight of the trip for him!
The next day, we took a more leisurely approach and watched the shows and shopped.
We also met some characters who were available for photos.
We also took the studio tour, something we had not done previously which was very worthwhile. And of course, we had to go to beer garden because we can’t get enough of that wonderful Duff!
Aaah – nothing like a beer in an amusement park!
Our timing coincided with Alice and my 30 year wedding anniversary and it was both fun and appropriate that we celebrated with Adam and Kate. When we were married, after the celebration which came a little later, we had a “family-moon” with Grant and my parents at Disneyland.
As Alice and I had some extra time, we went to Catalina Island for a couple of days after Adam and Kate went back to Denver. We had a very relaxing time there and took in all the sites. It had been maybe 20 years since we had last visited and nothing seemed to have changed much and the island still has a very relaxed, cool vibe.
We visited the museum and also took a “behind the scenes” tour of the Casino which was very interesting. The building was very well done and amazing given how quickly it was built those many years ago.
Now it’s back to the reality of a colder, gray Seattle for a couple of weeks before we’re off on our next adventure.