Orange County!

Jill's Journal: Orange County, CA. Home of Disneyland. This is a long-awaited stop for the girls. In fact, this has probably been the #1 place they’ve been looking forward to visiting. It may have been second on Erika’s list (the wild ponies on Assateague Island in Maryland and the Chincoteague pony swim in Chincoteague, Virginia, remain first for her), but this was a close second. And for Madelyn and Victoria, this is the golden ticket.

As for me and Rob, arriving in Orange County was like a breath of fresh air after our time in Van Nuys. We were dreading the drive through L.A. with the fifth wheel, but we were able to skirt the busiest part of the city and arrived in Yorba Linda on the edge of Orange County after as smooth a journey can be with a huge rig on the L.A. freeways. We had originally planned to stay in Anaheim, where Disneyland is, but RV parks are nearly twice as expensive there and Yorba Linda will do just fine.

Yorba Linda is a lovely, new-ish town in comparison to the congested, dreary Van Nuys and within moments of our arrival, the girls were playing happily in a park. A clean park. With wide open spaces. With no apparent felons lurking about the playground. With much less smog. With fewer police helicopters. The girls had huge smiles on their faces and so did we. After six weeks in L.A., we hadn’t even realized how taxing it is to be in a concrete jungle with children. Kudos to the parents who live that way all the time. Rob and I looked at each other with a smile and said, “Ah, Orange County. This is the good life after L.A.” And I know this is merely an extension of L.A., but it’s still a welcome change with a little more space to breathe. There’s actually grass here. Such an improvement.

And seriously, was there a lady walking her minis through our campsite in Van Nuys? I think not! The girls think Orange County is pretty great already.