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.

Giant Birds and Tiny Horses

Jill's Journal: Many of the farms in the Santa Ynez Valley welcome visitors and tourists, which is simply bliss for our farm-loving, animal-loving little girls. And while they certainly enjoyed feeding the ostriches and emus at Ostrich Land, Erika, Madelyn, and Victoria went absolutely gaga over the miniature horses at Quicksilver Ranch.

First, the ostriches -- these big birds are not the friendly type and are extremely aggressive eaters, so it actually takes a lot of courage for little kids to offer food to them (and hold the bowl still while the birds attack it). Ostrich Land itself doesn’t hold much charm, but the girls actually remembered quite a bit from the wonderful and informative ostrich breeding farm tour we took last year in Tehachapi. They could identify which birds were female vs. male and remembered quite a few of the unusual facts and breeding information we learned there. Maybe things do sink in!

As fun as it is to feed an ostrich, it doesn’t seem to compare to the wonder these little girls have around miniature horses. Quicksilver Ranch is a breeding farm with a staggering 65 head of minis. I can’t imagine a cuter thing to breed and raise. These little guys and gals are off-the-charts adorable and even the stalls, fencing, and feeders at Quicksilver are mini-sized. A very kind lady at the farm answered several questions for us. Madelyn was especially enamored with “Macho Man,” pint-sized even by mini standards, and Erika fell for a blue-eyed paint. Naturally, they wished with all their hearts to take their picks home. But Victoria? When asked which one she would have liked to take home, she sighed and with a sly grin said, “All of them.”

Miniature Horse Heaven

Jill's Journal: Grandpa and Beppy know people. And when those people happen to have 10 or so very woolly miniature horses…well, really, could three little girls be any happier?