The Temple

My 47th Temple- my daughters Rebecca and Elizabeth with me

My son Micah called one morning while I was on my run to tell me about the low fares on Allegiant Airlines from Provo to Santa Clara. Then he pointed out that the Redlands California Temple is only about an hour away from Anaheim. I had been wanting to take my girls to Disneyland, since they were so young when we took the kids to Disneyland a dozen years earlier. So, by the end of the day, I had booked plane tickets, bought tickets to Disneyland & California Adventure, and reserved a hotel suite! As soon as the new month opened for reservations to the Redlands Temple, I reserved baptisms for us on the day before we flew home. I also booked reservations later that evening at the Los Angeles Temple, which I had already been to, but my daughters hadn't been there yet. We decided to make it my daughter Rebecca's senior trip, so we invited her boyfriend to come with us also. We were all really excited about the upcoming trip!

We arrived at the temple early enough to take photos. We went inside and Isaac baptized each of us. The temple is a small temple, and the baptistry is beautiful! I loved the colors and the baptismal font. We performed baptisms for my family names. The workers at the temple were very kind as well. In fact, they were kind to us before we even arrived because I had called to talk to them about traffic in the area and how early we needed to plan to leave our hotel. It was a Wednesday when we attended the temple and we were able to make it from our hotel in Anaheim to the temple in Redlands. It is located at 1761 5th Ave.

The Trip

We flew into the John Wayne Airport on a Sunday. We rented a car from Hertz at the airport, and since we couldn't check into our hotel until later in the afternoon, we went to Treasure Island Beach at Laguna Beach. I chose that beach on purpose because it has an arch! I love arches! We parked a few blocks away from the beach and walked down to it. It wasn't terribly crowded -- but it was April! The kids played in the ocean and on the beach, and I enjoyed the sunshine. Then we grabbed some lunch and went to see the Hollywood Sign. We tried to get as close to it as possible, but the people who live up on the hill guard the road very carefully and there is literally no place to park! So, we parked near the viewpoint where everybody else takes photos with the Hollywood Sign. Next we checked into our hotel. We stayed at the Anaheim Desert Inn & Suites, which is right across the street from Disneyland. It's not fancy by any means, but it was fine. The location made it worth it. And since it was a suite, my girls and I had two double beds in the bedroom and Isaac had a pull-out sofa in a separate room, which was nice. We soaked in the hot tub and walked around the neighborhood a bit before eating dinner at a nearby restaurant. We did have to pay for parking at the hotel ($17 per night), and the breakfast was pretty small and simple. We didn't mind, though, because we were only feet away from Disneyland's entrance!

The first morning in Anaheim we went to California Adventure. I like this park slightly better than Disneyland because it seems like the rides are a little bit more exciting. My favorite is the Incredicoaster, although I also really like Soarin Over California. We were at California Adventure from open to close, we ate at Flo's V8 Cafe, and went on lots of rides. The park wasn't overwhelmingly crowded, probably because it was April. On Tuesday we went to Disneyland, arriving right when the park opened and staying until it closed. Lizzie was especially excited to eat at Pizza Planet. We were all really excited to go to Galaxy's End (Star Wars) in Disneyland. We waited in line for about an hour for Rise of the Resistance and made it to the front of the line just in time for the ride to shut down. We decided that we'd waited too long to give up, so we sat for an hour until the ride opened again, and it was actually really cool to be the first people back in the ride! It was mostly empty and actually sort of eerie. Definitely worth the wait. The Cars ride shut down both times we were waiting in line for it. Other than that we didn't have any glitches while in either park. When my kids were young we went to Disneyland and the two highlights of our trip (for me) were eating lunch with the princesses at Ariel's Grotto, and eating dinner in the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at the Blue Bayou. I really wanted to do both on this Disneyland trip because my girls didn't remember the former trip. Unfortunately, lunch with the princesses at Ariel's Grotto no longer exists, probably closed down due to Covid. And I was especially disappointed because the week that I chose to go to Disneyland happened to be the week they started construction on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride and shut down the Blue Bayou! I guess I will just have to go back! I heard that meals with the princesses is coming back soon, so maybe you can eat lunch with the princesses in Cinderella's Castle soon. We ended up eating at Galaxy's Edge, and I was not impressed with the food in that area (although I did get a fun sprite bottle shaped like a droid, which I still have as a souvenir from this trip). I wish I'd explored more for better food options.

Wednesday was our temple day. We began the day by driving to the Redlands Temple. Isaac baptized all three of us and we completed many family names that morning. We ate lunch and then the kids walked down the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Hollywood Boulevard before driving to the Los Angeles Temple to do baptisms there as well. The view from the Los Angeles Temple is just spectacular! We were there at sunset, and actually we explored the visitor's center there for so long that it was dark by the time we left. We found a place near the beach to eat a snack and then went to Santa Monica Beach. My girls were pretty scared to be there in the dark, especially with people walking around on the beach, so we didn't stay very long. We ate a late dinner that night at Denny's, right next to our hotel. We soaked in the hot tub one last time, and then went to bed.

Thursday morning we drove back to the John Wayne Airport, returned our rental car, and flew back to Provo. It was a fantastic trip that never would have happened if my son hadn't called to tell me about the low fares to California and about the close proximity of the Redlands Temple! If you're going to Disneyland, add an extra day to your trip and schedule an appointment at the Redlands Temple!