Disneyland: Day 1 - The Drive that Wouldn't End

Day One was a CRAZY day! We couldn’t believe what we were experiencing some of the time. But we made it through unscathed. We started the day bright and early (actually, “dark and early”), starting to leave the house at 3:30am. We planned to drive during the early morning so we could spend our first day in the park.

Andrew got everything loaded into the van, we woke the kids up and loaded them pjs and all into their carseats, and off we went around 4. Everything was going pretty well for the first half of the trip. Drew was doing fine driving so early in the morning, Maria and Jeremy were getting some sleep, and Aiden was super excited (not sleeping) and content. We woke up and fell back asleep a few times. Next thing we knew, Andrew was saying, “my love, the car is broken.” Waking up from the grogginess that is sleeping in the car, Maria said, “what?” Drew then went onto explain that he was just driving along, then all of a sudden, the van wouldn’t go forward anymore. The engine was still running, but the car wouldn’t move forward or back. It was as though it was in neutral. So there we were, on the side of the freeway, pulled over on the shoulder. Our solution: AAA. That’s why we have roadside assistance, right? We DEFINITELY needed assistance. Time: 8:30am.

Our view from the side of the freeway

AAA couldn’t decide if we needed the northern CA or southern CA dispatch. We were right in the middle…of NOWHERE, that is! We were just through the grapevine, southbound on I-5, at exit 205, in the lovely town of Lebec. We didn’t actually know we were in Lebec until the GPS told us later. AAA said they’d send someone out in about 45 mins. That’s 45 mins of sitting on the side of the freeway with big huge trucks zooming past us, inches away. Kinda unnerving, to say the least. So we waited. After about 5 minutes, Jeremy informed us that he had to go potty “really bad.” This was Jeremy’s first experience at peeing on the side of the road. Maria tried to block him with a blanket but it was sooo windy and cold (the wind really whips through those mountains there along the grapevine area) – he was basically screaming the whole time. Poor kid. His little teeth were chattering! He really didn’t wanna go, but he really had to. Nature won. He went.

About a half-hour into our wait, a CHP officer stopped to check on us. He pulled up behind the van and pushed us off the freeway into a gas station. It was pretty cool being pushed by his car. He talked to us over his little intercom. “Just roll through the stop if no one is coming.” – “Keep going, we’re going to turn right into the Chevron.” Not something you experience everyday. And the bonus of that was that we could use a real restroom, and weren’t getting shaken around by big semi-trucks. So we were chillin’ at the Chevron. Drew called dispatch with AAA to let them know we weren’t on the freeway anymore. This created a bit of a delay, as when the tow-truck driver arrived, he said, “I’ve been looking everywhere for you guys.”

Tow Truck

The tow truck driver took us to the repair shop in town – FAS Auto. He knew the owner, and explained to us that there wasn’t really anywhere else in either direction for about 45 minutes (he was right, by the way – as we found out later). So we moved the kids carseats into the tow truck (they had to send a special big tow truck so we could all fit), and headed over to the auto repair shop. The tow truck driver told us what we described sounded like a transmission problem (he was right about that, too). We kept our fingers crossed.

FAS Auto Repair

The guys at FAS Auto took a look at our van right away. They explained what had happened to the van, and told us what they were going to try to do to make it drivable. Unfortunately, after getting the van running again, the same thing that happened on the freeway happened again, and we were outta luck. The transmission needed to be rebuilt. This would cost $3000. Not to mention the time it would take. Our usual repair guys back home had told us that the transmission would be the next thing to go, and that we might want to start looking for a new vehicle soon. We knew this was coming eventually. We just had hoped it wouldn’t be quite so poorly timed. The van had a good life, served the entire Pascoal family well, but after nearly 200,000 miles it was time to say goodbye. We decided to part ways with the van. But what to do next?

Being Saturday, and in the middle of nowhere, we had limited options. There was a local car rental called “Rent-a-Wreck” who would come pick us up and rent us a car. But they weren’t available immediately. So we popped in a DVD for the kids and waited. They came to pick us up, but couldn’t fit us all in the car. So they drove Andrew back to the car rental place where he would rent the vehicle and return to pick up Maria and the kids. Time: 11:30am.

Drew came back from Rent-a-Wreck with less than stellar news. They only had a mid-sized SEDAN to rent. We had the van PACKED with stuff…4 suitcases, the stroller, pillows, blankets, snacks…it was quite a challenge to fit all of that into the truck of a little red Kia. Of course, it didn’t all fit in the trunk. Some of it fit under the kids legs, inbetween their carseats, and on Maria’s lap. Next on the agenda: get ourselves to a car rental place where we could rent a car that we could actually drive home to Sacramento. The Rent-a-Wreck is a small, privately owned establishment. You rent there and return there. We needed a car we could drive back home to Sacramento. On a Sunday. There was a Hertz about 45 minutes south. So we got back on the freeway, like sardines in a can (or in a Kia in this instance). Aiden began to cry as we waved goodbye to the van. We had told him we weren’t ever going to see the van again, and it made him sad. He didn’t want to leave it there. It was kind of sad to see it there, stripped of everything – even the Mickey antenna ball and Maria’s vanity plates.

Little Kia

Goodbye, Van. 2000-2009

As we neared the Hertz, we decided to call them and make sure they were open. We called the number, and it was a Hertz TRUCK rental. No help. Also in the same vicinity there was a Dollar car rental place. So we called there. They had closed at noon. We looked in our GPS for car rentals. Most of them closed at noon on Saturday. WHY?~! Maria spoke with an operator at National car rental and the operator told us that from our location, the closest open branch was at LAX. So our 45 minute trip to switch cars turned into a 2 hour drive to LA International Airport.

We arrived at LAX and got ourselves into a nice Toyota Sienna van. We were happy to get the Sienna, because it’s one of the vehicle models we are considering for purchase. We figured it would give us a nice test run. We have it for the week here in Anaheim, then for the drive back on Sunday. We have to take it in to Sac International on Monday after we get home. We’ll probably then rent another car at that time to drive us around town for the week until we can get a new car. We tried to get a 2-week rental from LA, but it was $1800! We weren’t having that. So we just got a car for enough time to get us home. We let the kids play on the play structure in the waiting area, as they had been cooped up most of the day so far: in the van, in the waiting room at the car repair, then finally in that tiny Kia. After a few minutes, off we went to take the Rent-a-Wreck back. Time: 3:15pm.

National

Little Kia, left. Toyota Sienna, right. Notice the sizeable difference!

The kids liked the looks of this donut shop in Inglewood.

We called Rent-a-Wreck on the phone to see if we could drop the car off if no one was there. They told us to just park it and lock it and drop the keys in the drop box. But we’d be responsible for it until they checked it in the next day. They said if someone was available, they’d send them out to meet us. We asked if someone could please come out and meet us – we’d be there at 5pm. They said they’d send someone if they were available.

Luckily, when we got there, someone was available, because they pulled in just minutes after we did. They checked the car in, gave it the all-clear, and off we went – back toward LA, this time to Anaheim. We stopped for a snack at McDonald’s on our way back to the city. Jeremy cracked us up when he asked if we could “live here,” referring to the small town of Lebec, where the car broke down. We asked him why he wanted to live there, and he said it was fun and that we got a new car there. We touched base with Evan and Steph and their family to make a plan for dinner. Steph’s mom had brought some food to cook, so they offered us a nice warm meal upon our arrival. We were certainly ready for that.

Rent-A-Wreck

We were so happy when we were finally in Anaheim. Our destination has been a secret from the kids this whole time. It was hecka funny driving to the resort where we’re staying, because we drove RIGHT BY the main gate to Disneyland. But the kids just happened to be looking the other way (at Denny’s!) and never caught wind of where we were. There were big ‘ol signs and buses all around, but they didn’t seem to notice any of those things. They just kept looking at the restaurants across the street…which was fine with us! We were excited to surprise them the next day. We couldn’t have been happier to see Steph and her dad at the gate to the resort when we arrived that evening. Time: 7pm.

We ate a nice homecooked Salmon dinner with rice and soup. It was a relaxing way to unwind after all of our travel woes. We hung out and watched Liam as he crawled around using his newfound skills. But we didn’t last too long. We were tired, and ready for bed. Especially poor Andrew, who hadn’t had the luxury of sleep on the road earlier in the day. While Drew put the kids to bed and unpacked, Maria went to the Von’s down the street to pick up bottled water and a few breakfast foods. Time: 9:00pm. Our suite has a full kitchen, which is great for breakfasts.

Baby Liam with Grandpa Chai.

It was a long first day, and not at all like we planned (we thought we’d be in the parks before noon) – but we were proud of ourselves for not being cranky with each other, and making the best of it. It wasn’t the most fun ever, but sometimes that’s just the way things go. Luckily, we have a whole week of days to enjoy ourselves down here!



The best thing about Day 1 was: Getting the Toyota Sienna to drive, dinner with Ev, Steph and family.
The worst thing about Day 1 was: the death of the van (RIP).
The weather on Day 1 was: chilly where the mountains are, but nice in the valley.
What we learned on Day 1 was: never break down on a Saturday or Sunday because it’s really hard to rent a car.