Countdown to Cali

We are leaving for a little family trip to California in exactly 2 weeks and for the Larson's, this trip cannot come soon enough. If someone offered us jobs as professional wanderers (is that a thing?), I think you'd probably be able to smell the smoke coming off of our pens as we hastily signed on the dotted line. Alas, we are not professional wanderers (seriously, is that a thing?) so we, like so many others, are forced to longingly peruse Airbnb's "Featured Destinations" while we methodically check off calendar boxes until we are able to escape on our next adventure.I'm particularly excited for this next trip for a few reasons. This will be Chris's first real experience in California. He was recently there when he was flown out to film interview segments on The Voice for his brother Jesse who is a current contestant (GO JESSE!! #teamjesse #teamadam). But, when I asked him how much he loved LA – obviously I thought he would love it out there as much as I do, he sort of half heartedly said, "It was ok." I was like, "Say whaaaat?" And it turns out, he basically hung out close to LAX the whole time. Well, duh. Of course he didn't like that. So, needless to say, I'm thrilled to be able to be with him when he finally gets to experience Los Angeles as I know and love it. I mean... the food, the ocean, the sunshine, freakin DISNEYLAND?! What's not to love?I'm also really looking forward to this trip because, for the first time, we'll be traveling as a little family with Jonah in tow. Though, he's traveled before, we've never done the whole airport, flying, rental car, Airbnb thing with just the three of us. We've been really lucky to travel previously with reinforcements and extra toddler/gear holders (aka my parents and family members). So it'll be interesting to see how this all goes, but my inner wanderer is loving the notion that this trip marks the beginning of lots more travel to come with "The Larson Trio."If you know anything about me, you probably know that as much as I love to be able to be spontaneous, I'm also a planner. I don't like to plan out every detail of a trip, but I do like to know what my options are and what to expect. My trip planning process can be boiled down this: I like to front load the planning before we even start packing our bags, so that I can actually relax when I'm traveling. So, you know I've been online like a madwoman looking into best areas to stay, budget-friendly things to do with kids, must do restaurants and ways to make air travel with a toddler as simple and enjoyable as possibleSince we'll also be planning a day at Disneyland on this trip, I've also been researching tips and tricks for families when visiting "the most magical place on earth." Because we have been avid Disney World goers for years now and I haven't visited Disneyland since I was a kid, I'm anxious to see how the two resorts compare. I've read that, for families with young children, Disneyland may be the winner, but the jury will be out until we have a chance to compare the two for ourselves. I'll be excited to report back on our experience with their paper FastPass system (vs. Disney Worlds digital system), trying out Rider Switch (which allows one of us to wait with little J while the other enjoys a more intense attraction and when the other adult returns, they can supervise Jonah, and the waiting adult can board the attraction without having to wait in the regular line again! Sounds pretty slick huh? We'll see...), and the ease of hopping between parks (Magic Kingdom and California Adventure Park). Plus, I can't wait to see how Jonah reacts when he finally gets to ride on Pirates of the Caribbean or as he calls it, "the Yo Ho ride."All in all, I think this will be another great trip to add to the books. I can't wait to experience it with my husband and I'm so excited to begin making travel memories with my little bug. I'll report back after this trip on what worked, what didn't and what we loved about Los Angeles. And for my parent friends, I'll also be running down the list of gear that we brought along for Jonah and what were our "must have" or "ditch" items for traveling with a toddler.Do you have any "must dos" in Los Angeles? Any great tips for traveling with kids? Care to share? Leave a comment below. Cheers!