{"id":16909,"date":"2023-05-01T15:43:20","date_gmt":"2023-05-01T15:43:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/happyinthehills.com\/zentriathlete\/?p=16909"},"modified":"2026-04-12T18:55:46","modified_gmt":"2026-04-12T18:55:46","slug":"post-vacation-family-trip-to-disney","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/happyinthehills.com\/zentriathlete\/2023\/05\/01\/post-vacation-family-trip-to-disney\/","title":{"rendered":"Post Vacation &#8211; Family Trip to Disney"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-16915 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/happyinthehills.com\/zentriathlete\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/bedeviled-schitts-creek-300x300.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" \/><\/h2>\n<h2>Triathlon Training While Injured<\/h2>\n<p>It is my hope this is my last post where I keep getting delayed by my lower hip adductor injury.\u00a0 It has been quite the disruption.\u00a0 Whether it is by writing or by audio, I am reminded over and over again about my injury.\u00a0 It has limited ALL running, a large portion of biking and similar to swimming.\u00a0 My local friend Gustavo pulled me aside on Saturday and was like &#8216;When will you be ready to swim Hyrum&#8217;?\u00a0 My response was &#8211; first the temp needs to be above 60 degrees for me, and then with my injury I just don&#8217;t know.\u00a0 He went on to relate how he had calf issues 6 miles in on his SLC Marathon but he finished.<\/p>\n<p>I find one of the most difficult things in endurance sports &#8211; managing injury and mindset.\u00a0 For me &#8211; I have been able to capitalize on all thing endurance sports.\u00a0 Especially in the growth mindset and seeking to be better.<\/p>\n<h2>Mindset thoughts<\/h2>\n<table style=\"border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 50%; text-align: center;\"><iframe title=\"Embedded post\" src=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/embed\/feed\/update\/urn:li:ugcPost:7057444870365278209\" width=\"504\" height=\"568\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 50%; text-align: left;\">\n<h3><strong>Ethan Hawke&#8217;s TED talk thought &#8211;\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;&#8230; it&#8217;s not up to us whether what we do is any good, and if history has taught us anything, it&#8217;s that the world is an extremely unreliable critic. The time of our life is so short, and how we spend it &#8211; are we spending it doing what&#8217;s important to us? Most of us&#8230; not. The pull of habit is so huge.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>I have come to understand more and more how courage of value is birthed in empathy &#8211; where love, compassion and vulnerability and my authentic self often struggles but wants to flourish.\u00a0 When I am not intimidated by outcomes from internal or external pressures, my creativity is able to be cultivated by first by myself and then I can select impressionable inputs from external sources (nature, human, life circumstances, etc.).\u00a0 Further, it is in these moments where the raw growth occurs!<\/p>\n<p>Whether in triathlon, mindset, personal ethos, my family activity and accountabilities, or any other arc of life, stoicism persistently teaches me that I cannot control the world around me, only how I respond\u2014and I strive to respond using the four cardinal virtues as I navigate the noisy corridors we call life:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Courage<\/li>\n<li>Temperance<\/li>\n<li>Wisdom<\/li>\n<li>Justice<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/tommccallum.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/cardinal-virtues-of-Stoicism.jpg\" alt=\"stoicism\" \/><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h2>Family Trip<\/h2>\n<p>So after many many years, my wife and I finally had the means to do a family focused vacation. There are no surgeries, no family oriented obligations (funerals, weddings, birthdays, reunions) or any other pulls.\u00a0 I know that as we arranged things and alerted folks as timing got closer and as we tried to arrange certain components that a few may not have understood why we just wanted to do this as a nuclear family.\u00a0 We have 4 kiddos, 3 of which are on the ASD spectrum and all 4 are neuro-divergent.\u00a0 This is often a recipe that many in our circles of influence don&#8217;t understand.\u00a0 We use terms like &#8211; &#8220;Circus of Chaos&#8221;, &#8220;the dragons&#8221; and more as they come to us in our often fatigued but with whatever little whit we have at the moment quips.\u00a0 \u00a0All this to say, we went solo.<\/p>\n<h3>The Planning<\/h3>\n<p>We looked at many options and in the end we ended up focusing only on Disneyland and California Adventure.\u00a0 We wanted to take a full week and I have about 25 vacation days a year &#8211; so it was time to take a real vacation.\u00a0 Where I am currently injured we didn&#8217;t have to tie it to any event I was doing.\u00a0 So, after being gobsmacked by the pricing of Disney specific resorts &#8211; I&#8217;m not that well compensated, we turned to off property partners and found one we liked &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/clementinehotel.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Clementine Hotel and Suites<\/a>! We then settled in on 1 park a day tickets, with Genie (+) .\u00a0 We made our reservations for those days via the Disney process and booked the hotel.\u00a0 We did use Sam&#8217;s club for the hotel and Disney tickets bookings as it was the best offering we could identify.<\/p>\n<h3>Day 1<\/h3>\n<p>Liz had to work.\u00a0 Tune as Liz was finished. We got on our way! Once we got out of cache Valley, we tried to determine how far we could go. Although we were making great time, it became evident that we needed to stop in St. George Utah. It wasn&#8217;t too difficult to find a place to stay but finding the rate that we were comfortable with is always a challenge. So, we settled on the Wingate by Wyndham in Saint George just off of exit 4 and stayed over for the night.\u00a0 Other than arriving a little later than we anticipated to stay, there was simple and good.\u00a0 Some of the antics included, stopping at Fillmore, playing at the playground there<\/p>\n<h3>Day 2<\/h3>\n<p>The next morning I packed everything on top of the car with Dennis&#8217; help and we got on our way. Once on our way, we made great time until we got to Baker California.\u00a0 Where Miss Astrid was super excited to take pictures with the alien at the alien jerky stop.<\/p>\n<table style=\"border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 33.3333%; text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-16911 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/happyinthehills.com\/zentriathlete\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/20230423_131243-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" \/><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 33.3333%; text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-16912 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/happyinthehills.com\/zentriathlete\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/20230423_130933-169x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"169\" height=\"300\" \/><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 33.3333%; text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-16914 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/happyinthehills.com\/zentriathlete\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/20230423_133850-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" \/><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>Once we avoided a few of the meltdowns that we&#8217;re going to occur at the stop, we continued on. One of the fun challenges with any trip for us is trying to decide where to get fuel. So, as we were working through Vegas, we had a small hiccup, but after we got fuel, we were back on our way.\u00a0 We decided to stop at a rest stop where Liz was able to grab some pictures of ravens!\u00a0 It was about at this part where we kind of made our Griswold mistake. It has been nearly 40 years since I left Hemet California. This is the place where I grew up. As we were talking through things apparently we forgot to cancel navigation using Siri or other tools. So when we came down the hill, I was not paying attention to when we made the turn to start. Heading towards Riverside California. As we got to the Ramona highway or expressway, all of a sudden I realize that we were on our way to Hemet and about an hour and a half away from our hotel. Cue the panic. Cue the frustration. This is when I decided to make this a Griswold moment and we tarried on to Hemet California and we were able to find a park and play for a few minutes. Liz and I took some pictures, and we stopped at a Carl&#8217;s Jr., and then we moved on.\u00a0 Of notes when we were driving around Hemet, one of the places I needed to stop and turn around and given current affairs I was very mindful not to pull into somebody&#8217;s driveway, rather to make a U-turn using more of the sidewalk a Y-turn.\u00a0 This was after we visited Little Lake Elementary school where I attended as a 7\/8 year old.<\/p>\n<p>So out and through the Perris Valley we went and ultimately we arrived at our hotel at about 11 PM Pacific standard time. This gave us just enough time to look at our phones determine what we were going to do and get to sleep.<\/p>\n<h3>Day 3, 4 and 5<\/h3>\n<p>Well, I won&#8217;t belabor the points here. But day 34 and five were spent at Disneyland and California adventure. This was our first family vacation of the sort, and we had lots of lessons to learn. The biggest Takeaway of all is that if we were to do this again, we would make sure to have one day in the middle as a decompression day, I have four kiddos that are Nuro divergent three of the four are on the autism spectrum disorder spectrum. So we were able to use the disability and accessibility services offered by Disneyland. The only other thing that stuck out is that it was hot. We were well prepared with sunscreen with water, but I mistakenly brought the single stroller and I should&#8217;ve brought the double stroller. It wasn&#8217;t clear if our double stroller made by Bob would work. But I thought about it doesn&#8217;t other Bob jogging strollers and so ours would&#8217;ve been just fine.<\/p>\n<p>Overall, I do think the kids each had their own fun and experiences to take away. I know that Liz and I did our best as parents. I know that we went in with the expectation that everything was unrealistic. We knew that each day would be its own day and try to have fun each day. We also knew that we were not on a tight or strict budget, but we still wanted to be mindful and not be over the top. All these things were accomplished for the most part. And looking back on the three days in the parks, I feel that we did a great job most of the time with a few hiccups along the way.<\/p>\n<h3>Days 6 and 7<\/h3>\n<p>Thursday was our day to check out and after clearing and packing we were on our way. We decided to scurry over to Huntington Beach. We spent about an hour there collecting seashells and other things. Unfortunately, my oldest didn&#8217;t want to participate as he was overloaded from his three days at Disney and the two days of travel before. This often happens with children that have ASD. Once we decided we were done at the beach we located the nearest Costco fueled up and kept moving. It was at this time we decided to book our next place, which ended up being Saint George again. However, we stayed in Hurricane.\u00a0 And again we were proven that we were due to arrive much later than we wanted to, due to our family dynamics with travel. However, overall, it was not that bad of an experience it just took more time than we would&#8217;ve liked.<\/p>\n<p>The following day was actually our best day of travel. We were able to leave St. George at a decent time. And we were able to make great time until we made it to Salt Lake. We continue done making good time but we encountered lots of traffic from Provo, all the way to Ogden with the various graduations that we&#8217;re happening at the various universities. Oh what a welcome site to drive down Logan Canyon and to see the entrance of cache Valley. We were almost home. Sadly, this meant that our vacation was over however, it was a great vacation.<\/p>\n<h3>Some lessons learned<\/h3>\n<p>We weren&#8217;t able to get the loft option but the 2 queen one bedroom suite was sufficient for our family of 6.\u00a0 The sofa pull out was one of the best I have encountered in my travels.\u00a0 Lastly, it was basically equivalent to a Homewood Suites (I am a hilton guy after all) and outside of being placed next to the basketball, tennis, pickleball court, it was great!\u00a0 Some of the advantages at the parks included using the DAS service. The Disney app is a little frustrating to use. We didn&#8217;t always take pictures of the codes for the rides but we were able to sync or link a few of those to our genie plus experience. If we ever do a trip like this again, planning a rest day or two. If planning to stop and breaking up a trip, remember snacks for both days not just the first day.<\/p>\n<h2>Some general summary thoughts<\/h2>\n<p>Overall, I think this was one of the best decisions. Liz and I have made together. Although it was not an inexpensive endeavor, it was definitely worth the looks on the faces of our children during the experience and their expressions of joy that they shared. It wasn&#8217;t without incident. It wasn&#8217;t perfect. It was, however the vacation that our family has long needed and was finally able to do. The nicest thing of all of this was that I was not needed to do any work and I was unplugged during the whole trip.<\/p>\n<p>Liz kept asking me from time to time if I was having a good time. It was nice to be able to get the family to go into not having major crises. We did have a few issues trying to get the kids to walk so much. Each of the days we spent about 10 to 12 miles approximately on our feet and then we needed to walk another half mile or so to get back to the hotel. This is where the other stroller would&#8217;ve been nice.\u00a0 But other than those little oversights, I think this was a great trip. And yes, I did have fun. And yes, being able to walk into the ocean was a nice ad. And yes, being able to spend that time as a family without any other distractions, what is the best way that we can do it at this time in our lives. I also think and hope that each of the kids will remember this trip in their own way.<\/p>\n<table style=\"border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 33.3333%; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/media\/set?vanity=zentriathlete&amp;set=a.10226122099533118\">Day 1 Album via FB<\/a><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 33.3333%; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/media\/set\/?vanity=zentriathlete&amp;set=a.10226126679727620\">Day 2 album via FB<\/a><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 33.3333%; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/media\/set\/?vanity=zentriathlete&amp;set=a.10226127317583566\">Day 3 album via FB<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Triathlon Training While Injured It is my hope this is my last post where I keep getting delayed by my lower hip adductor injury.\u00a0 It has been quite the disruption.\u00a0 Whether it is by writing or by audio, I am [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19882,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"nf_dc_page":"","_eb_attr":"","pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","rs_blank_template":"","rs_page_bg_color":"","slide_template_v7":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[444],"tags":[825,826,827,828,829,830],"class_list":["post-16909","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-personal","tag-tag-agency","tag-tag-discernment","tag-tag-autonomy","tag-tag-reflections","tag-tag-neurodiversity","tag-tag-pda"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/happyinthehills.com\/zentriathlete\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16909","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/happyinthehills.com\/zentriathlete\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/happyinthehills.com\/zentriathlete\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/happyinthehills.com\/zentriathlete\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/happyinthehills.com\/zentriathlete\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16909"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/happyinthehills.com\/zentriathlete\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16909\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24134,"href":"https:\/\/happyinthehills.com\/zentriathlete\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16909\/revisions\/24134"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/happyinthehills.com\/zentriathlete\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19882"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/happyinthehills.com\/zentriathlete\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16909"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/happyinthehills.com\/zentriathlete\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16909"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/happyinthehills.com\/zentriathlete\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16909"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}