San Juan Capistrano!

Today, Lola and I took the train to San Juan Capistrano all by ourselves. I was a little nervous because I don't do a whole lot a trips by myself...I tend to depend on Dan a lot, I admit. But I really wanted alone time with my first child since I never seem to get that anymore. She is blossoming so much and I feel like I'm totally missing it sometimes. Especially, during the holidays....November was kind of a lot of work because of all the houseguests and family functions that we had going on.
We had a great day today and I'm really glad we went. Lola was so happy all day, with nary a tear or spot of attitude all day. And, without a toddler screaming, running away and throwing one tantrum after another....well, it wasn't nearly stressful at all and I kinda needed that too. Elise is extremely awesome, don't get me wrong, but she's also 2 and not the most reasonable human being right now.
We went to the petting zoo for a while, where Lola got to feed some guinea pigs and rabbits. Then she took a ride on a pony for a couple of laps. There was a playground there too and she played with some kids on the slide and swings. Afterwards, we went shopping at the antique stores and gift shops. She picked out a few ornaments for our xmas tree. Apparently, today was a good day to be in SJC because there was a tree-lighting ceremony this evening and a whole party, complete with Santa Claus and all that stuff. We didn't get to stay for all that. Had I known about it, I probably would have arranged our trip differently, but I didn't want to be in a town I don't know very well when it was dark out. It seems like a pretty safe place, though. I'm just a bit of a worry wart, I guess.
I really would love to do this trip again soon. Oh, and the upgrade to business class on the Amtrak...totally worth it.