I had a pretty low key 31st birthday followed with a long weekend in Napa and San Francisco for a wedding.

Sean and I spent the day at Disneyland & California Adventures. We’ve had annual passes since the beginning of the year, but have only used them twice since they’re weekday only passes and we’ve been blocked out for most of the summer. Yeah, I bought the cheapest pass.

We arrived at Disneyland around 11 and made a beeline to Indiana Jones for fast passes and then got in line for Star Tours. I’ve never been a Star Wars fan. In fact, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen the trilogy all the way through. I’ve never seen the prequels. Still, Star Tours has always been one of my Disneyland favorites. Prior to the renovation, the lines were always short and it was a nice respite from hot summer days. With the renovation, we waited 20-30 minutes, but it was still worth it. I missed the familiarity of the old story line, but seeing the new scenes they generated was pretty cool.

We spent the next three hours going on rides new to Sean (it’s only his second trip) like Indiana Jones, Splash Mountain, Autopia and Big Thunder Mountain. Most of the summer crowds were gone, so lines were pretty short. After lunch at ESPN Zone, we went to California Adventures and went on a few rides including the Toy Story-themed Midway Mania.

We left Disneyland a little after 6. On the way out we stopped by the store at Downtown Disney and found some interesting hats.

We met up with my mom, Adrian and his girlfriend Alexis in Hacienda Heights. Dad, Danny and Lori were all working so they couldn’t make it. We went out to dinner at my favorite restaurant, Mariposa Inn in Covina. I’ve had many birthday dinners and brunches there. My mom requested we sit in Nacho’s section. We’ve been sitting in Nacho’s section for 20-something years. Even though my mom hadn’t been to the restaurant in a while, they caught up like old friends and talked about the changes at the restaurant since the longtime owner, Raudel, passed away a few years ago. Naturally, Mariposa felt different without him.

I came home to the last of my presents from Sean, a shiny new iPad. He spoils me.

It was a good birthday. Now I just need to get things ready for the birthday party.