‘True perfection has to be imperfect.’-Noel Gallagher

I had already bought my ticket to see Oasis at Wembley when they announced their North American dates and none of them were near me. As I have flown to England twice to see them (well, the first was Liam but close enough), I was not opposed to fly somewhere new but all the cities were once school started back and during the week. All but their show at the Rose Bowl and, as I am from the area and my first Oasis experience was at the Hollywood Bowl nearly 20 years ago, it seemed meant to be.

I flew out Thursday night after work, to LAX as it was the cheapest, picked up my rental car and headed to Disneyland! I hadn’t been since I lived in California in my early 20s and really wanted to go, plus it was Halloween and coming off the 75th Anniversary celebrations. Disneyland has a reservation system now and I booked parking with my ticket. I did not stay on site but found a great deal on a hotel about a mile away-so I didn’t need to park at Disney but since I already had the pass, I did anyway. It was kind of nice as I walked about 30,000 steps that day to then not have to walk a mile back to my room. This is to say, get the room first and then the parking pass as you may not need it.

Going as a single is great because many of the rides have single rider lines, so I bypassed the long lines of the Matterhorn and Space Mountain (both favorites). I first went to Star Tours, a Smith family tradition, and love that it had been slightly updated. I had the cheapest fast pass and found it to be worth it. My best friend from Lake Arrowhead, Nicole, came for part of the afternoon (she’s an annual pass holder) and we had a blast. She is my oldest friend and love that even after 35 years, we are still family. I was there from just after opening to close. I was a bit nervous as it was the first weekend of September that it was going to be miserable but the weather was pretty great! Don’t be afraid to go by yourself. You meet people in line, many catch a celebrity (I saw the kids of Liam Gallagher, ha), don’t miss on the iced coffee in the Star Wars area with chocolate cereal on top, and eat as many churros as you can muster.

The next morning, I hit up some of my old haunts-including the Ontario Mills Mall. I just window shopped and drank a lot of Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. I then headed to my next motel, about 30 minutes from Pasadena. It was in a random town I had never heard of, essentially an enclave of Torrance. Rooms closer to Pasadena were very expensive and I was only going to be sleeping there. I checked in and got ready for Oasis!!

I have never been to the Rose Bowl. It is recommended to get parking in Pasadena and just walk. I used Park Whiz and had to book three different spots as the others ran out (Park Whiz has great customer service and the other two were refunded). There are massive shuttles from Downtown Pasadena to the Rose Bowl but I think it is significantly easier to walk, if you are able, especially coming back. The venue itself was chaotic. Plenty of food stalls but really hard to find just water and the lines were insane! I missed the openers (who I was eh about) but eventually was able to get something. But pure chaos. As for the concert…BIBLICAL! While the overall experience of seeing them night 1 of Wembley could never be matched, I was able to be fully present for this show. It was also helped by being surrounded by some older Oasis fans from London who had never been able to see the band and never thought they would. We sang the night away. I was also able to see the fireworks at the end!

I had a late afternoon flight, so I was able to sleep in. Then decided to go to one of my favorite places in the LA area…Santa Monica. I love the Pacific Ocean and it was a really beautiful day! I went to the beach and wandered the pier. A perfect way to end a pretty perfect weekend. I love California, I love the way I feel when I am there, and, hopefully, one day our paths will cross in a more permanent way. But until then, planning my summer visit!

*PS If anyone sends the Svenhard’s Breakfast Claws I will venmo you! They are my absolute favorite!!