On Thursday, November 16, Grant and I flew from Long Beach to Sacramento, and then drove up to Lake Tahoe. (We rented the same type of car we had in Orlando last summer. ) Also, the car had satellite radio, which was awesome.
It was freezing in Tahoe! We stayed at the Marriott vacation club there. Our room was extra cool because it had a fireplace. Once we checked in, we drove over to Harrah's and had dinner, and then went to Raley's to do some grocery shopping.
The next day, we lounged about in the morning, and then walked to Harrah's and ate at their buffet for lunch. Their buffet is on the top floor of the hotel and has floor to ceiling windows that have spectacular views of the lake and the mountains. After our late lunch we walked around through the area and down to the lake.
On Saturday, we checked out of our hotel and drove to Chico. We checked into the Marriott Residence Inn. Then we drove over to see Grant's old apartment, and then we walked around Cal State Chico. - Wow - what a beautiful campus! This was my favorite part of the trip because I have always wanted to see where Grant spent his first year of college. The town is beautiful - I can't believe he ever left - although I am certainly thankful that he did!
We had dinner at his favorite Chinese restaurant which was really very good!
On Sunday, we left Chico and drove back to Sacramento. We had all afternoon, so we went to the capital building which was very interesting - I loved seeing where the meetings are held in the big galleries. I think it would be awesome to see it when it is in session!
When it got dark, we went to Old Town Sacramento, and walked around, buying some candy, looking at the trains, and eating dinner.
Our flight home was short and sweet, and our landing at Orange County was super bumpy. Right in the middle of the plane braking, our row's oxygen masks popped out of the overhead compartment! How funny! Only our row!
What a relaxing weekend - a nice way to chill before the end of the trimester and report card time!
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Universal Studios mini trip
The weekend of October 13 - 15, Grant and I spent a the weekend at the Universal Shereton Hotel. Our October date was the Universal Halloween Horror Night, and we decided to just make a weekend out of it.
On Saturday we had lunch at the Saddle Ranch Chop House just outside Universal Studios - OH MY GOD, they had the best sweet potato casserole in the world as a side dish.
We spent about 4 hours in the park and then went back to our hotel to rest before the evening's events.
Universal Halloween Horror Nights was fun - but nothing compared to Knott's, of course. However, one really cool thing was the maze that was down on the movie lot - through the "war of the World"/"Ghost Whisperer" plane crash set, and the Bates motel... so cool!
It was a nice weekend - It was great to not have to drive there and back on the same day!
On Saturday we had lunch at the Saddle Ranch Chop House just outside Universal Studios - OH MY GOD, they had the best sweet potato casserole in the world as a side dish.
We spent about 4 hours in the park and then went back to our hotel to rest before the evening's events.
Universal Halloween Horror Nights was fun - but nothing compared to Knott's, of course. However, one really cool thing was the maze that was down on the movie lot - through the "war of the World"/"Ghost Whisperer" plane crash set, and the Bates motel... so cool!
It was a nice weekend - It was great to not have to drive there and back on the same day!
Alaska - The rest -
Wednesday, Aug. 30 - Icy Straight, Alaska
This was, quite possibly, one of the coolest ports, because it was so rural and not built up. We tendered in to Icy Straight, and when you get off, the locals greet you and give you a wood chip that they invite you to burn in toe community fire; to become a part of the spirit of Icy Straight. The little town is tiny and cute. The cannery was interesting. However, I really loved the forest walk - the trees were immense, the feeling of calm and peacefulness was so enveloping that you could almost physically notice your heart quieting. So amazingly beautiful.
Today was gray and a bit drizzly, so we went back to the ship a little early.
That evening, we took come casual portraits - one of Grant and I turned out really cute. Dinner was, as usual, delicious. The evening's show was a singer/entertainer named Glenn Smith. He was okay - some of his references Grant and I didn't really get, but it was fun all the way around. They we stayed in the theater for the Love and Marriage game show - which I always love to watch!
Day 6 - Ketchikan
Ketchikan, to me, seemed like it could have been one of my favorite ports. The initial street was lined with the regular cruise port stores, but a street or two back and you were in a cute little town that fused the old fashioned 1898 Gold rush era with modern America. Unfortunately, we didn't get as much time to explore as I would have liked because it was raining pretty hard, and it was windy. Enven with a ponsho on my jeans were soaked after an hour.
SO after a little bit of walking around, we went back on the boat. It was freezing, it was raining... so Grant and I went into the pool and jacuzzi! So fun. This was the first cruise were I ever actually went into the pools, and the salt water really didn't bother me at all. To the contrary, I actually enjoyed the buoyancy it provided!
After our swim we went back to out to our cabin to get ready for dinner which was delicious. Then we saw the production show Piano Man, which I really enjoyed. I love when they play a lot of good music, which they did in this show. (However - no Copa Cobana during the Bari Manilow part!!!)
Tonight was the midnight gala buffet, so of course we went through to take some pictures, and then have a little snack. Chocolate covered strawberries.... yummm...
Friday, Sep 1st.
Our last full day of cruising was through the Inside Passage, which meant much of the afternoon we had land on both sides of the ship. This cruise was very scenic!
After brunch in the WindJammer, we got our Bingo tickets so that we would be ready to play. We walked around the ship, enjoying the views on deck, and then played afternoon bingo, which we lost. We spent part of the afternoon packing - yuck! - and relaxing, and enjoying our balconies. Dinner was wonderful, and the juggler at the farewell show was very talented and very enjoyable. Sigh - I always get sad on the last day!
On Saturday, Sep. 2nd, we got off the ship and Vancouver with no trouble. Our original plan was to check in at the airport and leave our luggage and then rent a car for the day since our flight didn't leave until six. However, due to the way customs works here, you have to take your luggage with you through customs, and once you are through customs you can't leave the airport. Luckily, the rental car we had ordered was all out when we got there, so they gave us a choice of a convertible or a minivan - the minivan of course had plenty of room for all of our stuff.
Armed with Grant's GPS, we explored a bit of downtown Vancouver, with stops at Granville Island Market - and lunch at Bridges, and then a drive around and walk through Stanley Park. Very cool. We had also wanted to check out the University where the 4400 was filmed, but we ran out of time.
Overall, this was a fantastic trip!
This was, quite possibly, one of the coolest ports, because it was so rural and not built up. We tendered in to Icy Straight, and when you get off, the locals greet you and give you a wood chip that they invite you to burn in toe community fire; to become a part of the spirit of Icy Straight. The little town is tiny and cute. The cannery was interesting. However, I really loved the forest walk - the trees were immense, the feeling of calm and peacefulness was so enveloping that you could almost physically notice your heart quieting. So amazingly beautiful.
Today was gray and a bit drizzly, so we went back to the ship a little early.
That evening, we took come casual portraits - one of Grant and I turned out really cute. Dinner was, as usual, delicious. The evening's show was a singer/entertainer named Glenn Smith. He was okay - some of his references Grant and I didn't really get, but it was fun all the way around. They we stayed in the theater for the Love and Marriage game show - which I always love to watch!
Day 6 - Ketchikan
Ketchikan, to me, seemed like it could have been one of my favorite ports. The initial street was lined with the regular cruise port stores, but a street or two back and you were in a cute little town that fused the old fashioned 1898 Gold rush era with modern America. Unfortunately, we didn't get as much time to explore as I would have liked because it was raining pretty hard, and it was windy. Enven with a ponsho on my jeans were soaked after an hour.
SO after a little bit of walking around, we went back on the boat. It was freezing, it was raining... so Grant and I went into the pool and jacuzzi! So fun. This was the first cruise were I ever actually went into the pools, and the salt water really didn't bother me at all. To the contrary, I actually enjoyed the buoyancy it provided!
After our swim we went back to out to our cabin to get ready for dinner which was delicious. Then we saw the production show Piano Man, which I really enjoyed. I love when they play a lot of good music, which they did in this show. (However - no Copa Cobana during the Bari Manilow part!!!)
Tonight was the midnight gala buffet, so of course we went through to take some pictures, and then have a little snack. Chocolate covered strawberries.... yummm...
Friday, Sep 1st.
Our last full day of cruising was through the Inside Passage, which meant much of the afternoon we had land on both sides of the ship. This cruise was very scenic!
After brunch in the WindJammer, we got our Bingo tickets so that we would be ready to play. We walked around the ship, enjoying the views on deck, and then played afternoon bingo, which we lost. We spent part of the afternoon packing - yuck! - and relaxing, and enjoying our balconies. Dinner was wonderful, and the juggler at the farewell show was very talented and very enjoyable. Sigh - I always get sad on the last day!
On Saturday, Sep. 2nd, we got off the ship and Vancouver with no trouble. Our original plan was to check in at the airport and leave our luggage and then rent a car for the day since our flight didn't leave until six. However, due to the way customs works here, you have to take your luggage with you through customs, and once you are through customs you can't leave the airport. Luckily, the rental car we had ordered was all out when we got there, so they gave us a choice of a convertible or a minivan - the minivan of course had plenty of room for all of our stuff.
Armed with Grant's GPS, we explored a bit of downtown Vancouver, with stops at Granville Island Market - and lunch at Bridges, and then a drive around and walk through Stanley Park. Very cool. We had also wanted to check out the University where the 4400 was filmed, but we ran out of time.
Overall, this was a fantastic trip!
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Juneau, Alaska
In Juneau, we did our first (and probably only, ever) ship excursion. We took a bus to Mendenhall glacier, where I would LOVE to spend more time. The glacier was breathtaking, and we also had the opportunity to watch the salmon. Apparently it is quite common to see a bear in this area, especially during this salmon time, however, we only had an hour so we didn't get to be very patient.
Next our bus took us to the Glacier Gardens Rainforest Adventure. This was really very cool - The area was beautifully landscaped, with these trees turned upside down and bunches of overflowing plants plated in the roots up top. You take a golf cart up this trail and a guide poits out the local flora as you ascend into a rain forest. At the top, you get to look out over Juneau before heading back down again. This was really very beautiful, and a totally neat experience.
After our tour we did a little shopping in Juneau (I got my blue Alaska caribiner (spell?) here.) And then decided, becasue mom was feelins so brave, to take the Mt. Roberts Tramway up top and do a short loop hike up there. That was cool, and Mom got to do something new for her, too!
Dinner tonight was yummy. After dinner in the dining room, we went to watch "Who wants to feel like a millionaire?" Where one dude basically played who wants to be a millionaire for Royal Caribbean prizes. It was ok, but the host guy kept draggin it out so much "sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo, is that your ........... .............. .................. final .............. ................... ............. answer? MMMMMMMMMMMM HHHHHHHHHMMMMMMMMMMMM. You're sure? OOOOO KKKKKKK... are you sure that you don't want to think about it it some more? Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo? SO your ................ sure............. that this is your .................................................................... final .............. answer?
Yeah, funny for about the first 15 minutes. Maybe. Cheapskates just didn't want a second contestent to have to give out more prizes to.
After the millionaire show, we watched a Magic show which was very good. (Grant had seen the same show on his other cruise with Steve - and its quite possible that we'll see the same show on our upcoming December cruise!)
After dinner we went to donate some money to the casino (damn those stupid quarter machines that push down quarters and dangle dollar bills like little teases - I swae the 20$ was in the same place on the first night of the cruise as it was on the last!)
Chh... yeah, it was bed time after that. Don't ask how much we spent trying to get that out!
Next our bus took us to the Glacier Gardens Rainforest Adventure. This was really very cool - The area was beautifully landscaped, with these trees turned upside down and bunches of overflowing plants plated in the roots up top. You take a golf cart up this trail and a guide poits out the local flora as you ascend into a rain forest. At the top, you get to look out over Juneau before heading back down again. This was really very beautiful, and a totally neat experience.
After our tour we did a little shopping in Juneau (I got my blue Alaska caribiner (spell?) here.) And then decided, becasue mom was feelins so brave, to take the Mt. Roberts Tramway up top and do a short loop hike up there. That was cool, and Mom got to do something new for her, too!
Dinner tonight was yummy. After dinner in the dining room, we went to watch "Who wants to feel like a millionaire?" Where one dude basically played who wants to be a millionaire for Royal Caribbean prizes. It was ok, but the host guy kept draggin it out so much "sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo, is that your ........... .............. .................. final .............. ................... ............. answer? MMMMMMMMMMMM HHHHHHHHHMMMMMMMMMMMM. You're sure? OOOOO KKKKKKK... are you sure that you don't want to think about it it some more? Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo? SO your ................ sure............. that this is your .................................................................... final .............. answer?
Yeah, funny for about the first 15 minutes. Maybe. Cheapskates just didn't want a second contestent to have to give out more prizes to.
After the millionaire show, we watched a Magic show which was very good. (Grant had seen the same show on his other cruise with Steve - and its quite possible that we'll see the same show on our upcoming December cruise!)
After dinner we went to donate some money to the casino (damn those stupid quarter machines that push down quarters and dangle dollar bills like little teases - I swae the 20$ was in the same place on the first night of the cruise as it was on the last!)
Chh... yeah, it was bed time after that. Don't ask how much we spent trying to get that out!
Monday - Skagway
Yeah, its now October, but this really needed to be finished! OOOOPs!
So, we got off of the ship and roamed around the adorable city of Skagway. Cute in every way except for one complaint. They should really make the main street PEDESTRIAN ONLY!!! With so many ships in town and all the people, the sidewalks were so overly crowded, but you couldn't go in the street because of bisses and cars.
Seriously Skagway people.
N - O
C - A - R - S
SO whilst doing some shopping, we ran across this courtyard that was like a vortex of moderness, but not. You are walking down this cute little street with all of these old, beautiful buildings into a cute little courtyard - that happens to be a wireless hotspot, as evidenced by the 2o or so people lounging about the area with their laptops open.
In this same little courtyard we found a lady selling cookies and trailmix and candy and other snacks who happened to be going out of business... so we got hooked up with all sorts of snackins super cheap!
At noon we went and took the Whitepass and Yukon Railroad. It was an absolutly beautiful trip! We saw (and went over) some cool bridges, and saw some waterfalls... very cool!
After the train trip we went back in town to do a bit more shopping before getting back on the ship. Dinner was delicious, as usual, but I'll spare you the details!
After dinner, we saw the production show, "City of Dreams," which was very good. Then we headed over to the COlony Club to watch Rock - a Rockie, which is sort of like Karaoke, except that you are backed by a live band... wha??? So no one is signing up, so Bobby G gets up there and sings, "The Joker."
SO what do I do? I sign up....!!! What? I have neve sung karaoke in public in my life, but the chance to actually sing with a live band, well, I could not resist!
So, I sang "I saw him standing there," and I have no idea how I did becasue the band was so loud that I could not hear myself, but it totally rocked.
Totally. Rocked.
So, we got off of the ship and roamed around the adorable city of Skagway. Cute in every way except for one complaint. They should really make the main street PEDESTRIAN ONLY!!! With so many ships in town and all the people, the sidewalks were so overly crowded, but you couldn't go in the street because of bisses and cars.
Seriously Skagway people.
N - O
C - A - R - S
SO whilst doing some shopping, we ran across this courtyard that was like a vortex of moderness, but not. You are walking down this cute little street with all of these old, beautiful buildings into a cute little courtyard - that happens to be a wireless hotspot, as evidenced by the 2o or so people lounging about the area with their laptops open.
In this same little courtyard we found a lady selling cookies and trailmix and candy and other snacks who happened to be going out of business... so we got hooked up with all sorts of snackins super cheap!
At noon we went and took the Whitepass and Yukon Railroad. It was an absolutly beautiful trip! We saw (and went over) some cool bridges, and saw some waterfalls... very cool!
After the train trip we went back in town to do a bit more shopping before getting back on the ship. Dinner was delicious, as usual, but I'll spare you the details!
After dinner, we saw the production show, "City of Dreams," which was very good. Then we headed over to the COlony Club to watch Rock - a Rockie, which is sort of like Karaoke, except that you are backed by a live band... wha??? So no one is signing up, so Bobby G gets up there and sings, "The Joker."
SO what do I do? I sign up....!!! What? I have neve sung karaoke in public in my life, but the chance to actually sing with a live band, well, I could not resist!
So, I sang "I saw him standing there," and I have no idea how I did becasue the band was so loud that I could not hear myself, but it totally rocked.
Totally. Rocked.
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Sunday - Hubbard Glacier (Cruising)
This morning, Grant and I woke up and did our Rasul treatment. It was a very relaxing way to spend our day. Plus, we got to spend a few minutes in the thermal suite before they took us to the rasul chamber so that was nice. The thermal suite had these tiled reclining benches that were very warm, and faced out to the sea.
After our spa time, we met up with mom and Bobby and had lunch in the Windjammer. After lunch, we decided to head towards the front of the ship to try to oget a good spot for spotting the glacier, but on the way we passed the rock wall - one of my goals for this trip. So - I did it! I climbed the rock wall. I did the beginner course and made it too the top. Then Bobby tried. There was almost no one there, so I went a head and did the beginning course again. Feeling so confident, I decided to try thje more advanced course (there were 6 different levels, but they only had the first and the fourth open today.) so I did the harder one, but I could only make it half way up - partly because I was tired and didin;t rest in between and partly becasue it was difficult. Once I realized that I wasn't going to make it this time, I turned around and told the guy. he was really nice about it - he said "just rest, it is okay, you can do it," but I had already sort of lost my nerve and I was really tired so finally I just went down. Oh well - thats cool. I climbed it a few times, which was my goal, and I can alwyas try again later!
So, we headed towards the front of the boat to see Hubbard glacier. again, the weather was awesome. The whole crew was out taking pictures, and many of them said that this had been the clearest day they'd had all summer, and last week had been very foggy. Today was crystal clear, sunny, and beautiful.
As we retrated, we all (mom Bobby Gary, Donna, Grant and I) came back to our balcony and watched the glacier as we pulled away. I personally didin;t see any activity, but Grant did!
Tonight was formal night, so we got dressed up in our fancy duds and headed out to get some pictures taken.
(more later)
After our spa time, we met up with mom and Bobby and had lunch in the Windjammer. After lunch, we decided to head towards the front of the ship to try to oget a good spot for spotting the glacier, but on the way we passed the rock wall - one of my goals for this trip. So - I did it! I climbed the rock wall. I did the beginner course and made it too the top. Then Bobby tried. There was almost no one there, so I went a head and did the beginning course again. Feeling so confident, I decided to try thje more advanced course (there were 6 different levels, but they only had the first and the fourth open today.) so I did the harder one, but I could only make it half way up - partly because I was tired and didin;t rest in between and partly becasue it was difficult. Once I realized that I wasn't going to make it this time, I turned around and told the guy. he was really nice about it - he said "just rest, it is okay, you can do it," but I had already sort of lost my nerve and I was really tired so finally I just went down. Oh well - thats cool. I climbed it a few times, which was my goal, and I can alwyas try again later!
So, we headed towards the front of the boat to see Hubbard glacier. again, the weather was awesome. The whole crew was out taking pictures, and many of them said that this had been the clearest day they'd had all summer, and last week had been very foggy. Today was crystal clear, sunny, and beautiful.
As we retrated, we all (mom Bobby Gary, Donna, Grant and I) came back to our balcony and watched the glacier as we pulled away. I personally didin;t see any activity, but Grant did!
Tonight was formal night, so we got dressed up in our fancy duds and headed out to get some pictures taken.
(more later)
Multiple posts
Sorry about all of the multiple posts. We usually get good Internet, however, the blog site has been acting really funny. I will clean up the multiple posts when I get home. I mat or may not blog - depending on how the site is actiong when I have time to sit and blog!
Monday, August 28, 2006
Seward - Cruise Day 1
Seward, Alaska. Today, we leave on our cruise. We awoke to a light rain that persisted most of the day. We packed up and hung around the house we rented until check out time at 11:00. It was nice for everyone, I think, to get to relax, sleep in, and rest up - it had been a busy week!
At 11:00, we got a taxi which took us and our bags to the cruise ship terminal. The same taxi took all of us and our bags in two trips. The boys and the bags went first and checked in the bags, and the ladies took the next trip.
We were allowed to check in immediately, which was nice. Our cruise books said that we could not check in until 6:00 PM. Most of the research we had done said you could check in way earlier, but we always heard around 12 or 12:30. So we checked in and then got in line to get on the ship (we couldn't actually get on until noon, so we had about a ten minute wait...)
We went through security and were among the first onboard (I would say within the first 50.) We got our welcome aboard pic and headed on up to the Windjammer, which would begin serving lunch at 12:30. We tried to swing by the cabin, however, the fire doors were still closed. But they would be open by 1:00 so we could go right after lunch.
While we waited for the buffet to open, we explored the pool area and the beautiful Solarium...I must say, the ship (Radiance of the Seas) is very beautiful, and the Solarium is one of the most beautiful parts on any ship I've ever seen. The Solarium is an indoor pool with a retractable roof, so it can be open in warm destinations, but here in Alaska, is it closed and kept a comfortable temperature for swimming. Typically it is an adults only area, but since it is too cold to swim in the regular pool most of the time, they allow children to swim at certain times on this itinerary - but anyway - The solarium is decorated like an Indian jungle - there are lush tropical plants all over, a wooden bridge crosses the pool in front of a huge, floor to ceiling pair of sculpted elephants in front of a cascading waterfall. It is so neat there.
The whole ship, as I said, is beautiful - lots of glass and cascading waterfalls. Just amazing.
We had a quick lunch in the Windjammer buffet, and then went to our rooms. Donna and Gary are on deck 10, cabin #1094. They have a junior suite - a very nice room, but their balcony is right under a hump that juts out over there cabin, so it sort of restricts their views of the scenic vistas - you can see out but not necessarily up - say - to the top of the mountains.
Mom and Bobby's room is right underneath Donna and Gary's, in cabin number 9244. They have a great port side view, which is nice because most of the scenery is on that side.
Grant and I are in cabin 9258, which is on the back of the ship, towards the port side. We have a huge balcony, that holds two chairs and two recliners. Plenty of room out there!
After we dropped off our carry ons, Grant, Gary, Donna and I headed back into Seward to watch a movie at the Seward library on the Alaska Earthquake of 1964. Mom and Bobby stayed back to explore the ship. The movies were kind of, well, old school. It was an interesting experience....
Then we went to the chocolate shop before heading back to the ship.
Once on board, we checked to see where our table was, and then Grant and I went by the spa to check out their menu. We booked the Rasul treatment for Sunday at 11:45. Then we headed back to our cabin to unpack before dinner (another advantage to checking in so early - our bags were delivered by 4:00! We also met our cabin steward, Dennis, from the Philippines.
We had dinner at 6:00 in the Cascades Dining room. We are at a table of 8, which means its us 6 and another couple - they have been on a ton of cruises - 10 on Royal Caribbean!
I had a mushroom pastry, saigon chicken noodle soup, a spinach salad,
Grant had smoked fish talpenade, tuscan tomato soup, a spinach salad, ling cod, and
Mom had the smoked fish tapenade, saigon chicken soup, the cod, and a fruit salad for dessert.
Bobby had the smoked fish tapenade, spinach salad, the ling cod, and
Donna had the tuscan tomato soup, the spinach salad, and
Gary had
After dinner, we went to our cabin to get ready for the 8:15 muster drill. It went pretty quick and by 9:00 we were back in our cabin on the balcony watching the ship pull away from Seward.
We did some exploring and then went to the Welcome Aboard show. The comedian was hilarious - he could do some dead on hilarious impressions. My favorite was Don Knott -- he did both Mr. Furley and Andy Griffith.
The theater, by the way is set up very cool, more like a theater and less like a "club" with booth seats facing sideways, so more people could fit, and everyone faced forward. Also, the poles and such were positioned in a way that almost every seat was good and not blocked...
After dinner we did more exploring, deck by deck. It was freezing outside and super windy, so I wussed out and didn't go some places.
On our way back to our cabin, we stopped by to check on Bobby. W3e had promised him that he would barely feel the ship move and would be fine. Little did we know that the seas would be choppy and we would be going so fast - you could really feel the motion of the ocean! "See if I ever listen to you again..." Bobby says. But he felt fine so that was good.
Back in our room, we ordered some room service snackins and watched some tv.
I love this ship.
At 11:00, we got a taxi which took us and our bags to the cruise ship terminal. The same taxi took all of us and our bags in two trips. The boys and the bags went first and checked in the bags, and the ladies took the next trip.
We were allowed to check in immediately, which was nice. Our cruise books said that we could not check in until 6:00 PM. Most of the research we had done said you could check in way earlier, but we always heard around 12 or 12:30. So we checked in and then got in line to get on the ship (we couldn't actually get on until noon, so we had about a ten minute wait...)
We went through security and were among the first onboard (I would say within the first 50.) We got our welcome aboard pic and headed on up to the Windjammer, which would begin serving lunch at 12:30. We tried to swing by the cabin, however, the fire doors were still closed. But they would be open by 1:00 so we could go right after lunch.
While we waited for the buffet to open, we explored the pool area and the beautiful Solarium...I must say, the ship (Radiance of the Seas) is very beautiful, and the Solarium is one of the most beautiful parts on any ship I've ever seen. The Solarium is an indoor pool with a retractable roof, so it can be open in warm destinations, but here in Alaska, is it closed and kept a comfortable temperature for swimming. Typically it is an adults only area, but since it is too cold to swim in the regular pool most of the time, they allow children to swim at certain times on this itinerary - but anyway - The solarium is decorated like an Indian jungle - there are lush tropical plants all over, a wooden bridge crosses the pool in front of a huge, floor to ceiling pair of sculpted elephants in front of a cascading waterfall. It is so neat there.
The whole ship, as I said, is beautiful - lots of glass and cascading waterfalls. Just amazing.
We had a quick lunch in the Windjammer buffet, and then went to our rooms. Donna and Gary are on deck 10, cabin #1094. They have a junior suite - a very nice room, but their balcony is right under a hump that juts out over there cabin, so it sort of restricts their views of the scenic vistas - you can see out but not necessarily up - say - to the top of the mountains.
Mom and Bobby's room is right underneath Donna and Gary's, in cabin number 9244. They have a great port side view, which is nice because most of the scenery is on that side.
Grant and I are in cabin 9258, which is on the back of the ship, towards the port side. We have a huge balcony, that holds two chairs and two recliners. Plenty of room out there!
After we dropped off our carry ons, Grant, Gary, Donna and I headed back into Seward to watch a movie at the Seward library on the Alaska Earthquake of 1964. Mom and Bobby stayed back to explore the ship. The movies were kind of, well, old school. It was an interesting experience....
Then we went to the chocolate shop before heading back to the ship.
Once on board, we checked to see where our table was, and then Grant and I went by the spa to check out their menu. We booked the Rasul treatment for Sunday at 11:45. Then we headed back to our cabin to unpack before dinner (another advantage to checking in so early - our bags were delivered by 4:00! We also met our cabin steward, Dennis, from the Philippines.
We had dinner at 6:00 in the Cascades Dining room. We are at a table of 8, which means its us 6 and another couple - they have been on a ton of cruises - 10 on Royal Caribbean!
I had a mushroom pastry, saigon chicken noodle soup, a spinach salad,
Grant had smoked fish talpenade, tuscan tomato soup, a spinach salad, ling cod, and
Mom had the smoked fish tapenade, saigon chicken soup, the cod, and a fruit salad for dessert.
Bobby had the smoked fish tapenade, spinach salad, the ling cod, and
Donna had the tuscan tomato soup, the spinach salad, and
Gary had
After dinner, we went to our cabin to get ready for the 8:15 muster drill. It went pretty quick and by 9:00 we were back in our cabin on the balcony watching the ship pull away from Seward.
We did some exploring and then went to the Welcome Aboard show. The comedian was hilarious - he could do some dead on hilarious impressions. My favorite was Don Knott -- he did both Mr. Furley and Andy Griffith.
The theater, by the way is set up very cool, more like a theater and less like a "club" with booth seats facing sideways, so more people could fit, and everyone faced forward. Also, the poles and such were positioned in a way that almost every seat was good and not blocked...
After dinner we did more exploring, deck by deck. It was freezing outside and super windy, so I wussed out and didn't go some places.
On our way back to our cabin, we stopped by to check on Bobby. W3e had promised him that he would barely feel the ship move and would be fine. Little did we know that the seas would be choppy and we would be going so fast - you could really feel the motion of the ocean! "See if I ever listen to you again..." Bobby says. But he felt fine so that was good.
Back in our room, we ordered some room service snackins and watched some tv.
I love this ship.
Saturday, August 26, 2006
Seward - Kenai Fjords
5:00 AM the alarm beeps and we drag out of bed to get to the train station in the rain to catch the 6:40 train to Seward. Yeah, pretty cranky. But we made it and the train ride was beautiful. the train was only half full, and we realized that the rear car was all but empty, so we ended up staying there for the rest of the trip. This train ride was beautiful - (as were all of them...) we saw glaciers and waterfalls and the closer we got to Seward, the clearer the skies were.
We arrived in Seward at 11:00 and headed down to the docks to take a boat ride through Kenai fjords national park. We saw a glacier from close up, tons of jellyfish, goats, seals, otters, and...yes... whales! (So I saw the moose, bear, and whale I was hoping to see!) we also had a delicious salmon and prime rib dinner.
The waters were really choppy. Although the weather was clear and beautiful, the sea was still choppy from yesterday's rain storm. (we really lucked out weather wise on this trip!) Poor Bobby, though, had a few bouts of sea sickness, however, we discovered that the ginger candy really does help. Even I didn't feel great some of the time.
After our boat tour, we walked to our hotel. We are staying at the Harborview hotel. Our room is actually the old owners home when this was a smaller bed and Breakfast, so we are staying in a 4-bedroom house, with a family room, kitchen, and two full bathrooms. And.... a washer drier! So we settled in and did our laundry. Bobby, Grant and I walked down to pick up some pizzas (apparently nobody felt like delivering...) and Gary got some sodas. After that, I went to bed. I was tired from only getting 6 hours of sleep the night before.
However, at around 4:00 AM, we went out and looked at the cruise ship that had just pulled in, all lit up.
Today, we leave on our cruise!
We arrived in Seward at 11:00 and headed down to the docks to take a boat ride through Kenai fjords national park. We saw a glacier from close up, tons of jellyfish, goats, seals, otters, and...yes... whales! (So I saw the moose, bear, and whale I was hoping to see!) we also had a delicious salmon and prime rib dinner.
The waters were really choppy. Although the weather was clear and beautiful, the sea was still choppy from yesterday's rain storm. (we really lucked out weather wise on this trip!) Poor Bobby, though, had a few bouts of sea sickness, however, we discovered that the ginger candy really does help. Even I didn't feel great some of the time.
After our boat tour, we walked to our hotel. We are staying at the Harborview hotel. Our room is actually the old owners home when this was a smaller bed and Breakfast, so we are staying in a 4-bedroom house, with a family room, kitchen, and two full bathrooms. And.... a washer drier! So we settled in and did our laundry. Bobby, Grant and I walked down to pick up some pizzas (apparently nobody felt like delivering...) and Gary got some sodas. After that, I went to bed. I was tired from only getting 6 hours of sleep the night before.
However, at around 4:00 AM, we went out and looked at the cruise ship that had just pulled in, all lit up.
Today, we leave on our cruise!
Talkeetna to Anchorage... eventually
Today we checked out of the Princess Lodge. actually, not today, but two days ago, but since I don't remember what day, I am going to write it in present tense. Well, let me think about this... today is Saturday...Thursday, I think?
Ok, so Thursday, we checked out of the lodge. We went down to the main part of the lodge and took a nature walk with the ranger, which was way cool.
Donna and Gary had to return the rental car to Anchorage, so Gary decided to drive it back with all of our luggage while the rest of us took the train. We took the 1:30 shuttle into Talkeetna and ate lunch (we went to the pizza place, I can;t remember the exact name, and shared a hummus platter and a margharetti pizza) and then we dutifully headed down to the train station to get there at 4:15, ready for the train that would arrive at 4:40... having been assured that the train was indeed on time. (although it had been late for the past 4 days becasue of the floods.) Honestly, we didin;t mind that it was late - we were irritated about the lack of communication. We coule have spent time shopping in Talkeetna or whatever. Instead of sitting on a bench at the station for two hours.
The train arrived at 6:40... well,, at least we knew Gary was safely in Anchorage - he called us while we were waiting!
The train was a bit confusing because our names weren't printed on the front page of the manifest for the car we were supposed to be in. As a matter of fact, the guy was going to take us all the way to the Alaska railroad cars if I hadn't glanced at the manifest and saw our names. We think the mix up occurred because the train car we were supposed to be on wasn't on the train, (we were quite possibly the only people scheduled to be on it) and so we were actually getting put with another group.
It all worked out. We had a good dinner on the train - Grant and mom had a pork loin dinner with apples and sweet potatoes, Donna had chicken, Bobby had Halibut, I think, and I had a shrimp stir-fry.
The tour guide on this train was really good - he was from Alaska and he was very nice and a great story teller, so we heard all sorts of interesting things on our way.
We arrived in Anchorage at 10:00 ish, and Gary met us in the rental car. We got to our hotel and settled in quickly, because we had to catch the 6:45 train the next morning.
Ok, so Thursday, we checked out of the lodge. We went down to the main part of the lodge and took a nature walk with the ranger, which was way cool.
Donna and Gary had to return the rental car to Anchorage, so Gary decided to drive it back with all of our luggage while the rest of us took the train. We took the 1:30 shuttle into Talkeetna and ate lunch (we went to the pizza place, I can;t remember the exact name, and shared a hummus platter and a margharetti pizza) and then we dutifully headed down to the train station to get there at 4:15, ready for the train that would arrive at 4:40... having been assured that the train was indeed on time. (although it had been late for the past 4 days becasue of the floods.) Honestly, we didin;t mind that it was late - we were irritated about the lack of communication. We coule have spent time shopping in Talkeetna or whatever. Instead of sitting on a bench at the station for two hours.
The train arrived at 6:40... well,, at least we knew Gary was safely in Anchorage - he called us while we were waiting!
The train was a bit confusing because our names weren't printed on the front page of the manifest for the car we were supposed to be in. As a matter of fact, the guy was going to take us all the way to the Alaska railroad cars if I hadn't glanced at the manifest and saw our names. We think the mix up occurred because the train car we were supposed to be on wasn't on the train, (we were quite possibly the only people scheduled to be on it) and so we were actually getting put with another group.
It all worked out. We had a good dinner on the train - Grant and mom had a pork loin dinner with apples and sweet potatoes, Donna had chicken, Bobby had Halibut, I think, and I had a shrimp stir-fry.
The tour guide on this train was really good - he was from Alaska and he was very nice and a great story teller, so we heard all sorts of interesting things on our way.
We arrived in Anchorage at 10:00 ish, and Gary met us in the rental car. We got to our hotel and settled in quickly, because we had to catch the 6:45 train the next morning.
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Mt. McKinley Princess Lodge, Talkeetna
So today we headed into the cute little town of Talkeetna, which was brushing itself off after weeks of rains and the worst flooding it had had since 1986. (Yes, we are here in Alaska on the tail end of the 2006 Alaska flood!)
We took the Princess shuttle bus into town and then had lunch at the West Rib Pub and Grill. We sat out on the patio and enjoyed a nice lunch. I had a crab cake burget again, Grant had halibut burger, Donna had a regular hamburger, Bobby and Gary had Buffalo burgers and mom had a fish sampler that had a crab cake, halibut and Salmon, which was good becasue she got a little taste of these to see what she really liked (and she liked them all!) Now she knows what Alaskan dishes to order.
After lunch we went to check in to our excursion (although it was running really late.) We took a two hour boar tide on the Susitna and talkeetna rivers, up to a place where salmon spawn. Thanks to mom's good eye, we got to see a grizzly bear! It was so cool - a mom and her cubs...the mom stood right up and stared at us for a moment.
We also saw a bald eagle and an eagle's nest. We took a short nature walk and saw an Indian camp recreation which was quite cool. Our tour guide, Angela, was very knowledgable becasue she was an Eskimo and she had lived in a small village at one time. Also, there was a trapper's cabin, which was somethihng to see - it was small and dark!
After our boat trip we haded back to the lodge and viewed Mt. McKinley from our hotel. It is very cloudy, so we're not actually sure if we can see mt. McKinley or just the mountain range in front of it, but it is beautiful, none the less.
We went back to 20-3 -20 for dinner - (Gary ordered the crab cakes, although I didn't three in a row would be a bit much - Donna had a club Croissant, Mom had chicken manicotti, grant had the salmon, and Bobbi and I went halvsies on a pepperoni pizza and a chicken quesedilla. Now we're just hanging out...
We took the Princess shuttle bus into town and then had lunch at the West Rib Pub and Grill. We sat out on the patio and enjoyed a nice lunch. I had a crab cake burget again, Grant had halibut burger, Donna had a regular hamburger, Bobby and Gary had Buffalo burgers and mom had a fish sampler that had a crab cake, halibut and Salmon, which was good becasue she got a little taste of these to see what she really liked (and she liked them all!) Now she knows what Alaskan dishes to order.
After lunch we went to check in to our excursion (although it was running really late.) We took a two hour boar tide on the Susitna and talkeetna rivers, up to a place where salmon spawn. Thanks to mom's good eye, we got to see a grizzly bear! It was so cool - a mom and her cubs...the mom stood right up and stared at us for a moment.
We also saw a bald eagle and an eagle's nest. We took a short nature walk and saw an Indian camp recreation which was quite cool. Our tour guide, Angela, was very knowledgable becasue she was an Eskimo and she had lived in a small village at one time. Also, there was a trapper's cabin, which was somethihng to see - it was small and dark!
After our boat trip we haded back to the lodge and viewed Mt. McKinley from our hotel. It is very cloudy, so we're not actually sure if we can see mt. McKinley or just the mountain range in front of it, but it is beautiful, none the less.
We went back to 20-3 -20 for dinner - (Gary ordered the crab cakes, although I didn't three in a row would be a bit much - Donna had a club Croissant, Mom had chicken manicotti, grant had the salmon, and Bobbi and I went halvsies on a pepperoni pizza and a chicken quesedilla. Now we're just hanging out...
Train from Fairbanfs to Talkeetna
Railroad from Fairbanks to Talkeetna
We had to get up pretty early this morning to catch a 7:00 shuttle to the train station. Today, we took an 8 hour train ride from Fairbanks to Talkeetna on the Alaska railroad. We paid the extra for the Gold Star Service, so we got to sit in a rally spectacular domed car with high, domed glass windows. On the way, we did see a couple of moose!
We ate lunch in the dining car - Grant, Bobby and I had the wild game stew - so I have now officially eaten reindeer and buffalo. Mom got pot roast.
Sitting in the Gold Star section we also got free beverages and these cute snack packs with pretzels and honey mustard and jam and chocolate covered blue berries.
The train was pretty late coming in - all of the rains caused severe flooding and the trains had been closed for the past few days, so in many places they were still working hard at clearing the side by side tracks. We saw many parts of the hills that had mudslide damage, and the water levels were really high.
We got in to Talkeetna at around 7:00, which was about 3 hours late. Gary met us and drove us to the lodge in his rental car. The train station took care of our luggage and brought it to the lodge for us.
We met up with Donna after checking in. Our rooms are in building 17 - 1711 for Grant and I, 1714 for Gary and Donna, and 1712 for Mom and Bobby. We had dinner at Twenty-three-twenty, which is one if the restaurants here, named for the altitude of Mount McKinley. Grant and Bobby had Salmon, Mom and Donna had a shrimp and crab salad on a croissant, Gary had the Buffalo stew, and I had crab cake sliders. Yummy!
After dinner we chatted about which excursion we wanted to do and then headed off to bed!
We had to get up pretty early this morning to catch a 7:00 shuttle to the train station. Today, we took an 8 hour train ride from Fairbanks to Talkeetna on the Alaska railroad. We paid the extra for the Gold Star Service, so we got to sit in a rally spectacular domed car with high, domed glass windows. On the way, we did see a couple of moose!
We ate lunch in the dining car - Grant, Bobby and I had the wild game stew - so I have now officially eaten reindeer and buffalo. Mom got pot roast.
Sitting in the Gold Star section we also got free beverages and these cute snack packs with pretzels and honey mustard and jam and chocolate covered blue berries.
The train was pretty late coming in - all of the rains caused severe flooding and the trains had been closed for the past few days, so in many places they were still working hard at clearing the side by side tracks. We saw many parts of the hills that had mudslide damage, and the water levels were really high.
We got in to Talkeetna at around 7:00, which was about 3 hours late. Gary met us and drove us to the lodge in his rental car. The train station took care of our luggage and brought it to the lodge for us.
We met up with Donna after checking in. Our rooms are in building 17 - 1711 for Grant and I, 1714 for Gary and Donna, and 1712 for Mom and Bobby. We had dinner at Twenty-three-twenty, which is one if the restaurants here, named for the altitude of Mount McKinley. Grant and Bobby had Salmon, Mom and Donna had a shrimp and crab salad on a croissant, Gary had the Buffalo stew, and I had crab cake sliders. Yummy!
After dinner we chatted about which excursion we wanted to do and then headed off to bed!
Monday, August 21, 2006
So...where was I?
So we got in to Seattle at like 1:00, got our hotel voucher, and spent the night at the Gateway Radison.We got about 6 and a half hours of sleep before it was time to get up again... (By the way - we've now officially tried that sleep by number bed - not big fans, Grant and I, of the sleep by number system...)
This morning we woke up and had breakfast at the hotel with our voucher from the airline. Then we went to the airport and got on our flight to Fairbanks (via Anchorage). Luckily thought, we were in first class, so we had a free meal and free use of the video screens (Dig E players) with movies and TV shows.
We finally got to Fairbanks (and all of our luggage made it as well!) We got to our hotel at around 4:30. Mom and Bobby were already here (they had gotten in last night). We checked in and chatted and then we headed out to go to dinner. We stopped at the Fudge Pot and bought some fudge to eat on the train tomorrow.
We had dinner at a place called Past Bella...I had Eggplant Parmigiana, Bobby had lasagna, and Mom and Grant had Chicken of the Sun (CHicken sauteed with garlic and sundried tomatoes.)
We are back at the hotel and getting ready for bed... we have to take the 7:00 shuttle so we have to get up early.
Gary and Donna decided not to come to fairbanks and take the train becasue if the risk of the trains not running, so they will drive up to Talkeetna and meet us tomorrow.
Good night
This morning we woke up and had breakfast at the hotel with our voucher from the airline. Then we went to the airport and got on our flight to Fairbanks (via Anchorage). Luckily thought, we were in first class, so we had a free meal and free use of the video screens (Dig E players) with movies and TV shows.
We finally got to Fairbanks (and all of our luggage made it as well!) We got to our hotel at around 4:30. Mom and Bobby were already here (they had gotten in last night). We checked in and chatted and then we headed out to go to dinner. We stopped at the Fudge Pot and bought some fudge to eat on the train tomorrow.
We had dinner at a place called Past Bella...I had Eggplant Parmigiana, Bobby had lasagna, and Mom and Grant had Chicken of the Sun (CHicken sauteed with garlic and sundried tomatoes.)
We are back at the hotel and getting ready for bed... we have to take the 7:00 shuttle so we have to get up early.
Gary and Donna decided not to come to fairbanks and take the train becasue if the risk of the trains not running, so they will drive up to Talkeetna and meet us tomorrow.
Good night
Articles
Here is the text from the news articles in case they are later taken down:
From: http://www.nbc4.tv/news/9708437/detail.html
Crew Evacuates Long Beach Passengers From Smoke-Filled Cabin
POSTED: 6:34 am PDT August 21, 2006
UPDATED: 6:52 am PDT August 21, 2006
LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Passengers landing at Long Beach airport on a flight from Seattle got a scare Sunday when the cabin filled up with smoke.
The Alaska airlines jet was evacuating shortly after touching down at 6:00 p.m.
Airline spokeswoman Caroline Boren says there was so much smoke in the cabin that the crew decided to evacuate passengers using the airplane's slide.
She saids three of the 140 passengers and one flight attendant requested assistance from paramedics for injuries they apparently suffered during the evacuation. One requested further treatment at a hospital.
No word yet on what caused the smoke.
From: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-jonbenet21aug21,0,2419400.story?coll=la-home-headlines
Ramsey Case Suspect Is Back on U.S. Soil
John Mark Karr lands at LAX and is taken into custody. He faces extradition to Colorado.
By Stuart Silverstein and Joel Rubin, Times Staff Writers
August 21, 2006
John Mark Karr, the suspect in the slaying of 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey, arrived in Los Angeles on Sunday night aboard a Thai Airways International flight from Bangkok.
Federal immigration officials processed Karr shortly after he arrived at Los Angeles International Airport. He was taken into police custody on a Colorado warrant, informed of the charges against him and taken by helicopter to the Twin Towers Jail in downtown Los Angeles, officials said.
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Karr will be held in isolation at the jail to protect him from other inmates, according to sheriff's spokesman Deputy Rick Pena. "Accused child molesters are targets for some of the other criminals in there," he said.
Colorado authorities said Karr had to be arrested in California and go through an extradition process, rather than simply being put on a connecting flight to Boulder, because of rules that regulate the transfer of accused criminals from one state to another. Los Angeles court officials said Sunday night that an extradition hearing had not yet been scheduled.
Carolyn French, a spokeswoman for the Boulder County district attorney's office, said that if Karr agreed to the extradition, he could be flown to Colorado as soon as a day after the hearing. But if he contests it, she said, he could remain in Los Angeles up to 30 days.
Karr is expected to face charges in Colorado of firstdegree murder, kidnapping and child sexual assault in connection with the 1996 killing of JonBenet.
A passenger who sat near Karr during the long flight said the suspect seemed to enjoy a friendly rapport with law enforcement agents.
"They always had smiles on their faces — except when they were protecting him in the bathroom," said Dan Shiff of Montreal.
Karr shied away from the throngs of cameras that crowded around him in Bangkok, but spent about 30 minutes "primping" before the plane landed in Los Angeles, Shiff said.
Despite the overwhelming media coverage of Karr's moves over the last few days, some aboard the flight were unaware of his presence.
"I didn't know what was going on," said University of Southern California student Lalida Mangkornkanok, 21.
"We weren't informed that he was on the flight…. I'm glad nothing happened."
Five days after he was taken into custody by authorities in Bangkok, Karr, 41, was led out of the Thai city's downtown immigration detention center at 3 p.m. on Sunday. Surrounded closely by a cadre of about a dozen uniformed police officials, Karr was not handcuffed but was ushered quickly to a white van.
Karr, wearing black pants, a maroon, short-sleeved shirt and a black tie, remained expressionless as he walked through a media throng.
A frantic motorcade of several taxis and cars chased the van through Bangkok's traffic-choked streets and onto its express toll road for the 20-minute drive to Don Muang International Airport. As the van pulled up to the curb at Terminal 1 beneath a Thai Airways sign, a crush of television cameramen and photographers descended.
A melee ensued as a phalanx of immigration police officers formed a tight ring to secure Karr. With the escorts pushing violently against the aggressive horde of journalists, travelers looked on as the spectacle snaked its way through the terminal.
Again, Karr stayed silent, looking ahead blankly.
Meanwhile on Sunday, Dr. Thep Vechavisit, a prominent Thai plastic surgeon who specializes in sex-change operations, breast enhancement procedures and other cosmetic plastic surgeries, acknowledged that Karr "was one of my patients," the Associated Press reported.
Vechavisit declined to elaborate, but a staffer at the clinic, who asked for anonymity because she was not authorized to talk to the media, said Karr had consulted the doctor about a sex-change operation.
From: http://www.nbc4.tv/news/9708437/detail.html
Crew Evacuates Long Beach Passengers From Smoke-Filled Cabin
POSTED: 6:34 am PDT August 21, 2006
UPDATED: 6:52 am PDT August 21, 2006
LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Passengers landing at Long Beach airport on a flight from Seattle got a scare Sunday when the cabin filled up with smoke.
The Alaska airlines jet was evacuating shortly after touching down at 6:00 p.m.
Airline spokeswoman Caroline Boren says there was so much smoke in the cabin that the crew decided to evacuate passengers using the airplane's slide.
She saids three of the 140 passengers and one flight attendant requested assistance from paramedics for injuries they apparently suffered during the evacuation. One requested further treatment at a hospital.
No word yet on what caused the smoke.
From: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-jonbenet21aug21,0,2419400.story?coll=la-home-headlines
Ramsey Case Suspect Is Back on U.S. Soil
John Mark Karr lands at LAX and is taken into custody. He faces extradition to Colorado.
By Stuart Silverstein and Joel Rubin, Times Staff Writers
August 21, 2006
John Mark Karr, the suspect in the slaying of 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey, arrived in Los Angeles on Sunday night aboard a Thai Airways International flight from Bangkok.
Federal immigration officials processed Karr shortly after he arrived at Los Angeles International Airport. He was taken into police custody on a Colorado warrant, informed of the charges against him and taken by helicopter to the Twin Towers Jail in downtown Los Angeles, officials said.
ADVERTISEMENT
Karr will be held in isolation at the jail to protect him from other inmates, according to sheriff's spokesman Deputy Rick Pena. "Accused child molesters are targets for some of the other criminals in there," he said.
Colorado authorities said Karr had to be arrested in California and go through an extradition process, rather than simply being put on a connecting flight to Boulder, because of rules that regulate the transfer of accused criminals from one state to another. Los Angeles court officials said Sunday night that an extradition hearing had not yet been scheduled.
Carolyn French, a spokeswoman for the Boulder County district attorney's office, said that if Karr agreed to the extradition, he could be flown to Colorado as soon as a day after the hearing. But if he contests it, she said, he could remain in Los Angeles up to 30 days.
Karr is expected to face charges in Colorado of firstdegree murder, kidnapping and child sexual assault in connection with the 1996 killing of JonBenet.
A passenger who sat near Karr during the long flight said the suspect seemed to enjoy a friendly rapport with law enforcement agents.
"They always had smiles on their faces — except when they were protecting him in the bathroom," said Dan Shiff of Montreal.
Karr shied away from the throngs of cameras that crowded around him in Bangkok, but spent about 30 minutes "primping" before the plane landed in Los Angeles, Shiff said.
Despite the overwhelming media coverage of Karr's moves over the last few days, some aboard the flight were unaware of his presence.
"I didn't know what was going on," said University of Southern California student Lalida Mangkornkanok, 21.
"We weren't informed that he was on the flight…. I'm glad nothing happened."
Five days after he was taken into custody by authorities in Bangkok, Karr, 41, was led out of the Thai city's downtown immigration detention center at 3 p.m. on Sunday. Surrounded closely by a cadre of about a dozen uniformed police officials, Karr was not handcuffed but was ushered quickly to a white van.
Karr, wearing black pants, a maroon, short-sleeved shirt and a black tie, remained expressionless as he walked through a media throng.
A frantic motorcade of several taxis and cars chased the van through Bangkok's traffic-choked streets and onto its express toll road for the 20-minute drive to Don Muang International Airport. As the van pulled up to the curb at Terminal 1 beneath a Thai Airways sign, a crush of television cameramen and photographers descended.
A melee ensued as a phalanx of immigration police officers formed a tight ring to secure Karr. With the escorts pushing violently against the aggressive horde of journalists, travelers looked on as the spectacle snaked its way through the terminal.
Again, Karr stayed silent, looking ahead blankly.
Meanwhile on Sunday, Dr. Thep Vechavisit, a prominent Thai plastic surgeon who specializes in sex-change operations, breast enhancement procedures and other cosmetic plastic surgeries, acknowledged that Karr "was one of my patients," the Associated Press reported.
Vechavisit declined to elaborate, but a staffer at the clinic, who asked for anonymity because she was not authorized to talk to the media, said Karr had consulted the doctor about a sex-change operation.
A series of unfortunate events....
Wow! So much to say, and we haven't even left LA yet!
So, the plane that we are going to take comes in to
Long Beach for an emergency landing. They have to park the plane on the runway and evacuate the passengers using the emergency exits. This is around, 5:30.
So, the plane is dead so we have to make other arrangements. We stand in line for 40 minutes at the ticket desk (no one was there...) while Grant tried to get help over the phone. Finally at 6:30 we get someone to help us and she says, "One of you go get your bags..." so I go out to get the bags and Grant gets us rebooked on a 9:00 flight to Seattle out of LAX, a hotel voucher, and an 11:00 AM flight tomorrow morning to Fairbanks.
He comes out to meet me, and our bags still aren't there...wha wha what? So we wait, and then... the bags from the people who were evacuated come through (I understand helping these people - they'd been through a lot - but we all had connections to catch at LAX! And the odd thing was, our bags were just sitting somewhere... they hadn't been put on the plane.... They'd known since 6:00 that we'd need our bags (all of us!) and yet our bags weren't here yet!
So while we were waiting, Grant called and changed our flight out of LAX to the 9:45 flight, so we'd be less time crunched. (We also heard that security and media would be making the airport extra busy tonight becasue the guy who ic accused of murdering JonBenet Ramsey is scheduled to land here from Thailand tonight at 9:30 - I misheard and thought it was some dignitary and relayed the information to someone else...oops.... hee hee)
So anyway our bags came out at like 7:40 and we grabbed a taxi (with an airline voucher, of course) and got to LAX at 8:00. It is 8:50 now and Grant just got back with Burger King (another good reason to take the late flight!
More later
So, the plane that we are going to take comes in to
Long Beach for an emergency landing. They have to park the plane on the runway and evacuate the passengers using the emergency exits. This is around, 5:30.
So, the plane is dead so we have to make other arrangements. We stand in line for 40 minutes at the ticket desk (no one was there...) while Grant tried to get help over the phone. Finally at 6:30 we get someone to help us and she says, "One of you go get your bags..." so I go out to get the bags and Grant gets us rebooked on a 9:00 flight to Seattle out of LAX, a hotel voucher, and an 11:00 AM flight tomorrow morning to Fairbanks.
He comes out to meet me, and our bags still aren't there...wha wha what? So we wait, and then... the bags from the people who were evacuated come through (I understand helping these people - they'd been through a lot - but we all had connections to catch at LAX! And the odd thing was, our bags were just sitting somewhere... they hadn't been put on the plane.... They'd known since 6:00 that we'd need our bags (all of us!) and yet our bags weren't here yet!
So while we were waiting, Grant called and changed our flight out of LAX to the 9:45 flight, so we'd be less time crunched. (We also heard that security and media would be making the airport extra busy tonight becasue the guy who ic accused of murdering JonBenet Ramsey is scheduled to land here from Thailand tonight at 9:30 - I misheard and thought it was some dignitary and relayed the information to someone else...oops.... hee hee)
So anyway our bags came out at like 7:40 and we grabbed a taxi (with an airline voucher, of course) and got to LAX at 8:00. It is 8:50 now and Grant just got back with Burger King (another good reason to take the late flight!
More later
Sunday, August 20, 2006
Alaska! - Long Beach Airport
Grant and I are sitting in the terminal waiting for our delayed flight.
I am feeling crappy becasue the agents gave me a hard time about the contact solution I brought - I had checked online and it specifically listed contact saline solution as something I could bring. I left it sealed in its box, thinking that would help, and I went out to specifically buy a 4 ounce bottle (which by the way costs the same amount as a full size bottle...)
My big concern was if we missed our connection and I had to spend the night.
I told the lady I checked the website and it said the solution was fine and she said, "the key word is essential...is the contact solution essential?" I explained that the solution would be if my flight was delayed and I missed my connection, and she argued with me, 'Well, how do you know your flight will be delayed? Did they tell you it would?" You could tell she was irritated that I had brought it, but it was allowed so she wasn't going to stop me.
I just felt bad. I don;t like to push rules or limits m- I like to comply and be not a pain or a problem... I wasn't going to bring it. I have only had two instances when my contacts have gotten really dry on planes and I have had to take them out and soak them, but long flights or late nights tend to do it. I really just wanted to make sure - and the website said it was okay. I don;t know why I feel crummy. I just do.
Anyways...
I have this game called 20Q. I have a portable one, but you can play online at that link. I am addicted. I love this thing. It passes time while waiting here.
As of now, our flight is delayed, so we will miss our connection. They already rebooked us on a later flight so we;ll be getting into Fairbanks an hour and a half later.
I am feeling crappy becasue the agents gave me a hard time about the contact solution I brought - I had checked online and it specifically listed contact saline solution as something I could bring. I left it sealed in its box, thinking that would help, and I went out to specifically buy a 4 ounce bottle (which by the way costs the same amount as a full size bottle...)
My big concern was if we missed our connection and I had to spend the night.
I told the lady I checked the website and it said the solution was fine and she said, "the key word is essential...is the contact solution essential?" I explained that the solution would be if my flight was delayed and I missed my connection, and she argued with me, 'Well, how do you know your flight will be delayed? Did they tell you it would?" You could tell she was irritated that I had brought it, but it was allowed so she wasn't going to stop me.
I just felt bad. I don;t like to push rules or limits m- I like to comply and be not a pain or a problem... I wasn't going to bring it. I have only had two instances when my contacts have gotten really dry on planes and I have had to take them out and soak them, but long flights or late nights tend to do it. I really just wanted to make sure - and the website said it was okay. I don;t know why I feel crummy. I just do.
Anyways...
I have this game called 20Q. I have a portable one, but you can play online at that link. I am addicted. I love this thing. It passes time while waiting here.
As of now, our flight is delayed, so we will miss our connection. They already rebooked us on a later flight so we;ll be getting into Fairbanks an hour and a half later.
Sunday, July 30, 2006
Friday and Saturday - Leaving Las Vegas
On Friday, we decided to use the new monorail. We got on at MGM and rode it to the Hilton, which is the second to the last stop. We ate lunch at the Hilton Buffet and then played in the Space Casino.
Next, we took the monorail back to the Imperial Palace stop and walked across the street to Cesears Palace. In the forum shops, they were having a grand opening og a new Field of Dreams store. Pete Rose was on hand to sign autographs (for a fee...) but Danny was able to say hello and shake his hand.
Then, Danny went to look at an Exotic Car display at the other end of the forum shops while Grant and I looked around the Gap and FAO Schwartz (which is way different and not nearly as cool, in my opinion, although it had some ok features.... it just felt very stripped down...) then we went and played some slots at Cesears.
When Danny finished there, he and Grant went over to Imperial Palace to check out there car collection. I have dutifully walked through that place at least twice, so I opted out this time and instead I went to the Mirage to check out the white tigers and... what else? .... play some slots.
We took the monorail back to our hotel. We were pretty tired so we just had pizza delivered to the room and watched TV.
The next morning, we packed our bags and headed on out. First, though, we went to brunch at the Paris buffet, which was really good... they had many different kinds of things, like the crepe station, for example. It was quite tasty.
On our way out of town, we stopped at state line and did some shopping at thte outlets. I got some cute clothes at Old Navy and Charlotte Ruse, and found some great deals at the Bath and Body Works (like some of the discontinued Plumeria body wash!)
We ate dinner at the Red Robin in Victorville and arrived home around 8:30.We went over to Grandma and Grandpa's house to pick up our precious sweet puppies. Belle and Kanga were very excited to see us!
Next, we took the monorail back to the Imperial Palace stop and walked across the street to Cesears Palace. In the forum shops, they were having a grand opening og a new Field of Dreams store. Pete Rose was on hand to sign autographs (for a fee...) but Danny was able to say hello and shake his hand.
Then, Danny went to look at an Exotic Car display at the other end of the forum shops while Grant and I looked around the Gap and FAO Schwartz (which is way different and not nearly as cool, in my opinion, although it had some ok features.... it just felt very stripped down...) then we went and played some slots at Cesears.
When Danny finished there, he and Grant went over to Imperial Palace to check out there car collection. I have dutifully walked through that place at least twice, so I opted out this time and instead I went to the Mirage to check out the white tigers and... what else? .... play some slots.
We took the monorail back to our hotel. We were pretty tired so we just had pizza delivered to the room and watched TV.
The next morning, we packed our bags and headed on out. First, though, we went to brunch at the Paris buffet, which was really good... they had many different kinds of things, like the crepe station, for example. It was quite tasty.
On our way out of town, we stopped at state line and did some shopping at thte outlets. I got some cute clothes at Old Navy and Charlotte Ruse, and found some great deals at the Bath and Body Works (like some of the discontinued Plumeria body wash!)
We ate dinner at the Red Robin in Victorville and arrived home around 8:30.We went over to Grandma and Grandpa's house to pick up our precious sweet puppies. Belle and Kanga were very excited to see us!
Friday, July 28, 2006
Thursday - Vegas
Ok, this is going to be a quick one! We drove out to Green Valley ranch, one of the Station Casinos, to check out there buffet. We had lunch (hmmm, we got there at 2:00 and they brought out crab legs at 2:45 for dinner! WOW! Lucky me again!
We played the slots for a bit, and then stopped at Walmart on the way back to the strip.
That evening, we walked from our hotel to the Aladdin and looked around the shops. We had dinner at Cheeseburger in Las Vegas (from the same people who opened the Cheeseburger in Lahaina) - It was quite tasty.
We walked across the street and North to Cesears Palace, where we played slots, admired the statues, and wandered through the forum shops. We crossed the street and headed back down the strip, walking through Harrah's, Imperial Palace, Barbarey Coast, and Balleys before stopping in Paris to play some more slots. Grant had a prettty lucky day and we ended up a little bit ahead.
By the time we got back to the hotel, we were beat!
We played the slots for a bit, and then stopped at Walmart on the way back to the strip.
That evening, we walked from our hotel to the Aladdin and looked around the shops. We had dinner at Cheeseburger in Las Vegas (from the same people who opened the Cheeseburger in Lahaina) - It was quite tasty.
We walked across the street and North to Cesears Palace, where we played slots, admired the statues, and wandered through the forum shops. We crossed the street and headed back down the strip, walking through Harrah's, Imperial Palace, Barbarey Coast, and Balleys before stopping in Paris to play some more slots. Grant had a prettty lucky day and we ended up a little bit ahead.
By the time we got back to the hotel, we were beat!
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Wednesday - Vegas
This morning we got a slow start - partially becasue it was so nice in our room and we wanted to enjoy it, and partially becasue there was a E! True Hollywood Story on the new Kids on the Block on tv...
Anyway, once we got going we swung by to get our Pocket Book of values. We looked through to choose which coupon to use and we opted for the Carnival World Buffet at Rio. Oh. My. God. I had forgotton how good this buffet was. I mean I remembered - but it was better then I remembered. First of all much of the design was updatd, and the food stations were nicer. The food was good with many different nations represented in a huge variety. They had the teppenyaki where you pick your veggies and they grill it for you, as well as a variety of noodle soups. The best thing was, we went in at 3:00, and by 3:30 it was offically dinner, which meant they put out a mountain of crab legs!
After lunch, we went to pick up our club cards and the people there were so nice... they changed my name on my card and gave me RIO beads! (5 of them!) Then, Grant got his own card Circus Circus. One of the coupons were for two free decks of cards at the slots of fun casino next door. First, though, we went up to the midway and won a whole bunch of stuffed animals and played some arcade games. We ended up winning 10 stuffed animals between the three of us. (between the beeds and the stuffed animals, I am set for prizes this year!)
We went over to slots of fun and I got my two free decks of cards (again, this will help my classroom on rainy days...)
After that, we drove to MGM to pick up our tickets for Mystere, the Cirque Du Soleil that Grant and I were going to see later. Right next door to MGM was the new Hooter's hotel (redone from the old San Remo). We decided to eat there - we got buffalo chicken strips, I got a bowl of clam chowder, and grant got a Mahi sandwich. Danny just had the chicken strips. It was really good, and we ended up ordering a second order of chicken strips (hot instead of medium this time.)
Our waitress was really nice. We found out that this was her last night working, and that on Friday she was flying back to Oklahoma to get married. Ah.... so sweet! She looked really happy.
After that we drove back to our hotel and ran upstairs to change clothes. Danny stayed at the hotel and enjoyed the oversized bath tub, while Grant and I went to see Mystere at treasure Island. This was my second Cirque Du Soleil as well as Grant's and we both loved it. We loved what they were able to do with the sets and ths stage because it is a permanent show. And wow... the things these guys can do with their bodies. Amazing!
After the show, we went back to our hotel and down to the Marketplace to buy some snacks.
Another really great thing about our hotel here in Vegas is the washer and dryer - becasue one of the owrst things about Vegas is the way that the Cigarette smoke just permeates your clothes - so we've done laundry every night.
Anyway, once we got going we swung by to get our Pocket Book of values. We looked through to choose which coupon to use and we opted for the Carnival World Buffet at Rio. Oh. My. God. I had forgotton how good this buffet was. I mean I remembered - but it was better then I remembered. First of all much of the design was updatd, and the food stations were nicer. The food was good with many different nations represented in a huge variety. They had the teppenyaki where you pick your veggies and they grill it for you, as well as a variety of noodle soups. The best thing was, we went in at 3:00, and by 3:30 it was offically dinner, which meant they put out a mountain of crab legs!
After lunch, we went to pick up our club cards and the people there were so nice... they changed my name on my card and gave me RIO beads! (5 of them!) Then, Grant got his own card Circus Circus. One of the coupons were for two free decks of cards at the slots of fun casino next door. First, though, we went up to the midway and won a whole bunch of stuffed animals and played some arcade games. We ended up winning 10 stuffed animals between the three of us. (between the beeds and the stuffed animals, I am set for prizes this year!)
We went over to slots of fun and I got my two free decks of cards (again, this will help my classroom on rainy days...)
After that, we drove to MGM to pick up our tickets for Mystere, the Cirque Du Soleil that Grant and I were going to see later. Right next door to MGM was the new Hooter's hotel (redone from the old San Remo). We decided to eat there - we got buffalo chicken strips, I got a bowl of clam chowder, and grant got a Mahi sandwich. Danny just had the chicken strips. It was really good, and we ended up ordering a second order of chicken strips (hot instead of medium this time.)
Our waitress was really nice. We found out that this was her last night working, and that on Friday she was flying back to Oklahoma to get married. Ah.... so sweet! She looked really happy.
After that we drove back to our hotel and ran upstairs to change clothes. Danny stayed at the hotel and enjoyed the oversized bath tub, while Grant and I went to see Mystere at treasure Island. This was my second Cirque Du Soleil as well as Grant's and we both loved it. We loved what they were able to do with the sets and ths stage because it is a permanent show. And wow... the things these guys can do with their bodies. Amazing!
After the show, we went back to our hotel and down to the Marketplace to buy some snacks.
Another really great thing about our hotel here in Vegas is the washer and dryer - becasue one of the owrst things about Vegas is the way that the Cigarette smoke just permeates your clothes - so we've done laundry every night.
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Las Vegas
Grant, Danny, and I drove to Las Vegas last night. The traffic was clear once we got out of Orange County and we got to Vegas in about 4 and a half hours (not counting our Barstow stop for dinner at Big Boy.
We are staying at Marriott's Grand Chateau, the new Vacation Club that has opened right off the strip (literally right off... you could easliy walk to, Say, the Aladdin hotel, which is next door.) this Vacation Club has only been opened for a year so everythign is still very new.
Grant has a coworker/friend who used to work at his property and now works here. As a result, we have a room on the 30th floor with a great view. In addition, she generously had our room ready complete with a bottle of wine, a letter for us, a 25$ Mariott "poker chip" that can be used in the Market place or at the pool bar, and two tickets to a las Vegas show (Tony and Tina's Wedding.) How very thoughtful!
Ourt room is nice. This vacation club has one, two and three bedroom units. Some of the one bedroom units are lock offs, which mean they connect to more bedrooms when a bigger villa is needed, while some of the one bedrooms are stand alone, like ours. As you walk in, there is a door immediatly to the right that leads to the bathroom. the kitchen is on your left and the back of the unit is the sitting area complete with a large flat screen (plasma, I think) tv, stereo, and dvd player. A door next to the tv leads to the bedroom with a king bed, another tv, a large bath tub, and another door to connect to the bathroom (By the way, the shower has two shower heads. cool)
I went to bed at like 12:30 (Im getting old) while the boys went out to walmart to get some breakfast food and snacks. So of course, now I am up and they are sleeping, which is fine becasue it gives me the opportunity to do some reading!
We are staying at Marriott's Grand Chateau, the new Vacation Club that has opened right off the strip (literally right off... you could easliy walk to, Say, the Aladdin hotel, which is next door.) this Vacation Club has only been opened for a year so everythign is still very new.
Grant has a coworker/friend who used to work at his property and now works here. As a result, we have a room on the 30th floor with a great view. In addition, she generously had our room ready complete with a bottle of wine, a letter for us, a 25$ Mariott "poker chip" that can be used in the Market place or at the pool bar, and two tickets to a las Vegas show (Tony and Tina's Wedding.) How very thoughtful!
Ourt room is nice. This vacation club has one, two and three bedroom units. Some of the one bedroom units are lock offs, which mean they connect to more bedrooms when a bigger villa is needed, while some of the one bedrooms are stand alone, like ours. As you walk in, there is a door immediatly to the right that leads to the bathroom. the kitchen is on your left and the back of the unit is the sitting area complete with a large flat screen (plasma, I think) tv, stereo, and dvd player. A door next to the tv leads to the bedroom with a king bed, another tv, a large bath tub, and another door to connect to the bathroom (By the way, the shower has two shower heads. cool)
I went to bed at like 12:30 (Im getting old) while the boys went out to walmart to get some breakfast food and snacks. So of course, now I am up and they are sleeping, which is fine becasue it gives me the opportunity to do some reading!
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
San Diego - Wednesday
So today, we checked in to the Waterfront Marriott in San Diego. We went out to the pool, ate at the Yacht Club and then went to see Rent.
Does this feel like deja vu? Don't scroll away... this is a new post.
You see, this morning, Grant and I checked out of the Gaslamp Marriott and checked into the Waterfront Marriott 3 blocks away, so that we could experience both hotels.
The room here is nice, with balcony that looks out over the lagoon pool and the bay between us and Coronado Island.
Out on the balcony, Grant asks me, "what do you want to do tonight?"
"I don't know, what do you think? Take it easy?" I ask.
"Well," he says, "We could see Rent," while pulling out two tickets to Rent for the July 12th show.
"Wha...wha...what?"
I stare, blankly, confused... "Rent? Tonight? We just ... wha ...?"
I stutter about, and Grant watches, amused, until he fijnally decides to explain.
After he had bought our tickets for last night (Tuesday, July 11,) he went out to search for information about the new RENT tour. The website had a contest you could enter, and low and behold, Grant found out a month later that he had won... two more tickets to RENT!
So, tonight, we would get to see Rent two nights in a row. I know your jealous.
That afternoon, we went down to the Yacht Club and had lunch there overlooking the harbor, and then went out to the pool.
After showers and getting dressed, we headed out to the trolley to the Civic theater.
So this time, we were in Orchestra section, row D, towards the right center.
So cool. It's neat becasue when you are farther back, like in the balcony, you can take in the whole stage, the big picture. But when you are so close, you can really focus on details. Its a different experience.
Roger (Bryce Ryness) and Mark (Jed Resnick) were both so full of expression from closer up. Again, I loved Joanne (Chante Carmel Frierson), amazing voice, and Collins ( Warren G. Nolan Jr.) showed so much emotion tonight!
"The opposite of war isn't peace... it's creation."
Now, we're back in the hotel. We just ordered room service for dinner, and it just got here, and it smells really good, so I gots to go!
Does this feel like deja vu? Don't scroll away... this is a new post.
You see, this morning, Grant and I checked out of the Gaslamp Marriott and checked into the Waterfront Marriott 3 blocks away, so that we could experience both hotels.
The room here is nice, with balcony that looks out over the lagoon pool and the bay between us and Coronado Island.
Out on the balcony, Grant asks me, "what do you want to do tonight?"
"I don't know, what do you think? Take it easy?" I ask.
"Well," he says, "We could see Rent," while pulling out two tickets to Rent for the July 12th show.
"Wha...wha...what?"
I stare, blankly, confused... "Rent? Tonight? We just ... wha ...?"
I stutter about, and Grant watches, amused, until he fijnally decides to explain.
After he had bought our tickets for last night (Tuesday, July 11,) he went out to search for information about the new RENT tour. The website had a contest you could enter, and low and behold, Grant found out a month later that he had won... two more tickets to RENT!
So, tonight, we would get to see Rent two nights in a row. I know your jealous.
That afternoon, we went down to the Yacht Club and had lunch there overlooking the harbor, and then went out to the pool.
After showers and getting dressed, we headed out to the trolley to the Civic theater.
So this time, we were in Orchestra section, row D, towards the right center.
So cool. It's neat becasue when you are farther back, like in the balcony, you can take in the whole stage, the big picture. But when you are so close, you can really focus on details. Its a different experience.
Roger (Bryce Ryness) and Mark (Jed Resnick) were both so full of expression from closer up. Again, I loved Joanne (Chante Carmel Frierson), amazing voice, and Collins ( Warren G. Nolan Jr.) showed so much emotion tonight!
"The opposite of war isn't peace... it's creation."
Now, we're back in the hotel. We just ordered room service for dinner, and it just got here, and it smells really good, so I gots to go!
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Grant's Birthday in San Diego
We took the train down to San Diego today to celebrate Grant's birthday. The Marriott that we are staying in tonight is in the Gaslamp District. From our window on the 19th floor, we can see Petco park Stadium, the convention center, the bay, Coronado bridge and Coronado Island. It is an amazing room.
We went to an early dinner at Cafe Sevilla, where we shared an entree and two tapas. It was very tasty. Plus, Grant told them it was our anniversery (because he didn't want them to sing Happy Birthday) and they brought us a free flan desert!
Then we walked around Horton Plaza for a bit before walking to the Civic Center to see RENT!
God, there is nothing like seeing Rent live. Hearing the first few notes, Mark's narration, and the stage lighting up in music and energy...it is just amazing!
At one point, Roger's ear mike stopped working and he had to use a handheld for a few numbers. He was so natural with it and made it blend right in.
the crowd was FULL of RENT HEADS. Lots of cheers and screaming and loud applause. It was way cool to be there. Other then New York, this was the most energetic crowd I've seen... and actually, because the theater was so much bigger, the crowd seemed almost more enthusiastic, in my opinion.
"I trust my soul, my only goal, is just to be."
We went to an early dinner at Cafe Sevilla, where we shared an entree and two tapas. It was very tasty. Plus, Grant told them it was our anniversery (because he didn't want them to sing Happy Birthday) and they brought us a free flan desert!
Then we walked around Horton Plaza for a bit before walking to the Civic Center to see RENT!
God, there is nothing like seeing Rent live. Hearing the first few notes, Mark's narration, and the stage lighting up in music and energy...it is just amazing!
At one point, Roger's ear mike stopped working and he had to use a handheld for a few numbers. He was so natural with it and made it blend right in.
the crowd was FULL of RENT HEADS. Lots of cheers and screaming and loud applause. It was way cool to be there. Other then New York, this was the most energetic crowd I've seen... and actually, because the theater was so much bigger, the crowd seemed almost more enthusiastic, in my opinion.
"I trust my soul, my only goal, is just to be."
Sunday, July 02, 2006
The end of the week
On Thursday, Grant felt much better. While he was at his training, Mom, Bobby, and I had breakfast at IHOP, and then drove down to Celebration, the Disney planned community, to see what it was like.
Celebration is beautiful - every house has beautiful architecture and landscaping. There are lots of parks and community spaces, like pools and club houses. The downtown area is cute, with places to eat and shop and a movie theater. The only thing we didn't like is how close together all of the houses were. It felt a bit claustrophobic.
Check out the Front Porch
That night, we went to the pool for a bit, and then to Cracker Barrel for dinner. I got the Chicken and Dumplins. Grant got a hamburger. (o: Bobby got ham and Mom got chicken and rice. Yummers.
On Friday, we went to the Kennedy Space Center. Suffice it to say that there was WAY more to do there then could be done in one day! The cool thing was that there was a launch scheduled for the next day (Saturday, July 1st) to send supplies up to the International Space Station. It was very cool because we got to see the shuttle out on the pad! We didn’t even get close to seeing all of what the Space Center had to offer... which is awesome! It means we have to come back! But we did see an alligator.
That night we went to Dixie Landings, a sea food restaurant famous for its rock shrimp. This was good stuff ladies and gentleman. Everyone enjoyed their meals except for one piece of fish Bobby had that tasted funny to him.
So was it food poisoning or did he catch the bug Grant had? Who knows, but by 2 AM Bobby was sick, just like Grant had been on Wednesday! Poor Guy! We checked out of our villa at noon and got a room at the Airport Marriott for the afternoon (from 11 to 4). Bobby slept during the afternoon, and we took mom back to return her car and we went to lunch at TGI Fridays. Then we took mom back to the hotel and Grant and I left for the airport. Bobby felt better by the time their flight left, and luckily it was only a two hour flight. They went ahead and upgraded to Business class so Bobby would have more room. (The nice lady on the phone upgraded them for 25$ a piece!)
Oh - and the shuttle that was supposed to take off couldn't due to weather... so we'll see if it goes today!
Celebration is beautiful - every house has beautiful architecture and landscaping. There are lots of parks and community spaces, like pools and club houses. The downtown area is cute, with places to eat and shop and a movie theater. The only thing we didn't like is how close together all of the houses were. It felt a bit claustrophobic.
Check out the Front Porch
That night, we went to the pool for a bit, and then to Cracker Barrel for dinner. I got the Chicken and Dumplins. Grant got a hamburger. (o: Bobby got ham and Mom got chicken and rice. Yummers.
On Friday, we went to the Kennedy Space Center. Suffice it to say that there was WAY more to do there then could be done in one day! The cool thing was that there was a launch scheduled for the next day (Saturday, July 1st) to send supplies up to the International Space Station. It was very cool because we got to see the shuttle out on the pad! We didn’t even get close to seeing all of what the Space Center had to offer... which is awesome! It means we have to come back! But we did see an alligator.
That night we went to Dixie Landings, a sea food restaurant famous for its rock shrimp. This was good stuff ladies and gentleman. Everyone enjoyed their meals except for one piece of fish Bobby had that tasted funny to him.
So was it food poisoning or did he catch the bug Grant had? Who knows, but by 2 AM Bobby was sick, just like Grant had been on Wednesday! Poor Guy! We checked out of our villa at noon and got a room at the Airport Marriott for the afternoon (from 11 to 4). Bobby slept during the afternoon, and we took mom back to return her car and we went to lunch at TGI Fridays. Then we took mom back to the hotel and Grant and I left for the airport. Bobby felt better by the time their flight left, and luckily it was only a two hour flight. They went ahead and upgraded to Business class so Bobby would have more room. (The nice lady on the phone upgraded them for 25$ a piece!)
Oh - and the shuttle that was supposed to take off couldn't due to weather... so we'll see if it goes today!
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Orlando
We are now checked in to our 2 bedroom villa at Cypress Springs. Ou room is great. It has a kitchen, a family room, 2 bedrooms and two bathroms, and a outside seating area compleatly surrounded by screen.
On Monday, Grant began his training. Mom, Bobby and I had breakfast at Kona Cafe at teh Polynesian (I realy wanted to try that Tonga toast, which is sourdough bread dipped in cinnamon sugar and stuffed with banana and then lightly fried. Good stuff!)Then we took the monorail around its circuit (Grand Floridian, Magic Kingdom, Contemporary, TTA, back to the Polynesian) and then walked aroud the Polynesian. On the way back, we stopped for some groceries.
We walked around our resort and checked out the pools and te activities center before it began to rain.
For dinner, we all went to Boma at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Boma is a buffet with African dishes. Lots of cous cous, fruist ad vegitable salads, spices... its very tasty.
On Tuesday, Mom, Bobby and I went to Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum. That place is so cool. We spent quite a bit of time there - moe then had anticipated, which was cool. That night when Grant was done, we went to Downtown Disney. We did a little shopping, had dinner at Bongo's Cuban Cafe, took an Open ouse peek at the Adventurer's Club, one of the clubs at Pleasure Island, and had desset at Ghiredelli's. Yumm!!!
On wednesday, morning, Mom, Bobby and I rented a limo bike (you know, where there are seats like benches and four sets of petals, 2 side by side on the first row and two on the second and a canopy..) hat was really fun. We rented it for an hour and rode all over the property.
At his lunch, Grant suprised us by popping in. Unfortuatly, Grant was really sick, poor guy. I know I worry too much, but I rarely see him sick. We spent the rest of the day close to home, which was good. Grant slept on and off and feels much better today.
At one point, I went ito to check on him. He woke up a little and I said, "hey honey, I'm just checking on you."
and Grant says, "Oh...how am I doing?"
So cute!
Mom Bobby and I are all reading a book called "The Killing Floor," So we spent alot of time reading and makig predictions about what would happen. Mom ad I read out on our screened porch and watched the lightening.
Grant is feeling better today. Not sure what we're going to do yet... probably head down to the pool! We'll see...
On Monday, Grant began his training. Mom, Bobby and I had breakfast at Kona Cafe at teh Polynesian (I realy wanted to try that Tonga toast, which is sourdough bread dipped in cinnamon sugar and stuffed with banana and then lightly fried. Good stuff!)Then we took the monorail around its circuit (Grand Floridian, Magic Kingdom, Contemporary, TTA, back to the Polynesian) and then walked aroud the Polynesian. On the way back, we stopped for some groceries.
We walked around our resort and checked out the pools and te activities center before it began to rain.
For dinner, we all went to Boma at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Boma is a buffet with African dishes. Lots of cous cous, fruist ad vegitable salads, spices... its very tasty.
On Tuesday, Mom, Bobby and I went to Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum. That place is so cool. We spent quite a bit of time there - moe then had anticipated, which was cool. That night when Grant was done, we went to Downtown Disney. We did a little shopping, had dinner at Bongo's Cuban Cafe, took an Open ouse peek at the Adventurer's Club, one of the clubs at Pleasure Island, and had desset at Ghiredelli's. Yumm!!!
On wednesday, morning, Mom, Bobby and I rented a limo bike (you know, where there are seats like benches and four sets of petals, 2 side by side on the first row and two on the second and a canopy..) hat was really fun. We rented it for an hour and rode all over the property.
At his lunch, Grant suprised us by popping in. Unfortuatly, Grant was really sick, poor guy. I know I worry too much, but I rarely see him sick. We spent the rest of the day close to home, which was good. Grant slept on and off and feels much better today.
At one point, I went ito to check on him. He woke up a little and I said, "hey honey, I'm just checking on you."
and Grant says, "Oh...how am I doing?"
So cute!
Mom Bobby and I are all reading a book called "The Killing Floor," So we spent alot of time reading and makig predictions about what would happen. Mom ad I read out on our screened porch and watched the lightening.
Grant is feeling better today. Not sure what we're going to do yet... probably head down to the pool! We'll see...
Universal Studios - Orlando
On Sunday, we checked out of Pop Century, and went over to Marriott's Cypress Harbour, one of their Orlando Vacation Clubs. There, we met my Mom and Bobby, and together we went to Universal Studios, Orlando. I had never been to this park, so I was way excited!
Our main goal (and by our, mean MY) was to visit everything that we didn't have at home in the Hollywood park. Mom and Bobby had both been to the Hollywod park, and chances are, they would get back there before they got back to this one - Most lkely the next timewe decided to visit an Orlando Unversal Park it would b Islands of Adventure.
It was about 11:30 when we actually got in te gates of the park, and no one had eaten, so we decided to have lunch first. We stopped and had pasta (for me), pizza (for Grant), and grilled chicken (for mom and Bobby)
We began by visiting Twister - Ride it Out, which was an awesome demonstration of movie effects and what a twister is like. Very similar to our Backdraft in presentation, but way cool - and temperature wise, much more appropriate to sunny Florida.
Next, we visited Earthquake. This began with a presentation of movie effects, such as blue screen, weather, and minatures, and ended with a ride on a subway into a station where we experience an earthquake! (This one shakes a LOT more then ours at home!
Unniversal is very themed. Each area is very distinct with lots of attention to detail. They did a really good job with this part! I was very impressed.
Next, we went to Amity and rode JAWS. Yikes! What a great, scary attraction! Basically you board a tour boat to tour Amity, add a you go along you encouter Jaws...several times!!! Yikes! There were some good effects, here, too!
Next we went on Men in Black, which is a way cool interactive ride where you get too shoot at Aliens, and sometimes, they shoot back! It was good fun! We had good timing, as it just began to rain as we got in line. However, it pretty much continued to rain (or "drizzle") for the rest of the evening.
After Men in Black we grabed a snack at Richter burgers and then saw BeetleJuice - graveyard review. It was a rock show. The performers were good, the had god voices and they were enthusiastic. Next, we rode ET and missed anothr heavy rain.
After ET, we headed back to watc Fear Factor live, and by this point, we had pretty much done everything we had to. Lucky for us, the crowds were low, and the rain made the crowds even smaller. We were able to see Shrek 3-D, and Terminator.
We had dinner at the International Marketplace (I don't really know if that was wha it was called.) Grant and I shared a chicken parmigian and a sweet and sour chicken dinner, and om and boby did the same, and we all shared a fruit plate.
After dinner, we decided to reride Jaws (really cool at night!)and we just made it to men in Black to ride that one more time.
All in all, a really good day at the park!
Our main goal (and by our, mean MY) was to visit everything that we didn't have at home in the Hollywood park. Mom and Bobby had both been to the Hollywod park, and chances are, they would get back there before they got back to this one - Most lkely the next timewe decided to visit an Orlando Unversal Park it would b Islands of Adventure.
It was about 11:30 when we actually got in te gates of the park, and no one had eaten, so we decided to have lunch first. We stopped and had pasta (for me), pizza (for Grant), and grilled chicken (for mom and Bobby)
We began by visiting Twister - Ride it Out, which was an awesome demonstration of movie effects and what a twister is like. Very similar to our Backdraft in presentation, but way cool - and temperature wise, much more appropriate to sunny Florida.
Next, we visited Earthquake. This began with a presentation of movie effects, such as blue screen, weather, and minatures, and ended with a ride on a subway into a station where we experience an earthquake! (This one shakes a LOT more then ours at home!
Unniversal is very themed. Each area is very distinct with lots of attention to detail. They did a really good job with this part! I was very impressed.
Next, we went to Amity and rode JAWS. Yikes! What a great, scary attraction! Basically you board a tour boat to tour Amity, add a you go along you encouter Jaws...several times!!! Yikes! There were some good effects, here, too!
Next we went on Men in Black, which is a way cool interactive ride where you get too shoot at Aliens, and sometimes, they shoot back! It was good fun! We had good timing, as it just began to rain as we got in line. However, it pretty much continued to rain (or "drizzle") for the rest of the evening.
After Men in Black we grabed a snack at Richter burgers and then saw BeetleJuice - graveyard review. It was a rock show. The performers were good, the had god voices and they were enthusiastic. Next, we rode ET and missed anothr heavy rain.
After ET, we headed back to watc Fear Factor live, and by this point, we had pretty much done everything we had to. Lucky for us, the crowds were low, and the rain made the crowds even smaller. We were able to see Shrek 3-D, and Terminator.
We had dinner at the International Marketplace (I don't really know if that was wha it was called.) Grant and I shared a chicken parmigian and a sweet and sour chicken dinner, and om and boby did the same, and we all shared a fruit plate.
After dinner, we decided to reride Jaws (really cool at night!)and we just made it to men in Black to ride that one more time.
All in all, a really good day at the park!
Animal Kingdom / EPCOT
Due to our late night, we didn't actually get to the Animal Kingdom until about noon. This time, we drove our own car.
Our main goal was to ride Expedition Everest, the newest ride. Apparently, this was the goal of half of Florida as well. We got a fast pass, but it wasn't good until 4:20. So while eating lunch at Tusker House, we decided to just wait in the standby line for 7o minutes. This way, we'd be done by 2:30 and then we could head over to EPCOT.
So, we jumped into line. Waited 70 minutes. And when we were the third next train to load, the ride closed down due to the lighteneing that ad been threatening. SO. We waited a bit, but overheard that the storm was pretty bad. We got a readmit ticket and then went through the pouring rain to "its tough to be a bug", and then road Dinosaur.
At this time the storm had stopped, so we went back to use our readmit ticket. It took us about 15 min and we were on Expedition Everest. Was all this worth it? Well, the ride was pretty neat. A good use of special effects. the track goes both forward and backwards. A lot of fun. Sice by this point it was 4:30, we decided to jump on again with our fast pass.
We got to EPCOT at 5:30, and had dinner reservations for 6. We jumped on Maelstrom and then headed over to dinner. We had the most woderful meal at Bistro De Paris, a fine dining option. We had a full meal of 2 appetizers, fruit, an entree, a cheese plate, and dessert, which consisted of little samplings of all 5 deserts the offered. each portin was so tiny, so y really got to taste a lot of different things!
The only proble was, that the meal took a little over two hours, which meant that we left at 8:30 and the park closed at 9:00 Sigh. In retrospect, I should have made the dinner for 8:00, and we could have continued our meal after the park closed.
In any case, we hadjust enough time to jump on to Mission Space (The Orange team - more ntense training, of course!) Before we left.
All in all, it was a nice time at Disneyworld. We visited all four parks, had some great meals, went on most of the rides we had planned.... it was awesome!
Our main goal was to ride Expedition Everest, the newest ride. Apparently, this was the goal of half of Florida as well. We got a fast pass, but it wasn't good until 4:20. So while eating lunch at Tusker House, we decided to just wait in the standby line for 7o minutes. This way, we'd be done by 2:30 and then we could head over to EPCOT.
So, we jumped into line. Waited 70 minutes. And when we were the third next train to load, the ride closed down due to the lighteneing that ad been threatening. SO. We waited a bit, but overheard that the storm was pretty bad. We got a readmit ticket and then went through the pouring rain to "its tough to be a bug", and then road Dinosaur.
At this time the storm had stopped, so we went back to use our readmit ticket. It took us about 15 min and we were on Expedition Everest. Was all this worth it? Well, the ride was pretty neat. A good use of special effects. the track goes both forward and backwards. A lot of fun. Sice by this point it was 4:30, we decided to jump on again with our fast pass.
We got to EPCOT at 5:30, and had dinner reservations for 6. We jumped on Maelstrom and then headed over to dinner. We had the most woderful meal at Bistro De Paris, a fine dining option. We had a full meal of 2 appetizers, fruit, an entree, a cheese plate, and dessert, which consisted of little samplings of all 5 deserts the offered. each portin was so tiny, so y really got to taste a lot of different things!
The only proble was, that the meal took a little over two hours, which meant that we left at 8:30 and the park closed at 9:00 Sigh. In retrospect, I should have made the dinner for 8:00, and we could have continued our meal after the park closed.
In any case, we hadjust enough time to jump on to Mission Space (The Orange team - more ntense training, of course!) Before we left.
All in all, it was a nice time at Disneyworld. We visited all four parks, had some great meals, went on most of the rides we had planned.... it was awesome!
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
MGM and Magic Kingdom
On Friday, we started our moring at the Magic Kingdom. After pickig up a fast pass fr Tower of Terror, we headed over to the Bown Derby for lunch, where we shared a goat cheese and portobello appetizer, cobb salad, and steak or lunch, with a cree brulee dessert.
After lunch, we went on Tower of Terror, grabbed a fast pass for Rockin Roller Coaster,and then saw the Beauty and the Beast stage show (also known as "Beauty and the Beast in a pathetically edited fast forward...)
Next, we saw the "Lights Action, Motors Stunt show," which is the car/mororcycle stunt show MGM copied from Disney Studios Paris.
In the heat of the midday, we went on The Great Movie Ride, and then finished off our day at MGM on the Rockin Roller Coaster.
Next we hopped on the bus to the Magic Kingdom (a charming ride... the girl behind us puked all over her mother. Blech...)
At te Magic Kingdom, we grabbed a dole whip float as a snack and then went to Big Thunder Mountain to get a fast pass, which would be ready to use in 30 minutes. While we waited, we went over to Liberty Square and rode The Haunted Mansion. Then, we trekked back over to Frontierland, grabbed a Splash mountain Fast Pass and jumped on Big Thunder.
Still pretty warm, we went over to Fantasy Land and rode its a small world and saw mickey's Philarmagic. We took a peek at the new Winnie the Pooh plaground gor the little rugrats before swingi over to Tomorrowland to ride the TTA and the Carousel of Progress.
Tonight was Extra Magic Hours for resort guests, which meant that if yu were stayig at a Disney resort, you could stay at the park for an extra 3 hours. We showed ur room key at a bracelet pick up spot and were given a bracelet, so that once 11:00 hit (normal par closing) we could sill ride rides. Then, we split ne of those Turkey legs (SO GOOD) and a jalepeno pretzel (well, really, I ate it because Grant doesn't like jalepenos.)
Finally, it was time for our Splash Mountain Fast pass, so we headed back there (after swinging by Big Thunder to grab a fast pass.) After Splash Mountain, we split a cheeseburger coo at Pecos Bill's (with the best topping bar ever - they have everything Cosmic Rays does, including grilled onions and mushrooms, but they also have a big vat of melted cheese! YUM!!!)Then we jumped on Big Thunder, stopped to watch teh fireworks show, Wishes, and then went back through Adventure Land and rode the Jungle Cruise. Then we went to our favorite spot in Liberty Square to watch SpectroMagic, Grant's favorite night time parade.
Then we went back to Fantasy Land and got a fast pass to Peter Pan and rode Snow White. By now, the par was officially closed, so when we got to Tomorrowland the line for Space Mountain really only took about 10 minutes, and we also quickly rode Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin (yes, ours is way better) and Stitch's great Escape. No terrified kids!!! Yipee!!!.
We finished our night by riding Peter Pan and left the park at 12:30. It too forever to get back to the Pop Century, and I think my fascination with Disney Transportation has officially ended.
After lunch, we went on Tower of Terror, grabbed a fast pass for Rockin Roller Coaster,and then saw the Beauty and the Beast stage show (also known as "Beauty and the Beast in a pathetically edited fast forward...)
Next, we saw the "Lights Action, Motors Stunt show," which is the car/mororcycle stunt show MGM copied from Disney Studios Paris.
In the heat of the midday, we went on The Great Movie Ride, and then finished off our day at MGM on the Rockin Roller Coaster.
Next we hopped on the bus to the Magic Kingdom (a charming ride... the girl behind us puked all over her mother. Blech...)
At te Magic Kingdom, we grabbed a dole whip float as a snack and then went to Big Thunder Mountain to get a fast pass, which would be ready to use in 30 minutes. While we waited, we went over to Liberty Square and rode The Haunted Mansion. Then, we trekked back over to Frontierland, grabbed a Splash mountain Fast Pass and jumped on Big Thunder.
Still pretty warm, we went over to Fantasy Land and rode its a small world and saw mickey's Philarmagic. We took a peek at the new Winnie the Pooh plaground gor the little rugrats before swingi over to Tomorrowland to ride the TTA and the Carousel of Progress.
Tonight was Extra Magic Hours for resort guests, which meant that if yu were stayig at a Disney resort, you could stay at the park for an extra 3 hours. We showed ur room key at a bracelet pick up spot and were given a bracelet, so that once 11:00 hit (normal par closing) we could sill ride rides. Then, we split ne of those Turkey legs (SO GOOD) and a jalepeno pretzel (well, really, I ate it because Grant doesn't like jalepenos.)
Finally, it was time for our Splash Mountain Fast pass, so we headed back there (after swinging by Big Thunder to grab a fast pass.) After Splash Mountain, we split a cheeseburger coo at Pecos Bill's (with the best topping bar ever - they have everything Cosmic Rays does, including grilled onions and mushrooms, but they also have a big vat of melted cheese! YUM!!!)Then we jumped on Big Thunder, stopped to watch teh fireworks show, Wishes, and then went back through Adventure Land and rode the Jungle Cruise. Then we went to our favorite spot in Liberty Square to watch SpectroMagic, Grant's favorite night time parade.
Then we went back to Fantasy Land and got a fast pass to Peter Pan and rode Snow White. By now, the par was officially closed, so when we got to Tomorrowland the line for Space Mountain really only took about 10 minutes, and we also quickly rode Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin (yes, ours is way better) and Stitch's great Escape. No terrified kids!!! Yipee!!!.
We finished our night by riding Peter Pan and left the park at 12:30. It too forever to get back to the Pop Century, and I think my fascination with Disney Transportation has officially ended.
Friday, June 23, 2006
Orlando
Thursday night, Danny drove us to th airport Marriott so that we could spend the night there and not have to drive up in heavy traffic in the morning.
The three of us had dinner at Latitude 33. (First food description!) We had the pupu platter which had yummy crunchy shrimp, calamari (that Danny tasted but did not like,) ahi, and chicken wraps. Grant had Filet Mignon and Danny and I had Chicken sandwiches. Yummy!
The next morning, we got to the airport and flew to Orlando. The planes had tv's, thank the gods, because there was a screaming kid in the row right behind us. (Please don;t tell me that could be me someday!)
WE arrived in orlando on time got our bags and rental cars and drove on out to the Pop Century resort (with a stop at Publix to get some groceries.) We are staying in the 50's buildings, on the parking lot side, which is good because it is quieter then the pool side! (Man I am starting to sound like a cranky old lady!)
We drove over to the Plynesian and had dinner at the Kona Cafe. We shared a blue cheese and apple salad and an order of potstickers.
Grant had macedemia nut mahi-mahi, and I had almond and honey crusted Chicken... SO GOOD! Then Grant had a chocolate lava cake dessert and I had a carmel banana creme brulee. Heaven.
We jumped ont he monorail for a quick round trip to the Grand Floridian, Magic Kingdom, and COntemporary Resorts ending back at the Polynesian. As we got to the COntemporary, the Magic Kingdom fireworks began, and we watched them from the monorail, and then once we got back to the Polynesian, we walked down to the beach to watch the rest of them from there. (They play the fireworks music all over the resort, which is really cool!)
When we got back to the Pop Century, we walked around the whold resort, and checked out the 50's section and pool, the 60's section and pool, the 70's section (with the built in twister games) the 80's and 90-'s sections with their shared pools, the time walk along the lake (that has little trivia pieces about what happened during each generation,) and the generation bridge, which will eventually link this resort to its other half, the 1900's - 1940's.
Night!
The three of us had dinner at Latitude 33. (First food description!) We had the pupu platter which had yummy crunchy shrimp, calamari (that Danny tasted but did not like,) ahi, and chicken wraps. Grant had Filet Mignon and Danny and I had Chicken sandwiches. Yummy!
The next morning, we got to the airport and flew to Orlando. The planes had tv's, thank the gods, because there was a screaming kid in the row right behind us. (Please don;t tell me that could be me someday!)
WE arrived in orlando on time got our bags and rental cars and drove on out to the Pop Century resort (with a stop at Publix to get some groceries.) We are staying in the 50's buildings, on the parking lot side, which is good because it is quieter then the pool side! (Man I am starting to sound like a cranky old lady!)
We drove over to the Plynesian and had dinner at the Kona Cafe. We shared a blue cheese and apple salad and an order of potstickers.
Grant had macedemia nut mahi-mahi, and I had almond and honey crusted Chicken... SO GOOD! Then Grant had a chocolate lava cake dessert and I had a carmel banana creme brulee. Heaven.
We jumped ont he monorail for a quick round trip to the Grand Floridian, Magic Kingdom, and COntemporary Resorts ending back at the Polynesian. As we got to the COntemporary, the Magic Kingdom fireworks began, and we watched them from the monorail, and then once we got back to the Polynesian, we walked down to the beach to watch the rest of them from there. (They play the fireworks music all over the resort, which is really cool!)
When we got back to the Pop Century, we walked around the whold resort, and checked out the 50's section and pool, the 60's section and pool, the 70's section (with the built in twister games) the 80's and 90-'s sections with their shared pools, the time walk along the lake (that has little trivia pieces about what happened during each generation,) and the generation bridge, which will eventually link this resort to its other half, the 1900's - 1940's.
Night!
Sunday, May 21, 2006
Hollywood - May 2006
So this weekend, Grant and I went to LA! We took the train up after school on Friday (It was very close, the train pulled up a minute after we got on the platform... yikes!)
We arrived at Union sation and took the redline to Hollywood and Highland and checked into the Marriott Reniassance Hotel at Hollywood and Highland. Our room was on the 14th floor, overlooking the Hollywood hills.
Then we hopped back on the redline and took it to Hollywood and Vine, where we walked to the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood to see The Da Vinci Code. COmplete with protesters and a news van. Sweet!
After the movie we went to dinner at Miceli's Restaurant which was very cool, complete with a piano player and at an opera singer and great Italian food.
Finally, we swung by Coldstone Creamery at Hollywood and Highland before heading abck to our room to watch some TV and go to bed.
On Saturday we went to Universal Studios. We went ahead and got an Annual Pass, which is good because Fear Factor Live was closed, and that was the one thing we wanted to see because it was new since we'd last been.
And I was SO excited (Ok my nerdiness comes out, again, here) on the tram tour we went by the old courthouse square... you know, my favorite part where the clock tower scenes from Back to the Future were filmed... Yeah, well its dressed up for something else, and it happens to be one of my current favorite TV shows... Ghost Whisperer!!! The courthouse Sqare is the Grandview Mainstreet, complete with the plants, the memorial in the middle, and on the left "Same as it Never Was" antiques shop!!! AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!! How cool is that???
We left Universal at about 6 and had dinner at the City Walk before catching the redline back to our hotel to pick up our bag, and then taking the redline to the Union Sation to catch the Amtrak home.
We arrived at Union sation and took the redline to Hollywood and Highland and checked into the Marriott Reniassance Hotel at Hollywood and Highland. Our room was on the 14th floor, overlooking the Hollywood hills.
Then we hopped back on the redline and took it to Hollywood and Vine, where we walked to the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood to see The Da Vinci Code. COmplete with protesters and a news van. Sweet!
After the movie we went to dinner at Miceli's Restaurant which was very cool, complete with a piano player and at an opera singer and great Italian food.
Finally, we swung by Coldstone Creamery at Hollywood and Highland before heading abck to our room to watch some TV and go to bed.
On Saturday we went to Universal Studios. We went ahead and got an Annual Pass, which is good because Fear Factor Live was closed, and that was the one thing we wanted to see because it was new since we'd last been.
And I was SO excited (Ok my nerdiness comes out, again, here) on the tram tour we went by the old courthouse square... you know, my favorite part where the clock tower scenes from Back to the Future were filmed... Yeah, well its dressed up for something else, and it happens to be one of my current favorite TV shows... Ghost Whisperer!!! The courthouse Sqare is the Grandview Mainstreet, complete with the plants, the memorial in the middle, and on the left "Same as it Never Was" antiques shop!!! AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!! How cool is that???
We left Universal at about 6 and had dinner at the City Walk before catching the redline back to our hotel to pick up our bag, and then taking the redline to the Union Sation to catch the Amtrak home.
Monday, February 20, 2006
Sunday in SD
Wow! This has been an awesome weekend!!! So yesterday, we woke up and had breakfast at our hotel. Then we watched the olympics for a while.
Next, we went to see (AAAAAAHHHHHHH) Cirque Du Soleil - Quidam! We have never seen a Cirque Du Soleil, and I was so excited!!! it was playing at the Del Mar fair grounds (it is going to Long Beach next!) Oh but it was everythiing I had hoped it would be and more. It was absolutly fantastic! Sigh. So cool.
After that, we drove back towads the hotel on smaller streets that hugged the coastline. We stopped in La Jolla, where there were a whole bunch of pregnant seals hanging out on the beach. They give birth between February and April. Next, we stopped for dinner at this Asian place that was really good. It had Chinese, Malaysian, Japenese, Thai, and Vietnamese dishes. I had this really good lemon grass noodle soup with shrimp, and Grant had a curry chicken.
Then, we walked out onto Crystal Pier, where there is this intereting hotel...actually right out on th e pier there are little cottages. ou can park your car next to them (actually out on the pier) and then on the other side, facing out, is your patio. It is really cool! We walked oout to the edge of the pier and looked at the sunset. The sky went from pink to thisd intense red-orange, and the clouds were so puffy they lokked like they were stuck on as an after thought... they looked so 3 dimensional.
Finally, we went back to our hotel and went out to the pool/jacuzzi for a little bit. Then we came up tp the room with the intention of watching a dvd. Unfortunatly, the tv didn't have the correct cables, so we watched Extreme Home Makeover (they moved away the family's single wide trailer home and buiilt a 4500 square foot home with hard wood floors and two household hepa air filtration systems so that a little girl who was recovering from leukemia and a bone marrow transplant could come home and be safe with her weakened immune system. Yea, real tear jerker for this one.
Then we watched more Olympics and The Thomas Crowne Affair on TV.
Overall it was a wonderful day and an amazing weekend! Yet another reason why I love my Grant! We have such a good time together.
Today, we are going to head back up to HB. We'll probably leave at 11 and get lunch on the way home!
Next, we went to see (AAAAAAHHHHHHH) Cirque Du Soleil - Quidam! We have never seen a Cirque Du Soleil, and I was so excited!!! it was playing at the Del Mar fair grounds (it is going to Long Beach next!) Oh but it was everythiing I had hoped it would be and more. It was absolutly fantastic! Sigh. So cool.
After that, we drove back towads the hotel on smaller streets that hugged the coastline. We stopped in La Jolla, where there were a whole bunch of pregnant seals hanging out on the beach. They give birth between February and April. Next, we stopped for dinner at this Asian place that was really good. It had Chinese, Malaysian, Japenese, Thai, and Vietnamese dishes. I had this really good lemon grass noodle soup with shrimp, and Grant had a curry chicken.
Then, we walked out onto Crystal Pier, where there is this intereting hotel...actually right out on th e pier there are little cottages. ou can park your car next to them (actually out on the pier) and then on the other side, facing out, is your patio. It is really cool! We walked oout to the edge of the pier and looked at the sunset. The sky went from pink to thisd intense red-orange, and the clouds were so puffy they lokked like they were stuck on as an after thought... they looked so 3 dimensional.
Finally, we went back to our hotel and went out to the pool/jacuzzi for a little bit. Then we came up tp the room with the intention of watching a dvd. Unfortunatly, the tv didn't have the correct cables, so we watched Extreme Home Makeover (they moved away the family's single wide trailer home and buiilt a 4500 square foot home with hard wood floors and two household hepa air filtration systems so that a little girl who was recovering from leukemia and a bone marrow transplant could come home and be safe with her weakened immune system. Yea, real tear jerker for this one.
Then we watched more Olympics and The Thomas Crowne Affair on TV.
Overall it was a wonderful day and an amazing weekend! Yet another reason why I love my Grant! We have such a good time together.
Today, we are going to head back up to HB. We'll probably leave at 11 and get lunch on the way home!
Sunday, February 19, 2006
San Diego, Saturday
Grant and I took the trolly to Old Town today. I had never been, and it was really cool! Its like this old San Diego town with general stores, candle shops, the first San Diego school, a ranch house, stables, and all sorts of histroial buildings.
We went to a mexican place for lunch, and then walked around old town, did a little shopping and looking at the museums. It was neat!
Next, we took to the trolly to Seaport village, which is likie a pier side place with shops, food places, and arcades geared towards the cruise ship crowds. We walked along the bay past the cruis ship terminal and past all of the old boats, and then walked back to our hotel.
Last night, we went to the Lawrence Welk resort for the dinner/show package. We had a buffet dinner, and then saw Andrew Lloys Weber's Evita!!! I have never seen Evita on stage so that was way cool! The guy who played Che was fantastic!
We stopped by Walmart to pick up a few things and then got back to our hotel around 11:30.
We went to a mexican place for lunch, and then walked around old town, did a little shopping and looking at the museums. It was neat!
Next, we took to the trolly to Seaport village, which is likie a pier side place with shops, food places, and arcades geared towards the cruise ship crowds. We walked along the bay past the cruis ship terminal and past all of the old boats, and then walked back to our hotel.
Last night, we went to the Lawrence Welk resort for the dinner/show package. We had a buffet dinner, and then saw Andrew Lloys Weber's Evita!!! I have never seen Evita on stage so that was way cool! The guy who played Che was fantastic!
We stopped by Walmart to pick up a few things and then got back to our hotel around 11:30.
Saturday, February 18, 2006
San Diego
I have a three day weekend, Grant gets that same weekend scheduled off... what's a couple to do???
Spend the weekend in San Diego!!!
We got a great rate at a Marriot Residence Inn. Grant drove down in the afternoon and I took the train after work.
The train ride wwas somewhat eventful... There was this drunk guy wandering the cars. A lady told the conductor that he had thrown up by the cafe car, and some other guys were saying that he was being pretty unruly, and weaving about. A few minuted later he came back, followed shortly by the conductor, mumbling about how some guy bought him the beer becasue he was impressed that this guy was s uch a profesional skateboarder. Aparently the conductors were concerned, among other things, becasue he was drinking the beer our of a bottle that was broken on top (his response? "I've done worse!" The conductor took him down to the cafe car to get him a cup to pur the beer in and to make sure it wasn't stolen. He came back a while later looking for his stuff and a lady said, "weren't you sitting in another car?" anjd he goes, "oh yeah, thats right, I was..."
We finally get to San Diego (after a few stops "to let other trains pass us on the tracks..." which could possibly be true.) As we were getting ready to get off of the train there was an announcement. "Please be patient, as the doors will not be opening right away. The doors will not open until the Police get into position." Sure enough, the arrersted the guy!!!
Anyways, Grant met me at the station, and we walked back to our hotel together. After dropping my stuff off, we drove over to Bala Hai, right on the bay, where we ate dinner. It was really good! We had an appetizer sampler with coconut shrimp, egg rolls, a crab cake, coconut ribs, and pele's nachos, which were wantons with cheese, sour cream, and pineapple salsa.
For dinner, I had grilled shrimp and macadamia breaded chicken, and Grant had a fish combo with macademia breaded Mahi-Mahi, seared Ahi, and something else. For dessert, we had a macademia nut brownie topped with coffee gelato. A ton of food (we took a lot home!) but really good!!!
By the time we left, it was raining! We went back to the hotel and watched TV.
Our hotel room is cool. Its like a studio. There is a full kitchen with a stove, fridge, microwave and dishwasher, a nd a bar to eat at, a desk (where i a m now...) an L-shaped couch in the sitting area, and then the bed. The TV us in a dresser in the center which can be turned to face the couch or the bed, which is nice, Our room overlooks the pool courtyard. We are very near the trains, which go by frequently and nlow their horns during the day, but were fine at night.
We have some exciting things planned for this weekend, so stay tuned!!!
Spend the weekend in San Diego!!!
We got a great rate at a Marriot Residence Inn. Grant drove down in the afternoon and I took the train after work.
The train ride wwas somewhat eventful... There was this drunk guy wandering the cars. A lady told the conductor that he had thrown up by the cafe car, and some other guys were saying that he was being pretty unruly, and weaving about. A few minuted later he came back, followed shortly by the conductor, mumbling about how some guy bought him the beer becasue he was impressed that this guy was s uch a profesional skateboarder. Aparently the conductors were concerned, among other things, becasue he was drinking the beer our of a bottle that was broken on top (his response? "I've done worse!" The conductor took him down to the cafe car to get him a cup to pur the beer in and to make sure it wasn't stolen. He came back a while later looking for his stuff and a lady said, "weren't you sitting in another car?" anjd he goes, "oh yeah, thats right, I was..."
We finally get to San Diego (after a few stops "to let other trains pass us on the tracks..." which could possibly be true.) As we were getting ready to get off of the train there was an announcement. "Please be patient, as the doors will not be opening right away. The doors will not open until the Police get into position." Sure enough, the arrersted the guy!!!
Anyways, Grant met me at the station, and we walked back to our hotel together. After dropping my stuff off, we drove over to Bala Hai, right on the bay, where we ate dinner. It was really good! We had an appetizer sampler with coconut shrimp, egg rolls, a crab cake, coconut ribs, and pele's nachos, which were wantons with cheese, sour cream, and pineapple salsa.
For dinner, I had grilled shrimp and macadamia breaded chicken, and Grant had a fish combo with macademia breaded Mahi-Mahi, seared Ahi, and something else. For dessert, we had a macademia nut brownie topped with coffee gelato. A ton of food (we took a lot home!) but really good!!!
By the time we left, it was raining! We went back to the hotel and watched TV.
Our hotel room is cool. Its like a studio. There is a full kitchen with a stove, fridge, microwave and dishwasher, a nd a bar to eat at, a desk (where i a m now...) an L-shaped couch in the sitting area, and then the bed. The TV us in a dresser in the center which can be turned to face the couch or the bed, which is nice, Our room overlooks the pool courtyard. We are very near the trains, which go by frequently and nlow their horns during the day, but were fine at night.
We have some exciting things planned for this weekend, so stay tuned!!!
Camping in Santa Barbara
In January, Grant and I and Belle and Kanga went camping in Santa Barbara. We went to the Jalama beach campground which was really nice...it had a playground, hot showers, a store, and of course it was right on the beach. The major drawback was all of the campsites were quite close to eachother and ddin't offer a lot of privacy. Luckily, there weren't a lot of people there.
The weather was nice... not too cold as we feared. The first night is rained and Belle wigged out and tried to sleep up on t6he airmatress with us. Which might not be so bad had we not been in sleeping bags... Belle would get on top, pushing us to the edges up against the zippered part of the bag... not comfortable!!!
The next morning, we woke up to the sounds of what sounded like thousands of seagulls... (well, we are on the beach right???) Well, sure, and if you are on the beach and you want to attract seagulls, leave the dog food out!!!
The nixt night, after carefully putting away the dog food in the box and sealiong down the lid, we slept peacefully until about 4 AM when a loud crashing sound woke us and Grant dissciveres a racoon knocking over the bok to get into the dog food.
By the third night we were smart enough to leave the dog food locked in the van. Hee hee...
All in all, it was a lot of fun and very relaxing, We read, walked on the beach, and had yummy camping food. It was a good time!
The weather was nice... not too cold as we feared. The first night is rained and Belle wigged out and tried to sleep up on t6he airmatress with us. Which might not be so bad had we not been in sleeping bags... Belle would get on top, pushing us to the edges up against the zippered part of the bag... not comfortable!!!
The next morning, we woke up to the sounds of what sounded like thousands of seagulls... (well, we are on the beach right???) Well, sure, and if you are on the beach and you want to attract seagulls, leave the dog food out!!!
The nixt night, after carefully putting away the dog food in the box and sealiong down the lid, we slept peacefully until about 4 AM when a loud crashing sound woke us and Grant dissciveres a racoon knocking over the bok to get into the dog food.
By the third night we were smart enough to leave the dog food locked in the van. Hee hee...
All in all, it was a lot of fun and very relaxing, We read, walked on the beach, and had yummy camping food. It was a good time!
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