Leaving San Diego with Regrets
Somehow every time I leave San Diego there is an emptiness in back of your mind which reminds you that that you seem to be missing a major part of the city that you will have to come back and see another time.
We left San Diego and the hotel on the circle with several destinations left behind. Even though we were just a couple of minutes away from Old Town and all of its cool charm, we didn't get a chance to experience the shops or the ambiance. Our hotel was just a couple of minutes away from the transportation center that housed the red trolly system and that would have been a really nice way to get down to old town and see this attraction.
Just like Old Town square we also missed visiting Sea World. It was also so very close by and just at the foot of the hill that we were staying. I am sure that our hotel was a major overnight destination for the families that were taking in Sea World. At the desk I heard that some people had a package deal that included Sea World tickets. Next time, next time.
The major battle ahead of us this day was the battle through LA traffic from Interstate 5 which goes up the center of California to a connecting freeway that would take up to highway 101 the more coastal freeway that follows loosely the coast from LA and Malibu to Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and eventually San Jose and San Francisco. Our end of the journey today was and the Bueleton which is just past Santa Barbara and before reaching San Luis Obispo. Solvang is a small town just 4 miles inland off of highway 101. Overall the trip is a 5 hour test of your freeway patience. When we reached Solvang we were still 5 hours away from home.
At any point along this adventure it would have been easy to chuck it
all and head for home. The passage out of Southern California to Merced
is just 5 hours of driving provided there is little traffic. So if you
pick the times you on on the road this trip is just a little longer than
a trip to the Bay Area or a trip to the wine county. San Diego adds a
couple of more hours but still it is a reasonable exit if the vacation
becomes too much.
The last time we were at Solvang we put it on the front end of our trip to Southern California. Sue was marshaling a much bigger power chair which was basically incompatible with the gift shops of the little Danish inspired town. She had a very concerted interest in doing Solvang on the way home.
This time the vacation was not too much and with a very willing cat sitter who texts us on a regular basis it freed us up about any worry concerning our furry cat kids.
On the Road again LA Freeways
We cleaned up the room and got all the dirty clothes in one of the two bags we brought and headed out of an almost vacant hotel on Monday morning. We ate the provided breakfast once again and we and took our chances on the life that so many Southern California residents live, the LA freeway system. My iphone app charted us up the coast and back on the familiar I5. It wanted us to take a toll road or two but I was most comfortable driving the roads that I knew best. We made the right turns along the way and I religiously and continually merged left losing lanes as we trucked up through the San Clemente, Anaheim, and later Thousand Oak arms of this system. As we drove by the Laurel canyon turnoffs of the backside of the Hollywood Hills. I thought of my niece who was recovering nearby. My sister and her husband had streaked down to help her out as she was emergency room engaged. Her condition was quickly stabilizing and her boy friend from the Sacramento area had also descended to support her emotionally. We sent good vibes as we knew that somewhere nearby she was recovering.
In the mean time the traffic had increased as the afternoon raged on and all of the local school buses had merged on to the Interstate. We were all headed to coast and the nirvana that is represented in Ventura.
An amazing thing happened as we headed out of Oxnard, just before Ventura. Suddenly the traffic disappeared. We were no longer shuttled in the capsule of 35 to 45 mile an hour moving traffic congestion. We had been in this conga line since we passed through Anaheim on I5 3 hours before.
Reaching Ventura it was time to get some gas and we sought a Chevron station on the Community College Exit along our friend, Highway 101. The wind had picked up and the ocean along the left side of the rode was developing little white caps beyond the waves. As we pulled up into Santa Barbara the clouds started rolling across the road as the wind blew them. We arrived in Solvang about 4:00 in the afternoon. Our paid reservation through Hotwire got us a nice room in the Holiday Inn Express. The East Indian receptionist seemed to know that we were looking for an accessible room and had one waiting for us at identification.
Entering Solvang, We made it!
Solvang is a Danish styled town with all the buildings (about 8 blocks long and 3 blocks wide) in the large exposed beam architecture of Europe in farm design. There are big windmills that don't work but symbolize wind power. Even our hotel at the western end of the town conformed with the beam exposed high loft design. The Hotel is built on a steep hill. Its reception desk and breakfast room and pool are all on the half floor between the parking garage which is under the rooms and the first floor just a half a floor up.
The last time we were in Solvang it was early November and there were vestiges of a business pumpkin contest all around the city. The flowers were minimal and the crowds were gone too. This time we arrived on a Monday and similar crowds were present. We pretty much had the town to ourselves. The hotel cost drops significantly from weekend nights to nights during the week. There is a 150 dollar surcharge for weekend lodging so it seems.
Lots of annual flowers are in window boxes everywhere in town. The feeling you get in this town is a gigantic Southern California sigh. Have a seat in the shade and rest a while. Not much noise and the the weather is just right.
This little city has definite hours of operation. If you expect to tour the gift shops after 5pm you might be looking at lot of items in the windows without access to getting in to the shops to buy. The bakeries are open just a little bit longer, generally closing around 6. They tell their customers that they will open quite early in the morning so they need to close early in the evening, and not everything will be available when they open in the morning.
Solvang Puts the Danish in Danish Pastries
As near as I can tell their are four major bakeries in this small town. They all make pastries that are to die for and to die from. Nothing but butter is used to make the danish wonders out of puff pastry dough that give the bakeries their reputation. Sue is fond of the crispy waffles. They are two 9 inch very flaky dry pastry ovals that have pastry cream between them with a small steak of raspberry jam running from one end to the other. I love the bones with are fruit filled squares of puff pastry four inches square that are filled with various pie fillings. I think to see a "danish" done properly with the 2 to three inch "puff" around the fruit is so unusual. Its really how they are supposed to be produced. All of these bakeries have buckets of cookies that can be shipped anywhere in the USA. They are pretty special too.
Sue took a rest in the bed when we arrived while I set about on foot to sample a couple of goodies and bring some home for Sue to try. The shops were all closed by the time Sue finished her nap and I returned.
Sunday, May 18, 2014
Sunday, May 4, 2014
Easter Sunday at the San Diego Zoo
Day 5 The San Diego Zoo
We woke up and I headed to the provided breakfast at the Comfort Inn and Suites on Hotel Circle . It was located on the fourth floor. There were many families also grabbing a bite to eat before headed to their Easter celebrations or their travel plans. In the parking lot there were cars from many different states.
The breakfast was pretty good with sausage, eggs, cereals, and four, yes four waffle machines with two canisters to pour out the patter. Two of the waffle machines that you activate by pouring the batter from little cups and dropping and turning the handle 90 degrees made four tiny individual waffles. They were used continually the entire time that I was in the breakfast rooms. There were two eating areas that had TV's set up so that the morning news would not be missed. Some of the families were from other countries and almost all of the breakfast crowd had kids along with them. All of them were really well behaved and understood that the whole thing was a terrific treat.
We got all geared up and headed out the door. I had checked the maps and confirmed that we were just 15 minutes away. The Iphone gave offered us two choices. One choice had us zooming down the freeway to connect with Interstate 5 and then after 5 minutes on the Golden State, we would take an exit and head up the hill to connect with Balboa Park. The other choice, which saved about 5 minutes had us back tracking up the freeway and jamming over the top the ravine's hill and down the other side to connect with the crossroad of I5 to Balboa Park. We took that one and with just one crazy move that almost took us off the freeway in a suddenly appearing exit only lane to enter at the base of the Balboa Park hill. Balboa Park is a wonderful San Diego treasure with the zoo occupying the back third and museums, Imax movies and other picnic and park treasures connected to the side of the hill. It was once the cite of a world's fair and many of the buildings and infrastructures remain. Many are being updated to accommodate earthquake standards and Americans with Disability act accessibility. One of the really cool things about this public park including the zoo is that the parking is free. This also makes the parking lot very large. Many families had brought their picnic to the park and were enjoying their families on blankets and portable chairs.
We did a drop off here in front of the zoo entrance with Sue's power chair because it would save some of her battery and I had forgotten to pack my big camera. So I dropped her off and retraced my route back to the hotel and picked up my camera.
When I returned Sue had found some treasures in the gift shops and we were ready to board a two tiered open aired bus to see that grounds.
The entrance fee is the same as the entrance fee at the Safari Park, 45dollars. You can save a little by showing your AAA card at the entrance. If you live close by, you may be able to save some serious money by buying a membership. It is still a great deal when you look at the value included. Newbies like us get a bus trip from one end of the park to the other with a knowledgeable guide that points out all the salient features of the park. A casual visitor will see about 75 percent of the park with this help and can pick and choose where to go once the bus drops them off at the top. Every bus rider is cordially invited to have their photo taken and prints are available with the license to use the prints sold extra.
We took the zoo bus and has a great time looking over all of the parts visible from the bus. It was now time to think about a little lunch.
Most of the crowd had bought lunch and were on their merry way. We picked the sandwich shop looking for a salad and a sandwich. I picked the pulled pork sandwich and Sue picked the California salad sans avocado. We shared up and had a perfect lunch.
After lunch we staggered around on the top terrace and took in some of the animal exhibits.
And interesting one was a small exhibit on hummingbirds. The zoo had established a great arboal cannopy within a small area. When we first walked in it was hard to see whether anything was housed in this little area. pretty soon jealous birds starte to appear and it was obvious that they were ready to protect their territory. A couple of very tourquise and tellow bird started flying overhead. Then some birds with a touch of red on their throats seemed to appear. It was really a place to sit down and watch as these birds seem to be doing more flying than hoovering.
We checked out the monkeys and the baboon enclosure, The wooded treeline inclosure allowed the monkeys to swing easily in a 5 story arena. We got to the bottom of their enclosure via an elevator. Ofter zooming around on the ground floor a while we looked at the map and discovered that the tiger area was not far away. We were a little dismayed when the route to the lions was posted with a beware of walking devices warning. When we asked about it at the top, the people said that it was indeed pretty steep and probably not a good idea to push that limit. After experiences at the San Francisco Japanese Tea Garden, where the only way up the the gift shop was to unmounted the power chair and walk beside it, we decided to not take a chance in San Diego with little battery endurance. On Easter Sunday, all of the usual people that help make these transitions were not around.
We stopped at a few other exhibits along the way, including a much smaller meekat display, and decided that we had gotten our money's worth so we headed back to the car and back to the hotel.
When we arrived, there were suddenly many more spots to park in the parking garage. and the place seemed a little unpopulated.
After a rest Sue asked me to go get something to eat for us. By this time I was trusting the Iphone maps to navigate me home. It was daylight and much easier to find yourself around. I knew there was a big shopping center just up the freeway from us but it was completely shut down do to the Easter celebrations. So off I went to look for someplace open.
I came across a spot that looked promising. I followed a tour bus off the I5 connection and he dead ended in Point Loma. Point Loma is a interesting area of San Diego. There are many hotels here just like Hotel Circle on the I8. It is also home of the farthest West spot in San Diego area. A state park area called Cabrillo State Park sits at the end of road. The major road through this area is Rosecrans. A great little amenity area is located up the hill from the Shelter Cover marina area. It claims to the the America's Cup port. When I arrrived there were people who had spent the day on the Bay/Ocean and were getting back into their cars to go home.
I found an ATM and a Greek oriented pizza place called Gus's. It featured gyros, kabobs, and pizza. It was run this evening by a couple of Latino kids. I ordered a 12 inch pizza to go and a antipasta. The pizza was 13 bucks and the anti pasta was 8. Both seemed like great deals.
I used the Iphone navigator to get me back to the hotel. It was now dark and the basic instructions were just head down Rosecans for a couple of miles. Then it talked me through the cloverleaf sections of the freeway and soon I was back home.... even in the dark.
Sue was pretty pleased at seeing the pizza and it was a very good pizza. We saved the antipasto for dinner at our next night's stop, Solvang.
We woke up and I headed to the provided breakfast at the Comfort Inn and Suites on Hotel Circle . It was located on the fourth floor. There were many families also grabbing a bite to eat before headed to their Easter celebrations or their travel plans. In the parking lot there were cars from many different states.
The breakfast was pretty good with sausage, eggs, cereals, and four, yes four waffle machines with two canisters to pour out the patter. Two of the waffle machines that you activate by pouring the batter from little cups and dropping and turning the handle 90 degrees made four tiny individual waffles. They were used continually the entire time that I was in the breakfast rooms. There were two eating areas that had TV's set up so that the morning news would not be missed. Some of the families were from other countries and almost all of the breakfast crowd had kids along with them. All of them were really well behaved and understood that the whole thing was a terrific treat.
We got all geared up and headed out the door. I had checked the maps and confirmed that we were just 15 minutes away. The Iphone gave offered us two choices. One choice had us zooming down the freeway to connect with Interstate 5 and then after 5 minutes on the Golden State, we would take an exit and head up the hill to connect with Balboa Park. The other choice, which saved about 5 minutes had us back tracking up the freeway and jamming over the top the ravine's hill and down the other side to connect with the crossroad of I5 to Balboa Park. We took that one and with just one crazy move that almost took us off the freeway in a suddenly appearing exit only lane to enter at the base of the Balboa Park hill. Balboa Park is a wonderful San Diego treasure with the zoo occupying the back third and museums, Imax movies and other picnic and park treasures connected to the side of the hill. It was once the cite of a world's fair and many of the buildings and infrastructures remain. Many are being updated to accommodate earthquake standards and Americans with Disability act accessibility. One of the really cool things about this public park including the zoo is that the parking is free. This also makes the parking lot very large. Many families had brought their picnic to the park and were enjoying their families on blankets and portable chairs.
We did a drop off here in front of the zoo entrance with Sue's power chair because it would save some of her battery and I had forgotten to pack my big camera. So I dropped her off and retraced my route back to the hotel and picked up my camera.
When I returned Sue had found some treasures in the gift shops and we were ready to board a two tiered open aired bus to see that grounds.
The entrance fee is the same as the entrance fee at the Safari Park, 45dollars. You can save a little by showing your AAA card at the entrance. If you live close by, you may be able to save some serious money by buying a membership. It is still a great deal when you look at the value included. Newbies like us get a bus trip from one end of the park to the other with a knowledgeable guide that points out all the salient features of the park. A casual visitor will see about 75 percent of the park with this help and can pick and choose where to go once the bus drops them off at the top. Every bus rider is cordially invited to have their photo taken and prints are available with the license to use the prints sold extra.
We took the zoo bus and has a great time looking over all of the parts visible from the bus. It was now time to think about a little lunch.
Most of the crowd had bought lunch and were on their merry way. We picked the sandwich shop looking for a salad and a sandwich. I picked the pulled pork sandwich and Sue picked the California salad sans avocado. We shared up and had a perfect lunch.
After lunch we staggered around on the top terrace and took in some of the animal exhibits.
And interesting one was a small exhibit on hummingbirds. The zoo had established a great arboal cannopy within a small area. When we first walked in it was hard to see whether anything was housed in this little area. pretty soon jealous birds starte to appear and it was obvious that they were ready to protect their territory. A couple of very tourquise and tellow bird started flying overhead. Then some birds with a touch of red on their throats seemed to appear. It was really a place to sit down and watch as these birds seem to be doing more flying than hoovering.
We checked out the monkeys and the baboon enclosure, The wooded treeline inclosure allowed the monkeys to swing easily in a 5 story arena. We got to the bottom of their enclosure via an elevator. Ofter zooming around on the ground floor a while we looked at the map and discovered that the tiger area was not far away. We were a little dismayed when the route to the lions was posted with a beware of walking devices warning. When we asked about it at the top, the people said that it was indeed pretty steep and probably not a good idea to push that limit. After experiences at the San Francisco Japanese Tea Garden, where the only way up the the gift shop was to unmounted the power chair and walk beside it, we decided to not take a chance in San Diego with little battery endurance. On Easter Sunday, all of the usual people that help make these transitions were not around.
We stopped at a few other exhibits along the way, including a much smaller meekat display, and decided that we had gotten our money's worth so we headed back to the car and back to the hotel.
When we arrived, there were suddenly many more spots to park in the parking garage. and the place seemed a little unpopulated.
After a rest Sue asked me to go get something to eat for us. By this time I was trusting the Iphone maps to navigate me home. It was daylight and much easier to find yourself around. I knew there was a big shopping center just up the freeway from us but it was completely shut down do to the Easter celebrations. So off I went to look for someplace open.
I came across a spot that looked promising. I followed a tour bus off the I5 connection and he dead ended in Point Loma. Point Loma is a interesting area of San Diego. There are many hotels here just like Hotel Circle on the I8. It is also home of the farthest West spot in San Diego area. A state park area called Cabrillo State Park sits at the end of road. The major road through this area is Rosecrans. A great little amenity area is located up the hill from the Shelter Cover marina area. It claims to the the America's Cup port. When I arrrived there were people who had spent the day on the Bay/Ocean and were getting back into their cars to go home.
I found an ATM and a Greek oriented pizza place called Gus's. It featured gyros, kabobs, and pizza. It was run this evening by a couple of Latino kids. I ordered a 12 inch pizza to go and a antipasta. The pizza was 13 bucks and the anti pasta was 8. Both seemed like great deals.
I used the Iphone navigator to get me back to the hotel. It was now dark and the basic instructions were just head down Rosecans for a couple of miles. Then it talked me through the cloverleaf sections of the freeway and soon I was back home.... even in the dark.
Sue was pretty pleased at seeing the pizza and it was a very good pizza. We saved the antipasto for dinner at our next night's stop, Solvang.
Friday, May 2, 2014
San Diego Safari 2 and on to San Diego
Saturday
San Diego Safari Part 2
After the great time seeing the Lorikeets and the people enjoying the Lorikeets we headed back to the branch of the trail and started to head further over the crest of the hill. A very nice formally staged restaurant with tables cloths and silverware is situated on a beautiful shaded deck terrace. There were a few people enjoying the view from the top of the hill down toward the dry revine. A huge balloon was stationed there and as well as a way station.
The elevator to the Safari
We walked over the hill down to a tower looking building that we discovered had an elevator in it. It took people down about 70 feet from the edge of the ravine to the little building at the bottom.
So the power chair, which was getting drained of power once again and us took the elevator deeply into the ravine. The huge balloon was offering stunning viewpoints. I asked if Sue was interested in doing the balloon she said sure. But alas the balloon was grounded due to the winds.
We got down the the little building. We could see that there was sort of a roadway that was provided for expedition vehicles to roar past. We could to seem to find out where we could get on one of these trucks. We noticed on our left side that people were arriving from their zip line adventure.
They were seated on swing seats and they came in in groups of three and fours at one time to a person that unhooked their "swing". Sue thought that it would be a lot of fun for her if she could get past their agility requirements. She might be able to to this with a little more research. Overall that was what we were lacking in total. Assured previous research as to to where to go and what to do. Where are my planners when we need them... Ha!
We were still having the best of times and I was getting some really fine shots of the people enjoying the park together.
Mango Sorbet
We found out that the little building that we had spotted from the top was an ice cream store. One sign touted their new mango sorbet. I convinced Sue that she had to have one of those since mango is her flavor favorite. The mango sorbet was a frozen treat that came from a hollowed out half a mango attached to a stick with the mango sorbet replacing the usual enormous pit and attached mango meat. It was a great treat even at 4.50 a piece.
Once again Rescued by a Golf Cart
We tried to stop a 25 passenger bus with a lift as it passed by. The lady driver said that her lift was broken and therefore could not accommodate our chair. She offered and we accepted to have a golf cart rescue sent by. The golf cart came by and it had a ramp up by the driver's side and was dedicated to handicapped use. Once situated the driver took us right back up to the top of the hill via the backway. It was just as good as both of us had pretty much used our energy bank to get to where we were in the park. Next time we will know that we need to get to the bottom of the hill and get on a Safari vehicle that would take us through the Safari route.
Endangered Species Merry Go Round
Back at the top of the hill we spotted a merry go round. Sue felt a little slighted that she had not been able to get on the one with the rest of us in Disneyland. She was happy to jump on the merry go round that was composed of animals representing endangered species. It was a nice 3 dollar add on. Or for 6 bucks you could ride it all day... imagine that? Sue opted for the sled as it was a pretty tough reach for her to get up on the animals that were moving up and down. There were a half a dozen kids that thought the merry go round was pretty special to, they selected their favorite animals and off it went. Everyone had a great time.
At this point we decided that we had experienced enough of the park for the day. She had a chance to run through the garden store and enjoyed the way they had cactus and other succulents planted for sale.
Animals and their Handlers
On the last hurrah before headed out the gates we stopped at the little grassy stage area where a lady from the park was bringing out animals and describing them. She brought out a frogmouth bird. It looked like an owl. It wasn't and owl and she explained what this one pound animal did to survive. It holds open its mouth which happens to be brilliantly yellow and attracts insects in. Then it swallows them whole. It does not have vicious claws so it depends on its wily to survive in the Indonesian wilderness. When big birds fly overhead it shrinks itself into a column so that it is not noticeable from the tree bark that is its background. Some turkey vultures almost on cue flew by, and sure enough this little bird made itself small and tubular, The specimen that she bought out was 23 years old. It had lived there in the zoo for most of its life. It was born at another zoo.
The lady also brought out a large brown 8 foot constrictor like snake. It knew to stay pretty close to home and she described its origin and what it liked to eat. The crowd seem to love this sort of interpretation of the animals that were brought out.
Hotel Circle in San Diego
We slipped out of the gates and headed to our truck. I set up the phone to guide us to our hotel in the San Diego City's hotel circle. It was a easy drive and the directions got us on Interstate 8 as we headed south and west about 30 miles to the hotel.
Our destination was the Comfort Inn Hotel and Suites. I had paid for two nights on Hotwire.com We got the room, very nicely appointed with a refrigerator and great bead and a full breakfast in the morning for 57 dollars a night. What a deal!
It was night before Easter and the hotel was pretty packed. There were lots of kids in the pool and the parking, an additional 10.50 was pretty full under the hotel. The main desk said that we could avoid that charge by parking out on the street. I opted for the parking because of our lift for the chair on the back of the truck. That night Sue sent me out for take out food. There were no places nearby that I could find, so up on the freeway I had to go. I finally found a Subway in a liquor store in the Sunset area of San Diego. To get back was a bit of a challenge especially since it was now dark. I flipped to maps on my phone and followed the friars road out of the Sea World Island and it got me right back to the hotel.
We both had experienced a great adventure that day and it was nice to let it all calm down out of our heads and bodies and get some rest. For next day was our Easter Day trip to the San Diego Zoo. By all accounts it was just 15 minutes away.
: ) Pat
San Diego Safari Part 2
After the great time seeing the Lorikeets and the people enjoying the Lorikeets we headed back to the branch of the trail and started to head further over the crest of the hill. A very nice formally staged restaurant with tables cloths and silverware is situated on a beautiful shaded deck terrace. There were a few people enjoying the view from the top of the hill down toward the dry revine. A huge balloon was stationed there and as well as a way station.
The elevator to the Safari
We walked over the hill down to a tower looking building that we discovered had an elevator in it. It took people down about 70 feet from the edge of the ravine to the little building at the bottom.
So the power chair, which was getting drained of power once again and us took the elevator deeply into the ravine. The huge balloon was offering stunning viewpoints. I asked if Sue was interested in doing the balloon she said sure. But alas the balloon was grounded due to the winds.
We got down the the little building. We could see that there was sort of a roadway that was provided for expedition vehicles to roar past. We could to seem to find out where we could get on one of these trucks. We noticed on our left side that people were arriving from their zip line adventure.
They were seated on swing seats and they came in in groups of three and fours at one time to a person that unhooked their "swing". Sue thought that it would be a lot of fun for her if she could get past their agility requirements. She might be able to to this with a little more research. Overall that was what we were lacking in total. Assured previous research as to to where to go and what to do. Where are my planners when we need them... Ha!
We were still having the best of times and I was getting some really fine shots of the people enjoying the park together.
Mango Sorbet
We found out that the little building that we had spotted from the top was an ice cream store. One sign touted their new mango sorbet. I convinced Sue that she had to have one of those since mango is her flavor favorite. The mango sorbet was a frozen treat that came from a hollowed out half a mango attached to a stick with the mango sorbet replacing the usual enormous pit and attached mango meat. It was a great treat even at 4.50 a piece.
Once again Rescued by a Golf Cart
We tried to stop a 25 passenger bus with a lift as it passed by. The lady driver said that her lift was broken and therefore could not accommodate our chair. She offered and we accepted to have a golf cart rescue sent by. The golf cart came by and it had a ramp up by the driver's side and was dedicated to handicapped use. Once situated the driver took us right back up to the top of the hill via the backway. It was just as good as both of us had pretty much used our energy bank to get to where we were in the park. Next time we will know that we need to get to the bottom of the hill and get on a Safari vehicle that would take us through the Safari route.
Endangered Species Merry Go Round
Back at the top of the hill we spotted a merry go round. Sue felt a little slighted that she had not been able to get on the one with the rest of us in Disneyland. She was happy to jump on the merry go round that was composed of animals representing endangered species. It was a nice 3 dollar add on. Or for 6 bucks you could ride it all day... imagine that? Sue opted for the sled as it was a pretty tough reach for her to get up on the animals that were moving up and down. There were a half a dozen kids that thought the merry go round was pretty special to, they selected their favorite animals and off it went. Everyone had a great time.
At this point we decided that we had experienced enough of the park for the day. She had a chance to run through the garden store and enjoyed the way they had cactus and other succulents planted for sale.
Animals and their Handlers
On the last hurrah before headed out the gates we stopped at the little grassy stage area where a lady from the park was bringing out animals and describing them. She brought out a frogmouth bird. It looked like an owl. It wasn't and owl and she explained what this one pound animal did to survive. It holds open its mouth which happens to be brilliantly yellow and attracts insects in. Then it swallows them whole. It does not have vicious claws so it depends on its wily to survive in the Indonesian wilderness. When big birds fly overhead it shrinks itself into a column so that it is not noticeable from the tree bark that is its background. Some turkey vultures almost on cue flew by, and sure enough this little bird made itself small and tubular, The specimen that she bought out was 23 years old. It had lived there in the zoo for most of its life. It was born at another zoo.
The lady also brought out a large brown 8 foot constrictor like snake. It knew to stay pretty close to home and she described its origin and what it liked to eat. The crowd seem to love this sort of interpretation of the animals that were brought out.
Hotel Circle in San Diego
We slipped out of the gates and headed to our truck. I set up the phone to guide us to our hotel in the San Diego City's hotel circle. It was a easy drive and the directions got us on Interstate 8 as we headed south and west about 30 miles to the hotel.
Our destination was the Comfort Inn Hotel and Suites. I had paid for two nights on Hotwire.com We got the room, very nicely appointed with a refrigerator and great bead and a full breakfast in the morning for 57 dollars a night. What a deal!
It was night before Easter and the hotel was pretty packed. There were lots of kids in the pool and the parking, an additional 10.50 was pretty full under the hotel. The main desk said that we could avoid that charge by parking out on the street. I opted for the parking because of our lift for the chair on the back of the truck. That night Sue sent me out for take out food. There were no places nearby that I could find, so up on the freeway I had to go. I finally found a Subway in a liquor store in the Sunset area of San Diego. To get back was a bit of a challenge especially since it was now dark. I flipped to maps on my phone and followed the friars road out of the Sea World Island and it got me right back to the hotel.
We both had experienced a great adventure that day and it was nice to let it all calm down out of our heads and bodies and get some rest. For next day was our Easter Day trip to the San Diego Zoo. By all accounts it was just 15 minutes away.
: ) Pat
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Day 3 So Cal Vacation- Tie up Anaheim and head for San Diego
Saturday
Santa Ana Airport
I got the sisters off to Oakland early Saturday morning. Finding the John Wayne airport in the daylight is much easier than in the night. They arrived at the Santa Ana Airport (the other name for this airport around 9am. Their plane took off at 10:30 so they had plenty of time.
I turned off the I5 too soon getting suckered at the Chapman turn off and had a scenic tour of the city of Orange and then Tustin. Eventually I found Keatella, and there is really only one Keattalla... so I headed West and found its intersection with Harbor and everything was cool. By this time there was a traffic jam headed for the park and while I was secretly sorry that we would not be going back today there was a part of me that wanted to take it on even with the crowds.. such a glutton for fun.
Escondido
We had an adventure headed for us today however. We were going down to the San Diego Zoo's Safari Park in Escondido. The night would be spent in Hotel Circle in San Diego, about 35 miles away from the Park.
We packed things up and headed South on the Interstate 5. There were a few slow downs and outright stops as it was clear that this was a holiday crowd on the freeway. We passed San Onofre
with its huge nuecular dome and San Juan Capistrano and San Clemente. The traffic started to slow down as we came close the Marine Base at Camp Pendleton. Still we slipped down the coast and headed inland at the juncture of I5 and the road to Escondido.
Escondido was the place that Dad went to high school before he signed on and shipped out to be a part of the Navy in World War II. He spent many of his High School years living by himself, going to school and milking cows and picking lemons for his support. This town has surely gown up since Dad was here 70 years ago. Parts of the town that we discovered looking for the right road were still that little old mom and pop store downtown that you would expect off the beaten path. Some of the major roads were filled with the usual big box stores and fast food franchises.
Through all of this somehow we found the named road that would take us to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. Coming our of Escondido it is spindly road that follows along the crest of a rolling hill than dives down and meets the connecting road to Romona on the East and further west to Interstate 8 that eventually dumps into San Diego. Coincidentally, this freeway connected to our overnight spot on the Hotel Circle in San Diego.
San Diego Zoo Safari Park
We made the requisite left turn and headed up the hill to the parking lot. There was a difference in cost between priority parking and general parking but it was waved as we got out our handicapped parking placard. The parking attendant told us that we could park anywhere we wanted. We were aware of the strength of the power chair battery so we picked one that was close to the entrance. There was a big line to get in but someone from the park said that the people handling the memberships could also do the daily entrance. For some people the 45 dollar admission was a hard gulp. If we were to do it again, I think that we would have stayed an extra day in San Diego and bought the 118 dollar 7 day consecutive admissions that would also include Sea World in the package. This is available through Costco.
The diversity and value is enormous in this park and the San Diego Zoo proper. In this park we waltzed through the gift shops and found some pretty cool things. One of them was a hat for me. The hat is similar to my walking hat at home but it actually fits over my head and comes down on the tops of my ears. It is tan with vents in the crown. It has a leather brim strip that allows for it to be held on the chin to avoid losing it to the wind. It is pretty hard to find a hat that would fit me but here it was and just in time for the African savannah or what we thought was going to be a truck tour of this animals in wild environments.
Flamingos from Chile
We stopped at the flamingos, they were from Chile instead of the usual Caribbean or African ones. Their feathers are a very pale pastel pink. The ducks were busy grabbing food in the water from kids all to happy to throw some pellets they got from the 50 cent feed machines.
Meerkats
We had to stop and look at the meerkats. They were pretty close to the crowd. These little creatures are pretty loveable until you take a look at their claws. The live in underground burrows that they dig themselves. A TV series featured their activities on the Animal Planet. It was named Meerkat Manor. It ran for four seasons until it was canceled in 2008. There are about a dozen in Safari colony. Sue watched one of them come over to the glass and pee in the corner. Then another came over to smell it. A little 8 year old wanted an explanation of what they were doing. Sue was happy to provide it.
Gorillas
We had a look at the extensive gorilla exhibit which had a couple of families working our their life as the excited tourists including me fired off multiple digital images. One reserved photographer with a lens the size we would have loved to use shooting sports photography, was set up in the corner with a tripod,ready to capture the family unit. In the meantime the tourists were pitching out rationals for the behaviors they were observing like a screenwriter cranking our soap opera scripts. The photographer behind his camera showed a sly gin that basically disputed their rationalities. Strictly suppose alls.
We headed down over the hill and came to the lemur exhibit. A camera crew was set up to take photos of the families as they arrive. The were taken in font of a green screen. The pitch, we will put lemurs all over you. Lemurs have grown in popularity with the release of the movie Madagascar.
Lorikeets
We snaked around on this level of the terrace to come an unusual exhibit. There were kids and adults lined up to buy little cups of nectar. Right beside the stand was a bird double entrance. People go in one door let it close then go into the next so that the birds do not escape. Inside was a most unusual set of small parrots from Australia that have specialized tongues that feed on the nectar or flowers and berries. They are called Lorikeets. Kids would get a cup of nectar and feed these birds from tiny plastic cups of nectar that they had purchased. Sue was all about remembering to get the nectar the next time we were in the park.
More tomorrow on our San Diego Zoo Safari Day. : ) Pat
Santa Ana Airport
I got the sisters off to Oakland early Saturday morning. Finding the John Wayne airport in the daylight is much easier than in the night. They arrived at the Santa Ana Airport (the other name for this airport around 9am. Their plane took off at 10:30 so they had plenty of time.
I turned off the I5 too soon getting suckered at the Chapman turn off and had a scenic tour of the city of Orange and then Tustin. Eventually I found Keatella, and there is really only one Keattalla... so I headed West and found its intersection with Harbor and everything was cool. By this time there was a traffic jam headed for the park and while I was secretly sorry that we would not be going back today there was a part of me that wanted to take it on even with the crowds.. such a glutton for fun.
Escondido
We had an adventure headed for us today however. We were going down to the San Diego Zoo's Safari Park in Escondido. The night would be spent in Hotel Circle in San Diego, about 35 miles away from the Park.
We packed things up and headed South on the Interstate 5. There were a few slow downs and outright stops as it was clear that this was a holiday crowd on the freeway. We passed San Onofre
with its huge nuecular dome and San Juan Capistrano and San Clemente. The traffic started to slow down as we came close the Marine Base at Camp Pendleton. Still we slipped down the coast and headed inland at the juncture of I5 and the road to Escondido.
Escondido was the place that Dad went to high school before he signed on and shipped out to be a part of the Navy in World War II. He spent many of his High School years living by himself, going to school and milking cows and picking lemons for his support. This town has surely gown up since Dad was here 70 years ago. Parts of the town that we discovered looking for the right road were still that little old mom and pop store downtown that you would expect off the beaten path. Some of the major roads were filled with the usual big box stores and fast food franchises.
Through all of this somehow we found the named road that would take us to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. Coming our of Escondido it is spindly road that follows along the crest of a rolling hill than dives down and meets the connecting road to Romona on the East and further west to Interstate 8 that eventually dumps into San Diego. Coincidentally, this freeway connected to our overnight spot on the Hotel Circle in San Diego.
San Diego Zoo Safari Park
We made the requisite left turn and headed up the hill to the parking lot. There was a difference in cost between priority parking and general parking but it was waved as we got out our handicapped parking placard. The parking attendant told us that we could park anywhere we wanted. We were aware of the strength of the power chair battery so we picked one that was close to the entrance. There was a big line to get in but someone from the park said that the people handling the memberships could also do the daily entrance. For some people the 45 dollar admission was a hard gulp. If we were to do it again, I think that we would have stayed an extra day in San Diego and bought the 118 dollar 7 day consecutive admissions that would also include Sea World in the package. This is available through Costco.
The diversity and value is enormous in this park and the San Diego Zoo proper. In this park we waltzed through the gift shops and found some pretty cool things. One of them was a hat for me. The hat is similar to my walking hat at home but it actually fits over my head and comes down on the tops of my ears. It is tan with vents in the crown. It has a leather brim strip that allows for it to be held on the chin to avoid losing it to the wind. It is pretty hard to find a hat that would fit me but here it was and just in time for the African savannah or what we thought was going to be a truck tour of this animals in wild environments.
Flamingos from Chile
We stopped at the flamingos, they were from Chile instead of the usual Caribbean or African ones. Their feathers are a very pale pastel pink. The ducks were busy grabbing food in the water from kids all to happy to throw some pellets they got from the 50 cent feed machines.
Meerkats
We had to stop and look at the meerkats. They were pretty close to the crowd. These little creatures are pretty loveable until you take a look at their claws. The live in underground burrows that they dig themselves. A TV series featured their activities on the Animal Planet. It was named Meerkat Manor. It ran for four seasons until it was canceled in 2008. There are about a dozen in Safari colony. Sue watched one of them come over to the glass and pee in the corner. Then another came over to smell it. A little 8 year old wanted an explanation of what they were doing. Sue was happy to provide it.
Gorillas
We had a look at the extensive gorilla exhibit which had a couple of families working our their life as the excited tourists including me fired off multiple digital images. One reserved photographer with a lens the size we would have loved to use shooting sports photography, was set up in the corner with a tripod,ready to capture the family unit. In the meantime the tourists were pitching out rationals for the behaviors they were observing like a screenwriter cranking our soap opera scripts. The photographer behind his camera showed a sly gin that basically disputed their rationalities. Strictly suppose alls.
We headed down over the hill and came to the lemur exhibit. A camera crew was set up to take photos of the families as they arrive. The were taken in font of a green screen. The pitch, we will put lemurs all over you. Lemurs have grown in popularity with the release of the movie Madagascar.
Lorikeets
We snaked around on this level of the terrace to come an unusual exhibit. There were kids and adults lined up to buy little cups of nectar. Right beside the stand was a bird double entrance. People go in one door let it close then go into the next so that the birds do not escape. Inside was a most unusual set of small parrots from Australia that have specialized tongues that feed on the nectar or flowers and berries. They are called Lorikeets. Kids would get a cup of nectar and feed these birds from tiny plastic cups of nectar that they had purchased. Sue was all about remembering to get the nectar the next time we were in the park.
More tomorrow on our San Diego Zoo Safari Day. : ) Pat
Monday, April 28, 2014
Part 2 Southern California April Vacation
Friday
Bright and early we all took a vow to get out there earlier than we had the day before. The result... maybe a half an hour earlier. We were all enjoying being somewhere else which was okay. Sue needed some extra time to get ready and eyes open so we headed across the street for some Coco restaurant sustenance.
California Adventure Day
Back to the Crowne, we loaded up and headed out to the park. I am always happy to let Linzi drive the expedition as it takes a little pressure off of me. We had anticipated a bigger crowd at the park. This day was good Friday and some people get to get off early for religious services. We decided to make the day a California Adventure Park day. It was a pretty good move.
Sue loves the gift shops on the avenue of this park. They seem to be an extension of the Downtown Disney venue so lots of plush animals plus everything else.
The little Mermaid attraction was down for some repairs and the line was 40 minutes for Soaring Over California. So we got some fast past times. They pass out little cards that allow you to jump the line for a particular time period if you get their reservation.
Soaring over California has always one of Sue's favorite rides. To describe it to most people it would sound much more risky than it is. The passengers sit in rows and rows of swing set steel seats. The swing set rows are lifted to up into a huge circular screen while your feet dangle freely below your seat. This movement gives you an unobstructed 180 degree vision as you travel in a hang glider by video over various California scenes. Once up into the screen, the swing seats do not move. Sue tells me that she still hangs on for dear life even though she knows it is perfectly safe. It is really a fabulous ride and drags in a huge amount of people at one time to "Soar Over California." In a previous time, we watched as a mentally nervous person tried to board the ride. His first reaction was that he did not want to stand in line. He attacked the attendant with all sorts of nasty comments about how many people were allowed to ride at a time and why was it so slow. The attendant calmly told him that this ride processed more people in and out of it than any ride in Disneyland or California adventure. When it got right down to it he was just too nervous to ride on it anyway and had to take an early exit before everyone was seated. This is really an easy ride to be on and there are no surprises.. it just looks a little scary.
Aladdin the Stage Show
Our next adventure was the Aladdin Stage show. This typifies what I always miss in modern theme parks. There is nothing like the shmaltz of Broadway Musical. This show does not disappoint. The theater is massive and it was filled to the brim as we waited for to me shown inside. Those with power chairs and their connected families sit right down in front as it is easier if they have an issue to exit early.
Aladdin is a great story of a poor boy trying to get noticed by the princess who is trying to find a suitable husband. Disney uses many of the staging that they used with the Lion King in the Aladdin. And this show costs no more than your admission to California Adventure. The show is not as long as the Lion King but there are some memorable songs that came out of the animated movie. My favorite is sung by the Genie.. "You'll Never have a Friend like me." The cast keeps it topical with references to current events. Sue, who admittedly is not a musical fan said after seeing this that she could stay and see that show again.
Throughout the show the cast uses the aisles and the overhead to make the show even more interactive. It really something not to be missed. The thousands that line up for the performances could testify to its value.
We got separated outside of the show we were to meet up at the corn dog palace. Its a great spot on in the Wharf area that specializes in various corn dog delights. It also does cheese corn dogs and hot link corn dogs. It might be in the top 5 of all cheese dog restaurants (reference Sean).
We thought that they were headed to the one on mainstreet by Monsters University. Luckily we were in contact with cell phones and corrected out moves.
At this time Sue was almost out of power and she had found a post that had a power connection that she plugged into to give her powerchair a little more life. When we met up, Sue and Heather headed to the shopping area and Linzi and Pat got a chance to take in a session at the animator's studio. This is a great place to sit right down and learn how to draw one of the characters in the Disneyl ine up with one of the Disney animators. It dose not get better than that. the little theatre had the animator down below with a projector on his board and each seat had a huge drawing board and a pencil to follow along.
We worked on Sulley, the big blue Monster from Monsters Inc and Monster University. It was really fun. There were artists of all abilities and ages that participated in the event. In the end we signed off the drawing and got to keep it.Throughout the day there are different characters drawn as the animators guide each group into the hints and specialties of the character.
When we met up with Sue she was in the same shape as her power chair, happily tired and out of power.
Sue and I headed back to the hotel via and parking shuttle and the sisters had a chance to do some Disney on their own.
Bonus Time with the Sisters!
That evening, I got a message from the sisters that they were up on the top floor of Tortilla Joe's in Downtown Disney. It was about 5:30. They were having top drawer margaritas and enjoying the cool breeze. When I arrived there was a line of significant size waiting to get a table there. We watched as the waiters made big tables out of small tables and stole chairs from one place to another. We asked if we could be seated at a table to get served. This is usually not a problem. Tonight it was a problem as all the folks were waiting for tables outside the restaurant. The sisters were pretty amazed at the lines as we abandoned the perch and headed to Disneyland to have some fried chicken at the Plaza. AS we left we took a look at Tortilla Joes. It looked like good Mexican food but seemed overpriced.
The walk into Disneyland was easy and so was the Plaza fried chicken. It is one of the best deals in the park. We chose two plates and the three of us ate off of it perfectly. It came with mashed potatoes and gravy and green beans.
We headed to Star Tours to avoid the fireworks. This tour started up with Darth Vader and backwards movement. It was one version that I had never been on. We almost missed the fireworks but there were some residuals as we rolled through the gift shop.
The trip would not be complete without a stop at Captain EO's.... Were going in! The show was as good as always and the 3D is something else even now.
At this time we decided that we had had enough and took the shuttle to the parking and headed back to the hotel.
Everyone had given it all they had without getting grumpy so what more could you want?
Happy Easter VACAY Disneyland.
Bright and early we all took a vow to get out there earlier than we had the day before. The result... maybe a half an hour earlier. We were all enjoying being somewhere else which was okay. Sue needed some extra time to get ready and eyes open so we headed across the street for some Coco restaurant sustenance.
California Adventure Day
Back to the Crowne, we loaded up and headed out to the park. I am always happy to let Linzi drive the expedition as it takes a little pressure off of me. We had anticipated a bigger crowd at the park. This day was good Friday and some people get to get off early for religious services. We decided to make the day a California Adventure Park day. It was a pretty good move.
Sue loves the gift shops on the avenue of this park. They seem to be an extension of the Downtown Disney venue so lots of plush animals plus everything else.
The little Mermaid attraction was down for some repairs and the line was 40 minutes for Soaring Over California. So we got some fast past times. They pass out little cards that allow you to jump the line for a particular time period if you get their reservation.
Soaring over California has always one of Sue's favorite rides. To describe it to most people it would sound much more risky than it is. The passengers sit in rows and rows of swing set steel seats. The swing set rows are lifted to up into a huge circular screen while your feet dangle freely below your seat. This movement gives you an unobstructed 180 degree vision as you travel in a hang glider by video over various California scenes. Once up into the screen, the swing seats do not move. Sue tells me that she still hangs on for dear life even though she knows it is perfectly safe. It is really a fabulous ride and drags in a huge amount of people at one time to "Soar Over California." In a previous time, we watched as a mentally nervous person tried to board the ride. His first reaction was that he did not want to stand in line. He attacked the attendant with all sorts of nasty comments about how many people were allowed to ride at a time and why was it so slow. The attendant calmly told him that this ride processed more people in and out of it than any ride in Disneyland or California adventure. When it got right down to it he was just too nervous to ride on it anyway and had to take an early exit before everyone was seated. This is really an easy ride to be on and there are no surprises.. it just looks a little scary.
Aladdin the Stage Show
Our next adventure was the Aladdin Stage show. This typifies what I always miss in modern theme parks. There is nothing like the shmaltz of Broadway Musical. This show does not disappoint. The theater is massive and it was filled to the brim as we waited for to me shown inside. Those with power chairs and their connected families sit right down in front as it is easier if they have an issue to exit early.
Aladdin is a great story of a poor boy trying to get noticed by the princess who is trying to find a suitable husband. Disney uses many of the staging that they used with the Lion King in the Aladdin. And this show costs no more than your admission to California Adventure. The show is not as long as the Lion King but there are some memorable songs that came out of the animated movie. My favorite is sung by the Genie.. "You'll Never have a Friend like me." The cast keeps it topical with references to current events. Sue, who admittedly is not a musical fan said after seeing this that she could stay and see that show again.
Throughout the show the cast uses the aisles and the overhead to make the show even more interactive. It really something not to be missed. The thousands that line up for the performances could testify to its value.
We got separated outside of the show we were to meet up at the corn dog palace. Its a great spot on in the Wharf area that specializes in various corn dog delights. It also does cheese corn dogs and hot link corn dogs. It might be in the top 5 of all cheese dog restaurants (reference Sean).
We thought that they were headed to the one on mainstreet by Monsters University. Luckily we were in contact with cell phones and corrected out moves.
At this time Sue was almost out of power and she had found a post that had a power connection that she plugged into to give her powerchair a little more life. When we met up, Sue and Heather headed to the shopping area and Linzi and Pat got a chance to take in a session at the animator's studio. This is a great place to sit right down and learn how to draw one of the characters in the Disneyl ine up with one of the Disney animators. It dose not get better than that. the little theatre had the animator down below with a projector on his board and each seat had a huge drawing board and a pencil to follow along.
We worked on Sulley, the big blue Monster from Monsters Inc and Monster University. It was really fun. There were artists of all abilities and ages that participated in the event. In the end we signed off the drawing and got to keep it.Throughout the day there are different characters drawn as the animators guide each group into the hints and specialties of the character.
When we met up with Sue she was in the same shape as her power chair, happily tired and out of power.
Sue and I headed back to the hotel via and parking shuttle and the sisters had a chance to do some Disney on their own.
Bonus Time with the Sisters!
That evening, I got a message from the sisters that they were up on the top floor of Tortilla Joe's in Downtown Disney. It was about 5:30. They were having top drawer margaritas and enjoying the cool breeze. When I arrived there was a line of significant size waiting to get a table there. We watched as the waiters made big tables out of small tables and stole chairs from one place to another. We asked if we could be seated at a table to get served. This is usually not a problem. Tonight it was a problem as all the folks were waiting for tables outside the restaurant. The sisters were pretty amazed at the lines as we abandoned the perch and headed to Disneyland to have some fried chicken at the Plaza. AS we left we took a look at Tortilla Joes. It looked like good Mexican food but seemed overpriced.
The walk into Disneyland was easy and so was the Plaza fried chicken. It is one of the best deals in the park. We chose two plates and the three of us ate off of it perfectly. It came with mashed potatoes and gravy and green beans.
We headed to Star Tours to avoid the fireworks. This tour started up with Darth Vader and backwards movement. It was one version that I had never been on. We almost missed the fireworks but there were some residuals as we rolled through the gift shop.
The trip would not be complete without a stop at Captain EO's.... Were going in! The show was as good as always and the 3D is something else even now.
At this time we decided that we had had enough and took the shuttle to the parking and headed back to the hotel.
Everyone had given it all they had without getting grumpy so what more could you want?
Happy Easter VACAY Disneyland.
Sunday, April 27, 2014
Observations from the So Cal Vacation
We just returned from a great 6 day vacation in Southern California. We are roughly five and a half hours away from Anaheim our first stop along the vacation trip. We left a little late and suffered through some stopped traffic along our route so that it actually took us 6 and half hours to get down there.
It was April in Southern California. The weather is pretty hard to predict. We have been there before and it was icy cold and rainy during our visit to Disneyland. This year's weather was not uncomfortable but not rainy or hot. Easter is very late this year. Our trip occurred just before Easter. Starting on Wednesday night, we were out of the Anaheim area on Saturday morning.
The park was not packed but it was full. Spring break for the kids in school, with testing and the like can occur almost any time in March or April. The week before Easter was the traditional time we had Easter Break.
Wednesday Night
We decided to meet the kids (our daughters) down in Orange County for three nights and two days at Disneyland. They met together in Oakland and flew down together. We picked them up Wednesday night at John Wayne Airport and drove them back to our hotel in Garden Grove, about four miles away. Our youngest daughter, flew down from Seattle, our eldest daughter had to work late on Wednesday so she made it over to Oakland and together they flew down. It all worked out. I picked them up at the airport and immediately made a wrong turn and ended up at UC Irving looking for a freeway that would take us back to the hotel. My tech savy daughters used the map function and Siri on their Iphones to get us back on track and headed on the right highway to our hotel rooms.
Sue and I had arrived earlier and had hidden a couple of bags of chocolate Sees foil Easter eggs in their room. When they arrived they had a great time together trying to find all of the eggs. You are never too old for a good Easter egg hunt. They loved it. We had a blast finding tricky spots to hide the eggs in the hotel room.
Our hotel, the Crowne Plaza Hotel is a great 3 star hotel with a great customer approval rating through Hotwire.com. We have stayed here before and like its accessibility to the park independently of the Disney parking shuttles. We got great 5th floor with super beds and quiet surroundings. This is pretty amazing considering that the hotel was also occupied by masses of Korean tourists with their tour guide and 7 busloads of junior high school band students from Belmont, California there for a band review and workshops. Many of the band members had parents traveling with them trailing the bus and a group of adult chaperones. The only time I saw the kids a little out of control was when they tried to have a soccer match on the Mezzanine level.
Thursday
The next morning the girls and I walked across the street to the Cocos and had breakfast. Also, next to the Cocos is a giant Target. We are always happy to see this as we seem to forget one thing or another that makes a trip to Target an easy connection.
Sue was up when we got back and Linzi drove us to the Chip and Dale parking lot. It was full so we were redirected to the Buz Light Year Parking lot. We got our own bus that knelled and produced a ramp for the powerchair to zoom up. We let the people know that Sue could "transfer" (move out of her powerchair once it was positioned.) They are always happy to hear that. They were also happy to hear that we had lift connections so that they could attach their straps to the sides and save several more complicated moves to secure the chair to the floor of the bus.
We made it into the Disneyland Park with little line. Sue wanted to do the small world attraction first. We made our way to it and had a great time people watching along the way. It was lunch time so we decided to do the Carnation dinning area on Main Steet. It was a great place. As in most places we bought dinner for three and shared them around to feed four. Its a great equation for us. I ordered a hamburger that had a a fried egg on it. The girls ordered a couple of spinach salads with dried cranberries and hard boiled egg slices. The appetizer was deep fried pickles.. much better than it sounds.
Mom's next choice was Pirates of the Caribbean. The girls split off and did gift shops instead. Sue is a connoisseur of Pirates and delights at all the differences that they have made since that last time that she had rolled down the waterfalls in the little boats.
We tried to do Peter Pan next, but its line even for that handicapped entrance was too long and they were taking names for a return, Its appeal is getting on a ski lift sort of boat as it travels over the city of London in the dark. Alice in Wonderland was down for repairs and that could have send more people to Peter Pan.
We took a ride on the Mark Twain steamship. Having Sue with us allowed us first dibs at the bow seats. It was the first time the girls had ever had a chance to be at the front of the ship as it made its way around on the Rivers of America. How fun. We were the first on and the last off.
Sue had a great time in the gift shops. She bought a new watch. It has a subtle mickey in a white face with a clear plastic band. She likes to get a new watch each time. It is practical souvenir and most of the watches are not available on line or in any other store. She also bought some small silver Tinkerbell earrings.
Sue and I did the horseshoe review. It was not as great a show as it used to be. No dancing ladies just a cowboy country comedy routine. It was a nice place to stop and share a mint ice cream sundae.
After that we all met up and headed through the throngs of people stopped to watch the parade. At one point we were concerned with Ariel as she looked too animated on her seaweed pedestal high above the crowd. We headed out the gates and got on our shuttle to the parking lot.
Power chair battery stamina is always in the back our mind so the batteries were pretty drained by the time we headed back to the room.
That night we ate at Outback and had a great dinner.
It was April in Southern California. The weather is pretty hard to predict. We have been there before and it was icy cold and rainy during our visit to Disneyland. This year's weather was not uncomfortable but not rainy or hot. Easter is very late this year. Our trip occurred just before Easter. Starting on Wednesday night, we were out of the Anaheim area on Saturday morning.
The park was not packed but it was full. Spring break for the kids in school, with testing and the like can occur almost any time in March or April. The week before Easter was the traditional time we had Easter Break.
Wednesday Night
We decided to meet the kids (our daughters) down in Orange County for three nights and two days at Disneyland. They met together in Oakland and flew down together. We picked them up Wednesday night at John Wayne Airport and drove them back to our hotel in Garden Grove, about four miles away. Our youngest daughter, flew down from Seattle, our eldest daughter had to work late on Wednesday so she made it over to Oakland and together they flew down. It all worked out. I picked them up at the airport and immediately made a wrong turn and ended up at UC Irving looking for a freeway that would take us back to the hotel. My tech savy daughters used the map function and Siri on their Iphones to get us back on track and headed on the right highway to our hotel rooms.
Sue and I had arrived earlier and had hidden a couple of bags of chocolate Sees foil Easter eggs in their room. When they arrived they had a great time together trying to find all of the eggs. You are never too old for a good Easter egg hunt. They loved it. We had a blast finding tricky spots to hide the eggs in the hotel room.
Our hotel, the Crowne Plaza Hotel is a great 3 star hotel with a great customer approval rating through Hotwire.com. We have stayed here before and like its accessibility to the park independently of the Disney parking shuttles. We got great 5th floor with super beds and quiet surroundings. This is pretty amazing considering that the hotel was also occupied by masses of Korean tourists with their tour guide and 7 busloads of junior high school band students from Belmont, California there for a band review and workshops. Many of the band members had parents traveling with them trailing the bus and a group of adult chaperones. The only time I saw the kids a little out of control was when they tried to have a soccer match on the Mezzanine level.
Thursday
The next morning the girls and I walked across the street to the Cocos and had breakfast. Also, next to the Cocos is a giant Target. We are always happy to see this as we seem to forget one thing or another that makes a trip to Target an easy connection.
Sue was up when we got back and Linzi drove us to the Chip and Dale parking lot. It was full so we were redirected to the Buz Light Year Parking lot. We got our own bus that knelled and produced a ramp for the powerchair to zoom up. We let the people know that Sue could "transfer" (move out of her powerchair once it was positioned.) They are always happy to hear that. They were also happy to hear that we had lift connections so that they could attach their straps to the sides and save several more complicated moves to secure the chair to the floor of the bus.
We made it into the Disneyland Park with little line. Sue wanted to do the small world attraction first. We made our way to it and had a great time people watching along the way. It was lunch time so we decided to do the Carnation dinning area on Main Steet. It was a great place. As in most places we bought dinner for three and shared them around to feed four. Its a great equation for us. I ordered a hamburger that had a a fried egg on it. The girls ordered a couple of spinach salads with dried cranberries and hard boiled egg slices. The appetizer was deep fried pickles.. much better than it sounds.
Mom's next choice was Pirates of the Caribbean. The girls split off and did gift shops instead. Sue is a connoisseur of Pirates and delights at all the differences that they have made since that last time that she had rolled down the waterfalls in the little boats.
We tried to do Peter Pan next, but its line even for that handicapped entrance was too long and they were taking names for a return, Its appeal is getting on a ski lift sort of boat as it travels over the city of London in the dark. Alice in Wonderland was down for repairs and that could have send more people to Peter Pan.
We took a ride on the Mark Twain steamship. Having Sue with us allowed us first dibs at the bow seats. It was the first time the girls had ever had a chance to be at the front of the ship as it made its way around on the Rivers of America. How fun. We were the first on and the last off.
Sue had a great time in the gift shops. She bought a new watch. It has a subtle mickey in a white face with a clear plastic band. She likes to get a new watch each time. It is practical souvenir and most of the watches are not available on line or in any other store. She also bought some small silver Tinkerbell earrings.
Sue and I did the horseshoe review. It was not as great a show as it used to be. No dancing ladies just a cowboy country comedy routine. It was a nice place to stop and share a mint ice cream sundae.
After that we all met up and headed through the throngs of people stopped to watch the parade. At one point we were concerned with Ariel as she looked too animated on her seaweed pedestal high above the crowd. We headed out the gates and got on our shuttle to the parking lot.
Power chair battery stamina is always in the back our mind so the batteries were pretty drained by the time we headed back to the room.
That night we ate at Outback and had a great dinner.
Sunday, March 2, 2014
Honey Roasted Ribs
It looks like the world is conspiring against your baby back ribs on special. I got two racks of baby backs for 5 dollars each. But alas.. its raining outside and that precludes using the barbeque.. which by way has not been checked out for spring/summer use yet.
What to do? What to do? I looked up this oven approach from Cooks Country.. February/March 2013. My previous approaches with this this via slow cooker or pressure cooker were not spectacular. I dumped prepared barbeque sauce on and let her rip.. No so good. This recipe... which calls for a roasting pan and dutch oven.. for the sauce no less is nothing short of spectacular.. I even substituted a half cup of blue agave sweetener for the full cup of hone and it is one serious marinade sauce... don't forget the cayenne pepper at the end for that kick.. you may even use a little more if you are after some heat in those ribs. This is much better than any bottled barbeque sauce. I could see using this on chicken as well... The timing noted would change. Overall I was pretty impressed with this recipe.
From the recipe:
What to do? What to do? I looked up this oven approach from Cooks Country.. February/March 2013. My previous approaches with this this via slow cooker or pressure cooker were not spectacular. I dumped prepared barbeque sauce on and let her rip.. No so good. This recipe... which calls for a roasting pan and dutch oven.. for the sauce no less is nothing short of spectacular.. I even substituted a half cup of blue agave sweetener for the full cup of hone and it is one serious marinade sauce... don't forget the cayenne pepper at the end for that kick.. you may even use a little more if you are after some heat in those ribs. This is much better than any bottled barbeque sauce. I could see using this on chicken as well... The timing noted would change. Overall I was pretty impressed with this recipe.
From the recipe:
To get ribs from the oven that actually have flavor, we found that
marinating was key. Plenty of honey goes into our marinade, along with
soy sauce, vinegar, mustard, and a pinch of cayenne to balance out the
sweetness. After an hour of soaking up flavor, the ribs go into the oven
covered, where they steam to tenderness. We boil down the leftover
marinade to make a tangy-sweet glaze that we brush on the ribs during
the last half-hour of cooking. After the ribs are sliced, a final toss
in even more glaze gives us a thick, perfectly lacquered coating.
less
less
Serves 4
Cutting the racks into thirds allows them to fit into the plastic bags to marinate. The used marinade is boiled and transformed into a glaze for the ribs.Ingredients
- 2 (2 1/2- to 3-pound) racks baby back ribs, trimmed, membranes removed, each rack cut into 3 equal pieces
- 1 cup honey (I substituted half a cup of Blue Agave Sweet to make up a full cup)
- 5 tablespoons soy sauce (I used lite kikoman)
- 1/4 cup cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
- 4 scallions, white parts minced, green parts sliced thin
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- Kosher salt and pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (Vary the heat heat here.. as it stands it is like the heat in Panda's orange chicken sauce)
Instructions
-
1. Divide ribs between two 1-gallon zipper-lock bags. Whisk honey, soy sauce, vinegar, mustard, scallion whites, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, and cayenne together in bowl. Divide marinade between bags, seal, and turn to coat ribs evenly with marinade. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours, turning bags occasionally. (I refrigerated it for 2 hours)2. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and set wire rack in sheet. Add enough warm tap water to cover entire bottom of sheet (about 2 cups). Transfer ribs, meaty side up, to prepared wire rack; reserve marinade in refrigerator. Tent ribs loosely with foil and bake for 1¼ hours. Uncover ribs and continue cooking until just tender, about 1 hour longer. (I used a covered roaster and a plastic moldable green roast elevator from Sur la Tab that my daughter gave me)3. Bring reserved marinade to boil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat and cook until thickened to glaze consistency, about 5 minutes. Brush ribs with 1/3 cup glaze, return to oven, and continue to cook until glaze begins to bubble and ribs are brown, 15 to 30 minutes. Transfer ribs to cutting board (leave hot water and sheet in oven to cool), tent loosely with foil, and let rest for 10 minutes. (This step seems to make it reasonable for chicken the dutch oven will allow it to safely get to that barbeque sauce consistency)4. Cut ribs between bones, add to Dutch oven, and toss to coat with remaining glaze. Transfer to platter and sprinkle with scallion greens and ½ teaspoon salt. Serve.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)