ellebeegee
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Jul 2, 2006
Report for our days at Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure can be found here: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1508912
Trip report for June 1-June 8, 2007
OK, first thing, I have to give props to my new Canon PowerShot S3IS camera and the book, The Betterphoto Guide to Digital Photography by Jim Miotke. I know lots of people can take much better photos than I can, but thanks to the camera and book I can now take better photos than I ever thought I could!
Order of events to help you navigate:
6/1 – Travel to LA/San Diego
6/2 – Sea World
6/3 – San Diego Zoo
6/4 – Travel to LA/Anaheim
6/5 – Disneyland!*
6/6 – California Adventure*
6/7 – Disneyland*
6/8 – Travel home (I won’t bore you with that)
*will be posted later on Disneyland Trip Reports forum
DAY 1: Friday, June 1, 2007 – Travel to LA/San Diego
Don’t know who in the house slept much – I arose at 4:15 to shower, rouse the family, finish packing, and get us to the airport in plenty of time for our 8:15 flight. We made it in plenty of time, as usual – you just never know what the security lines will be like at Atlanta. We went to DH’s favorite breakfast joint in a food court there, Popeye’s. Not the best food to be had there but the sweet ladies there will “baby” and “honey” you to death, so the ordering experience is nice.
When we arrived in LA, we picked up the rental car and headed down to San Diego. I have seen pictures of southern California, with the ocean and mountains, but hadn’t really put the two together to realize how strange it was to see such large mountains practically at the edge of the water. The southern east coast, where I’m from, is pancake flat for many miles inland. The temperature was nice but it was cloudy/smoggy and you couldn’t see much and could really only make out vague silhouettes of the second range of mountains. We stayed at the Doubletree Del Mar a bit north of San Diego, quite nice – YUMMY warm chocolate-chip-walnut cookies upon check-in. I also found that, if you asked nicely, you could get them in the evening, as well. DD Olivia, age 7 1/2, was also given a cute KidsPack -- a nice-sized shoulder-slung backpack with an activity book, crayons, binoculars, and frisbee. I was disappointed because I thought, by looking at the map, that our hotel would have an ocean view but it didn’t. I realized later that the ocean was just beyond a small ridge that we could see from our room but there was no ocean view, regardless.
We rested a bit then headed down to San Diego proper to look around a bit and have some dinner. We drove on the road that fronts the bay and it was quite beautiful. We saw the USS Midway – I’ve only ever seen one, the USS Yorktown in Charleston, and I think this one is bigger than the Yorktown. Rats, I didn’t realize until just now, when I looked that up, that there’s a museum there. We also saw a humongous statue of the infamous “kissing” photo from V-J Day at the end of WWII. I think it’s really TOO big; unless you’re pretty far away, all you see is legs and up the nurse’s dress, LOL. But it’s impressive and next to the scale of the carrier (which is its backdrop) it’s probably appropriate.
I made DH TURN THE FOOL CAR AROUND just before we got committed to the San Diego-Coronado Bridge at the end of the bay. I don't do bridges like that and he has learned that my fear of them is not to be used for his amusement.
We ended up going into town a bit, into the Gaslamp District, to an Italian restaurant DH had read some great reviews on. The District was quite impressive – I don’t know if I’ve ever seen so many restaurants – GOOD restaurants – packed into a few square blocks like that. I don't know for sure, but I would venture that you could eat there three meals a day for a month and not eat in the same place twice. DH wanted to try an Italian restaurant, Trattoria la Strada, for which he had read good reviews so we ended up there. The meal was just alright, for the money. The place was a little hoity-toity – you know, one of those places where you have to order the side of spaghetti and sauce separately from your entrée, because if you order chicken parmigiana that’s ALL you get. Olivia (age 7) and I shared Farfalline Al Pollo E Broccoli (Bowtie pasta, grilled chicken tenderloin slices, broccoli, sundried tomatoes and shallots in a cream sauce – greatly enjoyed by both of us ) and DH had Polpettine di Filetto e Spaghetti (Beef Filet meatballs served on a bed of spaghetti pasta in a light spicy marinara sauce with onions, basil, and grated Parmesan cheese). That was okay but, truthfully, the description was heartier than the dish. That was not what I would call a great deal for $22.95.
We had designs on visiting the Ghirardelli ice cream shop afterward but we were too full. I consoled myself with the fact that we could go to the one at Downtown Disney but that, too, never materialized. I guess we had virtual dessert that evening, though, as we wandered through VIP Classic Cars on our way back to the parking lot. There was everything from a 1965 Volkswagen Beetle to a Bentley and Lamborghini, and lots in between. My dream car, a Ford Cobra, was only a poster on the wall. Heck, that’s more than I have at home, LOL. It was fun to see the prices fetched by the 60’s Nova and 1971 Camaro and other muscle cars just like the ones I rode in I-don’t-know-how-many-times in the 80s. It was amazing, also, to see how closely together those cars were parked – I don’t think you could put a fist between many of them. It was fun to dream. DH picked out the ’65 Corvette. I chose the ’88 Mercedes 500 Convertible and DD fell in love with the little ’65 Beetle convertible that I don’t see on the site.
Back to the hotel and we took a nice dip in the hot tub outdoors before bedtime. Tomorrow is breakfast with Shamu!!
Trip report for June 1-June 8, 2007
OK, first thing, I have to give props to my new Canon PowerShot S3IS camera and the book, The Betterphoto Guide to Digital Photography by Jim Miotke. I know lots of people can take much better photos than I can, but thanks to the camera and book I can now take better photos than I ever thought I could!
Order of events to help you navigate:
6/1 – Travel to LA/San Diego
6/2 – Sea World
6/3 – San Diego Zoo
6/4 – Travel to LA/Anaheim
6/5 – Disneyland!*
6/6 – California Adventure*
6/7 – Disneyland*
6/8 – Travel home (I won’t bore you with that)
*will be posted later on Disneyland Trip Reports forum
DAY 1: Friday, June 1, 2007 – Travel to LA/San Diego
Don’t know who in the house slept much – I arose at 4:15 to shower, rouse the family, finish packing, and get us to the airport in plenty of time for our 8:15 flight. We made it in plenty of time, as usual – you just never know what the security lines will be like at Atlanta. We went to DH’s favorite breakfast joint in a food court there, Popeye’s. Not the best food to be had there but the sweet ladies there will “baby” and “honey” you to death, so the ordering experience is nice.
When we arrived in LA, we picked up the rental car and headed down to San Diego. I have seen pictures of southern California, with the ocean and mountains, but hadn’t really put the two together to realize how strange it was to see such large mountains practically at the edge of the water. The southern east coast, where I’m from, is pancake flat for many miles inland. The temperature was nice but it was cloudy/smoggy and you couldn’t see much and could really only make out vague silhouettes of the second range of mountains. We stayed at the Doubletree Del Mar a bit north of San Diego, quite nice – YUMMY warm chocolate-chip-walnut cookies upon check-in. I also found that, if you asked nicely, you could get them in the evening, as well. DD Olivia, age 7 1/2, was also given a cute KidsPack -- a nice-sized shoulder-slung backpack with an activity book, crayons, binoculars, and frisbee. I was disappointed because I thought, by looking at the map, that our hotel would have an ocean view but it didn’t. I realized later that the ocean was just beyond a small ridge that we could see from our room but there was no ocean view, regardless.
We rested a bit then headed down to San Diego proper to look around a bit and have some dinner. We drove on the road that fronts the bay and it was quite beautiful. We saw the USS Midway – I’ve only ever seen one, the USS Yorktown in Charleston, and I think this one is bigger than the Yorktown. Rats, I didn’t realize until just now, when I looked that up, that there’s a museum there. We also saw a humongous statue of the infamous “kissing” photo from V-J Day at the end of WWII. I think it’s really TOO big; unless you’re pretty far away, all you see is legs and up the nurse’s dress, LOL. But it’s impressive and next to the scale of the carrier (which is its backdrop) it’s probably appropriate.
I made DH TURN THE FOOL CAR AROUND just before we got committed to the San Diego-Coronado Bridge at the end of the bay. I don't do bridges like that and he has learned that my fear of them is not to be used for his amusement.
We ended up going into town a bit, into the Gaslamp District, to an Italian restaurant DH had read some great reviews on. The District was quite impressive – I don’t know if I’ve ever seen so many restaurants – GOOD restaurants – packed into a few square blocks like that. I don't know for sure, but I would venture that you could eat there three meals a day for a month and not eat in the same place twice. DH wanted to try an Italian restaurant, Trattoria la Strada, for which he had read good reviews so we ended up there. The meal was just alright, for the money. The place was a little hoity-toity – you know, one of those places where you have to order the side of spaghetti and sauce separately from your entrée, because if you order chicken parmigiana that’s ALL you get. Olivia (age 7) and I shared Farfalline Al Pollo E Broccoli (Bowtie pasta, grilled chicken tenderloin slices, broccoli, sundried tomatoes and shallots in a cream sauce – greatly enjoyed by both of us ) and DH had Polpettine di Filetto e Spaghetti (Beef Filet meatballs served on a bed of spaghetti pasta in a light spicy marinara sauce with onions, basil, and grated Parmesan cheese). That was okay but, truthfully, the description was heartier than the dish. That was not what I would call a great deal for $22.95.
We had designs on visiting the Ghirardelli ice cream shop afterward but we were too full. I consoled myself with the fact that we could go to the one at Downtown Disney but that, too, never materialized. I guess we had virtual dessert that evening, though, as we wandered through VIP Classic Cars on our way back to the parking lot. There was everything from a 1965 Volkswagen Beetle to a Bentley and Lamborghini, and lots in between. My dream car, a Ford Cobra, was only a poster on the wall. Heck, that’s more than I have at home, LOL. It was fun to see the prices fetched by the 60’s Nova and 1971 Camaro and other muscle cars just like the ones I rode in I-don’t-know-how-many-times in the 80s. It was amazing, also, to see how closely together those cars were parked – I don’t think you could put a fist between many of them. It was fun to dream. DH picked out the ’65 Corvette. I chose the ’88 Mercedes 500 Convertible and DD fell in love with the little ’65 Beetle convertible that I don’t see on the site.
Back to the hotel and we took a nice dip in the hot tub outdoors before bedtime. Tomorrow is breakfast with Shamu!!