Day 7, Tuesday or Fishing for Sunglasses.
We wake up at our own pace, have the lovely breakfast in the lounge, and head our separate ways in the parks. We agree to meet at 11:15 at Hollywood Horror Makeup Show because weve heard such good things about it on this board. This is truly a meandering day for Jack and I. We stroll up some of the Universal Studios streets and take in the details. Earlier, Id been at Lucille Balls area (while the rest of the family rode Mummy two times) and saw a telegram from the Empire Hotel. Well, as we are strolling, what do we notice, a recreation of the Empire Hotel! Im sure thats just one of the details artfully designed in U.S. So we go on Jaws again (cause I LOVE it) and wow, that shark is everywhere. Then we go on Disaster! woohoo, we adore Christopher Walken, and here he is, a live ghost, revealing his book to us. I love it when he says the word huge somehow he gets three syllables out of it. The rest of the experience is pretty good, too. Then we try MIB again and I get the highest score of my time there (and my family) but it is still too embarrassing to state here. Afterwards we see that the Blues Brothers will perform at 11:00 a.m. This is a pretty good outdoor show. We saw it five years ago, and somehow it seems better now. Jake and Elwood rule! And heres a photo in full dance:
And heres the Aretha person:
She has a great set of pipes, and sang two songs. Then we head over the HHS to meet up with the girls. We arent quite sure how the FOTL works with this kind of show, but we see a sign for Express Pass and hope we are in it. It turns out we are, and are seated in the first two rows. The theater is relatively small, so I dont really think theres a bad seat. The show/demonstration is a complete hoot!! The girls are sitting in the first row so we can check their reactions and they love it. The actor who plays the goofy guy really knows how to play an audience AND he sounds suspiciously like Otto from the Simpsons. Truly, truly, you shouldnt miss this show. The sight gags and running commentary are great. For the audience participation, they picked a person who claimed not to speak much English and boy did they play up to that fact. She was a good sport. I wish we went twice.
Afterwards we have lunch in Finnegans. I satisfy a craving for wings (I have them about once a year guilty pleasure) and they are pretty good, nice and meaty. D16 said her potato leek soup was excellent. After lunch, MIB, then back to boat. As we are standing in line for the RPR boat, D14 drops her sunglasses in the water between the landing and the boarding dock. We watch her glasses slowly sink to the bottom, and shes pretty sad. So I ask on of the captains (is that what theyre called?) if he has a net. They couldnt have been nicer. One guy tried for five minutes to scoop up the glasses. We try to tell him its okay and thanks for trying, but hes on a mission by now. (All the while D14, embarrassed, tells us to please stop, stop, stop, not liking the attention.) Then another guy gets a pole with a hook on the end and moves the glasses into the net. They bring up the glasses just as our boat arrives. Everyone claps. What great guys. They could have easily said no, or made one pass at the glasses and stopped.
So we get back to RPR and hop in the pool waiting for the afternoon shower in 4 , 3 , 2 , 1 BREEEP Everyone Out of the Pool! The girls join me today in the Gymnasium hot tub and love it. With all the rides and other water features, who would guess that fish spitting water brings them to fits of laughter as they duck weave between the ropes of water. Teenage girls take FOREVER to get ready, as Im sure you know. So I left them after 10 minutes of waiting and they made it back to the room just before dinner time. Tonight Winslow will pick us up at 5:30 p.m. for dinner so we have time for a little plate in the Club Lounge.
Night 3: Appetizers
Warm dish: Terriyaki Chicken Salad w/twice cooked noodles.
Cold dish: Fresh mozzerella, garlic, basil, and cherry tomato salad (fantastic!)
Grilled portobella mushroom slices, zucchini, squash and cherry tomatoes with two dips: ranch & thousand (homemade)
Asssorted cheeses and crackers/bread
Fresh tortilla chips with guacamole, sour cream, and salsa.
Wine: a Chardonnay, Riesling(?), Pinot Noir, & Cabernet, and Amstel, Corona and domestic choices. Sodas, milk, & water.
Winslow drives us to Portofino and the first thing we do is get our parking validated at the front desk so we dont have to fuss with it later. Then we head to the piazza.
And heres a photo:
After looking around we head to Sals. It was good, but not great. Maybe they had an off night. Its a order at the counter place. I asked for the salad to come out first, but nope, it came out with the pizzas. I guess they are used to rushes and just fire everything at once. The pizza was okay, and Jack said his calzone was pretty bland. Oh well. The gelato made up for it at the ice cream store across the way.
Heres a lovely mosaic in the wall on the way to the restrooms:
Heres the obligatory photo of the girls on the Vespa:
And heres a shot of the piazza;
And another:
It was really quiet while we were there and lovely. On the way out something is wrong with the exit and finally one of the valet guys let us out. Winslow and Jack have a lot of laughs and its good to see them together. On Monday, he took us for a behind-the-scenes look at one of the rides. Cool. After we get back we Winslow takes our photo in the RPR courtyard:
I never tire of looking at the courtyard. Tomorrow: Days 8, 9 and Endnotes.
We wake up at our own pace, have the lovely breakfast in the lounge, and head our separate ways in the parks. We agree to meet at 11:15 at Hollywood Horror Makeup Show because weve heard such good things about it on this board. This is truly a meandering day for Jack and I. We stroll up some of the Universal Studios streets and take in the details. Earlier, Id been at Lucille Balls area (while the rest of the family rode Mummy two times) and saw a telegram from the Empire Hotel. Well, as we are strolling, what do we notice, a recreation of the Empire Hotel! Im sure thats just one of the details artfully designed in U.S. So we go on Jaws again (cause I LOVE it) and wow, that shark is everywhere. Then we go on Disaster! woohoo, we adore Christopher Walken, and here he is, a live ghost, revealing his book to us. I love it when he says the word huge somehow he gets three syllables out of it. The rest of the experience is pretty good, too. Then we try MIB again and I get the highest score of my time there (and my family) but it is still too embarrassing to state here. Afterwards we see that the Blues Brothers will perform at 11:00 a.m. This is a pretty good outdoor show. We saw it five years ago, and somehow it seems better now. Jake and Elwood rule! And heres a photo in full dance:
And heres the Aretha person:
She has a great set of pipes, and sang two songs. Then we head over the HHS to meet up with the girls. We arent quite sure how the FOTL works with this kind of show, but we see a sign for Express Pass and hope we are in it. It turns out we are, and are seated in the first two rows. The theater is relatively small, so I dont really think theres a bad seat. The show/demonstration is a complete hoot!! The girls are sitting in the first row so we can check their reactions and they love it. The actor who plays the goofy guy really knows how to play an audience AND he sounds suspiciously like Otto from the Simpsons. Truly, truly, you shouldnt miss this show. The sight gags and running commentary are great. For the audience participation, they picked a person who claimed not to speak much English and boy did they play up to that fact. She was a good sport. I wish we went twice.
Afterwards we have lunch in Finnegans. I satisfy a craving for wings (I have them about once a year guilty pleasure) and they are pretty good, nice and meaty. D16 said her potato leek soup was excellent. After lunch, MIB, then back to boat. As we are standing in line for the RPR boat, D14 drops her sunglasses in the water between the landing and the boarding dock. We watch her glasses slowly sink to the bottom, and shes pretty sad. So I ask on of the captains (is that what theyre called?) if he has a net. They couldnt have been nicer. One guy tried for five minutes to scoop up the glasses. We try to tell him its okay and thanks for trying, but hes on a mission by now. (All the while D14, embarrassed, tells us to please stop, stop, stop, not liking the attention.) Then another guy gets a pole with a hook on the end and moves the glasses into the net. They bring up the glasses just as our boat arrives. Everyone claps. What great guys. They could have easily said no, or made one pass at the glasses and stopped.
So we get back to RPR and hop in the pool waiting for the afternoon shower in 4 , 3 , 2 , 1 BREEEP Everyone Out of the Pool! The girls join me today in the Gymnasium hot tub and love it. With all the rides and other water features, who would guess that fish spitting water brings them to fits of laughter as they duck weave between the ropes of water. Teenage girls take FOREVER to get ready, as Im sure you know. So I left them after 10 minutes of waiting and they made it back to the room just before dinner time. Tonight Winslow will pick us up at 5:30 p.m. for dinner so we have time for a little plate in the Club Lounge.
Night 3: Appetizers
Warm dish: Terriyaki Chicken Salad w/twice cooked noodles.
Cold dish: Fresh mozzerella, garlic, basil, and cherry tomato salad (fantastic!)
Grilled portobella mushroom slices, zucchini, squash and cherry tomatoes with two dips: ranch & thousand (homemade)
Asssorted cheeses and crackers/bread
Fresh tortilla chips with guacamole, sour cream, and salsa.
Wine: a Chardonnay, Riesling(?), Pinot Noir, & Cabernet, and Amstel, Corona and domestic choices. Sodas, milk, & water.
Winslow drives us to Portofino and the first thing we do is get our parking validated at the front desk so we dont have to fuss with it later. Then we head to the piazza.
And heres a photo:
After looking around we head to Sals. It was good, but not great. Maybe they had an off night. Its a order at the counter place. I asked for the salad to come out first, but nope, it came out with the pizzas. I guess they are used to rushes and just fire everything at once. The pizza was okay, and Jack said his calzone was pretty bland. Oh well. The gelato made up for it at the ice cream store across the way.
Heres a lovely mosaic in the wall on the way to the restrooms:
Heres the obligatory photo of the girls on the Vespa:
And heres a shot of the piazza;
And another:
It was really quiet while we were there and lovely. On the way out something is wrong with the exit and finally one of the valet guys let us out. Winslow and Jack have a lot of laughs and its good to see them together. On Monday, he took us for a behind-the-scenes look at one of the rides. Cool. After we get back we Winslow takes our photo in the RPR courtyard:
I never tire of looking at the courtyard. Tomorrow: Days 8, 9 and Endnotes.
