I get to go to DL again? 2/24/08-3/3/08, Updated 9/11 [Archive] - The DIS Discussion Forums

mla1977

01-07-2008, 12:18 PM

Well, DBF just gave me the go ahead to start planning our trip to California. I have been lucky enough over the past several years to be able to travel with him to many of his conferences. Most notable were New Orleans in 2005, Anaheim in 2006, and WDW in 2007. This year he has a conference in San Diego and I am able to join him. More importantly, I was able to talk him into taking a side trip to Disneyland again. Woohoo!:cool1:

So now I have 1.5 months to plan. :laughing: Well, it can be done. It will only be the two of us and I just some PR(? -ADRs) yesterday.

One other note:

I am generally a WDW DISer, so my Pre-trip/Trip Report will probably follow that general format and be as detailed as many of those Trippies.

Here we go!

The Cast:

Me: (31 - ooh just celebrated my b-day and that makes me feel soooo old!) princess: pirate: I can't decide, but I do LOVE Jack (or Johnny Depp, I may not love Jack as much if it wasn't Johnny Depp). I am a huge Disney fan. I think I was able to keep everything under control until I found the DIS and figured out how to use my iPod. Our trip to WDW last May just pushed me over the edge. Now I'm hoping to have many more trips there, buy DVC, and maybe (a really BIG maybe since no ring is yet involved) get married there some day. My favorite movie: modern- Beauty and the Beast, classic - Robin Hood (I call classic any 'old' movie that I couldn't see in the theaters), Princess: Belle, Charater: Stitch, Ride: Rock n' Roller Coaster. I've been on California Screamin', but Aerosmith makes Rock n' Roller Coaster the clear winner for me.

DBF: (30) pooh: Okay, he'd probably kill me if he saw that, but he is my big Pooh bear and he has a picture of himself and his BFF comparing their bellies to Pooh. Very cute. He is really an enabler. He enjoys himself at the parks and likes the rides, but really, he just humors me. He apparently went to DLR when he was little since he has some vague memories of the park. He has also gone to WDW at least once without me and again with me last May, and of course to DLR in 2006 with me. He does like Buzz Lightyear and was upset when Buzz went on a bathroom break at DLR and took well over the 5 minutes that his CM said he would take. I did manage to get a picture of us with Buzz in MK last year though.

Well, I hope we sound interesting enough for you to continue reading. I'll be back more to give you some of my plans!

mla1977

01-08-2008, 05:08 PM

Here is just a quick update:

When Disney Shopping had a sale back in December I bought myself a pair of Mickey Crocs! Yes, I gave into the craze. They are sitting in my trunk, but I will probably bring them into the house and start breaking them in tonight.

Here they are:
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z162/mla1977disney/disneycrocs.jpg

They are so cute! DBF thinks that Crocs are going to go downhill fast since their stock keeps losing money. I hope that isn't true. They have a good (but ugly) product. I think they should take their technology and expand it into some more marketable products. I'll probably get myself a few pairs of non-Mickey crocs to wear around the house and the garden.

Buy Crocs everyone!!!! (When the stock goes up, it increases my Disney fund) :)

mla1977

01-08-2008, 05:11 PM

Sorry about the quality of the photo. I took it with my camera phone the day that the crocs got delivered (to my office).

mla1977

01-18-2008, 10:59 AM

Well, I'm not sure who is reading this, but for those of you who are, I'll be pulling out some of my special Disney clothes and posting more picks this week.

If anyone is interested, check out my current (not completed TR) in my siggie! I plan on finishing that one before I leave for DLR.

mla1977

01-18-2008, 11:19 AM

We booked out flights yesterday. :banana: :banana: :banana:

We fly out of Philly, through Nashville to San Diego on February 24.

We return from John Wayne through Pittsburgh to Philly on March 3.

I'm a little concerned about this because I think that our flight has a stop before Pittsburgh. That extra stop would suck, but the flight is already booked, so I won't bring that concern up with DBF.

I need to call DLR to change my reservations for Ariel's Grotto. We won't be getting to Anaheim until nighttime on Feb 28, and I had booked us for a lunch there. I'll change that to Friday or Saturday.

DBF's conference is Feb 25-27, ending around noon on Feb 27. I'll probably get the Sea World pass that they have right now. It looks like it costs you the same for a 1-day or an annual pass. (I'll be double checking that later though.) If it is a real annual pass, that may work out good for me. This conference is supposed to be in the same location for the next three years. That means I'd be able to go to Sea World again next year! I haven't been there since I was 9, and that was the Orlando one!

mla1977

01-18-2008, 11:25 AM

mla1977

01-18-2008, 02:42 PM

I've made reservations for the following:

Minnie and Friends: 2/29 8:30 (I think, the paper is at home)

Ariel's Grotto: 3/1 12:50

I'm debating adding anywhere else.

DBF's grandfather lived in Garden Grove, so we need to figure out when to see him. I'm beginning to wonder if we leave San Diego earlier so that we can see him on our first night in Anaheim. We got to see him last time we were there and since he is getting up there in years, it is probably good to make sure we see him every chance we get.

Goofster57

01-18-2008, 05:59 PM

Mia,

Jumping on board for your DLR trip and will head over to your WDW TR next.

Glad you are getting to come back to the best Disney Resort around...:thumbsup2

Just kidding...:)

Your PR sound good, have you thought about of Blue Bayou?

I think you are going to see that Sea World has changed a bit. I think the deal is buy a "Fun Card" and get the rest of 2008 free.

This is from their site

For the cost of a full-price single day admission, you get unlimited visits to SeaWorld for all of 2008. A Fun Card is the best way to enjoy all of SeaWorld’s 2008 events. Return as often as you like for Spring into Night, Summer Nights, a not-too-scary Halloween, and SeaWorld’s Holiday Celebration. Your Fun Card won’t expire until December 31, 2008, but this offer expires April 30. So … don’t wait. Get your 2008 Fun Card today and start the fun.

Keep the up-dates coming

mla1977

01-18-2008, 06:18 PM

Thanks Gooster! Yay! A subscriber!!!!

I went over to the Sea World site after my last post and was disappointed that the offer was only through 2008. I may go a day early while DBF is in his conference or try to get to the San Diego Zoo. I have to spend more time looking at my options there.

I am considering Blue Bayou, but I need to talk to DBF about it. Maybe I'll hint at that being a great place to propose! ;) :rotfl2:

Goofster57

01-18-2008, 06:33 PM

I am considering Blue Bayou, but I need to talk to DBF about it. Maybe I'll hint at that being a great place to propose! ;) :rotfl2:

Oh Great, What are you trying get me in trouble?...Don't tell him I suggested the place..:eek:

:rotfl2: :lmao:

mla1977

01-24-2008, 03:25 PM

So, I've been trying to break in the Crocs before I get to DLR. I wore them for 10 minutes on the treadmill the other day. Has anyone tried that? It is a little scary. I purposely was going slow too (max: 2.5mph) just to be safe. It wasn't that bad because I was able to walk. Unfortunately, the next day I was sore on the back of my leg just at the top of the Achilles. Before the 10 minutes with the Crocs, I had gone 40 minutes with sneakers doing my regular workout, so I don't know what actually caused the pain. Hmm... oh well, I just really don't want to get blisters.

Goofster57

01-24-2008, 04:01 PM

Yeah you defiantly don’t want blisters on your vacation.

Could just be that they make you stand different and you just need to get used to them.

Good luck

mla1977

01-24-2008, 04:15 PM

I've dealt with blisters before. In New Orleans, my feet were covered with them and DBF didn't know why I was walking so slow until I took my shoes off. It wasn't as bad in WDW last year, but I had finally heard about moleskin then.

Shopping list:

1) moleskin
2) Aleve
3)...

BecBennett

01-24-2008, 06:46 PM

I'll be a DLR around the same time as you (1st - 10th of March) Very excited!
So what is the go with moleskin? I've heard of it, but I've got no idea what it is in the slightest?

mla1977

01-25-2008, 10:45 AM

Moleskin is a thick, super sticky material that you can put on areas that usually get blisters. I can't really describe it better than that. You can get it at most pharmacies for only a few bucks for a few sheets. It is sooo worth the money.

spokanemom

01-26-2008, 11:02 PM

You have another reader!! I think you should get a Citypass and then you could do both Sea World and SD Zoo. 217.00 through Costco...

I think it is great that you are so excited for your trip. I get the same way and some of my friends think I am nuts. I think they are wrong!

mla1977

01-27-2008, 03:38 PM

Goofster57

01-28-2008, 10:08 AM

mla1977

01-28-2008, 10:56 AM

Thanks Goofster! That is really how I feel about it too. Not to bash the San Diego Zoo since I hear it is really great, but I love the Philly zoo and it isn't too far from us, but Sea World, well, the closest to us is in Orlando. And as I've said. I haven't been there since I was in 3rd grade.

spokanemom

01-28-2008, 01:11 PM

Thanks Sponkanemom. Welcome. Do you need a Costco membership to get the City pass for that price? DBF and I were talking and I'm not sure he is as big on Sea World as I am. He seemed more interested in the Zoo. I need to check out why the zoo might be better for us.

Sorry for the delay in answering!
You do not have to be a member to order them online. Per the Costco website:

Membership Requirements
Costco is a membership warehouse club, dedicated to bringing our members the lowest possible prices on quality, brand-name merchandise. Costco members not only receive the best possible prices at costco.com, but can also shop at any of the Costco Wholesale locations worldwide! Costco members need to enter their membership number during the registration process in the My Account section. Non-members will be charged a 5% surcharge over the member's posted product prices (except for prescription drugs and gift certificates). If you are not a member, we encourage you to join. For more membership information, click here.

Happy Planning!:woohoo:

mla1977

01-30-2008, 04:15 PM

Woohoo! We booked our hotel!

I had just about given up on getting anything with the Marriott associate rate, and I was looking at other hotels in the area. I really wanted to have the Fairfield Inn right across the street, or even the Anaheim Marriott, but there is a big convention there the whole weekend that we are in Anaheim. I was thinking that I would have to settle for the Quality Inn around the corner from the Fairfield Inn, so I didn't even check the Marriott today. DBF checked and the Residence Inn in Garden Grove showed up! Woohoo! It is half the cost of the Quality Inn (thanks to his step dad working at the Marriott)

Well, I know that it is not "easy" walking distance to the park, but we can't beat the price and the quality that we know we are getting. It includes breakfast too!

Next up: Booking the rental car! I'll be working on that tonight...:scared:

Goofster57

01-30-2008, 05:02 PM

Congrats on getting a good price.

It's only about a mile to the park from there up Harbor

The good thing is you are closer to Joe's Italian Ice

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t317/Goofy4you/All%20American%20Band/IMG_1844.jpg

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t317/Goofy4you/All%20American%20Band/IMG_1845.jpg

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t317/Goofy4you/All%20American%20Band/IMG_1847.jpg

I think it is almost right across the street

mla1977

01-30-2008, 11:27 PM

Goofster57

01-31-2008, 10:23 AM

I was going to ask if the Italian Ice there could possibly be as good as Philly water ice, but that picture make me wish it was at least 20 degrees warmer here. I can't wait for the first day of spring! Free water ice! I'll have to give them a try while we're there.

I've never heard of Philly water ice :confused3

"Free water ice"? Do they give them away the first day of spring?

Here are the flavors they had that day

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t317/Goofy4you/All%20American%20Band/IMG_1841.jpg

They change daily depending on what they have in the way of flavoring

The fruit flavored ones have chunks of the fruit in them

mla1977

01-31-2008, 10:45 AM

Philly water ice is basically Italian ice. Here they consider Italian ice the hard stuff that you get at the grocery store, but water ice looks like what you had in the picture. Rita's is a local chain and they give out free water ice on the first day of spring. It is one of my favorite days of the year!

mla1977

03-06-2008, 02:53 PM

So I didn't get to follow through with the pre trippie, but I will be able to explain that later. I was able to go and I had a great time. I have most of the DLR pictures up on Photobucket, but I want to get the San Diego and LA pictures that I plan on using uploaded before I start writing. I will try to get started this weekend!

momto2nenas

03-06-2008, 08:15 PM

Waiting, waiting, waiting! :)

Mama of Indybride

03-22-2008, 01:01 AM

Hmmmm.....

:surfweb:

Have we possibly been forgotten??

mla1977

03-22-2008, 08:43 PM

Okay, okay, I think DBF is going out tonight, so I should be able to write a little bit!

mla1977

03-24-2008, 11:13 AM

Okay, here is a bit a Pre-trippie before I move on to the story:

DBF had his conference planned for San Diego for the beginning of out trip and then we were going to head north to Anaheim and LA.

A few weeks before the trip his boss went home sick. It turns out that he was having a stroke and he ended up in the hospital. The whole conference was suddenly in question. Both DBF and his boss were going to the conference, but now the weeks leading up to the conference had DBF doing the work of the two people and the VP of their division wondering if he should keep DBF in the office.

I was upset, but since I knew that the conference was the only reason that we would be going to California to begin with, I had to accept whatever decision was made. For a change I wasn't worried about plane tickets though. We had purchased Southwest tickets, so I knew I wouldn't be losing any money by not flying (:woohoo: yay for Southwest).

On the Tuesday before we were leaving (on Sunday) we are given the okay. I start making the final plans to so that I can decide what we are going to see. Try to decide if we need to make any more ressies for the trip. Nope all set! I still need to pack though!

mla1977

03-24-2008, 11:14 AM

Oh yeah. DBF's boss is okay. He is still home and going through rehab. I hope he can return to work soon though. DBF is doing so much more work than he ever needed to do when both of them were in the office.

mla1977

03-24-2008, 11:36 AM

This was an easy travel day for us.

I had been sick all week though! My doctor gave me some antibiotics (which I usually avoid taking, but didn't want to chance it since I was traveling) and told me to take sudafed an hour before flying. I also purchased some Earplanes so help with any pressure problems that I might have.

We left the house around 8:30 to go to the airport and park at the offsite, but much cheaper parking lot.

No problems with check in. I checked us in the day before and we got #30-ish. (We found out later that #1-30 are for the people who pay the extra money to board earlier on Southwest. General boarding numbers start at #31. I really like this new boarding approach.)

Because of Southwest's new boarding procedures, we were able to walk around until our plane was at the gate and not have to sit in line at the gate.

The flight to Nashville was uneventful. I had hoped to get some BBQ in Nashville, which I did, but it wasn't very good at all. I'd rather head back to Memphis and get some yummy ribs from Corky's.

I was having some problems with one ear not popping though, so I didn't walk around the airport too much.

The flight to San Diego boarded quickly (maybe a few minutes late, but nothing bad). It was a full flight and an older lady sat down next to me. I think she was lonely; she seemed like she wanted to talk to me the whole time. I talked a little but I really wanted to watch movies on my ipod. I got one movie in at least. Oh, the ear pressue relieved itself once we were back in the air too!

I had to put to earplanes in an hour before landing, so I had trouble talking to anyone once they were in.

Landing in San Diego was interesting. The flight path takes you right past the downtown area. I was able to look out the window and see the skyscrapers right next to me. Kind of freaky. :scared1:

Once we landed, our bags came out pretty quickly and we headed over to Avis. EVERYONE else on the Avis shuttle were preferred members and their cars were ready for them when we got dropped off. We went in and got our car. The "sample" car on the website was a Pontiac G6 which I was really looking forward to having since I drive a Grand Am, but they were all out so we got a Taurus. Not bad, nice big trunk.

We headed over to our hotel (The Catamaran) and checked in. The view of Mission Bay was awesome. After settling in, we went out to get dinner and found a Mexican place with delicious fish tacos. DBF raved about them. I was still somewhat stuffed up, so while they tasted good, I couldn't truely appreciate what I had.

My ears had also still not popped yet. I hoped that I didn't need to wait days before that cleared up.

Next up... A beautiful park!

annieb727

03-24-2008, 08:03 PM

Looking forward to more!!

mla1977

03-27-2008, 06:42 PM

More will be coming soon! I've got about 1 day of TR left for my May report, so I will try to finish that this weekend. Then I'll continue with this one.

Nothing like another trip to motivate you to finish your current TR.

weslovesauntmeg

03-27-2008, 11:11 PM

Joining your trip report..excited to see how it went..and what mexican place did you go to? cause i live in san diego and was wondering which one it was cause there are a few good ones in san diego??

mla1977

03-27-2008, 11:55 PM

I have to go through my papers that I brought home. I'm pretty sure that I grabbed a menu or business card from there. It wasn't too far from our hotel. A few miles maybe, it took less than 10 minutes to get to back to our hotel. I'll try to find it this weekend.

disney-inspired

03-28-2008, 01:28 AM

You have another reader!
and not too far behind either!:goodvibes

MAGICFOR2

04-01-2008, 02:21 AM

I want to come too! We're going to DLR at the end of June :banana:

mla1977

04-09-2008, 11:34 AM

Day 2 - 4/25

We wake up bright and early thanks to the time difference. My ears are fairly clear and I can actully breath better too.

We had decided that we were going to see Balboa Park before DBF needed to head to the conference. We got directions from the rental car and put to address into TomTom and we were on our way!

Surprisingly, even though it was a normal time, there really wasn't any traffic. Maybe it was just the area we were in. :confused3

After finding a parking space (all free parking :woohoo: ), we started to walk around to see everything.

http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z162/mla1977disney/disneyland%202008/SanDiegoFebruary2008013.jpg
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z162/mla1977disney/disneyland%202008/SanDiegoFebruary2008014.jpg
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z162/mla1977disney/disneyland%202008/SanDiegoFebruary2008022.jpg

The volunteer in the visitor's center recommended that with visit the desert landscape:

http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z162/mla1977disney/disneyland%202008/SanDiegoFebruary2008033.jpg

This is my favorite picture. I love fountains and I love taking pictures of fountains.
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z162/mla1977disney/disneyland%202008/SanDiegoFebruary2008045.jpg

We did wander around and take lots of pictures of the park. It is extremely beautiful and had tons of museums that I would love to go back to visit. I'm not posting all the pictures here though, so here is one more:
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z162/mla1977disney/disneyland%202008/SanDiegoFebruary2008051.jpg
DBF told me to go up there for a picture so I decided to do a little dance.

We didn't have tons of time so we headed back to the hotel for the conference and made a little stop to see the Pacific:
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z162/mla1977disney/disneyland%202008/SanDiegoFebruary2008053.jpg

We got another yummy Mexican meal right near the beach too.

Next up: Dinner by the bay!

Disney owl

04-13-2008, 07:03 AM

thanks for sharing

juliana_sd

04-26-2008, 09:39 AM

Fun TR so far - you're in my 'hood! :) I actually WORK in one of those buildings that you fly right past when you're landing... it's just as freaky from the other side, hehe.

Glad you enjoyed Balboa Park! Love that place.

mla1977

04-27-2008, 10:28 PM

Thanks for joining me! I'm sorry I haven't updated in a bit. We're having a productivity contest at work and I've been leading the pack, so I've been working extra hours to maintain my standing!

MAGICFOR2

04-28-2008, 08:49 AM

Love those pics - thanks for sharing them! I would love to explore San Diego sometime.

mla1977

08-05-2008, 12:40 PM

I'm coming back to finish this! I'll try to work on it tonight. DBF is going to a bachelor party this weekend too, so I'll have a lot of free time.

reyasmommy

08-05-2008, 01:18 PM

I'm coming back to finish this! I'll try to work on it tonight. DBF is going to a bachelor party this weekend too, so I'll have a lot of free time.Good!! I'm ready for more.....

popcorn::

mla1977

08-05-2008, 02:38 PM

reyasmommy

08-05-2008, 02:59 PM

I love your siggie picture. I'm excited about Robert as Edward, but I saw Jumper recently and the picture I created of Edward before hearing about Robert was more like the main actor in that. Umm... blanking on his name though. He was Anikan Skywalker too.HAYDEN CHRISTENSEN!!! Mmmmmm he's yummy! :love: It's so funny that you said that because my best friend and I said the exact same thing. Robert is going to do a great job though, I'm so excited.

mla1977

08-05-2008, 03:42 PM

Yes he is! Jumper was pretty stupid, but I was watching it telling DBF that he is the perfect Edward. Of course, he had no idea what I was talking about!

mla1977

09-11-2008, 10:25 PM

I have a goal of finishing this as quickly as possible. It will be more pictures that narrative. The trip was so long ago now, but I really want to complete this trip report.

On with the show...

After lunch, we made it back to our hotel and DBF went to his conference. I had every intention of going to the path along the bay and taking a nice long walk, but the long flight and my cold were catching up with me. I rested in the room and later went out to look around the hotel grounds before heading out for my walk. DBF found me however and he was just about done with the day's meetings (I guess I had rested longer that I thought). So rather than heading out for a walk I went back to the room to freshen up and make plans for the rest of the evening.

We decided to get seafood since, surprisingly, we were both already getting sick of Mexican food. We headed to the Fish Market. It was in a really nice location in the harbor area and right near downtown San Diego.

http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z162/mla1977disney/disneyland%202008/SanDiegoFebruary2008063.jpg
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z162/mla1977disney/disneyland%202008/SanDiegoFebruary2008071.jpg
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z162/mla1977disney/disneyland%202008/SanDiegoFebruary2008067.jpg
My dinner: Zuppa di Pesche I believe
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z162/mla1977disney/disneyland%202008/SanDiegoFebruary2008073.jpg
DBF's fish and chips
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z162/mla1977disney/disneyland%202008/SanDiegoFebruary2008075-1.jpg

After dinner we headed over the the Gaslamp District.

I wasn't up for drinking or bars, but we walked around and enjoyed the area. I managed to snap a few pictures. I'm still not great with my camera at night, but here are a couple:

His old roommate was Fred the Mexican
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z162/mla1977disney/disneyland%202008/SanDiegoFebruary2008076.jpg
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z162/mla1977disney/disneyland%202008/SanDiegoFebruary2008077.jpg

After wandering for a bit, we headed back to the hotel and I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.

mla1977

09-11-2008, 10:55 PM

My big plans for the day were to visit my first aircraft carrier. I am not exactly a Navy brat, but I grew up about 30 minutes from Groton, where the submarine school is. I have had my fair share of tours of subs. They're cool, but I've always wanted to see an aircraft carrier and Groton never had one of those.

So my big stop was The Midway!

(These are in no particular order)
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z162/mla1977disney/disneyland%202008/SanDiegoFebruary2008232-1.jpg
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z162/mla1977disney/disneyland%202008/SanDiegoFebruary2008089.jpg
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z162/mla1977disney/disneyland%202008/SanDiegoFebruary2008124.jpg
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z162/mla1977disney/disneyland%202008/SanDiegoFebruary2008117.jpg
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z162/mla1977disney/disneyland%202008/SanDiegoFebruary2008164.jpg
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z162/mla1977disney/disneyland%202008/SanDiegoFebruary2008169.jpg
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z162/mla1977disney/disneyland%202008/SanDiegoFebruary2008170-1.jpg
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z162/mla1977disney/disneyland%202008/SanDiegoFebruary2008174.jpg
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z162/mla1977disney/disneyland%202008/SanDiegoFebruary2008181.jpg
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z162/mla1977disney/disneyland%202008/SanDiegoFebruary2008189.jpg
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z162/mla1977disney/disneyland%202008/SanDiegoFebruary2008203-1.jpg
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z162/mla1977disney/disneyland%202008/SanDiegoFebruary2008218.jpg
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z162/mla1977disney/disneyland%202008/SanDiegoFebruary2008220.jpg
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z162/mla1977disney/disneyland%202008/SanDiegoFebruary2008229.jpg

I was so excited that I got to see a Tomcat that I spent the rest of the tour singing "Highway to the Danger Zone". Too bad I hadn't brought my iPod with me since the soundtrack was on there.

I originally thought that I could do the whole tour in about 2 hours, but I ended up spending 5 hours there! I was having so much fun. I also got the chance to meet some people who had actually served on the ship. They had one area where they talked about landing and another one where they talked about taking off. You get to see the catapult and all the different technology that is used on the carrier.

If anyone has interest in the military or the navy especially, I highly recommend this.

For dinner that night we went to L&L Hawaiian BBQ. It is a chain restaurant, but it was delicious. If I had the money and the time I would open up a franchise here.

We also took a drive around to see Little Italy and we drove over to Hotel del Coronado. I kept telling him that the Grand Floridian was designed after that hotel.

Here's a couple pictures. I even got a good night shot!

http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z162/mla1977disney/disneyland%202008/LosAngelesFebruary2008005.jpg
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z162/mla1977disney/disneyland%202008/LosAngelesFebruary2008006-1.jpg
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z162/mla1977disney/disneyland%202008/LosAngelesFebruary2008009.jpg

After that, we headed back to the hotel to get ready. As soon as DBF completed his conference the next day we were headed north to Anaheim and LA!

mla1977

09-16-2008, 01:16 PM

Hopefully I can update again tonight or tomorrow night.

reyasmommy

09-16-2008, 02:06 PM

Welcome back! Great update...

Hate to say it but looking at your seafood almost made me want to barf. :rotfl2: I hate eating or smelling anything that swims. LOL! Otherwise great report.

mla1977

09-16-2008, 02:08 PM

Sorry about that. I love shell fish. I grew up in New England and my fondest memories are going to the shacks on the Maine coast and getting a whole lobster dinner for $7.00.

travelmel

09-27-2008, 03:03 AM

I love your siggie picture. I'm excited about Robert as Edward, but I saw Jumper recently and the picture I created of Edward before hearing about Robert was more like the main actor in that. Umm... blanking on his name though. He was Anikan Skywalker too.

First of all, Hi! Great mini TR! I haven't gotten to the SD portion of my TR yet but I wish I would have checked these boards first and then had the sense to visit that Carrier ship (I forget the name all the sudden)! That thing looks so cool! :headache:

Ok, I just want to chime in that I thought a good Edward would have been the guy who played the bad guy in Spiderman... the young dude..

James Franco!
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I think I Pictured him because of the brooding thing he did in the Spidey movies. I know he's not QUITE right but I was happy to see the Edward they finally chose.. however! I love his british accent and I wish they would have used it for the movie.

OMG I can't wait. popcorn:: :rolleyes1 :sad2: :rolleyes:

HAYDEN CHRISTENSEN!!! Mmmmmm he's yummy! :love: It's so funny that you said that because my best friend and I said the exact same thing. Robert is going to do a great job though, I'm so excited.

I do not picture Edward as an innocent American Blondie (aka Hayden Christensen)! Isn't it funny how different we create our characters in our heads??? So funny! :laughing:

I'm so excited!! (SAD!!!!!!!) :rolleyes:

mla1977

09-27-2008, 11:20 AM

In Jumper he has darker hair. I just saw him and was like "OMG that's Edward!" I still love R Pat though!

travelmel

09-27-2008, 12:46 PM

In Jumper he has darker hair. I just saw him and was like "OMG that's Edward!" I still love R Pat though!

I was at Hot Topic yesterday and saw the "Team Edward" and "Team Jacob" t-shirts... my husband nearly bought me one. :lmao:

He's so cute! (My DH) :lovestruc

I went to look at the trailer for Jumper... Hayden looks definitely different with darker hair.. still too "all american" for my version of Edward. I like James Franco and R Pat's sort of bad boy looks. More brooding.

That's the trouble with books and movies..everybody's got such specifics in their mind. I sort of noticed on an ad for Twilight the movie that one of the characters was wearing a bad wig.. like back when they made "Flowers in the Attic" into a movie.. OMG that movie was FILLED with bad wigs!!!! :rotfl2:

Anyway, sorry to ramble on...!!!

mla1977

09-28-2008, 10:13 PM

This day was lots of fun for us! DBF's boss had requested tickets for the Tonight Show. Since he wasn't able to make the trip, he gave them to us. I had called ahead and they recommended to us to get in line by 3 pm. Luckily DBF got out of his conference a little bit early so we headed up to Anaheim to check into our hotel and then get to Burbank.

One last San Diego pic:

http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z162/mla1977disney/disneyland%202008/LosAngelesFebruary2008018.jpg

After checking into the hotel, we hopped in the car and headed to Burbank. We got in line and I snapped this picture:
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The wait was long but we were in the shade so it wasn't that bad. After the people with guaranteed tickets were let in, they started bringing our line in. DBF had to empty his pockets when we went through the security entrance and I was getting stressed because I knew that there was another couple right behind us and I didn't want them to go in before us. Thankfully we got in ahead of them.

We walked around back stage and the staffer passed us off to the usher and said "Finish off the front". What!?!?!? I turned to DBF and mouthed "the front?" Yup, that's right! We were brought up to the last two seats in the front row. They are the seats that are right in front of the spot that Leno does his monologue. We got to shake his hand and be on TV! Woohoo!:cool1: :cool1:

Miley and Billy Rae Cyrus were the guests and musical guests along with Brooke Shields. Brooke is as gorgeous in person as she is on film.

After the taping we left and I made all of my phone calls to let people know that they needed to watch the show that night. Mom made sure that she taped it for me too.

After the show, we knew it wasn't a good time to head back to Anaheim, so we headed toward Hollywood and Highland. We got to see the Walk of Fame and the Hollywood sign.

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They were still giving out tickets to Jimmy Kimmell Live which was being taped right across from the Chinese theater.
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We were a little overwhelmed by the area so we decided to head out to the Farmer's Market since it is open until 9ish.
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We had dinner there at a DELICIOUS Brazilian BBQ place, and after walking around for a bit, we decided to drive over to Rodeo Drive. Of course since it was late, everything was closed, but it was still nice to drive down.

After that we headed back to the hotel and managed to catch the opening of Leno before falling asleep.

travelmel

09-29-2008, 01:52 AM

Wow! The front... popcorn::

So cool! Millions paid millions to see Mylie and there you were for free! :lmao:

I'd love to see a taping of something someday. Sounds like you guys had a great time :thumbsup2

mla1977

09-29-2008, 10:55 AM

It was really cool! We got to shake Leno's hand too. You can't talk to the guest before or after the show though. We told DBF's brother (11) that we got to meet her and tell her how big a fan he is.

He'll probably have the same conference in San Diego again, so I'll probably request tickets again.

travelmel

09-29-2008, 12:51 PM

travelmel

10-01-2008, 10:02 PM

Oh yeah, funny story about my mom. She is geographically challenged. When she saw that we were through Nashville, she couldn't understand why we would go east to head west. Apparently she has always thought that Tennessee is on the east coast. Pretty funny since my step father's sister lives near Nashville and they've visited her there.

Hi, I'm catching up and still reading your PTR but I saw this and started laughing! That's too funny.

My Grandma is from Cali (since 1936 so almost native) and all my family still lives there. When I moved to Oregon from So Cal she called me and said, "What time is it there now?"

:lmao:

Ummmm.... yea.... about that :rotfl:

EDIT: Ahh ha... that's what I get for complaining about my grandma being silly. I just realized that I already read this PTR! ROFL I guess I didn't read the begining very thoroughly the first time. OH BROTHER!!! :ROFL: