The Dry Heat Expedition (Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Disneyland)--UPDATE 6/12 (KSC and DTD)

[Captain_Oblivious]

@that's nice, from the bottom of my heart I am So, So, Sorry!!!

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

I don't miss those days a bit. I'm glad to hear he's finally figured out the sleeping through the night thing. Izzy didn't figure it out until about 19 months (ironically, she started sleeping through the night when we were in the city that never sleeps).

19 months!! I'm sure you played the Hallelujah Chorus when that was over.

Oh no! I'm so sorry, especially since you don't have a smartphone to take video on.

I do have an iPod, but the quality of the footage on the video camera was so much better.

Ha, brings back memories of eating beignets at POFQ - such a mess, especially outside with the breeze blowing.

If it ain't messy it aint' good!

Hey, wait, don't they call all of them THE 10, etc. Speaking of blindly following GPS, did you see that news story awhile back about the semi truck that followed his GPS onto a pedestrian bridge in a park? Crazy.

True, but I'm not a California native, so I don't know if I'm allowed to use their terminology. And no, I didn't see that story!

That sounds really, really delicious! Good choices.

Why, thank you!

 

[KatMark]

Sorry folks...no picture. It has disappeared from my account.

 

[Steppesister]

Awwww sad day. You should give the Feds a call; I'm sure they have a copy somewhere.

 

[franandaj]

There's just nothing between the mountains and Vegas.

Well there's Barstow, Calico, and zzyzx road....yeah, nothin'

Ooh, I like that. Totally stealing it.

It was the Carl's Jr slogan regarding their burgers, yet they still only gave you one napkin per sandwich.

 

[afwdwfan]

It is probably for the best. Not sure it is really dis appropriate anyway.

To share the story though, the Disdads do a Thanksgiving photo blitz every year on our private Facebook page. This is kind of a nod to Thanksgiving 2011 when some dads were given a temporary Dis ban after consuming some alcohol after dinner and making some posts that the mods didn't like.

Anyway, this year, there was a lot of trash talk going on leading up to the blitz. Snow was falling in certain places and mentions were made about taking pictures in the snow. Dares were issued, challenges accepted and beers consumed. And Tim posted a picture nobody wanted to see.

The end.

 

[Steppesister]

That explains a lot. Beer and DISDads. The End.

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

It is probably for the best. Not sure it is really dis appropriate anyway.

To share the story though, the Disdads do a Thanksgiving photo blitz every year on our private Facebook page. This is kind of a nod to Thanksgiving 2011 when some dads were given a temporary Dis ban after consuming some alcohol after dinner and making some posts that the mods didn't like.

Anyway, this year, there was a lot of trash talk going on leading up to the blitz. Snow was falling in certain places and mentions were made about taking pictures in the snow. Dares were issued, challenges accepted and beers consumed. And Tim posted a picture nobody wanted to see.

The end.

And it's likely best (for all of us) if it stays ended.
Right Tim?

That explains a lot. Beer and DISDads. The End.

"To Alcohol! The cause of... and solution to... all of life's problems"

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Hi everyone. I haven't had a whole lot of DIS time lately between my work and my daughter's involvement in Science Olympiad. But I wanted to just leave a note asking for your prayers as I enter yet another interview this afternoon. It's 1 interview for 2 positions, both would be promotions for me. I feel reasonably confident and think this might be my best chance yet, but I've also had enough Charlie Brown-kicking-the-football experiences to make me nervous. So, if you think of it, please lift me up, and thank you for indulging me!

 

[afwdwfan]

 

[afwdwfan]

Please tell me you're getting interviewed by these guys.

Sorry, just had a few minutes so I thought some levity might help. Anyway, good luck. You're bound to get one of these things eventually. If not, there are 49 other states. And one of them is Hawaii. Just sayin'

 

[dgbg100106]

Captain’s Log: Tuesday, 29 July 2014.



1:29 a.m.—You would have thought we’d tired him out. But no.



4:37 a.m.—Someday, I know, this kid will sleep through the night. It just feels like he never will.



7:43 a.m.—Look at that! We slept in. For us, anyway.

Baby Drew is a machine, ready to go anytime you are not... It is his job.

8:19 a.m.—It’s a melancholy morning as we all get dressed and packed up. No more Disney fun to be had. And vacation itself ends tomorrow. The only thing we really have to do is get back to Vegas so we can catch the flight in the morning. It’s a 4-hour drive, and we’re all dragging thanks to the all-out assault on Disneyland we perpetrated the previous day.

These days are the hardest, departure days, waiting for the ME is just awful.

8:42 a.m.—We pack the suitcases and drag our feet a bit in loading up the rental van. Once again, the game of Tetris begins as I try to fit our suitcases, golf clubs, stroller, groceries, and carry-on bags into the space between the rear seat and tailgate. If you recall, I’ve had to get everything loaded in just so, and then slam the rear door shut quickly before the pile shifts. Sometimes it takes 2 or 3 slams to get it to close tightly.

Maybe ME would have been easier.

I’m already in a bad mood because there’s no more Disney and we have to leave. I get all of the bags in just the right place. Then I slam the door. There’s a loud thunk and it fails to close. Grrrr. I thought I had everything in just right. Well, I know how to fix this.



Slam harder.



THUNK.



Slam harder.



THUNK.



WHY WON’T (SLAM) THIS @#$% (SLAM) DOOR CLOSE?!?! (SLAM)



Maybe it’s because I put my video camera down on the ledge, right where the door is supposed to close. The same video camera that used to have a flat top, and is now concave.



I realize what I’ve done, and try to power on the camera to see if it still works. Nothing.



So remember, kids, if you want to put an expensive piece of electronics out of commission, don’t just give it a good whack. You want to really smack the crap out of it several times to do the job.



Yep, I’m an idiot.



The good news is, the SD card survived and the videos are intact.

Maybe ME would not have broken the Video Camera.... Glad you got the SD out and have the videos.

8:43 a.m.—Now I’m really grumpy.



8:44 a.m.—We make sure everything is secure in the van (this time) and lock the doors…and walk away. We’re not hitting the road quite yet.

Grumpy is a minor word for how I would have felt. I would have had a meltdown.

9:03 a.m.—Our family suffers from a genetic condition known as DDP: Disney Departure Procrastination. Symptoms include an extreme reluctance to leave any property owned by the Walt Disney Co. around the world, and those afflicted with this condition may exhibit irritability, depression, fatigue, and/or nausea at the thought of having to return to the work force. The treatment typically involves the start of planning the next vacation.



We’re treating our condition by heading once more to Downtown Disney.

So visiting Downtown Disney AND planning the next vacation????

9:12 a.m.—The first stop is Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen Express for breakfast. I believe it was Cynthia who had recommended the beignets here, and that sounded much more appealing than Pop Tarts. It’s also a good medication to help treat DDP.



If you don’t know what a beignet is, then I feel terrible for you. It’s the New Orleans version of a doughnut, or fried dough covered in powdered sugar. They’re really good when served hot. You can get 10 beignets for 10 bucks, so we go with that option. Believe me when I say they don’t last long.




9:29 a.m.—But don’t worry. WE STILL HAVE A BAG OF SUGAR!



9:31 a.m.—The aftermath is fairly grim. It looks like a crime scene.

Yummy beignets...


Loved the crime scene photos. My mother used to say that it was sign that you enjoyed the meal.

9:40 a.m.—So what else can we do to stall before we leave? Let’s check out the Grand Californian Hotel.



9:42 a.m.—Looks like there’s some conference going on. Why didn’t I choose a job that gets me into these boondoggle “conferences” all over the country? In my next life, I’m going to fix that.



Anyway, I just wanted to gawk at the lobby a bit. Being such a big fan of the Wilderness Lodge, I knew the Grand Californian would appeal to me in a similar way.

Conference are not all they are cracked up to be, in my previous job, I was gone 3 weeks out of every month on travel. It gets really old, and you never know where you are, which city you are in, which hotel you are staying or what kind of rental you are driving.

9:52 a.m.

—We spend a few minutes just wandering the lobby and dreaming of actually being able to stay here someday. Scotty probably doesn’t really need to go to college, so if we can skip those payments maybe we’ll be able to afford it.



On our way out:



Well, everyone dies of something. Might as well be too much Disney.

College vs. Disney! Hmm that is a tough call, and can't the kids get student loan like the rest of us?

10:00 a.m.—We head for the World Of Disney Store. We were pretty good about not buying too much the day before, but now all of our restraint goes out the window, and we spend Baby Drew’s college education on our souvenirs. On the plus side, I did get a nice classic-looking ball cap with the Disneyland “D” on the front. So there’s that. Also, I think our Christmas shopping is just about done, mostly because we can’t afford anymore gifts for the rest of the year.

I would take Christmas Gifts from the World of Disney! Sounds like a good trade off.

10:47 a.m.—With a sigh, we can’t come up with any more ways to procrastinate before leaving. To balance out the heavy hearts, our wallets are much lighter. We start the walk back to the hotel.

Long slow walk back.

10:49 a.m.—Hey, kids! That lady with the stroller is gone! Quick, go stand on the compass!

Score!!!

11:12 a.m.—We’re on the road. I’ve set our GPS for our lunch destination. The map of our route that shows up on the screen looks different than what I remembered when doing our research. Hmmm. Maybe it’s routing us around traffic.

I can never get my GPS to route the way I want it too. I know there is a way to send the route to the GPS but I have never got it to work!

11:24 a.m.—Nope, that wasn’t it. We’ve been on I-5 way too long, and we’re heading northwest towards Los Angeles, rather than northeast towards Las Vegas. The restaurant we chose for lunch has a few locations scattered in the area, and it appears our GPS chose the wrong one. In fact, the location we wanted to reach doesn’t show up in the list. Is it still there??



Worse, we’ve hit L.A. traffic on the interstate.

Ughhh…

11:51 a.m.—We finally get off I-5. Stand back, folks. I’m going to have to wing it to get back on track.



12:27 p.m.—I-605 to I-10 to I-15. Yep, I’m good. Hey, shut up about blindly following the GPS.



12:43 p.m.—We’ve reached our destination. I didn’t know the exact exit, but I sorta-kinda knew the general area where it was, and I happen to have guessed right. So there.



We are in Rancho Cucamonga, California. We stop here because a) the restaurant we wanted has a location here which is right on the way to Vegas, and b) it is impossibly fun to say “Rancho Cucamonga” out loud. Seriously, try it. Roll your “r”’s for added effect. We’ve been shouting it in the car for about 20 minutes, and it doesn’t get old!



Also, we’re a little tired and punch-drunk from yesterday.

Rancho Cucamonga


That was some good luck on finding the right exit.

+1 for the driver.

12:54 p.m.—Our choice for lunch is Slater’s 50/50 Burgers By Design. Slater’s is a restaurant we had first seen on the Travel Channel, I believe as part of their “Bacon Paradise” show. When watching, they’d noted that there was one in Anaheim close to Disneyland, so I made note that if we ever made it out there, we’d try this place out. Further research had yielded the RRRRRRRRancho Cucamonga location on our route.


Slater’s is known for its “50/50” burger patty. This is a burger made up of 50% ground beef and…

…50% ground bacon.


Perhaps you can see why this place appealed to me. Yes, it’s a heart attack on a plate. But as I said before, you have to die of something. Might as well die happy. Even if it takes 5 years off my life, they probably would have been 5 years in a nursing home anyway, so that makes it ok.

Ummm, I think I would have to pass on that one. But I know my DH would have to try it.

1:00 p.m.—The place is a burger bar, so you can choose one of their creations or take the handy notepad listing all of the ingredients to make your own amazing burger combination. Here’s my order.


Behold the “Blue Hen Bacon Burger”: 50/50 patty, bacon-pretzel roll, cheddar cheese, grilled pineapple, beer-battered onion rings, more thick-cut bacon, and bacon ketchup. The “Blue Hen” is in honor of my alma mater, the University of Delaware, whose mascot is the Fightin’ Blue Hen.


Yes, it’s a chicken. But it’s a fighting chicken.

Shut up. Look, it could be worse. We could be the UC-Santa Cruz Banana Slugs.

Nice job with the name calling….

1:17 p.m.—Our aorta-blockerss have arrived. And they are magnificent.

They do look good, and that pretzel bun looks really good.

\

1:18 p.m.—I can barely open my mouth wide enough to take a bite, but somehow I manage. I think the 50/50 burger is excellent. They warned us that the patty would still look pink inside, but that’s due to the bacon. It’s a little saltier than a normal burger would be. Julie thinks it’s a bit too salty for her taste. For me, the sweetness of the pineapple and onion rings balances out the saltiness just fine, and I am in bacon heaven. I manage to pick up a pint glass for my collection back home, and no matter what Julie says, I’m still awarding Slater’s 50/50 a coveted Drooling Homer Excellence in Unpretentious Dining Award.

I am very sensitive to salt, so I would think that I could not handle this burger.

1:40 p.m.—We’re back on the road, setting off on the drive to Las Vegas. Climbing over the mountains makes for a very scenic drive.

But after a while it all looks the same.

3:24 p.m.—Hey, look. Joshua trees. More than you can count, all over the side of the highway.

I will never look at Joshua tree the same again.

3:42 p.m.—We’ve been on the road for 11 days. The baby has been up at least twice a night, every night. There was a 4.5-hour flight involved. Numerous time changes. And yesterday we spend 15.5 hours going all-out touring Disneyland. Combine that with the drive featured on that GPS screen above.



This is when it finally catches up with me. I’m drifting. I cannot physically keep my eyes open any longer.



For the first time ever on an Oblivious Family Road Trip, I relinquish the wheel to my lovely wife.

My DH is the same way, he would have to be falling asleep at the wheel to give me any part in the driving.

3:47 p.m.—It was the right call. I just couldn’t keep going any—



3:47:12 p.m.—Zzzzzzzzz….



4:32 p.m.—That’s much better. I’m back at the wheel after a pit stop, and we’re getting closer to Vegas.

Vegas here we come.

6:15 p.m.—After some more GPS maneuvering around the city, we arrive at our home for the night: the Embassy Suites Convention Center. It’s not on the Strip, which is probably why we could afford it. Also, I got a good deal on Priceline. Anyway, I love Embassy Suites when I get the chance to stay in them. Not only do they have a good free breakfast, but it gives us the chance to sleep in a different room than the kids. If you’re a parent, you know what a godsend that is.

I love the Embassy suites, the drinks in the evening and the breakfast in the morning. I am good to go.

6:42 p.m.—After unpacking and crashing in the room for a bit, we’re off to dinner. We head to yet another local chain restaurant, Claim Jumper.



This is a western chain that Julie and I had found on our last trip to Arizona in 2008. We liked the food there very much, but there was one above all that we came back for: a side dish called the three-cheese potatocake. Because we just haven’t had enough artery-cloggers today.


This is basically deep-fried mashed potatoes. And they’re by far the best part of the meal. Everything else was fine, but nothing to write home about.

But will you go back again?

8:32 p.m.—With that, our southwestern adventure draws to a close.

So sad to see this come to an end…

Wednesday, July 30



6:20 a.m.--The next morning is a routine early-morning wakeup, with a bonus ham/cheese/onion omelet made to order for me at breakfast. We return the rental car.

Love when someone else cooks my breakfast!

7:10 a.m.—I have the X-ray system down to a science at airports now. Rather than trying to empty my pockets into the bins along with my belt, shoes, hat, etc., I just put everything into my carry-on bag: wallet, keys, iPod, loose change, etc. That way I don’t waste as much time getting myself put together after going through the line.

DH does this all the time and can’t find half his stuff afterwards. I think he would be better off just using the tray.

8:30 a.m.—We’re on our way back home.

Whoop! Home sweet home.

3:40 p.m.—The flight is uneventful. We have this whole change-a-poopy-diaper-in-an-airline-seat thing down cold by now. We retrieve our luggage from the baggage claim. Now we have our multiple bags/golf clubs/souvenirs/etc. I make the offer to Julie to go get the van from long-term parking and drive it back so we don’t have to lug all of that crap onto the shuttle. Dave goes with me while she waits with the others.

I knew this was trouble…

3:50 p.m.—Dave and I climb aboard the shuttle, taking a couple of bags with us.



4:20 p.m.—We reach long-term parking. Dave and I climb out of the shuttle bus. We find our van.



4:20:20 p.m.—Julie has my carry-on bag.



4:20:23 p.m.—My keys are still in my carry-on bag.

Oh No…. That sucks.

4:20:25 p.m.—Because David is with me, I can only sigh in frustration at my own stupidity. But in my mind, I’m inventing new, creative forms of profanity. Oh, and Julie has the cell phone. I don’t own one. In case you were wondering how we can afford these trips, that’s one reason why.

Creative forms of profanity that might be an understatement.

4:30 p.m.—We catch the shuttle back to the airport. I ask the driver if I can stay on past the departures area and ride to the baggage claim. He says that’s fine.



4:43 p.m.—We drive all the way around the terminal. At the last stop, the driver tells me I have to get off. He isn’t allowed to let me stay on.



4:44 p.m.—Well, that would have been nice for you to tell me when I asked the question. Especially considering the Southwest terminal was the first stop, and now Dave and I have to walk back around the ENTIRE AIRPORT to get back there.



4:44:44 p.m.—In my mind, I practice my new profanity on the bus driver.

He has no idea what you have been through, he is a lucky man.

5:02 p.m.—We finally make it back to the baggage claim, where Julie has been wondering all this time just where the heck I am, and inventing new profanities to describe her oaf of a husband. I explain the location of my keys. She begins seeing all of the handsome men she knew in high school and college who would have made excellent mates flash before her eyes.



5:04 p.m.—We all climb aboard the shuttle, lugging all of our bags with us. As luck would have it, we get the SAME DRIVER, just making his loop now.



5:05 p.m.—You know that saying, “if looks could kill”? The stinkeye I gave him could have laid waste to the Eastern Seaboard.



5:06 p.m.—Of course, if we’d stayed on the bus, we wouldn’t have arrived until now.



5:07 p.m.—I’m gonna go ahead and declare vacation to be officially over at this point.

Oh no, official end to vacation…

5:40 p.m.—One last stop for lunch/dinner/what time is it?/who cares, I’m hungry.



5:48 p.m.—Aww, look at that. The baby is being cute. I should probably get some video of—oh, right.



*** END TRANSCRIPT ***



Coming Up Next: The final wrap-up, and my mini-PTR for Summer 2015.

Love the photo of Drew!

 

[dgbg100106]

Good Luck on the interviews

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

 

[afwdwfan]

Oh look! Rob's using football pictures.

I guess if all else fails, maybe they'll trade you to Buffalo!

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

Oh look! Rob's using football pictures.

I guess if all else fails, maybe they'll trade you to Buffalo!

Very supportive....

 

[that's nice]

Yea, what Andy said!

 

[Cinderella's Fella]

 

[that's nice]

Yea, that too!

 

[that's nice]

Very supportive....