Chance of Lightning & 25 Other Friends at Connor's First Birthday, Birthday Party!

[kmedina]

Originally Posted by mvf-m11c

Glad to hear that my trip report got you so excited for your trip report. I was going to ask you on how the dining experience was at Wine Country Trattoria and Carthay Circle Restaurant?

The food was good at both. One had a rough experience. If you guessed, you would probably guess wrong.

[3inthefamily]

LOL, you had me at "Crap!"

Joining in!

[kmedina]

Originally Posted by 3inthefamily

LOL, you had me at "Crap!"

Joining in!

Crap will be happy to see you like his name.

[3inthefamily]

I was inspired to watch that clip from Friends where he tells a woman, that if she needs to remember his name, just think of a bag full of crap. Boy, do I miss Friends!

[kmedina]

Originally Posted by 3inthefamily

I was inspired to watch that clip from Friends where he tells a woman, that if she needs to remember his name, just think of a bag full of crap. Boy, do I miss Friends!

I agree. It was the greatest show ever. We own the boxed set, so we have Friends Marathons when we miss it too much. Crap thinks the greatest show ever was Buffy, because he is a huge Joss Whedon fan. He got Xander's name from Buffy and Connor's name from Angel.

[kmedina]

Crap had to work on the 20th. He did not have many meetings on his schedule, so he was hoping to leave work early. I packed almost everything we needed the night before and added our final things that morning. Just before 2pm, Crap returned home. We quickly ate a late lunch in the hopes that we would not need a food stop on the way. Anaheim is about a four to five hour drive depending on traffic, the speed you drive and stops you make. Around 2:10pm, Crap started loading our car. Knowing I have a weak bladder, I decided to pee one last time before we hit the road.

I was wearing slacks with small back pockets. With the anticipation of playing with my iPhone 4S through the entire drive, I placed my phone in my back pocket. As soon as I went to sit down, my phone flew right out of my pocket into the toilet. Luckily, the water was as clean as toilet water can be, so I quickly retrieved it. It was on when it fell in, so I was worried about it. I hit the home button twice and noticed the screen bounce and fade away. Crap was finished loading the car at this point, so it was time to leave. My soaking wet phone was obviously not going to be used on the drive.

It was 2:14pm when we drove away. I asked Crap if I could use his iPhone or iPad. He said no for fear that I would damage them. When he bought his new iPad on opening day, he informed me that Xander and I were not allowed to touch it. This stems from the fact that he claims, I broke his previous iPhone4 and Xander broke his previous iPad (original version). Since neither device seemed broken to me, it may have all been a figment of his imagination. That meant I would be captive audience to the boring coffee house channel on Sirius in the passenger’s seat with no device to keep me company. Apparently, Crap believes the driver gets to pick the channel on the radio. The problem with that line of thinking is he never lets me drive unless he is not feeling well.

Crap did bring his wireless hotspot, but the laptop was only charged enough to last a few minutes. It would have been pointless to unpack it. I listened to the coffee house channel for as long as I could. When it comes to music, I truly am eclectic. However, long car rides with nothing to do and the coffee house channel do not mix. For fear that I would fall asleep; I revolted and demanded to listen to Sirius Hits One. Reluctantly, Crap agreed. He did complain that he hated the song that was on, so I switched it back to the coffee house channel for about five minutes to safely allow the song he hated to finish.

Traffic leaving Vegas was a little slow, which was strange for a Wednesday early in the afternoon. Once we exited the city, traffic was clear. We made it to Baker, California about an hour and a half after we left our house. That is pretty normal timing, so we must have made up for the Vegas traffic somewhere. Crap loves Alien Fresh Jerky, so we always stop there on the way. He went inside with Xander to shop while I nursed Connor in the car. It had been nearly two years, since the last time we were there. The alien cab was nowhere to be found this time. It had been replaced by a space ship. After buying his jerky and his True Blood (a flavored drink), we took our usual pictures.













Crap bought three flavors of jerky, whiskey, barbeque and teriyaki. I am not fond of alcohol at all, so I let him eat the whiskey one by himself over the next few days. We shared the barbeque one. Upon returning home, I finished most of the teriyaki one myself. The beef jerky there is really good, although Crap complains that the quality has slightly diminished over the past few years. This time, I finally tried the True Blood Crap loves to drink as well. It is advertised as a slightly tart, lightly sweet, blood orange carbonated beverage. It was not good in my opinion, but he swears by the stuff. I am a fan of the show True Blood though.



As hot as it was in Vegas, it seemed even hotter in Baker. I noticed the temperature on the dashboard, so Crap took a picture. It was 118 degrees! According to the time on that picture, it was 4:08pm as we drove out of Baker.



Somewhere between Baker and Barstow, I convinced Crap to let me use his iPad. I was worried about my phone and hoping to do a little research. This was also my chance to log into Facebook and leave an update about the broken phone and ask people to call Crap if they needed me. Knowing everyone does not regularly log into Facebook, I also called my little sister from Crap’s phone using Bluetooth (so I never touched the actual phone). She said she would pass the message along to my other family members. They rented a large car, because they were travelling together and staying in a rented house together. I knew one call would take care of informing everyone. People in Crap’s family generally call him first anyway, so I did not think I needed to reach out to them.

I found a helpful site on the iPad that suggested I submerge the phone in rice for 24-48 hours. The rice would suck the water out of the phone. As long as the phone was not already damaged, it should start back up once it was fully dried. It was worth a shot I figured. Crap demanded his iPad back as soon as I finished my research, so I never got a chance to play with it. When we arrived in Barstow, Crap was in search of a grocery store. He used his cell phone to locate Vons on the map. This was actually a long stop, because there was only one register open. The line was long too. Everyone in the store was very friendly from the lady who helped me find the rice to the lady who rang me up. That lady even informed me that the same thing happened to her phone, and the rice worked. I was optimistic at that point.

I returned to the car where Crap and the boys were waiting for me. After placing the phone in the rice, we were off. This was just after 5pm on 06-20-12. Even though I have a hard time being without my phone, I decided to keep it in the rice for a full 48 hours. That meant I was not going to test it out until after 5pm on 06-22-12. Then, I wondered how we would get back in touch for the times we separated. Oh well, at least we are headed to the Happiest Place on Earth. We arrived to the Disneyland area just after 7pm. Crap decided to Mapquest Disneyland rather than the Disneyland Hotel, so we drove around lost for a few minutes. With two stops and a slight delay from getting lost, we still arrived at the hotel parking lot just after 7:15pm. That was just over 5 hours from when we left our house.

Crap dropped us off near the front desk with all of the stuff and proceeded to park the car alone. We sat in the lobby for a while before he appeared. Then, he went to check us in to our room. After the 5 hour drive, being without my phone and Xander asking us every few minutes if we were there yet (just like in the movies), I was so excited for our vacation to finally begin. Since I did not know for sure what time Crap would come home that day, I did not make any dinner plans. I was hoping we could walk up to a restaurant after we got settled into the hotel.

[mvf-m11c]

Talk about a roller coaster ride on the day you left Las Vegas to Anaheim. I'm sorry to hear about your phone getting wet and you couldn't use it during the drive to Anaheim. Crap should at least let you use his iPad since you are right next to him in the car. I have no problem with my family members using my iPad or my old iPad which was the first generation.

Very nice pics from Alien Fresh Jerky.

Good thing about Facebook and other communications so you can tell your party to call Crap since your phone was in a bag of rice.

Got to the DLH with no problems and got there at nice time. Can't wait to hear your first day at the DLR.

[PrincessInOz]

Sorry about the phone; and I hope that the rice trick worked.

Sounds like you had a relatively uneventful drive down to DL. Looking forward to dinner. (Are we there yet?)

[franandaj]

We've never actually stopped at the Alien Jerky shop, though I find it intriguing. Glad you made it to the hotel safe and sound.

[kmedina]

Originally Posted by mvf-m11c

Talk about a roller coaster ride on the day you left Las Vegas to Anaheim. I'm sorry to hear about your phone getting wet and you couldn't use it during the drive to Anaheim. Crap should at least let you use his iPad since you are right next to him in the car. I have no problem with my family members using my iPad or my old iPad which was the first generation.

Very nice pics from Alien Fresh Jerky.

Good thing about Facebook and other communications so you can tell your party to call Crap since your phone was in a bag of rice.

Got to the DLH with no problems and got there at nice time. Can't wait to hear your first day at the DLR.

It would have been nice of Crap to let me use his gadgets, but that is not his style. At least, he let me use the iPad for my research. Prior to that I had barely touched the thing in the 3 months he's owned it.

Thanks. We always stop by Alien Fresh, so it is nice to document it with pictures.

People still tried to call me even though they knew. My Dad called me multiple times.

Yes, we made good time to DLR. We were excited about that.

Originally Posted by PrincessInOz

Sorry about the phone; and I hope that the rice trick worked.

Sounds like you had a relatively uneventful drive down to DL. Looking forward to dinner. (Are we there yet?)

At that point, I was really optimistic about the rice working.

It really was uneventful without my phone. The phone story really comes into play a lot during the trip. Even though this segment was not as fun, it will tie in later, I promise.

[kmedina]

Originally Posted by franandaj

We've never actually stopped at the Alien Jerky shop, though I find it intriguing. Glad you made it to the hotel safe and sound.

If you are a jerky fan, I really think you would find the stop worthwhile. They sell way more than jerky too, like specialty drinks (unsure about alcohol) and candies. It is a great place to stop when you only want snacks. We even stop there for snacks after we eat when we have full meals there. Thanks. We were happy to be at the hotel.

[MinnieLovesMickey]

I'm here! Excited to start reading!

[shan23877]

I'm so sorry again about your phone. That's a rough drive without anything to distract you!

Bryan refuses to let me drive anywhere (control freak), but he knows I'm in charge of the music. If it were up to him we'd be listening to hair bands from the '80s all the time.

Looks like a cool place to stop! Loved the pictures!

That's one great thing about social networking-you can get in touch with people in a pinch!

Can't wait to hear what the hotel was like, and how the first night went!

[franandaj]

When we travel, we usually get books on CD from the Library. This would not work will with kids, unless you get something that the whole family would be interested in.

The books on CD make the journey go by quite quickly. We didi Harry Potter and many other books this way, so that might help if Crap insists on whatever coffee shop is. Maybe a book that transends adults and children.

[kmedina]

Originally Posted by MinnieLovesMickey

I'm here! Excited to start reading!

You will be there before you know it. I cannot wait to read about your time there as well.

Originally Posted by shan23877

I'm so sorry again about your phone. That's a rough drive without anything to distract you!

Bryan refuses to let me drive anywhere (control freak), but he knows I'm in charge of the music. If it were up to him we'd be listening to hair bands from the '80s all the time.

Looks like a cool place to stop! Loved the pictures!

That's one great thing about social networking-you can get in touch with people in a pinch!

Can't wait to hear what the hotel was like, and how the first night went!

As hard as it was to be without the phone on the drive, it was even harder being without it on the actual trip. I know that sounds a little whiny, but I never realized how much I used my phone until I was without one. Since I had never lost or broken a phone, it was the first time in 12.5 years without a cell phone for more than a few hours.

Crap says I am a terrible driver, so he does not let me drive. I am not the best driver in the world, but I am not terrible either. He likes to exaggerate. At least you are unlikely to fall asleep listening to music from the hair bands. It is nice that Bryan lets you control the music though.

Alien Fresh is an awesome place to stop. I would say that the jerky is out of this world, but that may already be a slogan of theirs.

Despite the Facebook post and the call to my sister, people still tried to call. My Dad left me multiple voicemails that I did not hear until days after we got home. Crap sent me a test text message, but it never came through. It makes me wonder if anyone else sent some that I never received. I should probably look at my phone bill.

Crap was pleasantly surprised with the hotel. It was on par with what I expected.

Originally Posted by franandaj

When we travel, we usually get books on CD from the Library. This would not work will with kids, unless you get something that the whole family would be interested in.

The books on CD make the journey go by quite quickly. We didi Harry Potter and many other books this way, so that might help if Crap insists on whatever coffee shop is. Maybe a book that transends adults and children.

Books on CD is a great idea.

Xander is not into Harry Potter yet, but I would love that one for me and Crap. I usually pack CDs that we agree upon for the trip, but I was planning on playing with my phone this time. I think Disney books would be a hit with everyone. Thanks for the tip.