ABC's of Trip Planning (Oct 10-20), Vol. 2- Z is for: Zippidee Doo Dah!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[MAGICFOR2]

Welcome Home! I followed along on FB, but I am looking forward to your report here. Looks like you had a fab time!

 

[franandaj]

Welcome back! I look forward to hearing all about your tales!

 

[Steppesister]

There are a few. Including an unfortunate event with a jalepeno marg.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Welcome home! (Doesn't that sound better when a Disney CM says it?)

Loved following the photos on FB!

 

[pkondz]

I'm home from a great trip

Welcome back!

of a perfect mix of Touristy sight-seeing, off the beaten path sight-seeing (we beat that path to death!), power lounging where the much richer than me swim, ate several times my weight in unbelievably delicious food, and just hanging with family.

Whoa. Sounds like a pretty awesome trip.

Working the entire week, because when you play you pay.

<sigh> yesh.

But I'll be working on the photos, and I think there will be many good ones, over the next few evenings and start a little mini TR for you all. Savvy?

Sweet! and... Woot!

Then it's on to the final push before Steppe's Next Grand Adventure.

Only about a month and a half to go!

 

[DISNEYMOON10121991]

Welcome back!
Can't wait to hear about your trip and what else you might be up too.
!! less then 7 weeks to go!! Oh my!

 

[Steppesister]

Beep, beep, beep....

I opened one eye to see 3:30 had came just on time. And it was dark. And I was tired. But I really needed this vacation- work is pretty stressful.

I woke the girls up, and they gnashed their teeth and threatened to.... nevermind, they didn't threaten anything; they were too tired to utter much of anything. I, myself, only managed to mutter, "Get up!" and walk out.

Bags were loaded, and off we left onto the dark, lonely highway, cool wind in our hair. Our hope was to arrive to the Economy Parking Lot by 5:15 in order to catch our boarding time of 7:00. Having checked in late in the previous afternoon, we got B Boarding Group and had very little hope of sitting together. No worries. Young Master Potter was going to be my seatmate this trip. Sure enough, we got to the Blue Lot at 5:15 and were through Security by 6:15- 45 minutes to spare... which could only mean two things: coffee and Harry Potter. Ahhhh, smell that? The scent of vacation. Laissez les bon temps roule! Would The Bay Area be able to live up to its reputation and pour forth adequate amounts of entertainment and relaxation? Let's find out!

Mike's cousin's SO graciously offered to pick us up from the Oakland airport, which we of course accepted with glad hearts. We landed 10 minutes early and met up with Susan by 10:00. Traffic was its usual sucky, California-self and we finally arrived at her house to drop off our bags and freshen up by 11:00. Easy-peasy. A free place to stay, a ride from the airport (to and fro, but that's getting ahead of myself), a few unbelievably delicious dinners (free), and expert local travel and touring advice. Vacation is already shaping up to be a 10 on the Great-Vacation-O'Meter.

Faces washed, bags stashed, and a quick BART tutorial given, we were off. Eager little travel beavers, we were! Hunger will do that. So will a healthy sense of adventure. We had both. Our goal in mind was touring China Town and venturing into the world of Dim Sum. None of us had even done this sort of experience before. With a smattering of experience now, I can unequivocally say, Dim Sum is an experience. And delicious.

But let's start with BART, shall we? Yes, you might be an expert on public transportation systems where you call home, but we are, or shall I say, were, inexperienced at mass transit. We can easily negotiate a micro system of buses and whatnot in several foreign countries, but BART is a bigger, badder deal than we were used to. However, it is also relatively easy to learn, and we did fairly quickly. We learned how to add money to existing tickets (because Susan had given us some used, but not used up, tickets to start with), how to read the schedule, and how to look like complete dorkish, newbie idiots when it came time to picking the right train. Please ignore the fact that it took us asking 3 local-looking.... locals to get on the right one. Yes, we got on the right train the first time. Whooooosh! Under the Bay we went. Our ears felt the pressure of going deep, and in no time at all, we popped back up on the other side of the Bay. San Francisco, here I come.... blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah blah..... 3 stops up to Market and VOILA! Another round of, Let's Look Like Tourists! You may ask yourself how many adults it takes to read a Google Map and go 3 blocks over and 10 blocks up... the right way. The exact answer is 2. 2 very slow ones. I am one, Mikki is another. But we made it! Ta-da!!!!!

On the way, we saw a lot of this:













That, my friends is your daily dose of urban, big city photos.

Finally, we arrived at the Lion's Gate and things suddenly, VERY suddenly things looked very different from the Financial District we'd just walked through. The language was entirely Chinese, the signage was 50% or more Chinese and the smells were... Chinese. Mmmmm! We were hungry! Good thing 3 blocks into Chinatown, a very sweet Chinese lady, who spoke 2 words of English, was handing out coupons for dim sum. "Coupon!" "Good!" "It coupon!" OK, she spoke 3 words. But she could point. We weren't sure if that was going to be a good one, and were wanting to find a dingy, greasy place off on some alley, because in our experience the grosser the place, the better the food. We easily enough found the one "with coupon", and started to walk past, but we looked back and she was watching us, so we felt bad and just went in. It was dingy enough, so I felt pretty good this was going to be a pretty awesome full meal deal. My warm fuzzy feeling skyrocketed when we ducked inside and found ourselves to be the only non-locals in the place.



Turns out, it was the longest running dim sum cafe in Chinatown! No wonder!

I won't bore you with the names of the 10 dishes we ordered, mainly because I cannot remember any of them, except that they were all phenomenal. It turned out that we ordered about one dish too many but that there was a lot of yummy pork, rice, spicy stuff, and all that.







We were full and ready to do a little more exploring. Let's go!

First, a crappy cell phone photo:









No Asian neighborhood is complete without laundry drying outside!




Why does every Chinese/Asian shop stink of incense? They do, you know. I aaaaaalmost bought a Lucky Cat. I was hoping he'd bring me some luck in figuring out how to pay for my new kitchen floor. The Hard Work Cat will have to slink around a little longer to pay for both the trip and the new floor. Oh, and a little trip I have planned coming up, too. We saw Buddhas of every shape and form- mostly sitting Indian-style with a rotund tummy, loads of jade jewelry, fans, silk clothing, and little cafes with elderly Chinese clientele playing Mah Jongg. By the sound of the cheering and the size of the crowds gathered around, I'd venture to guess there was a fair amount of money riding on those games.

We bought nothing. We've lived in Central Asia long enough to know that most stuff, especially exported stuff, is crap. That is spelled C.R.A.P. Our tootsies hurt, we had been up since 3:30 AM, and we were in the mood to just relax. So we groped our way back to the BART Station (not THAT kind of groping!) and Uber'ed our way from the other end station to Susan's place. And it was free. I used another coupon- the second one in one day! Heck it was the 2nd one all year! (I don't use very many.)

Anywho, dinner was spectaculicious! Matt, my hubby's cousin, and Susan are bona fide foodies who pretty much go all out when they cook. Tonight we were treated to grilled marinated flank steak, grilled veggies, oven roasted mini taters, green salad with EVOO and basalmic and lime dressing, and fruit salad for 'zert. I gave up in any hopes of any dieting for Disney right then.





But I did take a nice walk around their neighborhood. I'd forgotten how much I've missed the plants and flowers of my childhood growing up in SoCal. The bougainvillea, palm trees, etc... so calming to my soul.







Naturally, I didn't sleep to well; one rarely does on a first night anywhere. To spare you from any suspense, I did not sleep well on any night this trip except the one I took an Ambien. But whatever. Tomorrow was another day of fun stuff! Stay tuned...

 

[cinderkelly]

Sorry I've been absent for a bit, I think I've been in a pre vacation slump. Everything's done...nothing to do now but wait. And wait. And wait

Loved the fashion line up!

I haven't been to San Fran in ages, like 25 years. But I bet it's still a great city. The dim sum looks fabulous. Cool architecture photos too! Looks like the skies were nice and clear for your first day!

 

[pkondz]

Beep, beep, beep....

Watch out, Liesa! Truck backing up!

I opened one eye to see 3:30 had came just on time. And it was dark. And I was tired. But I really needed this vacation- work is pretty stressful.

Oh Gawd...... tell me about it.

No. On second thought. Don't.

Bags were loaded, and off we left onto the dark, lonely highway, cool wind in our hair.

Warm smell of tortillas, rising up through the air.

Well, you're closer to Mexico than I am.
And I don't know what colitas are.

45 minutes to spare... which could only mean two things: coffee and Harry Potter.

Reading? Watching?

Ahhhh, smell that? The scent of vacation.

Best smell ever.

Laissez les bon temps roule!

Allez y!

Mike's cousin's SO graciously offered to pick us up from the Oakland airport

Nice!

A free place to stay, a ride from the airport (to and fro, but that's getting ahead of myself), a few unbelievably delicious dinners (free), and expert local travel and touring advice.

Wow. Very nice!

and a quick BART tutorial given

pffttt... I could've done that for you.

Repeat after me:
Eat my shorts!
Don't have a cow, man!
Ay caramba!
I didn't do it.
Ow! Quit it!

See? Simple.

Our goal in mind was touring China Town and venturing into the world of Dim Sum.

Yes!! I'd love to go there. Seriously.

I can unequivocally say, Dim Sum is an experience. And delicious.

Well... except for tripe. Did not care for tripe.

and how to look like complete dorkish, newbie idiots when it came time to picking the right train.

That's just part of the experience.

Another round of, Let's Look Like Tourists! You may ask yourself how many adults it takes to read a Google Map and go 3 blocks over and 10 blocks up... the right way. The exact answer is 2. 2 very slow ones. I am one, Mikki is another. But we made it! Ta-da!!!!!

And that's all that matters.
After you've lived there for a few years, then you go things quickly and blindly.

On the way, we saw a lot of this:

FYI, can't see the second photo.

That, my friends is your daily dose of urban, big city photos.

And dose are big urban photos.

"Coupon!" "Good!" "It coupon!"

We easily enough found the one "with coupon", and started to walk past, but we looked back and she was watching us, so we felt bad and just went in.

Ooooh... peer pressure on vacation.

My warm fuzzy feeling skyrocketed when we ducked inside and found ourselves to be the only non-locals in the place.

Definitely a good sign.

Turns out, it was the longest running dim sum cafe in Chinatown! No wonder!

And you just stumbled on it????

Awesome!

It turned out that we ordered about one dish too many

This is a truism of every person who's ever eaten dim sum.

Love the lamps.

No Asian neighborhood is complete without laundry drying outside!

I think there are several neighbourhoods that could meet that criteria.

Why does every Chinese/Asian shop stink of incense?

I'm going to go out on a limb and say.... because they burn incense?

Where's my prize?

I aaaaaalmost bought a Lucky Cat. I was hoping he'd bring me some luck in figuring out how to pay for my new kitchen floor. The Hard Work Cat will have to slink around a little longer to pay for both the trip and the new floor.

It's more rewarding that way anyway.

Oh, and a little trip I have planned coming up, too.

Oh? Going somewhere?

We bought nothing. We've lived in Central Asia long enough to know that most stuff, especially exported stuff, is crap.

<sigh> Yeah. I have not been to Asia, but I too know that you can only find crap on this side of the pond.
Well... you can get better quality stuff.... but you'll pay for it.

So we groped our way back to the BART Station

Hello!!!!

(not THAT kind of groping!)

oh

(I don't use very many.)

Me neither.

green salad with EVOO

EVOO??

But I did take a nice walk around their neighborhood. I'd forgotten how much I've missed the plants and flowers of my childhood growing up in SoCal. The bougainvillea, palm trees, etc... so calming to my soul.

Niiiice. You literally took the time to smell the roses (sans roses).

Naturally, I didn't sleep to well; one rarely does on a first night anywhere.

There is one place where this doesn't seem to be the case....

To spare you from any suspense, I did not sleep well on any night this trip except the one I took an Ambien.

Too bad.
Still... You're off to a great start!

 

[Steppesister]

On an entirely different side note: I'm working every day this week and almost all of them next week. Which may come close to paying for half of my new floor. Which is going to cost 3 times as much as I'd thought. Sigh. My only consolation is that it's going to look GREAT!!

 

[pkondz]

On an entirely different side note: I'm working every day this week and almost all of them next week. Which may come close to paying for half of my new floor. Which is going to cost 3 times as much as I'd thought. Sigh. My only consolation is that it's going to look GREAT!!

Glad there's a silver lining in there.
I mentioned this on another thread. I worked 11 hours yesterday (had tickets to take Kay to see Shrek the Musical (local production)) and then 16 hours today to help out a co-worker/friend. 16 more tomorrow, then (hopefully) just 8 hour shifts until September 7th when I go on vacation.
So I feel your pain.

 

[irene_dsc]

Dim sum...yum!

I sympathize with the feeling like an idiot while figuring out a new transit system. I used to know Chicago's pretty well, but they changed to Ventra cards a while back and now I'm a clueless newbie if I need to use it!

 

[Steppesister]

Replies will have to wait until tomorrow. I'm only working until 4:30 (we'll see...) and can catch up over the weekend. Right now, it's bedtime at 8 freaking o'clock because I'm old. Either that or I can't work a full day of work without being exhausted. But, Day 2's photos are edited and I'll be able to catch up on threads I so dearly miss and here as well soon. Nighty night.

 

[pkondz]

I'm only working until 4:30

Niiiice.

Right now, it's bedtime at 8 freaking o'clock because I'm old.

Niiiiice. Not the old part, 'cause I don't believe that part, but the bed early. Wow. What's that even like??

Either that or I can't work a full day of work without being exhausted.

Oh. That explains my current condition then.

But, Day 2's photos are edited and I'll be able to catch up on threads I so dearly miss and here as well soon. Nighty night.

Too late to say night, so I'll say Morning!

 

[franandaj]

Our goal in mind was touring China Town and venturing into the world of Dim Sum. None of us had even done this sort of experience before. With a smattering of experience now, I can unequivocally say, Dim Sum is delicious.

Well I still have yet to try it. Waaaa.

Whooooosh! Under the Bay we went.

We used to do that on our elementary school field trips. The "under the bay" thong was new back then so it was a huge novelty.

We weren't sure if that was going to be a good one, and were wanting to find a dingy, greasy place off on some alley, because in our experience the grosser the place, the better the food.

Interesting philosophy. Did you develop that in Crapistan?

My warm fuzzy feeling skyrocketed when we ducked inside and found ourselves to be the only non-locals in the place.

Good sign right there. Glad you found an old staple.

Sounds like a nice day being pampered by family and such.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

I opened one eye to see 3:30 had came just on time.

3:30 should only come once a day.

Ahhhh, smell that? The scent of vacation.

Whew. I thought you could tell I visited Taco Bell for lunch.

That, my friends is your daily dose of urban, big city photos.

Well, thanks!

We weren't sure if that was going to be a good one, and were wanting to find a dingy, greasy place off on some alley, because in our experience the grosser the place, the better the food.

This may be a shock to you, but...I TOTALLY agree!

Why does every Chinese/Asian shop stink of incense?

I dunno. Probably all the incense they're burning in there.

ETA: Dang it! @pkondz beat me to the obvious joke.

So we groped our way back to the BART Station

Hey, now! This vacation is getting more fun!

(not THAT kind of groping!)

Oh. Less fun.

I gave up in any hopes of any dieting for Disney right then.

No problem! Calories don't count on vacation!

 

[franandaj]

EVOO??

I can see you don't "Rachel Ray" much. It's too much trouble for her to say Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

 

[Steppesister]

Of course now that this lil 'ol thread has picked up steam again, I'll have to yet once again postpone picking up the pace for one more evening. My hubby got called out to a fire (more evening chores for me), my eldest daughter wants me to come over to her little town to go to their local "Drag the Gut" car show for a couple hours, and frankly, I'm mentally spent. Even more than, in fact. I spent literally ALL day getting my ACLS certification and just under the wire too. It was the LAST day before our company's lease expired with that service, which would have meant my starting ALL over after already investing 6 hours. So, I'm fried. 4 of my 8 scenario patients died like 5 times before I got everything they wanted in the right order. Picky, stupid stuff like checking the pulse before getting a BP. (Which you'd be doing as a team and simultaneously, which makes the whole thing rather contrived.) Anyway, I need a glass of wine, and a quiet evening. My house is a freaking pig sty, and the dry wall project in the laundry room is now on hold until Mike gets back at some undetermined day- could be 3, could be 2 weeks.

I PROMISE, barring a serious planning malfunction, I will be on here tomorrow in between cleaning chores.

 

[pkondz]

I can see you don't "Rachel Ray" much. It's too much trouble for her to say Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Ah. And.... no.

Of course now that this lil 'ol thread has picked up steam again, I'll have to yet once again postpone picking up the pace for one more evening

What?!?!?
No! No no no no no no no no!

<exits. slams door behind.>

go to their local "Drag the Gut" car show

What the heck is that?

I'm mentally spent.

You're in luck! I'm mentally buying!

4 of my 8 scenario patients died like 5 times before I got everything they wanted in the right order.

Your scenario patients are undead???



cooooool...

Anyway, I need a glass of wine, and a quiet evening.

That sounds like a good plan. Go.

My house is a freaking pig sty

Don't worry about it. It'll get done when it gets done.

and the dry wall project in the laundry room is now on hold until Mike gets back at some undetermined day- could be 3, could be 2 weeks.

See previous comment.

I PROMISE, barring a serious planning malfunction, I will be on here tomorrow in between cleaning chores.

Sounds good.
And I won't hold you to it.

 

[Steppesister]

<exits. slams door behind.>




Sounds good.

But I AM reading... With my eyes half closed. My DSIL, just went on a "beer run" I hope what he brings back tastes good.

http://www.draggingthegut.com/