Discovering Another Mad Dash (Oct 14): Heading Home and Finally finishing this TR #1523 (05/03)

[PrincessInOz]

I know I am getting WAY in over my heading subbing to your rather lengthy TR, but I'm going to do my best. I really want to read about DL since its on my bucket list.

I read your last update and I just want to say that I want a Veggie Grille here on the East Coast. I always complain to Denny that there needs to be a fast food chain that has all veggie options.

OK - let's see what else other reading I can tackle tonight.

Welcome to the thread, MEK and thanks for subbing in!

This TR covers 3 trips over the course of 4 years. So, you may want to check the second post for the quick links....if you are reading previous updates, it may just be easier to look at the ones that interest you. Each of the trips does include at least one day to DLR.

That Vegie Grill was amazing for my DH and he really enjoyed his meal that night.

Wow! There is a while night of replies that I don't think got posted your thread included! We have a veggie grill near our hair dresser and Trader Joes. I avoid it because Fran is afraid of those kind of places. Was it real mac and cheese or was it Brandi's sort of cheese. No offense Brandi! I like quinoa, I just wish Fran did. She complains when I serve it, but she ate it all the last time!

I don't buy much at the Disney stores either. I wish they would get the hint, but my be enough people who don't go to the parks di and it keeps them going.

Believe it or not, that mac and cheese is vegan. I'm not sure that it even meets Brandi's definition of cheese!!!
(No offence from me either, Brandi!!).

I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who thinks the Disney stores need to raise their game. I will add that the best Disney Store I've been to recently is the one at Hong Kong airport. That store did have merchandise that they stock at the HK Disneyland park and the quality was, naturally, park quality....as was the prices.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Day 10: Last Day in Los Angeles


The First Breakfast


Discovery #83. Breakfast at the Hotel was adequate.




We didn't rush out this morning.






Being a hotel close to LAX, we figured that there would be the early travellers wanting to get to the airport and we waited a bit before heading down for a light bite to eat.






I think the strategy paid off. It was a rather empty buffet when we got down there.






As breakfast buffets go, this one was probably about at standard.






There was enough of a selection for the pesky vegetarian.














Both DH and I made it a light meal this morning. Not so for DS. He's a growing boy.






He definitely ate more than DH and I put together!
















We headed back to the room after breakfast to relax a bit more and finalise our packing. It was nice not having to run out first thing in the morning.






(Continued in Next Post)

 

[PrincessInOz]

(Continued from Previous Post)


The Second Breakfast....er....Brunch


Discovery #84. Breakfast....er.....brunch with family was even better. Significantly better!




We did have a couple of destinations to get to today and before too long, it was time for us to head out to the first stop.






DH has a cousin that lives in Los Angeles and we had arranged to catch up with him and his wife this morning. They had suggested catching up for brunch and we happily fell in with their plans and recommendation for food. You may wonder why we had a first breakfast at the hotel when we knew we had this brunch catch up. Well, we had arranged to meet at 10.30 am and we figured by the time we got to eat, it would be way past 11 am. That was going to be too long for my family to wait to eat the first meal of the day. At least, we didn't eat too much at the first sitting. Not so for this second sitting!




Don't be fooled by the lack of people in this room. This was their second indoor room. The first one was full and they had an outdoor patio area that was also jumping with people.






Last day in SoCal....and this Nescrape was a good reminder of what I had to look forward to when I got home.







Despite having had a light meal already, the breakfast menu was interesting enough to tempt all of us. I couldn't go past the French Toast. Neither could DS.







DH and the cousin's wife ordered this Huevos dish. I think it was part of the daily special menu.






DH's cousin ordered an omelette burrito. I wish I remembered what the filling was. It looked wonderful.






And in true Mexican style, all egg dishes came with beans.






As expected, the breakfast....er....brunch here was better than the buffet food we had. But it really was delicious! We don't reach out to this branch of the family often. They have exceedingly busy lives and it isn't often that they are free to catch up. So, we were doubly blessed this morning. It was great catching up on family news.

 

[mvf-m11c]

Two breakfast that one day. Does make sense to have a real breakfast at that restaurant. The brunch looks very nice and appetizing.

 

[franandaj]

You're like hobbits, having elevenses and all! Looks good! I'm starving right now!

 

[dolphingirl47]

Two breakfasts is impressive. I loved the look of the brunch place.

Corinna

 

[rentayenta]

Yay now that I'm hanging in these parts again, hopefully I can keep up! Anyone know why some threads send out notifications and others don't? I'd be lying if I said it wasn't driving me a little nuts.

Both breakfasts look good but the second looks amazing! I love the beans that are served with everything in Mexico. The huevos dish looks heavenly with all that avocado.

Your hotel is quite nice.

 

[franandaj]

Anyone know why some threads send out notifications and others don't?

You can check a thread to see if you are signed up for notifications by clicking the "more options" button. Scroll down the page and it will have a box where you can check for notifications. Personally I would go crazy if I got email notifications for all the threads I follow. I only choose to receive them for my own threads. I just go to the "watched threads" section of the DIS to find out what's new. And evidently the threads stay on that list until you visit them unlike the previous UserCP.

 

[rentayenta]

I am getting them for this thread now.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Two breakfast that one day. Does make sense to have a real breakfast at that restaurant. The brunch looks very nice and appetizing.

I was so full after that second breakfast!

You're like hobbits, having elevenses and all! Looks good! I'm starving right now!

The food at La Serenata was decent.

Two breakfasts is impressive. I loved the look of the brunch place.

Corinna

Thanks Corinna. It was very cute!

Yay now that I'm hanging in these parts again, hopefully I can keep up! Anyone know why some threads send out notifications and others don't? I'd be lying if I said it wasn't driving me a little nuts.

Both breakfasts look good but the second looks amazing! I love the beans that are served with everything in Mexico. The huevos dish looks heavenly with all that avocado.

Your hotel is quite nice.

YAY for getting notifications again! And don't worry...there's probably only another two updates more to go on this TR.

One of my favourite things about a holiday to the US is the Mexican food.

 

[scottny]

Relaxing is always a good thing to do followed by shopping is even better. LOL.


I don’t like the Disney Store at all. I never find anything I like. We used to have a World of Disney store here in NYC but they closed it in favor of a regular store in Times Square. I am still so depressed from it.


The hotel breakfast looked good.


Glad the brunch was good and you got to see family.


Caught up again.

 

[IowaTater]

You know what they say, parting is such sweet sorrow (or something like that). It's always hard to say goodbye, especially when you don't know when you'll see the other person again.

I love the pictures of Casa Nueva. And all the kitties! My kitty would have a hayday with all those kitty trees.

I really have to learn not to read you TRs before I've eaten lunch. All those meals look wonderful. We have a Melting Pot here in St. Louis as well but I have yet to go there. I think I may have to organize a girls night and do so.

I'm glad you got to spend so much time catching up with family and friends. Often, that's the best part about a vacation.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Relaxing is always a good thing to do followed by shopping is even better. LOL.


I don’t like the Disney Store at all. I never find anything I like. We used to have a World of Disney store here in NYC but they closed it in favor of a regular store in Times Square. I am still so depressed from it.


The hotel breakfast looked good.


Glad the brunch was good and you got to see family.


Caught up again.

I remember the WoD store in NYC. It was great! Shame that you got a regular store instead.

Glad you are all caught up!

 

[PrincessInOz]

You know what they say, parting is such sweet sorrow (or something like that). It's always hard to say goodbye, especially when you don't know when you'll see the other person again.

I love the pictures of Casa Nueva. And all the kitties! My kitty would have a hayday with all those kitty trees.

I really have to learn not to read you TRs before I've eaten lunch. All those meals look wonderful. We have a Melting Pot here in St. Louis as well but I have yet to go there. I think I may have to organize a girls night and do so.

I'm glad you got to spend so much time catching up with family and friends. Often, that's the best part about a vacation.

Nice to see you checking in!
Hope things have been well with you in StL. And yes, I do take a few pictures of food.

 

[MEK]

That second breakfast (er..I mean brunch) looks amazing! Count me in!

 

[ACDSNY]

You needed two breakfasts to make up for the airplane food that was on your horizon.

The second one looks good.

 

[PrincessInOz]

That second breakfast (er..I mean brunch) looks amazing! Count me in!

In a way, I wished that I hadn't eaten that first breakfast.

You needed two breakfasts to make up for the airplane food that was on your horizon.

The second one looks good.

Don't remind me! Airplane food is not my favourite cuisine.

 

[PrincessInOz]

The End of the Trail


Discovery #85. The Santa Monica Pier is a lovely place for an afternoon stroll.



The Dust Bowl or Dirty Thirties Era. A period of severe dust storms that greatly damaged the ecology and agriculture of the US and Canadian prairies during the 1930s. Where, due to the way farming was conducted, the prevailing winds blew away the topsoil of farming land in huge black, dusty clouds. The Dust Bowl forced tens of thousands of families to abandon their farms. Many of these families, who were often known as "Okies" because so many of them came from Oklahoma, migrated to California in search of better living conditions.


Thus, the Main Street of America....Route 66....represented that Great American dream in the 30's and 40's. It was a means of escaping the dust bowl and farming heartbreak. The exodus west was to continue after World War II; all in search of a better life. An escape from the Dust Bowl and Rust Belt to the Sun Belt.


At the end of the trail.....

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....the Santa Monica Pier.
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After brunch, given how relatively close we were, DH and I decided to head down to the pier. Afterall, it gave us a chance to take a look at the Pacific Ocean one more time.
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It really was the perfect beach day. Temperatures were in the high 80's by this stage.
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The last time DH and I had strolled down this pier was in 1986. We had come mid-week and it had been a bit of a ghost walk.
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It was a completely different experience on a Sunday. It really turned out to be a great place for an afternoon stroll.
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We even caught a glimpse of a vintage car.
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Did I mention it was a hot day? One of these was definitely in order!
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DS and I opted to share one. I think DS got the lion's share on this day. I found it hard to prise the cone away from him after this.
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We took a slow stroll down the pier and got in a few tourist shots and happy family reminders.
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And it was lovely to see the old half-forgotten penny arcade attractions.
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Even if the penny arcade has long been modernised, some-what.
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It did put me in a reflective mood that day.
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Looking behind me, there's no denying that the beaches of California are very enticing.
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One day, I'm going to find time to seek out some of Robert Waldmire's artwork for Route 66 and figure out why he's such an icon.
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Despite the pier amusements, we kept going. None of us were in the mood.
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Afterall, it really isn't Disney! It just pretends to be.
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I was surprised to see people fishing off the pier.
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I wonder what sort of fish you would catch here.
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We did stop to enjoy the street entertainment along the pier from time to time.
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But we were heading to the end of pier.
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I think I was always looking for a vantage point to look back.
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The end of the line.
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It really was time to fly!
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(Continued in Next Post)

 

[PrincessInOz]

(Continued from Previous Post)


A Performance to Remember


Discovery #86. Alison and Fran's band REALLY rock.




Many of you know that Alison and Fran are part of a band. I think that a couple of you may have even gone to see them perform live! Today, it was my turn to see them live.


I was delighted to find out that my last day in LA coincided with a band performance and when Alison asked if I was interested to attend, I jumped at the opportunity.
We were heading to Shatto Chapel at the First Congregational Church of Los Angeles.






I took the opportunity to check out the details of the chapel.






I just love ornate doors.






We got there relatively early....at least early enough to have our pick of seats. I chose to head upstairs.







I figured I'd have a better angle from up there to shoot the band. I wasn't wrong.






Alison spotted me fairly early on. I got the unspoken message when I saw her and Fran in this position. But I had the wrong lens on my big camera!






So, I had to improvise with the smart phone.







I have a ton of band pictures.







So I'll just limit them to a couple of Fran...












...and Alison.

















The band really rocked!


Alison had mentioned that the second half of the program (The Divine Comedy symphony, based on the Dante epic, by Robert Smith) was a little heavy. The first half was the light and popular music, in keeping with a Halloween theme.
DH and I both thought the second half was by far the more interesting program. Alison had a couple of solo spots during the symphony and I truly appreciated how great her chops are during these spots. You're really talented, Alison.


Thanks for the invite, Alison. We both thought this afternoon was one of the highlights of this trip and we're so glad to have had the opportunity to listen to you, Fran and the band play. It was definitely a performance to remember. If our trips ever do coincide with a live performance, we're definitely going to gatecrash and come listen to you play again.

 

[MEK]

So, first of all I had NO idea that Allison and Fran were in a band. That is so super cool as I am really into stuff like that. It looks like a great performance. The church is also lovely.

And the Santa Monica Pier - wow - talk about some great and nostalgic pictures. I just love that whole retro beach theme. I mean - come one - Zoltar in the box (or whatever his name is). That is so awesome. That is one of the reason I love the Boardwalk so much. It's just chocked full of nostalgic stuff from the Jersey shore.

You are so right - who doesn't love a California beach? This mountains in the background just make everything so picturesque.