(PTR) Getting There Is Half The Fun - 11 People, 2 Minivans, and a 5K Mile Road Trip!

[MarbleBob]

Part 5 – Driving Home

Day 1 - Drive to Grand Canyon

We have reservations at Yavapai Lodge on the South Rim. Looks like we'll arrive late afternoon to early evening, just enough time to explore a little bit and see the sun set.

We'll be driving past Flinstone's Bedrock City. I doubt that we'll pay to go inside (not enough time), but we certainly have to stop for a photo!

Day 2 - Driving to Amarillo

Since we'll be travelling on along parts of old Rt. 66 (and having just visited Cars Land), we'll have to make a couple pit stops to pay homage.

Like seeing the Wigwams (inspiration for Cozy Cones in Cars)

And Cadillac Ranch

Day 3 - Driving back to St. Louis

Again, mostly a straight driving day, but we'll probably stop at a couple Rt. 66 tourist traps, and we have to see the U-Drop Inn, which was the inspiration for Ramone's in Cars

 

[annegirl]

sounds like a lot of fun!

 

[MarbleBob]

So, that's the general plan as it stands now. We are really starting to get excited, especially about the 60th anniversary celebration at Disneyland. And wishing that we had more time to spend there!!! Oh well, you can't do it all.

We are down to nitty gritty as far as planning goes. Starting to think about what we might need to purchase before the trip. And I'm thinking about my photography strategies. I'm by no means a great photographer, but I do like to take LOTS of pictures. I took like 6,000 photos on our trip to WDW last June and a couple hours of video too. I plan to take even more on this trip. I hope to get some good fireworks shots this time around (need to read up on how to use the ND filter that I purchased) and I plan to get some good landscape photos throughout the trip. Also will be purchasing a polarizing filter, which I need to practice with beforehand.

And then for the drive, I'm thinking about getting one of these portable WiFi thingies for $18 from Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HZWOQZ6

You can load a flash drive with movie files and plug it into this thing. And then the kids can stream the movies onto their iPods/iPads while we are driving. Seems pretty darn cool and that it would avoid a lot of fighting about which DVD they are going to watch next. Don't like the DVD, then put your headphones on and watch something else! LOL. That's cool and all, but the main reason I'm getting this is that I want to be able to share photos that I take on my nicer camera via Facebook (but I don't plan on bringing my laptop). Since my iPhone can't read an SD card (and they don't make an adapter), I can put the memory card in this (via usb adapter) and then I'll able to fetch the photos off the card and onto my phone via the wireless network. Pretty cool!

 

[MarbleBob]

Jedijill and annegirl, you two are fast!!!

You guys are going to have an awesome trip! We saw them testing the new fireworks a couple of weeks ago. Bob Gurr is adorable! I got the chance to meet him last year.

Jill in CO

That's awesome! I can't even begin to share how excited that I am about meeting Bob Gurr

sounds like a lot of fun!

Yes, I'm getting super excited. And looking forward to the sharing our experiences too. Esecially updates on the 60th

 

[PrincessInOz]

3.5 weeks? WOW! This trip countdown has snuck up real fast. Enjoy the countdown.

Looks like your plans are all set. And I love the look of that WiFi device.


On to the photobabble.....which ND filter are you thinking of getting? I have a 2-stop and a 9-stop in my bag and both gets used on a regular basis. I've taken to making sure that I put the 9-stop on my camera for fireworks this year. It's been a bit of a learning curve to adjust to it.

 

[MarbleBob]

I have a .9 (3 stop) ND filter. I've had it for two years, but I haven't used it yet. Doh!!! I hope the 3 stop is good enough

 

[PrincessInOz]

I have a .9 (3 stop) ND filter. I've had it for two years, but I haven't used it yet. Doh!!! I hope the 3 stop is good enough

It'll be great!

 

[MarbleBob]

It'll be great!

Cool!!! Thanks for the confirmation

 

[kaoden39]

Hi! I look forward to hearing about the trip. I've enjoyed sitting here and reading the plans. I'm in Fairfield, home to Jelly Belly. That's a fun tour. There is also a Budweiser plant right there that you can tour too. I'm not sure how they run though. You will definitely be driving through on the way to San Francisco. Also because I know from reading that there is a definite love of railroads I want to mention that there is another train museum Www.westernrailwaymuseum.org it is in Between Rio Vista and Fairfield.

 

[PrincessInOz]

@MarbleBob Just in case you're interested. I just posted this thread on the photography subforum today. It's a scavenger hunt list....

I just thought if you were heading on holiday and that you're going to be taking pictures anyway......well.....I'll leave it to you to decide if you want to play or not.

http://www.disboards.com/threads/what-im-focussed-on-scavenger-hunt-2015.3412082/

 

[adSimba]

So is Sacramento out? I haven't noticed it since the beginning. I used to live there, and highly recommend the Train Museum, and Candy Haven is awesome, but only if you love salt water taffy, it is by far what they have the most of. The gut who runs it always seems to be around and looks a lot like Howard Stern, oddly.

You mentioned loving good Sushi, The best Sushi restaurant I know of anywhere is Mikunis (http://mikunisushi.com/) If you can make it there, you won't regret it, but sadly no sushi boats, unless you order a huge boat in advance, which is awesome!

(I wish I could buy one for personal use, but the real wood ones cost $250) unfortunately these boats don't float

 

[MarbleBob]

@MarbleBob Just in case you're interested. I just posted this thread on the photography subforum today. It's a scavenger hunt list....

I just thought if you were heading on holiday and that you're going to be taking pictures anyway......well.....I'll leave it to you to decide if you want to play or not.

http://www.disboards.com/threads/what-im-focussed-on-scavenger-hunt-2015.3412082/

Cool! Thanks for sharing. I'm totally going to participate. I already have a few ideas

So is Sacramento out? I haven't noticed it since the beginning. I used to live there, and highly recommend the Train Museum, and Candy Haven is awesome, but only if you love salt water taffy, it is by far what they have the most of. The gut who runs it always seems to be around and looks a lot like Howard Stern, oddly.

You mentioned loving good Sushi, The best Sushi restaurant I know of anywhere is Mikunis (http://mikunisushi.com/) If you can make it there, you won't regret it, but sadly no sushi boats, unless you order a huge boat in advance, which is awesome!

(I wish I could buy one for personal use, but the real wood ones cost $250) unfortunately these boats don't float

Buddy and I totally want to do the train museum in Sacramento, but unfortunately nobody else does. And since we are already planning on a few other train related visits, we've decided to pass on it. The kids are all in for Candy Heaven though. Other than that and anything else that we see on the drive in to San Francisco, I'm not sure we'll head back to Sacramento later in the week. If I had to bet, I'd say we'll stop at one of the gold rush related sites before we pass through Sacramento and then just stop for candy and explore the old town area for a little while.

Thanks for the tip on Mikunis! That sushi boat looks yummy, and now I'm super hungry for sushi right now! LOL.

 

[wiscbugs]

I'm anxiously awaiting your trip report. We are going to Disneyland and San Fran in August as well. 4.5 days at Disneyland and then drive up to San Fran for 3 days there before flying home. We've been to Disneyland in 2012 & 2013 and hit Disneyworld last June and this spring break so my wife thinks I'm nuts...but thats ok. The kids and I love it (and she does too.)

 

[kaoden39]

I am so excited for my first visit to Disneyland, and staying at The Disneyland Hotel!

Cool! Thanks for sharing. I'm totally going to participate. I already have a few ideas




Buddy and I totally want to do the train museum in Sacramento, but unfortunately nobody else does. And since we are already planning on a few other train related visits, we've decided to pass on it. The kids are all in for Candy Heaven though. Other than that and anything else that we see on the drive in to San Francisco, I'm not sure we'll head back to Sacramento later in the week. If I had to bet, I'd say we'll stop at one of the gold rush related sites before we pass through Sacramento and then just stop for candy and explore the old town area for a little while.

Thanks for the tip on Mikunis! That sushi boat looks yummy, and now I'm super hungry for sushi right now! LOL.

The Jelly Belly plant is not far from I-80 half way between Sacramento and San Francisco. They have a quick tour you might want to check it out!

 

[MarbleBob]

I'm anxiously awaiting your trip report. We are going to Disneyland and San Fran in August as well. 4.5 days at Disneyland and then drive up to San Fran for 3 days there before flying home. We've been to Disneyland in 2012 & 2013 and hit Disneyworld last June and this spring break so my wife thinks I'm nuts...but thats ok. The kids and I love it (and she does too.)

That's great! I'm sure no one on the Disboards thinks you are nuts, you are among kindred spirits. The more visits to WDW and DLR the merrier!!!!

The Jelly Belly plant is not far from I-80 half way between Sacramento and San Francisco. They have a quick tour you might want to check it out!

Thanks! I sure hope that we can squeeze that in on the drive. They apparently take the last tour at 4pm, so I hope we would arrive on time. I think we'll have to have to play it by ear

 

[MarbleBob]

Update: Minor change of plans!!!!

OK. So after thinking about our family ditching us by leaving early and heading up to see Mt. Rushmore and the Badlands... we thought that they might be making a pretty good move by breaking up the drive to Cheyenne and avoiding that 12+ hour driving day. I can't get off work on Thursday to join them, but I can duck out of work a couple hours early on Friday, so we are now planning to leave our house around noon and driving a few hours west on Friday afternoon. Stopping at St. Joseph, MO for the night.

When I plugged the directions into Google to see how long that might take to drive, I realized that hey, instead of going straight to Kansas city on Hwy 70, we could cross Missouri up on Hwy 36 instead. It'll only take an extra 15 minutes or so. But why add 15 minutes?!?!? Well, if you look about half way through the highlighted route on the map below, you'll see that we'll pass right by Marceline... Walt's boyhood home.....part of what inspired Main Street at Disneyland, you can visit his family farm - where you can touch what's left of Walt's Dreaming tree (which apparently served as inspiration for many of his Silly Symphonies) as well as a reconstruction of the Disney family barn, which served as inspiration for the barn at his home in LA - which is what we'll be seeing later in the trip (and where we'll get to see Bob Gurr!!!) Additionally, they have a Walt Disney Hometown museum, which is really well done. It'll be fun to stop and say hi, knowing that we'll be visiting the Family Museum in SF a few days later. Seems like a super great way to start the trip!!!!

If you are interested in reading more about Marceline, check the mini trip report link in my signature



A few photos from previous visits:

My parents at Walt's Barn

The museum has the desk that Walt sat at in school on display. He even scratched his initials into it... which no one realized until he returned to visit Marceline as an adult and pointed it out.

I love this one... Walt removed the Midget Autopia from Disneyland a few years after it opened, because kids and parents couldn't ride it together (one of the goals of Disneyland.) Instead of trashing/selling it, he donated it to Marceline where it ran for years until it fell into disrepair.

The track is still there, and you can play on it.

And then they have one of the cars on display inside the musuem. (They have plans to bring back a new version of Midget Autopia!)

And here's the outside of the museum. It's at the old Santa Fe train depot. How cool is that!!!

Story has it, that Walt's love of trains was born in Marceline and he even worked on one as a kid - selling newspapers and stuff to passengers.

I have tons more pictures (there is the Walt Disney Post Office, Walt Disney Elementary, the Disney Park, Main street, etc.) But I'll leave you with this one of us with Kaye Malins... she owns the museum and lives in Walt's boyhood home. She has a super amazing story of her times spent with Walt - starting with him sleeping in her bedroom when she was a kid (not with her in it of course) through her time spent working in Disneyland (at his request) shortly after he passed away. Her dad was a partner with Walt and was worked closely with him on the Marceline project that was abandoned after Walt died. Pretty interesting stuff. If you ever have a chance to visit Marceline and meet Kaye, you should!!!!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Bob! That's a fantastic change of plans. I'm so envious. I'd love a trip to Marceline.

 

[kaoden39]

Looks great!

 

[jedijill]

Very cool! Hwy 36 is a good road....driven it many a time! Have fun stopping by Marceline again!

Jill in CO

 

[disnemimi]

Woo Hoo, Marble Bob, you and your family are going on quite an adventure. I would be sooo jealous except that we will be at Walt Disney World at that same time!!! So glad you are a photographer so I will be able to see lots of pictures. Travel safe and have the best of times. Tell the Hayward family hello from us too.
XoxoX
Mimi