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

[rentayenta]

Thank you friend for tagging me. When the DIS swicthed whatever they switched, I lost all my notifications.

Great update! The food looks delcious at Amory Tacos. I haven't been to the city of Cerritos since leaving California.

We didn't end up needing the air matress but thank you for leaving it.

 

[ACDSNY]

Yay to successful shopping and great lunch. All the kitties posed so well for the pictures.

 

[LegoMom3]

With all those kitties?.......Fran and Allison's home is a little piece of heaven to me!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have noticed all the various cat beds and cat condos in your TR pics, but had no idea they were occupied by so many felines! That's AWESOME!!! (and Velcro looks JUST like my Louie!!). BEAUTIFUL kitties, @franandaj !

PiO, great ending installment. As you said, bittersweet. Do you travel "locally"?!....cuz I'm going to miss reading your TRs!! But heck, if you have a weekend excursion somewhere, write about it.....I'll read it!

 

[franandaj]

With all those kitties?.......Fran and Allison's home is a little piece of heaven to me!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have noticed all the various cat beds and cat condos in your TR pics, but had no idea they were occupied by so many felines! That's AWESOME!!! (and Velcro looks JUST like my Louie!!). BEAUTIFUL kitties, @franandaj !

Thank you very much! We love our kitties and they are totally spoiled as you can see by the fact that they have almost as much furniture as we do!

 

[scottny]

Nice pics on RS. I cannot wait to ride it.


Nice pics in Club 33. When we go and I see someone going in there I will ask if I tag along, LOL.


Great pics of World of Color. Looks like a fun time at Disney.


The food you made looks delicious.


I LOVE her flour and sugar canisters.


The restaurant looks fun and interesting.


Nice recap Alison.


Nice pics from the Queen Mary. Yours too Alison.


Alisons pool looks like heaven.


Love The Melting Pot. The food looked so good.


Cute cats.


The house is gorgeous.


Nice lunch.


I am caught up.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Hmmmm.....I'll have to remember that place. Cerritos is not too far to go for a meal. The tacos and guac look good, but we'll have them hold the jalapenos.

It isn't that far away from you. I hope you make it out there some time.

It was sad having you leave as well. Hopefully you will make it back here, before we get down there because it will definitely be a few years before we make it, but at least I'm working up an itinerary!

You got the Dalmation cats backwards. Bagel has the beautymark on his cheek and Tesla has the goatee. It's amusing that all the kitties still had their collars on back then. I think everyone but Bagel and DC (the Calico) have lost theirs by now. Olga is actually doing quite well, but she does have some sort of untreatable Liver disease. She still is spunky when we let her out in the back yard, so who knows how long she will be around for!

Dang! I was afraid of that.

Very nice pictures of Alison's cats during your visit.

Amore y Tacos looks like a very nice place to have lunch. The food looks very appetizing.

Thanks Bret. We really enjoyed our lunch that day.

The kitties are so cute. Sounds like you had a very successful shopping trip. Lunch looked lovely.

Corinna

Yes, the sshopping was decent that day.

What kind of medicine is that?!

It was tequila.

The hot tub looks marvelous. And it looks way bigger for some reason from when I last saw it. Like it could easily fit 10 people!

Curious, what happens on Halloween night? Do folks in your neighborhood hand out candy? Do you personally hand out candy?

Normally, I would decorate the outside of my house with halloween decorations. Over the years, I've collected enough from my trips to the US to set up the outside with them. Some of the other houses also decorate with streamers, balloons and halloween decorations as well. The kids will only knock on the doors with the decorations out. I usually have a stash of candy to hand out.

Last year, I noticed one of my neighbours were out in their garden. They had set up a table with goodies and were having drinks on the front lawn. So, I invited myself over. We had a great time just chatting and watching the kids walk by. My mistake was leaving my candy stash out by my front door. The stash was gone after about 3 - 4 groups of kids visited. I had to go top it up again.
Next year, I think I will move my candy stash with me to the neighbour's lawn. We decided that it was a great idea to have halloween drinks and if the weather is good, we're going to make it a yearly event.

The front door of that house in impressive! There is a house a few blocks from us that turns their 3 door garage into a 'batman' cave. They plan it for months and there's usually a line to get in, but it's really cool!

You really did cook the entire time didn't you!

Yes!

Have yet to visit the Melting Pot but would love to go. Especially for that Bacon and Brie! Stop with that.

Yay for free alcohol!

Never thought of dipping rice krispy treats into melted chocolate. Brilliant!

That is very nice of you to leave behind a blow up mattress for all to share.

Aw, love the kitties!

Can never go wrong with Tacos in So Cal. Or enchiladas. Or tamales. I can go on and on!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Thank you friend for tagging me. When the DIS swicthed whatever they switched, I lost all my notifications.

Great update! The food looks delcious at Amory Tacos. I haven't been to the city of Cerritos since leaving California.

We didn't end up needing the air matress but thank you for leaving it.

Glad I tagged you then!

Ah. I did wonder if you ended up using the air mattress or not. Maybe next time.

Yay to successful shopping and great lunch. All the kitties posed so well for the pictures.

The kitties were very photogenic.

With all those kitties?.......Fran and Allison's home is a little piece of heaven to me!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have noticed all the various cat beds and cat condos in your TR pics, but had no idea they were occupied by so many felines! That's AWESOME!!! (and Velcro looks JUST like my Louie!!). BEAUTIFUL kitties, @franandaj !

The cats are a big drawcard for me too at Fran and Alison's place. That home really is a cat haven.

PiO, great ending installment. As you said, bittersweet. Do you travel "locally"?!....cuz I'm going to miss reading your TRs!! But heck, if you have a weekend excursion somewhere, write about it.....I'll read it!

I still have another day left on this trip before I finally finish this TR and I really should get on with it.

Aww. Thanks. That's really sweet of you to say so. I did post a TR on my trip to the Blue Mountains and Sydney last year. I also tend to do a bit of photography around Melbourne when I get out and about.

Nice pics on RS. I cannot wait to ride it.


Nice pics in Club 33. When we go and I see someone going in there I will ask if I tag along, LOL.

I hope you get the opportunity to tag along in when you're there this year!

Great pics of World of Color. Looks like a fun time at Disney.


The food you made looks delicious.


I LOVE her flour and sugar canisters.


The restaurant looks fun and interesting.


Nice recap Alison.


Nice pics from the Queen Mary. Yours too Alison.


Alisons pool looks like heaven.


Love The Melting Pot. The food looked so good.


Cute cats.


The house is gorgeous.


Nice lunch.


I am caught up.

Thanks! Hope that things are well with you.

 

[Leshaface]

Last year, I noticed one of my neighbours were out in their garden. They had set up a table with goodies and were having drinks on the front lawn. So, I invited myself over. We had a great time just chatting and watching the kids walk by. My mistake was leaving my candy stash out by my front door. The stash was gone after about 3 - 4 groups of kids visited. I had to go top it up again.
Next year, I think I will move my candy stash with me to the neighbour's lawn. We decided that it was a great idea to have halloween drinks and if the weather is good, we're going to make it a yearly event.

This is exactly what we did with 3 other houses. We'd all have a couple drinks and apps outside on one driveway and each family would bring their candy bowls over and hand out candy that way, so the kids would potentially hit up 4 houses in one spot. Worked for them and us too!

 

[PrincessInOz]

This is exactly what we did with 3 other houses. We'd all have a couple drinks and apps outside on one driveway and each family would bring their candy bowls over and hand out candy that way, so the kids would potentially hit up 4 houses in one spot. Worked for them and us too!

It's great when you have neighbours that will sit and have a drink with you. I think I will still decorate my place and leave a sign telling them to go down the street.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Hyatt Place Hotel


Discovery #80. A little down time can be good for everyone.



LAX hotels can be a bit of a revolving door and they can be hit and miss as to whether you find a good room or not. In the end, I looked just a little bit further and we ended up at the Hyatt Place, El Segundu. With a full day's activity ahead of us and a late flight out, DH and I decided we were going to pay for the extra night so that we would have somewhere to leave our bags in comparative safety, come back to the room and grab a shower before heading to the airport.


This place hit the mark. Free parking, Free Breakfast and Free Wi Fi at a rate of about $125 per night. We were delighted to find a spotless room when we opened the door. DS immediately flopped on one of the beds with his gadgets....after I had taken pictures.






The facilities were also clean.






And there was a very basic range of toiletries.






Not only was it clean, there was plenty of room!






DH took one look at this space and he settled in with his gadgets. Anyone spot my new bag?






I took one look at my boys and decided that there was no point in trying to move immovable mountains. So, I settled in on the other bed and caught up on some TV viewing time.


Afterall, a little down time can be good for everyone, right?



We spent the rest of the afternoon just lazing about in our room.




(Continued in Next Post)

 

[PrincessInOz]

(Continued from Previous Post)


More Westfield Shopping


Discovery #81. It was a very good thing that I bought an extra bag.



DH and DS took pity on me after about two hours. My reward for letting us all chill that afternoon?


Yup. More shopping time. This time, we headed to the Westfield at Culver City.






I spent a bit of time in a few of the clothes shops here. It was a very good thing that I bought an extra bag today.
I also hit the Disney Store here. Sadly, I didn't find the merchandise at the Disney Store very exciting and money and me did not part company in here. I know that the economic conditions are tough but that is still no excuse to fill the store with sub-par stuff that is overpriced. I rather spend my money at the Park stores and get stuff that is better made for that kind of money.







(Continued in Next Post)

 

[PrincessInOz]

(Continued from Previous Post)


The Veggie Grill


Discovery #82. Who would have thought that there would be decent vegetarian food in El Segundu?



I had a dining location in mind for dinner tonight.






We nearly didn't make it in here. Turns out that this shopping centre was a little foodie enclave. There were a number of delicious sounding places here; including a California Fish Grill. Alison has been raving about the CFG for quite a while now and when I saw it in this little area, I wanted to go. But in the end, that pesky vegetarian got to me and we headed on in.






As vegetarians go, the menu was dizzyingly delightful. There was a lot to choose from and the prices were positively a bargain for us Aussies.






Turns out that we are all still full from the Mexican lunch we had and no one really ordered big dishes on this night. So....what did we end up having for dinner?






There was a mac and cheese on the menu. Both DS and I ordered a bowl each. DS thought it was tasty enough. I thought it was adequate but I don't think I'd order it again.






We got some onion rings to share. They were pretty good.






DH got the Black Bean and Quinoa mini bowl.






The standout for me was the grilled corn, elote style. Absolutely delicious and so moreish!






It was a really nice meal by vegetarian standards; but I really wished we had picked the California Fish Grill for dinner this night. What was surprising was the serving sizes. Admittedly, we did order the appetizer and small bowls, but the sizes were miniscule compared to what we would expect for the US. However, they were perfectly portioned for how we felt on this night. I would like to come back to the Veggie Grill when I'm hungry and order some of their plates. They sound delicious too and I'll be really interested to see if they are also on the smaller portioned size.



We called it an early night after dinner and headed straight back to the hotel. I had some packing to finish off. Tomorrow is our last day on this vacation!

 

[mvf-m11c]

Your room look very spacious and nice. Good price for the room, free breakfast and wifi.

It does make sense to do a little shopping that day when you are relaxing.

You would have love the California Fish Grill since my DB and his GF got me into this restaurant. I know that Alison has enjoyed CFG a lot. I just had it during my February trip and still hasn't disappointed me one bit. The VeggieGrill looks nice but I don't know I would have enjoyed this place more than CFG.

 

[LegoMom3]

Beautiful room and HUGE by standard US hotel sizes!! Love that little sitting area.

.

 

[ACDSNY]

I agree on the Disney stores, I haven't purchased anything from them in years.

A few hours of chill time is always good.

 

[dolphingirl47]

The hotel looks nice. Yeah for another shopping trip. I agree with your assessment of the US Disney Stores. Every time we are in a mall that has one for some reason I have to go to check it out and every time I end up being disappointed. Dinner looks nice.

Corinna

 

[Leshaface]

I love the Hyatt Place! Have stayed in one up North and it was so comfortable.

I so agree about Disney stores. I did buy some really cool mugs that I had never seen before (Wall-E and a Sulley mug) but all their other stuff isn't very good.

Wow, for vegetarian meals, those look delicious! Just today, found out DS is a huge fan of quinoa. Big thumbs up there!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Your room look very spacious and nice. Good price for the room, free breakfast and wifi.

It does make sense to do a little shopping that day when you are relaxing.

You would have love the California Fish Grill since my DB and his GF got me into this restaurant. I know that Alison has enjoyed CFG a lot. I just had it during my February trip and still hasn't disappointed me one bit. The VeggieGrill looks nice but I don't know I would have enjoyed this place more than CFG.

I'm just going to have to make it to the Cali Fish Grill one of these days. Thanks!

Beautiful room and HUGE by standard US hotel sizes!! Love that little sitting area.

It was surprisingly decent and we really did enjoy the afternoon in the room because of the extra space.

I agree on the Disney stores, I haven't purchased anything from them in years.

A few hours of chill time is always good.

I think the boys needed it that day.

The hotel looks nice. Yeah for another shopping trip. I agree with your assessment of the US Disney Stores. Every time we are in a mall that has one for some reason I have to go to check it out and every time I end up being disappointed. Dinner looks nice.

Corinna

It's a shame about the Disney Store. I remember when I used to spend tons of money in there. Now, I can barely find anything that I would bring home. I hope that their products people figure it out. It is nice to be able to go pick up merchandise in the mall stores especially when I don't always head to a Disney Park.

I love the Hyatt Place! Have stayed in one up North and it was so comfortable.

I so agree about Disney stores. I did buy some really cool mugs that I had never seen before (Wall-E and a Sulley mug) but all their other stuff isn't very good.

Wow, for vegetarian meals, those look delicious! Just today, found out DS is a huge fan of quinoa. Big thumbs up there!

The Hyatt Place chain seems to provide really reasonable service, doesn't it? We've also stayed at one up North and I chose the one down at El Segundu because of that experience.

DS loves quinoa? Wow! Well done!

 

[MEK]

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.

 

[franandaj]

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.