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

[rentayenta]

I'm behind but catching up now.

 

[Marlea98]

I'm behind too but slowly catching up.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[rentayenta]

Just finished the mall update. The Melt and mango mousse? Heavenly. Mac n cheese inside a grilled cheese? Genius!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Thanks for sharing PIO - your TRs are always an entertaining read

What a wonderful way to finish your trip. I'll catch you on your PTR.

Thanks for reading!

I'm behind but catching up now.

You're not behind; you're catching up.

I'm behind too but slowly catching up.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

Two behinds? Two catch-ups more the case!

Just finished the mall update. The Melt and mango mousse? Heavenly. Mac n cheese inside a grilled cheese? Genius!

That mac n cheese sandwich was heavenly!

You'll be finished this TR soon.

 

[rentayenta]

Great last update. Your photos are amazing as usual and your report was a pleasure to read. Can't wait for your next report.

Stanford is such a beautiful campus. That's one of Joshua's top three picks. He's 11.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Great last update. Your photos are amazing as usual and your report was a pleasure to read. Can't wait for your next report.

Stanford is such a beautiful campus. That's one of Joshua's top three picks. He's 11.

Thank you for reading all the way through to the end. I really appreciate the staying power.

 

[knewton64]

Got all caught up on yer TR.



Love yer pics - esp Stanford & the Golden Gate Bridge area.






T.T.F.N.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Got all caught up on yer TR.



Love yer pics - esp Stanford & the Golden Gate Bridge area.






T.T.F.N.

Thanks for reading. Hope you got some ideas for your trip out of it.

 

[AussieDisneyNut]

Thanks PIO for another entertaining trip! I almost feel like I've been on holiday too! Especially enjoyed your escorted tour of the Rodin Gallery at Stanford! Too funny

Looking forward to hearing about your next adventure.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Thanks PIO for another entertaining trip! I almost feel like I've been on holiday too! Especially enjoyed your escorted tour of the Rodin Gallery at Stanford! Too funny

Looking forward to hearing about your next adventure.

I had fun with that unexpected 'escorted tour' too.
Thanks for reading!

 

[PrincessInOz]

It's Not Quite Another Mad Dash






Some things just sit at the back of my mind and continue to niggle away until I do something about it.

I am quite anal about closure and I remembered that there was a link in here to my next not quite Mad Dash trip; the blog....er....PTR, link here was posted way back when.


I've started writing the TR to this trip and thought I needed to add a link in here to the new TR (link here).

I've chosen to write the new TR in the WDW section of the boards as that was the original aim and reason for the trip. But it does involve 2 days at DLR, a roadtrip in search of Canyons and multi-coloured rocks, 7 days at WDW and some Mickey cheating with Harry time at the end.

Those of you that subscribed to this thread and have followed the journey to date.....thanks for reading. I really appreciate your feedback and commentary!


Okay. Back to your regular scheduling.

 

[PrincessInOz]

PTR Oct 2014 Save the Date Mad Dash



Save. The. Date.


I received an email about 2 weeks ago with the title "Save The Date". So innocuous an email title. But with those 3 words starts another Mad Dash.


My cousin in San Diego got engaged last year. We got to catch up with him and his fiancé in September 2013 when we last visited the US as part of the Anyone Game Dis-sers Trip (link here). At that stage, they were planning a destination wedding in Japan and for one reason or another, we didn't make the Japanese ceremony.
I promised them that if they planned a follow-up ceremony in the US that I would move heaven and earth to make it for the US ceremony.

The Save the Date email was advising us that they were finally getting round to holding a US-based celebration in October. YIKES! That's about 2 months' notice. How.....how....how.....what......???

In the end, the 'hows, whats, whys and what ifs' don't matter. I had promised and I have been working my best to keep that promise in that last two weeks.


So, who's going?

The cast on this trip would be DH, DS14 and myself.






Until today, I wasn't even sure that I was going to be able to make good on that promise. But we managed to secure some tickets to LAX at a price I was willing to pay at a local travel expo so we've locked in our dates.



We're departing Melbourne 10th October and arriving in LAX on the 10th October.
We're departing LAX on the 19th October and arriving home on the 21st October.
That's 9 days on-ground time to fill in. It is longer than both DH and I had thought but any shorter would have meant extra $$$$ that wasn't going to be value for money.


There's a mountain of stuff to plan for and get organised in the two month period. And what with spending time with the family in SD and everything, I'm not even sure I'm making it to DLR on this trip.



Are you snorting in laughter as you read that last statement?




Yeah. My DH had the exact same reaction when I said it to him. But it's true. I have no idea (yet) what we’ll be doing in the 9 days on-ground.

Okay. Truth be told. Perhaps I might be moving heaven and earth to steal some time at the Happiest Place on Earth.......but I haven't worked out the details....yet.



So, save your dates. This is going to be a very short PTR and I'm not sure what the TR is going to end up being like. But for those of you that have followed some of my other TRs, one thing is for sure.

Have camera, will snap. Have snaps, will share (especially on the Dis).



Let's see how this trip unfolds, shall we?

 

[Caroline NZ]

Yay for a "short notice" trip

 

[franandaj]

Well since you keep repurposing this TR no need to resubscribe, it keeps showing up in my UserCP everytime you post an update. The good news for me is that we will be in town during the entire time you are on the ground.

If you find the time for a day at the DLR, I am always keen to meet you there and my previous offers still stand as well as invitations to any establishment you would like to visit. You're also welcome at Casa Nueva if you like, however I believe you are aware of the sleeping limitations, ie DS would have to sleep on a couch. Something he didn't seem to mind on the last visit, but I'm sure circumstances would be different this time.

Happy planning! Even if you don't have much time for that!

 

[Fairy Floss]

How exciting

 

[tiggrbaby]

How lovely you will be able to share in your cousin's special day!

 

[mvf-m11c]

Great news to hear that you will be back in the US in a couple of months. Hope you and your family have a great time.

 

[usnuzuloose]

YaY! You will be back!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Yay for a "short notice" trip

Short notice trips can be the best!

Well since you keep repurposing this TR no need to resubscribe, it keeps showing up in my UserCP everytime you post an update. The good news for me is that we will be in town during the entire time you are on the ground.

If you find the time for a day at the DLR, I am always keen to meet you there and my previous offers still stand as well as invitations to any establishment you would like to visit. You're also welcome at Casa Nueva if you like, however I believe you are aware of the sleeping limitations, ie DS would have to sleep on a couch. Something he didn't seem to mind on the last visit, but I'm sure circumstances would be different this time.

Happy planning! Even if you don't have much time for that!

Very glad you'll be around when I get there. Thanks for the offers.



This thread has become the home for those 'short' mad dashes to the US we do. And there's plenty of room left on it. Why start a new thread when I can keep this one going?

How exciting

It will be....in 2 months time.

How lovely you will be able to share in your cousin's special day!

I've heard back from the SD family. They are just as excited as I am about catching up in 3D again. It will be lovely to see them all.

Great news to hear that you will be back in the US in a couple of months. Hope you and your family have a great time.

I'm sorry that our dates don't align. I know you're planning one later in the month and I was kinda hoping that my cousin would pick a weekend closer to the end of the month. Oh well. Next time.

YaY! You will be back!

YAY indeed!

 

[PrincessInOz]

The. Great. e-Paper. Exchange.


What do the following have in common?

• Cold hard cash
• Plane tickets
• Application Forms
• Passports
• Visa stamps

That's right. They are all paper products.


Once upon a time, in a world before 1 and 0's were commonly used as data packets, you used to have a physical exchange of turning one sort of paper into another sort of paper. A transaction would occur where you would transform paper money into paper tickets, or buy a passport, handwrite in an application form (and hand money over) in exchange for a physical stamp in your passport. Granted the physical paper version of the passport still exists but somewhere in the Ethernet there is a 1 and 0's version of that bad photograph with all your personal details.

There was something rather satisfying about handing over a physical paper and getting a physical paper in return.


In today's world, physical paper exchanges are rare. Instead, most transactions occur via the internet with yet more personal information stored somewhere in the Ethernet. The world heading down this direction as it was deemed to be better for the environment to not cut down so many trees for paper. And with that, the IT industry became self-sustaining and viable. As we transact more, customers and companies demanded better service, more information and faster ways of completing business. The number of transactions that we do via the net is staggering and more and more companies need to find more electronic filing cabinets to keep the records. Electronic filing cabinets that replaced the paper storage cabinets. Think about it. A strong magnet in the wrong location and all that information is gone for good. What use is 1 and 0's if you can't access it or prove that you've made an exchange?


I don't make the world. I only try to live in it.


For a trip such as this, a lot of e-paper exchanges are required to be completed.
In the last two days, I've exchanged a bunch of 1 and 0's for a whole bunch of 1 and 0's in return. For my efforts, I am now sitting with e-copies of plane tickets, an electronic application (that still needs to be printed out) for a new passport for DS, a string of letters and numbers that are my ESTA approval (that replaces the old fashioned visa stamp for entry into the US). For my efforts, the 1 and 0's in my bank account look pathetically poorer for it and I'm still wondering if I came out ahead in the great e-paper exchange.



Perhaps it's just me being a dinosaur, but I still like to see physical copies by way of proof that the transactions were completed. More to the point, I like to have physical copies in my possession just in case a large magnet drops out of the sky on those virtual storage cabinets. At least I have proof of each exchange!



So, I'm sitting here with my paperwork around me. It's a strangely familiar list.

• Plane Tickets printed.
• Application Form printed.
• Passports for DH and myself - taken out of storage and validity date checked.
• ESTA numbers printed out (aka VISA stamp)

I only wish I had a stack of cold hard cash in that pile of paperwork!
Still....it's been a very satisfying exchange of e-paper.












Postscript. You may have noticed that we are going to be submitting the application form for a new passport. It's for DS. His passport had less than 6 months left on the validity period and the ESTA system would NOT even process his application. With less than 2 months to go, I sure hope that the Australian Passport Office processes the application pronto so that I can get his paperwork in order. More 1 and 0's!

I also am finalising travel insurance and exchanging more 1 and 0's so that I end up with a new set of 1 and 0's in the debit travel card.


I always say.....passport, ESTA, plane tickets, money/credit card and travel insurance. That's pretty much the basics of what you need to travel. My list is pretty much nearly done if it weren't for DS' passport! And I don't think I've ever completed this list as quickly as I have these last two days.