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

Beautiful unity candle and I see you found a hummingbird to amuse you.

I thought of you every time I saw the hummingbirds. :goodvibes




Great pic of a hummingbird and so clear given how quickly their wings move.

We saw our first ever hummingbird at Disneyland on our last trip. It was hovering above the canal on the Storybook ride. The poor tour guide was trying to explain the miniature villages but we were more excited by the bird.

I have a collection of hummingbird pictures now. :rolleyes1




I'm in and ready to hear all about it!

Thanks for joining in. You will have a major starring role in this one. :thumbsup2





Butter or caramel? And I hope you're sharing that popcorn!




That Kway Teow looks delicious by the way. Did you make it?

::yes::




Yes she did, and at my house! It was soooooo good, I can't wait to get the recipe because she showed me where to buy the ingredients and all I need to know is the details and I plan to make it! It was awesome!

I hope she is planning to share the recipe on the TR!

I'm thinking she was going to share it on the What's for Dinner thread, but perhaps she will share it here as well. It's very easy to copy and paste the post....it was really yummy and now that I know where to buy the noodles, I will make that for dinner at least a couple times per year, I just may use chicken or pork.

Such a clever chef. I would love to know the recipe also.

I will be sharing the recipe here when we get up to it. :goodvibes




I am looking forward to reading all about your trip. The photos in this instalment are stunning.

Corinna

Glad you're here, Corinna. Thanks.




Lovely photos so far! I could tell lunch was at A&F's house...who else has a Pooh napkin holder!

Jill in CO

A&F have a stunning collection. :thumbsup2





Oh no! It looks like poor Pooh Bear has lost an ear. Silly ol' bear!

I know what you mean about family holidays not really being "holidays". 90% of my family still live in Iowa so when I go back, it's chock full of visiting this person and that person, not to mention my friends from high school that still live there. I spend more time in the car running from house to house than I do actually traveling from Missouri to Iowa!

You have a FB group??? How did I miss that?

Bret, Alison and I were sharing some of our pictures at DLR during the trip. I was using it to post trip pictures.





Welcome back! Looking forward to more, including a pic of you in the dress and that recipe!

Thanks! All in good time. :goodvibes
 

Day 1: Departures and Arrivals


The Revolving Seat (on a Jet Plane) Affair



Discovery #1. Did you know that row 58 on an Airbus A380 is a standard seat but on a 747 it is an exit row? Well it is.
Discovery #2. The fine print of early seat allocation states that pre-paid seats are not guaranteed. It just is and no correspondence is entered into.




I had planned for a leisurely drive to the airport before the peak hour rush and had been rather smug in the knowledge that we had pre-booked our seats in advance. I had even paid the extra amount to ensure that we would all be sitting together on our flights across that Pacific Pond.


The night before departure, I had gone on line to check us in and was *surprised* to find that we had been scattered like dandelion seeds in the wind. Turns out the row I thought I had booked somewhere in the middle of the plane turned out to be an exit row. And as DS was under 16, the airline saw fit to move us without notification. We now had one seat in row 54, one in row 67 and the third seat in row 52. It was a dark and stormy night indeed!


I quickly scrambled to see if there were 3 seats together and grabbed the only 3 that were in a row. I think they were the only 3 in a row left on the entire flight.

For the record. I did call Qantas for a refund. It took me 30 minutes before I finally ended up talking to a real person but in the end, I got my refund.


I definitely needed something stronger than black coffee before the night was through!






(Continued in Next Post)
 
(Continued from Previous Post)

The Repeatable and Predictable Departure



Discovery #3. DH and I have been together too long and we fight like an old married couple. We are soooo predictable.




As departure days go, this one was no different to any other we go through.


We all got stressed, DH and I yelled at each other a little....and although it felt like we were running close to the edge of time, we were fairly organised in getting to the airport.
As always, there was a bit of yelling about the amount of clothes that DH was taking to the US and as always, there was yelling in the morning about him wanting to add more stuff to the already packed and locked bags in the morning. Next time, I think we need to break this cycle!


For the record. Despite the merry-go-round with DH, I have to admit to being really happy with the contents of the bags. We had enough gifts to fill one of the large bags and our clothes filled ¾ of the other bag. We had a combined weight of 27 kilos for the two checked bags.






So, the dark and stormy night turned into a very foggy Melbourne morning. Predictably, I yelled at the boys to get them out of the house. Equally as predictably, DH told me to stop stressing.
In the end, we did head to the airport early to beat the morning rush hour and I did wonder if any flights would be flying out at all because of the fog. But I didn't wonder for too long. Afterall, I had a stomach to feed and after checking our bags in, we all needed food. Airport food is not the greatest but it certainly has come a long way from the dry sandwiches and soggy biscuits days.


DS and I went with the bacon and eggs.






DH went with just eggs.






Whilst we were eating, it was apparent that some of the morning flights had been delayed by the fog but not by very much. By the time we had finished eating, the fog had lifted but the weather in Melbourne was looking threatening.






Thankfully, the delay was not significant and we took off some 30 minutes later than scheduled. It was pretty smooth flying into Sydney and we then made our way from the Domestic terminal to the International terminal.

For anyone transiting in Sydney from the Domestic terminal to the International terminal, you catch a shuttle bus.






A bus trip may not measure up to the airtrains offered in some of the US airports but I really do enjoy heading out into the tarmac area amongst the big birds.






We had 2 hours to wait and it did go quickly. The waiting period did span our normal lunch hour and we decided on a light meal.

DS got sushi.






Predictably, DH got a salad.






I got a different kind of salad. Afterall, we still have a meal to go through on the plane.







Our plane departed on time out of Sydney. About the only hiccough we encountered in Sydney was with our revolving seats...again!






When we got to the gate and whilst waiting for our flight, we got pulled up by the ground staff. Turns out we needed to exchange our paper boarding passes for a different kind of paper. I'm not sure why but the US has changed their boarding process in the last year or so. We now need to have the old-fashioned kind of boarding pass rather than a ticket printed on A4 paper at home.

For a minute, I thought we were going to go back to our scattered seats. But the ground staff member told me it was alright. I was relieved to find that the seat numbers on our new old-fashioned boarding passes matched the ones I had on my piece of paper. I sure didn't need a repeat experience of the revolving seat!

My disappointment in the revolving seat affair wasn't in the fact there was no communication or even that our seats had been changed. It was about the fact that our relatively empty A380 flight had turned into a sardine can-full 747! I counted 5 empty seats in the main cattle barn section of the plane. It was a rather full flight.



Predictably, DH and DS managed to get some sleep on the plane. As always, I got none.


As departures go, this routine was all too predictable and repeatable for DH and I. Next time, he can stress and I can tell him to chill.






(Continued in Next Post)
 
(Continued from Previous Post)


Arriving only to Break the Law on the Other Side of the Pond



Discover #4. California Police and Highway Patrol are ever vigilant. Do not break the law. You will be pulled over.



I've been following the exploits of Dis-ser tayalltheway during the time he moved to Orange County. One of the things he posted about was visits to Laguna Beach. The first and only time I'd been to Laguna Beach was way back in 1986 and looking at his pictures, I realised that I really didn't remember Laguna at all. Laguna Beach looked gorgeous in his pictures!


After we picked up our hire car, I figured it might be a good enough spot to stop on our way down to San Diego. Afterall, my aunt was working and we couldn't check into our accommodation before 4 pm so that left us at least 5 hours to fill in.



The drive into Laguna was uneventful. I had thought we were going to have lunch at Laguna. I'd even picked out Nick's Seafood as the place that we were going to eat at; but we were all still full from aeroplane food and decided to pass on lunch.
A short walkabout was in order.






We made a beeline for the beach.






We normally look at the Pacific Ocean waves crashing into the East Coast of Australia. Somehow, looking at the waves crashing in on the West Coast felt all wrong.






Laguna has a reputation for being a good surfing beach. I guess the waves were pretty calm today.






I did go looking for the tide pools; but it was always going to be an exercise in futility. I had done my research and knew that we were going to be visiting Laguna during high tide. So there was no intertidal organisms to examine on this visit.






We messed around a bit more, enjoying the delicious feeling of being on vacation but it was time for us to keep going; especially if we wanted to avoid peak hour traffic heading south.






We headed out along Highway 133 back towards the I-5 but didn't get very far. Traffic was banked back nearly all the way towards the 1 and it wasn't moving at all.

We found ourselves looking at a large pick-up truck in front of us and couldn't see much of the traffic in front of the truck. Due to the quirks of our position, that pick-up was right by a gap in the median strip where cars from the shops on the right were allowed to make a right hand turn. It clearly had a no U-turn sign displayed from our direction. After a couple of minutes, the driver decided that he was going to ignore that sign and made that illegal turn.

DH and I looked at each other for 10 seconds and we both came to the same unspoken conclusion. We made the same illegal turn.


We didn't even manage to get 100 meters down the road when we saw the flashing lights behind us. Yup. The boys in dark blue were definitely out on patrol that day!






(The cop approaches us on the driver's side and starts to talk to DH.)


“Sir, do you know why we pulled you over?”
“Ah. Um. Hmmm. We made an illegal u-turn when we weren’t supposed to.”

(Silence for about 20 seconds.)

“I appreciate your honesty, sir. We also pulled you over because you were doing 50 in a 40 zone.”

(What the????. There was NO WAY we had gotten the car up to those speeds. Keep quiet. Keep quiet. Do. NOT. open. mouth!)

“Oh? I didn't think we were travelling that fast but I wasn't really paying attention to the speedometer. I guess I could have been doing 50 but I really didn't think I was driving that fast.”

(My DH is a lot more tactful than me!)

“Well, you were. We were following you and that was the speed we were doing. Please show me your Driver’s Licence and Registration Papers.”
“Ah. Um. Hmmm. I have an Australian Driver’s Licence and this is a rental car. I can provide you with the rental car agreement.”

(Silence for about 20 seconds)

“What are you doing in Laguna Beach and how long have you been in the country for?”
“We are on our way to San Diego to attend a family wedding. We arrived in the country this morning.”
“You’re on vacation?”
“Yes.”

(DH hands over his licence and the car rental papers.)

“Please wait here whilst I run a check.”

(The cop heads back to his car and gets on the radio. We can clearly see him talking to his partner whilst they are waiting. As we are sweating it out, DH and I exchange another one of those 10 second looks and we both came to the same unspoken conclusion. Whatever happened, we were going to accept the consequences.
The cops make us wait for about 5 minutes before they come back to our car.)


“Sir, you were pulled over for making an illegal u-turn and for exceeding the speed limit. We appreciate that it was done in the heat of the moment and that you might have been a bit impatient waiting in that traffic. But that traffic is banked up because there is a bad accident a bit further up the highway where someone else made an illegal turn.”

(We feel like small children caught with their hands in the cookie jar at this point in time.)

“We appreciate that you have just arrived in a different country. We don't want to ruin your vacation so we are going to let you off with a warning this time. But please....don't break any of our laws whilst you are over here. Enjoy your vacation.”


DH and I looked at each other for 10 seconds and we both came to the same unspoken conclusion. We got off lightly this time.





princess::upsidedow
 
Wow, who'da thunk that the L.A. cops are nicer than the ones in my two-bit town..... Lucky day for you!! I hate traffic jams. I would probably not fare well driving in southern CA!!! :rotfl:

Nice food pics, even if it was airport food!! :laughing:

.
 
Wow, who'da thunk that the L.A. cops are nicer than the ones in my two-bit town..... Lucky day for you!! I hate traffic jams. I would probably not fare well driving in southern CA!!! :rotfl:

Nice food pics, even if it was airport food!! :laughing:

.

:wave: You posted before and I completely missed saying hello! Thanks for stopping in and joining in on this ride as well.


:scratchin Technically, they were Laguna Beach cops. At least that's what their cop car said. But yes. Lucky.day.indeed. :rotfl:
 
Ugh, I hate when the airlines mess with your seats especially after you've paid for them! Glad you got it sorted out and got your refund in the end.

I love looking at all the other airlines too...its always thrilling to see the foreign airlines and dreaming of taking trips to their home countries.

You lawbreakers! Glad you got off on a warning....that would have been a hassle to have to pay a ticket.

Jill in CO
 
Finally I got to read your trip report after being away lately. I just missed your first update when I left on Sunday. I will be here as well while I go over my other pictures during the trip.

That was not right of the airline to change your seat location without notifying you. Luckily you were able to get seats together for that flight and get a refund for the trouble.

That was nice that you got off with a warning from the police.
 
I'm feeling a slight sense of déjà vu reading your report. DH and I also seem to snap at each other on the morning we go to the airport and admittedly it's usually my fault. Our trip day has finally arrived, I don't want anything to go wrong at the last hurdle, and let's just say I might become a bit highly strung. :rolleyes2

Also, what's up with airlines downgrading to smaller planes and mucking up our carefully picked seats? I'm pleased though that everything worked out for you in the end.

What a nervous moment with the police. Nice of him to let you off.
 
I'm not sure what that dish is you made at Alison's but I want to try it! Can't wait till you post the recipe later on.

Oh my gosh, United did that to us on this last WDW trip! Selected our seats and the night before when I checked us in, we were everywhere! That was the first time that ever happened and I was not happy about it. With DM who's not a good flier and an infant (who wants to sit by a baby on a plane, really?) I was even more nervous/anxious. It ended up being alright in the end getting 2 of our seats out of the 3 together, but I couldn't imagine it for a 14 hour flight. Thank goodness they refunded the extra you paid on those seats.

Glad to hear that your flight was easy.

Laguna Beach is gorgeous. When I had an internship in college, one of my 'jobs' was to deliver various items to businesses and I would have to drive on that street that you took a picture from time to time to make those delivieries. That's the only time I didn't mind not getting paid for doing work.

Phew! You guys did get off and I bet you were so relieved when they did that!
 
Getting away to the airport is so stressful. Im glad you were honest that you had "words". Honestly Fran and I never have "words" ever since I adopted my policy that each time I would say something I take a shot or down a glass of wine. Takes away all the stress! :drinking: It may not be the best option for those early morning flights, but at least it alleviates those worried feelings! :rotfl2:

Probably not the best remedy for a one pot screamer such as yourself, but it worked this morning! Just dont tell my better half!

Glad you wiggled your way out of the ticket in Laguna. I bet they are just waiting to nail some tourists!
 
Wow I would be so terrified being pulled over by the cops in another country. I've never even been pulled over here! Very nice of them to let you off with a warning.

I hate when they change the plane, but it would be especially bad when it mucks up all your seating arrangements. Thank goodness you were able to still find 3 seats together AND get your refund.

I don't think you're on your own when it comes to night before/morning of bickering. DH and I are right up there with you.
 
I can't believe that they just changed the seats on you. I know that seats get changed due to aircraft changes, but if they make you pay for the pleasure then it really is not on. What a shame that you ended up with a B747 instead of the A380. How nice that the cops let you off.

Corinna
 
Oct 2014 Trip

Save the Date! It's a Family Ceremony that pushed me into making another Mad Dash. And as there's space on this thread, why start a new one, right?


Glad I saw this otherwise I was like WHAT ??? Have I stepped back in time :confused3 I had originally followed the link, skipped over the shortcut links and the first post I read was dated 2010 :rotfl2:

All that to say YEAH I'm here too :hug: ( and no longer confused )
 
Wow what a departure day! Completely lucky, that is some pixie dust right there, getting off with a warning. I swear, I didn't think they even still gave warnings anymore!

The predictable behaviors crack me up, we have those too!
 
Woah that was some stressy starts to the trip! I would have been cranky with the airlines too, and yep, arguing like an old married couple over trivia - sounds familiar. With our road trip in front of us there'll be a few more ahead for me and DH. The cop incident would have been scary -we've all seen those US cop shows! Glad it ended well. Love the hummingbird pic! Reading along when I can.
 











Save Up to 30% on Rooms at Walt Disney World!

Save up to 30% on rooms at select Disney Resorts Collection hotels when you stay 5 consecutive nights or longer in late summer and early fall. Plus, enjoy other savings for shorter stays.This offer is valid for stays most nights from August 1 to October 11, 2025.
CLICK HERE







New Posts







DIS Facebook DIS youtube DIS Instagram DIS Pinterest

Back
Top