Food, Fun, and Frivolity: 8 Funtabulous days w/pics! UPDATE 1/20 HELP!!!!

[franandaj]

Omgosh you're like 5 mins from me!! Did you guys already take off!?

By the time I got this we had left Tulare. Right now we're leaving Lemoore, we spent the afternoon supporting the local Indian tribe, playing blackjack!

 

[Leshaface]

By the time I got this we had left Tulare. Right now we're leaving Lemoore, we spent the afternoon supporting the local Indian tribe, playing blackjack!

Haha!! Used to frequent that place a lot when I was 18...ahh the good old days!! Too bad we couldn't do a quick meet!! That would have been fun!

Anyways, did you leave a winner????

 

[franandaj]

Haha!! Used to frequent that place a lot when I was 18...ahh the good old days!! Too bad we couldn't do a quick meet!! That would have been fun!

Anyways, did you leave a winner????

Of course not! But we played for quite a while before we lost our money! We'll be back again soon. Now that Fran has new knees she is much more apt to travel (hence all the tickers in my siggy!) Our friend needs a lot more care and attention as she has recently been diagnosed with Parkinsons, plus she had a whole heap of other illnesses going on before then. She hasn't had TV for over a year since she moved to her new place, so our mission was to bring her a low-def TV that would work with rabbit ears. She lives across from the cemetary on Blackstone.

We didn't get in until 8:30 last night even though we left by 2PM as two big rigs and a few cars decided to crash and burn on the hill down the Grapevine. It took us 2 1/2 hours to get from Frazier Park to the bottom of the Grapvine. A total of 10 miles! We had dinner at Cool Hand Lukes.... Love that place!

If nothing else, we'll be back through in late March early April, but maybe before then. I'll be sure to let you know well in advance, but this was a last minute thing we only made plans on Tuesday to come up! That would be fun for a meet!

 

[Leshaface]

Of course not! But we played for quite a while before we lost our money! We'll be back again soon. Now that Fran has new knees she is much more apt to travel (hence all the tickers in my siggy!) Our friend needs a lot more care and attention as she has recently been diagnosed with Parkinsons, plus she had a whole heap of other illnesses going on before then. She hasn't had TV for over a year since she moved to her new place, so our mission was to bring her a low-def TV that would work with rabbit ears. She lives across from the cemetary on Blackstone.

We didn't get in until 8:30 last night even though we left by 2PM as two big rigs and a few cars decided to crash and burn on the hill down the Grapevine. It took us 2 1/2 hours to get from Frazier Park to the bottom of the Grapvine. A total of 10 miles! We had dinner at Cool Hand Lukes.... Love that place!

If nothing else, we'll be back through in late March early April, but maybe before then. I'll be sure to let you know well in advance, but this was a last minute thing we only made plans on Tuesday to come up! That would be fun for a meet!

My grandparents live right around the cemetary! Actually more like, across the street from the highschool, but the cemetary is right down the street..Sorry to hear about your friend...i've always hated that part about getting older..in fact that's the ONLY reason i'm dreading getting older..is to have to see my friends around me getting older too...like for instance, my mom is 60 and she's watching her friends die left and right...and it kills me to think, that i'm eventually going to have to see that happen to some of my friends too But you're such a great friend to help her out!

Oh gosh, the grapevine...yes, i've had my share of delays on there too.. It's such a pain in the butt... the longest we've ever had to drive (from Long Beach to Tulare) was 8 1/2 hours....THE worst ever...on the other hand, it's taken me 2 hours and 45 mins to get from Tulare to Long Beach before ( )...glad to hear you got home safe!

We've only been to Cool Hand Luke's a number of times...their food is very up-and-down...they've also gone through a few managers too...so if we do feel like a steak, we'll either do Tahoe Joe's in Visalia, or a Brazilian Churascarria (sp) in downtown Visalia..

Well, we're (i'm ) really hoping to get to Disneyland for my Birthday in March! Like the weekend of the 25th or the weekend before that..even though my birthday is March 31st. So we'll see what happens!

 

[Leshaface]

OK, here are a couple of ways you can try and convince your brother and sister-in-law to venture away from a Disney cruise...you know, just in case you find one on another cruise line that you feel you might want to do!

We have also looked into the Disney cruises. They are much more expensive than other cruise lines like Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Norwegian, etc. That's why we don't go on a Disney cruise. Of course, I am also a very experienced cruiser (this will be my 14th!), and I am familiar with these different cruise lines. I understand that there are many people who feel more comfortable going with Disney because they are very familiar with Disney, and they know it will be spectacular because it's Disney!

We are going on Royal Caribbean. Our ship has a rock climbing wall, an ice skating rink (with shows there!!), a mini golf course, a 24-hour promenade inside (shops, a cafe, bars...food in the cafe is included and served 24 hours!), parades some nights in the promenade, lots of things to do.

I also don't understand why Disney doesn't offer the 7-night Caribbean itinerary in the summer. Maybe they figure that people will want to do a shorter 3- or 4-night cruise and spend a few days on land also, touring the theme parks. They always advertise land/sea vacations on their website. If someone only has a week to go on vacation, they could do a 3- or 4-night cruise plus 3 or 4 nights on land and have the best of both worlds. Maybe they feel this is more in demand in the summer since kids are out of school.

I agree about the summer...the air is very thick. That is the main thing...not the heat, but the humidity. And of course, I forgot to mention the afternoon thunderstorms. Another good reason to leave the park at around 1pm! Of course we got caught in one of those on the way back into MK since we had an early dinner ADR at CRT, and it was about 4:00 when we got off the bus, and it started pouring! We went there for dinner completely soaked (ponchos didn't help much because of the wind), but we all enjoyed it! Good point also about how late the parks are open in the summer. That has not affected us yet since the kids are little, but when they are teenagers I am sure we will be taking advantage of that!

Sorry Bonnie! Forgot to reply!!

I was going to ask, is it dangerous to take cruises in the Caribbean in the summertime, because of Hurricanes?? I was thinking maybe that's why Disney had done it, then realized that you were headed to the Caribbean in the summer I remember when we went to Jamaica late July/early August of 2006, it stormed every afternoon, and HARD!

Also, everyone is still up in the air about what we're doing this summer...but I want to decide quick so I can start planning (don't say anything, but i'm secretly hoping we can go to the Bahamas...that's my only true chance of making it to WDW) but I don't want to go to the Bahamas for my benefit only..sooooo we'll see!!

I remember we had braved the thunderstorms during our June 2008 trip to WDW, and boy, the park emptied a good deal! Especially in Fantasyland! Perhaps, parents don't want to have to deal with kids being soaked and uncomfortable but we were able to ride on lots of things during that time!

 

[franandaj]

My grandparents live right around the cemetary! Actually more like, across the street from the highschool, but the cemetary is right down the street..Sorry to hear about your friend...i've always hated that part about getting older..in fact that's the ONLY reason i'm dreading getting older..is to have to see my friends around me getting older too...like for instance, my mom is 60 and she's watching her friends die left and right...and it kills me to think, that i'm eventually going to have to see that happen to some of my friends too But you're such a great friend to help her out!

Believe me! I'm aging faster than I would like! In the past three years my eye sight has gone way downhill!

We've only been to Cool Hand Luke's a number of times...their food is very up-and-down...they've also gone through a few managers too...so if we do feel like a steak, we'll either do Tahoe Joe's in Visalia, or a Brazilian Churascarria (sp) in downtown Visalia..

Well, we're (i'm ) really hoping to get to Disneyland for my Birthday in March! Like the weekend of the 25th or the weekend before that..even though my birthday is March 31st. So we'll see what happens!

Well the current manager is pretty good, we ate there and the waiter forgot my side of Mac & Cheese. He gave took it off the bill (after they brought it) and gave us a coupon for a free entree on a return trip. So at least he made it right. When we ate there the other night I ordered my steak rare because places already over cook it, they got it right so the next night when we ate the leftovers it was perfectly Medium rare!

I just love a good Brazilian Churascaria (sp?), we'll have to try it when we go up there, everything in Tulare is so much cheaper than the LA area!

 

[Leshaface]

Believe me! I'm aging faster than I would like! In the past three years my eye sight has gone way downhill!



Well the current manager is pretty good, we ate there and the waiter forgot my side of Mac & Cheese. He gave took it off the bill (after they brought it) and gave us a coupon for a free entree on a return trip. So at least he made it right. When we ate there the other night I ordered my steak rare because places already over cook it, they got it right so the next night when we ate the leftovers it was perfectly Medium rare!

I just love a good Brazilian Churascaria (sp?), we'll have to try it when we go up there, everything in Tulare is so much cheaper than the LA area!

Honestly, the one on PCH is sooo good!! it's right across from the golf course on Anaheim blvd I believe?? That one was waaaay better compared to the one in Visailia...And you're right! It's a little cheaper here than LA but maaaan, the food and options are soooo much better in LA/OC...there's a lot of chain restaurants and lots of Mexican food places, but nothing much in between...Long Beach, had THE best variety of food! I wished when I was living in LB, I had explored more Broadway and Fourth street restaurants...even 2nd street we didn't do all the time... and such a shame too! All right there at our fingertips and hardly did any of that...

I was telling DH that whenever we go back to Long Beach, I want to go back to our usual places...

Italian -La Parolaccia Osteria Italiana on broadway
Chinese- Peking wok (though it's mandarin too!)
Pizza- Canadian pizza (uuugggh, miss this the most!) and New York Slice in Seal Beach
Mexican- brite spot on anaheim and enriques
Japanese - Sushi Studio on PCH
Greek - Athens West, seal beach


Dang, I miss LB sooo much!

 

[franandaj]

Honestly, the one on PCH is sooo good!! it's right across from the golf course on Anaheim blvd I believe?? That one was waaaay better compared to the one in Visailia...And you're right! It's a little cheaper here than LA but maaaan, the food and options are soooo much better in LA/OC...there's a lot of chain restaurants and lots of Mexican food places, but nothing much in between...Long Beach, had THE best variety of food! I wished when I was living in LB, I had explored more Broadway and Fourth street restaurants...even 2nd street we didn't do all the time... and such a shame too! All right there at our fingertips and hardly did any of that...

I was telling DH that whenever we go back to Long Beach, I want to go back to our usual places...

Italian -La Parolaccia Osteria Italiana on broadway
Chinese- Peking wok (though it's mandarin too!)
Pizza- Canadian pizza (uuugggh, miss this the most!) and New York Slice in Seal Beach
Mexican- brite spot on anaheim and enriques
Japanese - Sushi Studio on PCH
Greek - Athens West, seal beach


Dang, I miss LB sooo much!

Actually one of the apartments we own is right behind the hotel next to the Brazillian BBQ on PCH, we like that one, but find it REALLY salty. We drive all the way out to Anaheim/Fullerton for a place called Amazon when we want to stuff ourselves!

I LOVE Peking Wok! We go there for the lunch specials which are a great deal. I've seen the others but never been there, is brite spot a chain? I've seen several of them around Long Beach.

A lot of our faves have closed like Lonestar Steakhouse, Jimmy's Fish and Grill, but we go to King's Fish House on Pine & Broadway, for Greek we go to Georges (also on Pine). Was the Hokkaido Buffet open when you were here (cherry and the 405). Great Asian buffet, we don't eat much sushi because Fran is afraid of raw food as her arthritis drugs suppress her immune system, but I love tuna, eel, spider rolls, at least she will share the cooked stuff!

Long Beach is great for food all we are lacking is a good Jewish deli! We had tons of those in the SF Valley.

 

[bangzoom6877]

Sorry Bonnie! Forgot to reply!!

I was going to ask, is it dangerous to take cruises in the Caribbean in the summertime, because of Hurricanes?? I was thinking maybe that's why Disney had done it, then realized that you were headed to the Caribbean in the summer I remember when we went to Jamaica late July/early August of 2006, it stormed every afternoon, and HARD!

Also, everyone is still up in the air about what we're doing this summer...but I want to decide quick so I can start planning (don't say anything, but i'm secretly hoping we can go to the Bahamas...that's my only true chance of making it to WDW) but I don't want to go to the Bahamas for my benefit only..sooooo we'll see!!

I remember we had braved the thunderstorms during our June 2008 trip to WDW, and boy, the park emptied a good deal! Especially in Fantasyland! Perhaps, parents don't want to have to deal with kids being soaked and uncomfortable but we were able to ride on lots of things during that time!

I wouldn't say it's dangerous to cruise the caribbean in the summer, maybe a bit risky. Definitely prefer it over just going to one island for a week. If the weather is dangerous, the ship will go to a different port. I was once on the way back from bermuda in a tropical depression and it was pretty rocky. But none of us got sick. That was when I was 14 and there were 7 people in our group. Some of them were on their first cruise, and they went on to take many more cruises after that.

 

[Leshaface]

You guys!!

I have to tell you what I made tonight!!

I made the Portabello Mushroom Soup from Artist Point!!!! I'll show my picture first, and the one below it will be the REAL stuff!

I must say, I did VERY good!!! DH ate it up!!

Just had to share with you guys, cuz I know you would be proud of me!!!

 

[franandaj]

That looks GREAT! Just like the real thing...what are all the garnishes?

 

[Leshaface]

That looks GREAT! Just like the real thing...what are all the garnishes?

The green sauce is a chive-olive oil sauce, the white is whipped sour cream, and I baked some ****ake mushrooms, and made my own croutons!!

It turned out soooo good!!

I'm probably going to make a dessert tomorrow from AP...not sure which one yet though!!

 

[franandaj]

I baked some ****ake mushrooms,

Got to love the DIS filters!

 

[Leshaface]

Got to love the DIS filters!

BAHAHAHAHA!!! What the heck?!?! i"ve never seen that before!!!! So does it automatically do that if a curse word is inserted?? I thought people did that themselves?!!!

 

[bangzoom6877]

I want some of that soup!!!

You could cook for me anytime!

I love Disney recipes! I have made pot roast from 50s Prime Time, puffed french toast from Crystal Palace, gooey toffee cake from Liberty Tree, and a few others I can't remember right now! They all come out great and it feels like we have a piece of the magic at home, which is far far away!

 

[heathsf]

Wow that soup looked A-MAZ-ING!!!

 

[franandaj]

BAHAHAHAHA!!! What the heck?!?! i"ve never seen that before!!!! So does it automatically do that if a curse word is inserted?? I thought people did that themselves?!!!

I've gotten caught by it a few times...one of the funniest is the chimney sweep from Mary Poppins...when you type his name (you know who I mean), if you put a space between the two parts of his last name there's a filter. You can type it as Dick VanDyke or Dick Van ****.

 

[Googelibear]

We put all of our clothes away in the drawers, I hung up a shoe hanger in the closet area to keep all our toiletries in (I'm OCD about counters being clean), and hung up a small Disney dry erase board on the door handle and wrote, "Yay! Day 1! 9:20 ADR @ Kona and 5:30pm ADR @ Artist Point. Free day!" I'm also OCD about things being organized. Also, I hate having to repeat myself...this way DH won't have to bug me about what's going on for the day, even though I had thoroughly discussed this with him about 4 times prior to us boarding the plane, while on the plane, AND on the bus to CSR. MEN! (scoff)

haha, I just found your TR and love reading it.

This dry erase board idea of yours is stupendous. I have 1 day to find one here in Podunk, Michigan to make my trip with DH easier

 

[Leshaface]

I want some of that soup!!!

You could cook for me anytime!

I love Disney recipes! I have made pot roast from 50s Prime Time, puffed french toast from Crystal Palace, gooey toffee cake from Liberty Tree, and a few others I can't remember right now! They all come out great and it feels like we have a piece of the magic at home, which is far far away!

Haha! Alright it's a plan...just make plan your trip out to Cali when your kids are older and i'll deliver you some delicious soup!!

I've made the Grapefruit cake from Brown Derby, the Mac and Cheese from Jiko and AP (Jiko's turned out better IMO), I attempted to make the french toast thing from the MK like you have bonnie, but it didn't turn out well..not sure what happened..i was supposed to make a dessert the other day but still haven't decided what yet, so i'll save that for this week...i'll post a pic of it.....gooey toffee cake..that sounds delicious! I'm going to have to check it out!

Wow that soup looked A-MAZ-ING!!!

Hey!! You're leaving in a week!!! Is everything all planned and ready to go???

I've gotten caught by it a few times...one of the funniest is the chimney sweep from Mary Poppins...when you type his name (you know who I mean), if you put a space between the two parts of his last name there's a filter. You can type it as Dick VanDyke or Dick Van ****.

This is HILARIOUS!!!! This was the first time that's ever happened to me!!...but the thing is, that's the real name of the mushroom!! Goodness gracious...

haha, I just found your TR and love reading it.

This dry erase board idea of yours is stupendous. I have 1 day to find one here in Podunk, Michigan to make my trip with DH easier

Hi Googelibear!! I wanna say I LOVE your name!!! I call me DH that sometimes, cuz i LOVE Monsters Inc!!!!

99cent store!!!! There are tons!!

Hope you have a great trip!! It's the perfect time to visit the World!!

 

[heathsf]

Hey!! You're leaving in a week!!! Is everything all planned and ready to go???

Not too much to plan since it's such a short trip but we do have ADRs at La Hacienda and Mama Melrose's. As for packing, I'm watching the weather every day!