Life’s too short...to never sleep in a treehouse! 8/27 TR is up! Link in siggie

[eandesmom]

Love the update and Fred the DD! We love WDW, but DL feels like "home" as we've been there so many times. I love the way they've packed almost all the rides from 4 parks at WDW into 2 parks and are adding on! I wish there were more places to eat in the park, but there are alot of good choices all around.

I agree, of course now I need to go back and see World of Color!

I do think DCA does feel really different than any of the WDW parks. It's a hodge podge ride wise but it's fun that it is so different.

 

[jenjolt]

Loving the updates about DCA! I would love to be able to get to the West Coast sometime and visit Disneyland!! Maybe once I'm in TX I can justify that trip a bit more!!!!

Thanks for great updates!!

 

[All7OfUs]

didn't see your thread on page 1 all day. are you still in "vacation is over denial mode"?

Miss you!

 

[eandesmom]

Loving the updates about DCA! I would love to be able to get to the West Coast sometime and visit Disneyland!! Maybe once I'm in TX I can justify that trip a bit more!!!!

Thanks for great updates!!

Texas is MUCH closer

actually it is. Thanks Jen!

didn't see your thread on page 1 all day. are you still in "vacation is over denial mode"?

Miss you!

No, not vacation is over denial mode just life is busy real job mode! All good though. Finally had some nice weather so spent much of the weekend doing yardwork and then have that darn job! Need to upload day 2 to photobucket....maybe tonight, we will see!

Working on FL trip plans too

 

[All7OfUs]

\
No, not vacation is over denial mode just life is busy real job mode! All good though. Finally had some nice weather so spent much of the weekend doing yardwork and then have that darn job! Need to upload day 2 to photobucket....maybe tonight, we will see!

Working on FL trip plans too

CAN. NOT. WAIT. to see any plans you may have. And the big question is:

Did you have the Knott's chicken dinner. Or not.

 

[eandesmom]

CAN. NOT. WAIT. to see any plans you may have. And the big question is:

Did you have the Knott's chicken dinner. Or not.

That is the question....

 

[All7OfUs]

That is the question....

I'm hanging on the edge of a very steep cliff by my fingernails. Don't make me hang on too long- I"m a terrible nail biter already!

 

[eandesmom]

I'm hanging on the edge of a very steep cliff by my fingernails. Don't make me hang on too long- I"m a terrible nail biter already!

A nail biter huh? Learning something new every day!

I hope to catch up on your birthday fiesta tonight

 

[All7OfUs]

A nail biter huh? Learning something new every day!

I hope to catch up on your birthday fiesta tonight

It WAS a FIESTA!! Hey, I forgot how much I like that word!

 

[eandesmom]

It WAS a FIESTA!! Hey, I forgot how much I like that word!

It makes me think of beaches and margaritas. Both of which sound really good! Which is not the kind of fiesta you had. I'm about half way through it, looking forward to reading the rest.

 

[MaryAz]

I was behind-all caught up now. I hope to go to Schooner or Later in June. YUMMO. Sounds like a fun first day.

 

[eandesmom]

I was behind-all caught up now. I hope to go to Schooner or Later in June. YUMMO. Sounds like a fun first day.

I didn't realize you were headed to CA in June, you have a lot of trips! And one almost here!!!!!!!!!!! I highly reccomend it, we'd go back. It is kind of a dive but a really yummy, fun, one.

 

[eandesmom]

Having all slept well, especially Fred, we awoke feeling pretty good. We had 10:30 brunch reservations on the Queen Mary so took our time getting ready. First order of business was to find decent coffee. Jeff and I really don’t function well without it and we had elected not to pack coffee, which is pretty unusual for us. We’d chosen this as I knew both hotels had an espresso bar on the first floor, what I wasn’t sure was if the in-room brewers were the k-cup kind or took packets and if they were k-cup, it was kind of senseless to pack in the first place so we decided to try what the lobby espresso bar had to offer.
I of course had to go get it. I am not sure why this always falls to me, but it does. Perhaps because at home, on a normal day, Jeff makes the morning coffee. Every day. I guess turnabout is fair play. It was ok. Not earth shattering, but certainly drinkable and mildly better than what was in the room. We opted for Americano’s, not trusting their drip coffee, which is always our travel plan. It worked out. I wasn’t thinking though, I should have bought 3. 1 for each of us and then 1 to share for our “second” cup.

Oh well.

We were lazy that morning! Sitting around, drinking coffee, watching some old move that was really cracking all of us up. I can’t recall what it was. To the point that we kind of lost track of time. And ran out of coffee! I think I thought Long Beach was closer to the hotel than it really was, at least from a driving to brunch standpoint. Not that it was far but it was farther than we ended up allotting time for. So we were running late.

And it stressed Jeff out.

I wasn’t too worried about it, we weren’t a big party, I knew it was huge but I tried to call to let them know we’d be about 15 minutes late. That took a good 5 minutes! It is one of those restaurants that books through Open Table. Which is great. But…it means NO direct phone number to the restaurant, or at least not one anyone answered. In the meantime I was running the GPS on my new phone. Despite Jeff’s protests.

"I know how to get there!"
"I used to live here remember?"
"That is NOT the best way to go" (now he is arguing with the GPS)
"Fine, I’ll go that way and see what happens."
"Oh, they changed the exits"
"That was the best way"

I kept silent during the whole thing. I believe in self preservation.
As we were a later reservation all the “close” parking was gone so Jeff dropped us off so we could go check in and then went to park. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the QM , here’s a VERY brief synopsis
The History

• [*]War Service: March 1940 - September 1946
  [*]War History: Carried a total of 765,429 military personnel. Sailed a total of 569,429 miles (916,407 km). Carried up to 15,000 troops at one time. Carried wounded returning to the United States. Transported Winston Churchill three times to conferences. Carried 12,886 G.I. brides and children.
  [*]Resumed Peacetime Passenger Service: July 31, 1947
  [*]Retired from Regular Passenger Service: September 19, 1967 (after completing 1,001 crossings of the Atlantic)
  [*]Departed on "Last Great Cruise": 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, October 31, 1967
  [*]Arrived in Long Beach, California: 10:00 a.m. Saturday, December 9, 1967
  [*]Change of Ownership: Removed from British registry and officially turned over ownership to the City of Long Beach at 10:00 a.m., Monday, December 11, 1967
  ​

​

These tidbits stood out to me

• August 30, 1939: Departed Southampton on final peacetime voyage, carrying her largest number of passengers: 2,552, including Mr. & Mrs. Bob Hope and million in gold bullion.
• September 2, 1939: Crew members black out ship's portholes.
• September 3, 1939: England and France declare war on Germany.
• September 4, 1939: Queen Mary arrives in New York.
• March 21, 1940: Departs New York for Sydney, Australia, to be fitted as a troopship. Accommodations increased from 2,140 to 5,500.
• May 5, 1940: First voyage as a troop transport. Sailed in convoy with AQUITANIA, MAURETANIA (II), EMPRESS OF BRITAIN, EMPRESS OF CANADA, and EMPRESS OF JAPAN, from Sydney, Australia, to Gourock, Scotland, with 5,500 troops.
• August 5 - September 16, 1940: Dry docked in Singapore. Paravanes fitted.
• December 13, 1940: Degaussing strip installed in Sydney.
• April 9, 1941: In convoy with QUEEN ELIZABETH and MAURETANIA (II) from Sydney to Suez, and return.
• January 27 - February 8, 1942: Hull damaged while entering dry dock in Boston Naval Shipyard. Troop capacity increased.
• February 18 - March 28, 1942: "40 DAYS AND 40 NIGHTS" voyage from Boston to Sydney, Australia. First time Queen Mary carried American troops (8,398 troops, 905 crew).
• May 11 - 16, 1942: First time more than 10,000 persons had traveled on any ship (9,880 troops, 875 crew).
• August 2 - 7, 1942: First time a complete division was carried on any ship. First Armored Infantry Division (15,125 troops, 863 crew).
• October 2, 1942: Queen Mary collides with British light cruiser CURACOA. 70 tons of cement are used to temporarily patch the bow in Gourock, Scotland.
• October 14 - November 2, 1942: Dry docked in Boston Naval Shipyard to install a new more permanent bow piece.
• December 23, 1942- April 22, 1943: "THE LONG VOYAGE" from Gourock, to the Suez, Sydney, Australia, and return to Gourock. Total mileage: 37,943 miles. Ship transferred to Atlantic Ocean.
• May 5 - 11, 1943: Winston Churchill transported from Gourock to New York, to meet with President Roosevelt. 5,000 German prisoners of war were also on board.
• July 25 - 30, 1943: Carried the greatest number of souls on a floating vessel: 15,740 troops, 943 crew. Total: 16,683.

As much as the war history fascinates me, we were taking a trip to the peacetime grandeur of The Grand Salon.

The Grand Salon, the ship's original First-Class Dining Room, is an elegant setting for the most spectacular Sunday Brunch in Southern California. This elegant brunch features live entertainment to set the mood.
Served buffet-style, our Champagne Sunday Brunch offers food from around the globe with more than 50 world-class entrees. Culinary stations include a Carving and Entree Station - with a selection of cooked meats, an Asian Station - with stir-fry, a Pasta Station - with a selection of gourmet pastas and sauces, an authentic Mexican Station - featuring foods from south of the border and a Dessert Station - with such delectables as chocolate covered strawberries. Additional selections include breakfast favorites, a salad bar, and fresh seafood. There is even a special buffet island just for children.
​

​

Jeff’s concerns were for naught. We were seated so quickly, he wasn’t even with us yet! So the boys and I got busy.

Ciderosa’s.

Ok that’s not a real name but it was the first time at a champagne brunch anyone had offered to make the kids a version with sparkling cider and oj. You will get sick of these 2 shirts. I shouldn't have bothered packing anything else!

I thought the drink sounded odd but....they loved it!

A mimosa for me.

and Jeff

Seriously. Mimosa’s two days in a row. It may be a lifetime record. Heck going out for breakfast two days in a row, since I had kids, might be a record.
Apparently I decided it was time for Evan to give me back the camera.

Seriously I have no idea what was going on with my hair but those are some BAD pictures of me.

A few pictures of the salon. I should have taken more, not sure why I didn’t. Perhaps I hadn’t had enough coffee yet?

The dessert table!

It was LOVELY brunch. Great people watching too. Quite the interesting combo of tourist and SoCal locals. Great food, impressive array, fabulous live music and a wonderful wonderful waiter. I asked him at some point some general question about how long he’d been there or something and he just opened up! You could tell people didn’t often actually talk to him. It’s hard, at a brunch. All the servers are doing is clearing and refilling champagne, and coffee. Not a whole lot of time for interaction. He’d been there 13 years and loved it. He worked in the catering department for functions the rest of the week but said Sunday brunch was his favorite.

He kept those mimosas FULL!

Constantly!

Brunch done, full to the gills we actually requested a coffee to go. We knew we'd need it after all those mimosas!

Where to go?

Should we go here?

or here?

Or where?

Coming up. Boats, cars and GHOSTS!

but first, an August trip update, can you have too many tickets?

 

[englishrose47]

Love the Queen Mary Brunch !!
Iwill be going on a Brunch Cruise next monthe in Lake George and we are looking forward to it !!!

 

[Jupiter&Wolfe]

Wow, that place is beautiful! Great update.

It looks like you're dining in a palace!

 

[All7OfUs]

What a lovely morning so far- well, except running late. For us, that's the thing that arguments are made of. Achk!!!

OK, one question? Why so many empty tables?? Were they expecting some big groups to come in?? Hmmm....

Ahhh...mimosas! 2 DAYS. IN. A. ROW! What luxury!

I love that picture of you getting the camera back. That one's very funny.

Also, thanks for the history! I read every line!

 

[eandesmom]

Love the Queen Mary Brunch !!
Iwill be going on a Brunch Cruise next monthe in Lake George and we are looking forward to it !!!

How fun Rosie!

Wow, that place is beautiful! Great update.

It looks like you're dining in a palace!

It is gorgeous in there. My pictures do not do it justice, the point and shoot just isn't great indoors.

 

[eandesmom]

What a lovely morning so far- well, except running late. For us, that's the thing that arguments are made of. Achk!!!

OK, one question? Why so many empty tables?? Were they expecting some big groups to come in?? Hmmm....

Ahhh...mimosas! 2 DAYS. IN. A. ROW! What luxury!

I love that picture of you getting the camera back. That one's very funny.

Also, thanks for the history! I read every line!

We are always late. Not hugely (usually) but often 5-15 minutes. It was actually funny that he was stressed about it. It happens with dinner reservations all the time, although (knock on wood) not in WDW. We know where we can push it usually.

I think there were a number of empty tables for a few reasons.

1. Where we were seated was on the far edge. Close to the action was not nearly as empty.
2. The Long Beach Grand Prix was that morning. All of downtown was basically blocked off. We didn't know this. It comes into play later. I think people were either at the race or avoiding the area.

Yeah, it's an awful, and funny, picture all at the same time.

 

[All7OfUs]

We are always late. Not hugely (usually) but often 5-15 minutes. It was actually funny that he was stressed about it. It happens with dinner reservations all the time, although (knock on wood) not in WDW. We know where we can push it usually.

I think there were a number of empty tables for a few reasons.

1. Where we were seated was on the far edge. Close to the action was not nearly as empty.
2. The Long Beach Grand Prix was that morning. All of downtown was basically blocked off. We didn't know this. It comes into play later. I think people were either at the race or avoiding the area.

Yeah, it's an awful, and funny, picture all at the same time.

My man seems to push it ALL THE TIME! So, honey, why are you getting in the shower when we have to BE there in 15 minutes. I don't know, seems like a legitimate question to me.

Uh- oh .... sounds like potential trouble.

 

[eandesmom]

My man seems to push it ALL THE TIME! So, honey, why are you getting in the shower when we have to BE there in 15 minutes. I don't know, seems like a legitimate question to me.

Uh- oh .... sounds like potential trouble.

He and I would get along fine!

It's a good thing I get ready fast.

Of course that might explain the really bad hair day.