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

[eandesmom]

well from the pictures you took and my memory it looks about the same.

I knew I remember ghosts on the Queen Mary. So, you didn't see any?

Boy, I'd have been pretty ticked that we'd taken the water taxi and couldn't actually GO to our destination. But, I guess a boat ride is a boat ride, after all.

Well we could go to where they normally dock, just not do much once we got there!

Nope, no ghosts but it was eerie.

OK... Eight pages later, I'm all caught up!

The Queen Mary looks like it was an amazing experience! Thanks for sharing all of the info about the ship & the time period. Very interesting...

I can't believe how much drama there is with your room/ticket/dining plan situation! But it sounds like you are starting to work out some of the details & everything is coming together.

Can't wait to hear more about your plans for the summer trip & your CA TR!

It's been a bit complicated but I guess that's what happens when you keep trying to work the system and are juggling multiple groups. Jeff's upset about the Doug situation so we will see how that plays out, I'm staying out of that part. For now it's easier (from a payment standpoint!) to leave him off. We'd get charged to take him off after the 45 day mark, but not to add him back on.

 

[eandesmom]

When I left off, we were here, headed to the aquaduck to ride across the harbor.

More accurately, we were here

Why were they making those faces? Well it was because the aquaduck only took cash and we didn’t have any. We wanted to catch the next boat so

Jeff went sprinting to find an ATM back at the ticket booth and then came sprinting back.

Ok, maybe he’s not sprinting.

Once on, as he was reading to head the boat out, we got the news about the race. We decided to keep going, not really realizing he meant

EVERYTHING was blocked off.

It was a lovely little ride and pretty views of the QM.

This is where we were trying to go

It was party central over there, full of race fans, like these

The people up here had a great view, we think.

But since we couldn’t, we decided to go for a walk. All the way back to the QM!

First stop, this lighthouse

It was further away than it looked

At the top, we could almost see the darn race!

and where we couldn’t go

We found some huge things that we still couldn’t move

And some pretty flowers

Continued in next post

 

[eandesmom]

To get back to the boat, we had to walk across the freeway bridge that goes over the harbor. I’m sure there is an official name for it all but not a clue what it is.

We saw this guy

One around it was a nice stroll along the harbor on the other side walking back to the boat, checking out some of the resorts that were there.

And of course, more hats

And sunglasses

Believe it or not, there were still things on the boat we hadn’t seen!

Refreshed after our walk (probably a good hour) after walking off a smidge of all that food (and mimosas) we headed back in, to a different part of the boat.

We got to see the actual propellers that were underwater, protected by a box essentially built around them so you could see, it was kind of cool. They were massive!

Afterward we strolled up top to watch the Carnival cruise ship next door take off. It was fun to watch it pull out of the harbor. It had been loading up all day and while I didn't really take any pictures, we had strolled around watching people check in and then prep the boat for disembarking. It was fun, although very windy!

Having “done” the boat about as much as anyone could outside of actually staying in the hotel (which I apologize, I didn’t really get good pictures of that part) it was time to head out.

I confess. I fell asleep for about 5 minutes in the car. Fresh air, lots of wind, mimosas and some walking and I needed a 5 minute catnap!

Back at the hotel the plan was to change and head out to dinner. We had some special dinner plans.

But…we had a problem.

The in-room safe wouldn’t let me back in! I can’t recall now what it was
that was locked in there but it was something we needed.

I called the front desk.

They were going to send an engineer up

I texted our dinner plans to let them know what was going on.

We waited.

And waited.

And waited.

I called the front desk

They said they’d find out what was going on and call us.

We waited.

And waited.

It had probably been 40 minutes by this point.

I called again. They said the engineer was finishing up a plumbing issue in another room and would be there shortly.

We waited.

And waited.

I texted our dinner plans again.

20 minutes after the last call the guys showed up.

It took him a good 10 minutes to get into the safe.

All the while acting like I’d just forgotten the code I’d used and it was all my fault. Once in I got the condescending “do you need me to show you how to use it?” speech.

To say I was irritated was an understatement. And it was late, even for us late. We eat late. Still, at this point, we were leaving the hotel around 8:30!
Thankfully we were going close by. Nothing fancy, just a good Mexican joint down the street. A little bird had told me about this place.

A little bird named…
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

See, that’s what happens when Evan gets ahold of the camera! Celebrity spotting upside down style!

It was pretty funny. We had ordered and had just gotten our food, sitting there eating. Jordan snuck up behind me so everyone else saw him coming but me! It was fun. We chatted for probably 30-40 minutes and Jordan ordered some food to go. Sadly, due to our very late arrival the kids were fading fast. We had a nice chat and it was fun for Jeff to meet Jordan (me too, “live”!). We chatted a bit about what we'd done so far and our plans for the next 3 days. Jordan mentioned going to Paradise Pier and poor guy I probably have him the evil eye times three as the kids didn't know we were moving hotels. I tried to smooth it over somehow, I don't even remember what I said hoping the kids hadn't caught it. Evan had but didn't really know what it meant. I think I told him that we were considering eating there but who knows what I said! I should have reminded him it was a surprise (thankfully I'd done that with Winkers at our meet or it would have been all lover!) so my bad. And thankfully after some car questions on the way back the kids seemed to drop it and forget about it.

We made plans to hook up later in our trip as it sounded like there would be several opportunities to do so and it wasn’t nearly enough time together.Plus the kids were a little distracting/squirrely making it hard to have focused chatting. So we said good night but not goodbye.

( I didn’t realize he was doing the tongue thing so really wasn’t being lame on purpose!)

Jordan took a nice family photo

Jordan may have better pictures, I haven't seen his yet!

Eric looks skeptical for some reason but he really took to Jordan and kept asking throughout the trip when we’d see him next, it was cute!

And by the way (though I think I said so at the time) thanks Jordan for the dining recommendation! It was good grub, at the right price and location and just perfect after the heavy more formal brunch!

Up next....Hanging with Snoopy, fried chicken drama, surprises and pixie dust!

 

[Sleepingbooty]

Aww, great update Cynthia! So glad you got to meet up with Jordan - how fun. Good job letting the cat out of the bag, Jordo! Just kidding. I'm the one among my family and friends that is always doing that. Usually I can play it off with some quick thinking, but I always blush, so that gives me away. So, up next - Snoopy? Huh. Where would you find Snoopy in Southern California? I guess I'll have to stay tuned to find out!

 

[KathyRN137]

Yay! A brush with greatness... DIS greatness!

So sorry about the annoying engineering/safe problem... really, how irritating!

Ed would've loved that haunted tour of the Queen Mary. No wonder the kids were tired... that was a full day!


Kathy

 

[glennbo123]

Woohoo for meeting up with Jordan! As I was reading about the safe incident, it never occurred to me that dinner was a meet with Jordan, so good job on keeping th secret in the TR until just the right moment. But then, you've gotten a lot of practice at that.

 

[DisMomAmy]

Yay for a DIS-meet with Jordan!!

How Fun!!

 

[Charleston Princess]

I can't believe you walked all the way back to the boat!

Yeay for meeting Jordan!!! How fun!!! The pictures of the two of you are just great!

 

[Native NYer]

Beautiful photos!
And yay for a DIS meet with Jordan.

 

[Happydog]

Okay that was an adventure on foot for sure!!!! Hey, at least the weather was lovely, or looked lovely!!! I hate those in-room safes for that reason! It happened to us too, at CBR, but it didn't take that long!!! bummer, but YAY for your DIS meet!! So fun.

 

[All7OfUs]

We walked around that very same lighthouse on our last trip to Long Beach; that was after we discovered that the Queen was out of our price range on that particular trip. Nice walk!!!

FUN DISMeet! Too bad it was so short, but I think you'll be meeing up again later in the trip.

Fried chicken drama?? OH no! Don't be messin' with da Mrs. Knotts!!

 

[eandesmom]

Aww, great update Cynthia! So glad you got to meet up with Jordan - how fun. Good job letting the cat out of the bag, Jordo! Just kidding. I'm the one among my family and friends that is always doing that. Usually I can play it off with some quick thinking, but I always blush, so that gives me away. So, up next - Snoopy? Huh. Where would you find Snoopy in Southern California? I guess I'll have to stay tuned to find out!

It's usually Jeff that blows it on our end but he's learning to keep secrets and surprises! We will see if we really make it to FL without the kids knowing about the water parks and more.

Thankfully Evan had noticed the rooftop pool at PP when we were at DTD the previous night so I tired to play on that as part of the discussion but I don't think he bought it.

Yep, Snoopy.

Yay! A brush with greatness... DIS greatness!

So sorry about the annoying engineering/safe problem... really, how irritating!

Ed would've loved that haunted tour of the Queen Mary. No wonder the kids were tired... that was a full day!


Kathy

It was a full day! Surprisingly full. We both thought we'd do brunch, tour a bit and then have a pretty empty afternoon for pool time or whatever and we were literally there the entire day!

It was great to meet Jordan!

Woohoo for meeting up with Jordan! As I was reading about the safe incident, it never occurred to me that dinner was a meet with Jordan, so good job on keeping th secret in the TR until just the right moment. But then, you've gotten a lot of practice at that.

It's only taken me over a month to get here, the end of day 2 and the DISmeet with Jordan. Good thing you are all patient!

Yay for a DIS-meet with Jordan!!

How Fun!!

It was fun!

 

[eandesmom]

I can't believe you walked all the way back to the boat!

Yeay for meeting Jordan!!! How fun!!! The pictures of the two of you are just great!

It was lovely to walk actually after all that food. Too cold for the beach or pool but nice out for a walk so why not!

Not my best pics, hopefully his are better!

Beautiful photos!
And yay for a DIS meet with Jordan.

Okay that was an adventure on foot for sure!!!! Hey, at least the weather was lovely, or looked lovely!!! I hate those in-room safes for that reason! It happened to us too, at CBR, but it didn't take that long!!! bummer, but YAY for your DIS meet!! So fun.

It was lovely out. Very breezy so not all that warm but it was still lovely. I'm guessing it hit low 70's but with the breeze probably felt about 68. By the end of the day when we were on deck watching the carnival boat disembark I was regretting the skort even with my light cardigan on but during the walk, it was absolutely perfect!

Needless to say I didn't use the safe again at that hotel. I almost always use them and have never (surprisingly really) had an issue before but that wait was ridiculous. We did get a free breakfast out of it though!

We walked around that very same lighthouse on our last trip to Long Beach; that was after we discovered that the Queen was out of our price range on that particular trip. Nice walk!!!

FUN DISMeet! Too bad it was so short, but I think you'll be meeing up again later in the trip.

Fried chicken drama?? OH no! Don't be messin' with da Mrs. Knotts!!

It was a nice walk, kind of a bonus prize as we hadn't planned it at all, really didn't think we'd be there all day like that but it just flowed nicely so why not!

 

[MEK]

Wait - did you say you had a tournament this weekend AND you posted all those great updates?

OK - What's up with the leninaide! I surely didn't expect to see that picture!

The QM is absolutely fabulous and you took such great pictures and posted such great information about its history.

Sorry that you couldn't get over to Long Beach. It looks really cool over there with some neat buildings.

The boys look like they are having blast. What a great way to spend the day!

Dinner with Jorday - very cool! Sorry you had to wait over an hour to have your safe opened up. Very frustrating.

Can't wait to read more. Great TR! So glad you posted it here!

 

[eandesmom]

Wait - did you say you had a tournament this weekend AND you posted all those great updates?

OK - What's up with the leninaide! I surely didn't expect to see that picture!

The QM is absolutely fabulous and you took such great pictures and posted such great information about its history.

Sorry that you couldn't get over to Long Beach. It looks really cool over there with some neat buildings.

The boys look like they are having blast. What a great way to spend the day!

Dinner with Jorday - very cool! Sorry you had to wait over an hour to have your safe opened up. Very frustrating.

Can't wait to read more. Great TR! So glad you posted it here!

We did have a tournament! Actually two, one for volleyball (last of the season) and one for soccer (first of the season and with the new club and team). Happy to report that her new soccer team won the tournament and she played better than we've seen in a really long time (like 4 years according to Jeff lol....which is an exaggeration but not much). 6 assists! She is getting a ton of playing time and it's clear she hadn't been, she's got to get her endurance up! The parents seem cool and a lot less intense/psycho than the old team. Funny, in the finals they played against the B team from her old club and her old coach showed up in the 2nd half to watch. She poured it on. Such a difference when she feels like someone truly believes in her. A number of her old teammates came to some of the games to watch even though they weren't in this tournament, which was pretty cool too. I am so proud of her for making the choice to do what was right for her even though it meant leaving some best friends.

We actually had a lot going on this weekend, Evan's birthday party with his friends, the tournaments, church play, birthday party for Eric to attend and a school project and a date night for Jeff and I! I also did some serious shopping trying to take advantage of sales and an "off" day from work as I didn't see another day to do it anytime soon! So I was able to get the boys wedding outfits taken care of, shorts and tops for me for the trip and my sisters wedding present! Not to mention sneak trips out to get Evan's actual birthday gift from us.

Whew!

The Leninade is funny, it was part of the gift shop on the Russian sub! It was a fun meet even if it was late and everyone was a bit wiped out. In a way it's kind of cool we couldn't get to the shops, we really enjoyed the walk.

 

[Sunset Cliffs]

Just got caught up on your last 2 updates. Your TR has really made me want to visit the Queen Mary now. Although, my son is too young to do any of the tours (especially scary ones) but definitely some day in the future.

So cool that you met Jordan! I bet you were so frustrated with the safe problem knowing that you were getting ready to go to dinner with him.

Looking forward to more!

 

[eandesmom]

Just got caught up on your last 2 updates. Your TR has really made me want to visit the Queen Mary now. Although, my son is too young to do any of the tours (especially scary ones) but definitely some day in the future.

So cool that you met Jordan! I bet you were so frustrated with the safe problem knowing that you were getting ready to go to dinner with him.

Looking forward to more!

He's not too young for brunch!

Very frustrated and felt terrible, we were making him eat late too! You got to meet him just before I did, he had a busy DIS meet week!

 

[Sleepingbooty]

It's usually Jeff that blows it on our end but he's learning to keep secrets and surprises! We will see if we really make it to FL without the kids knowing about the water parks and more.

Oh, I forgot you were planning any surprises for this trip, too! I've got one in the works myself, but I haven't mentioned it (I don't think) on my ptr. I'm saving it. You know, so I don't run out of things to talk about before September.

 

[eandesmom]

Oh, I forgot you were planning any surprises for this trip, too! I've got one in the works myself, but I haven't mentioned it (I don't think) on my ptr. I'm saving it. You know, so I don't run out of things to talk about before September.

yep! 4 surprises so far.

Kids....water park and more!
Kendall...GF Tea
Jeff and Kids....illuminations cruise and cape may character bfast

Now I want to know what you are planning!

 

[GreatBiscuit]

Great update! I'm glad you got to spend some time with Jordan! Looks like you had a nice (albeit short) visit.