"On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair" (DL/So.California TR) LOTS of pics!

[mommaU4]

California is an expensive place to live, unfortunately that is where DH's job is. We have considered moving to Mississippi at one point but I really didn't want to.

I don't blame you for not wanting to move. CA is really a wonderful place especially up where you are.

 

[kaoden39]

I don't blame you for not wanting to move. CA is really a wonderful place especially up where you are.

Thank you I think so too.

 

[mommaU4]

After sleeping in for a bit this morning, we got ready and were on our way to Hollywood. Growing up in the SoCal area, I'd already been many times to all the stops we'd made so far on our trip, but I hadn't been to the Disney Soda Fountain so I was excited to see that.

Up first some of the sights along the way:

We had parked in the structure at the Hollywood and Highland shopping center, and walked across to where the Disney Soda Fountain and the El Capitan theater are. I've been in the theater before so we didn't go there.

We had to wait about 15 minutes for a table for 6 which was fine as we used that time to shop a little. Once we were seated, we decided to just order the ice cream since we hadn't eaten breakfast that long ago and we were still full.
I ordered the Pin Traders Sundae which came with a Stitch pin.

Then we just had to order the Mickey's Masterpiece. It's huge and I knew the kids would get a kick just out of the size of it!! It had 8 large scoops of ice cream of your choice which was then topped with caramel, chocolate, marshmellow, nuts if you want them, 8 cherries and an entire can of whip cream!!!

When our waitress brought it out she started yelling something like this: "Ladies, and gentlemen, boys and girls. Let me have your attention. You've read all about it, and you've seen it on the menu, but you've never seen it in person until now! Here it is the one and only Mickey's Masterpiece. (then she went on to describe what was in it) And this brave family over here is going to attempt to eat it all!!"

At that point all eyes turned to us and everyone started clapping! It was funny and slightly embarrassing as well. LOL

Mickey's Masterpiece: TA DA!

The kids gave it a good try, LOL, but it was too much to finish even with Ruben's help. So we had to leave some of it behind. But it was fun and I'm glad we tried it. After that we just sort of walked around and took in the sights.

Some pics of the Soda Fountain and El Capitan:

We walked around the shopping center for a bit, and let the kids play in the walk thru water fountain they have there. Then we did some driving around the area.

If anyone has seen the movie Fast and the Furious, then you might remember a scene towards the beginning of the movie where the undercover cop (can't recall his name) is talking with Mia in the sandwich shop and the three cars pull up and park and the guys get out and walk into the shop?

Well, anyway, here is the area where that was filmed. My son is a fan of that movie so he thought this was kind of cool to see:

We drove by the Disney Music House and eventually ended up at the Water Court near Angels Flight.

A shot of the Bonaventure Hotel which has also been used in several movies:

Last on our stop downtown was Olvera Street. There is a little restaurant on the corner called Cielito Lindo that makes the best taquitos. The secret is the sauce. It's so good!! Cielito Lindo
Some shots of the food and Olvera Street:

After Olvera Street we drove to Pasadena. My kids are big fans of the old Beverly Hills 90210 series. And now that they are being released on DVD, they watch that show all the time. So I thought they'd get a kick out of seeing the Walsh house. Noelle recognized it right away. LOL

From there it was time to head back to Simi Valley. We had one more full day left of our vacation. And his parents were coming home that evening.
Up next.....Griffith Park and the horses. The twins favorite!

 

[toocherie]

Oh, and I'll happily make you some carrot cake! You gotta come and get it though. Might as well, give you a break from the heat. We're only 104 here, so I'm sure we're much cooler then ya'll are.

I still say we need to plan a girls' trip to Vegas . . . . and now we have extra incentive--carrot cake!

 

[mommaU4]

I still say we need to plan a girls' trip to Vegas . . . . and now we have extra incentive--carrot cake!

Hey I'm up for some visitors! Anytime. Just say the word.

 

[mommaU4]

It's Father's Day!! And the last full day of our trip.

We woke up and the kids gave Ruben some of the items they had made for him before school ended. I had brought them along since I knew we'd still be on vacation at this time. They had also given him two shirts earlier that he wore on the trip.

The plan for this morning was to meet Ruben's parents at Griffith Park so the kids could ride the horses. Their flight had arrived the night before but it got in late from Hawaii so they spent the night at Ruben's brother's house in Pasadena where they had left their car, rather then drive all the way home to Simi Valley.

Anyway, we met them at the horse and train area of the park where the girls all rode the horses. The twins love horses so this was a real treat for them. They even had on their horse tees.
Adam was too big to ride! My baby is growing up. I remember when he used to love to do it.

After the horses they all rode the train. And then the plan had been to go to the Zoo. But it was so hot! It was going to be at least 90 and the thought of walking all over a hot, crowded zoo just didn't appeal to any of us, so we scrapped that plan. We can save that for another trip.

Instead, Adam decided to go back to the house with his Grandparents and visit with them. While Ruben, the girls and I were going to follow them home after making one quick stop in Glendale.

There is a bakery in Glendale called Porto's. It is so good. I used to go there with my mom when I was younger. They have amazing desserts and cakes but what I really like are their meat pies and potato balls.

We got a few desserts to try. These are the desserts we got. Creme brulee, raspberry cheesecake and a chocolate dipped strawberry. Below that is the mango mousse. They are really reasonably priced too! Each of these items was only $2.50. Much cheaper then Disney!!

Here are the potato balls. These are really good and cheap too! In with them is one chorizo pie that we got to try. It was ok.

I broke one of the potato balls open so you can see the inside. Sorry they are kind of messy. It's just a light coating of crumbs, with mashed potatoes, and meat. Simple, but delicious.

And of course the meat pies that I could eat several of in one sitting.

We shared the desserts among the 5 of us, and took the other items back to the house to share with his parents. We didn't do much that day. Since it was Father's Day and his parents had just gotten home, Ruben just kind of wanted to kick back and hang out with his dad.
It was kind of nice I suppose after being on the go all week long. His mom made a yummy dinner and everyone just had a nice visit. She showed us all her souvenirs and told us about the trip including how expensive everything in Hawaii is!! Guess I won't be traveling there anytime soon.

As it got later, I excused myself to go and pack things up as we had to hit the road in the morning for the long ride back home.

 

[mommaU4]

Actually that title should read: to the place where it's hotter then heck!! I was not looking forward to the drive back to Vegas. It's hot, long and boring. But oh well, gotta go home sometime I guess.

I'm not sure what time we left. We took a different route then we usually do. Driving through Mojave we passed these planes. I was bored so I took a pic. LOL

The kids did pretty well on the drive. I only had to threaten them with bodily harm a few times. Mostly they watched movies, slept, colored and played Game Boys.

The plan on the way home was to stop for lunch at a place called Peggy Sue's in Yermo which is just outside of Barstow. Ruben has always wanted to stop there but we are usually either in a hurry to get to DL or in a hurry to get home. Today I said we are stopping no matter what!!

Well, we stopped. But there was a hand written sign on the door that said they were "temporarily closed due to technical difficulties". What??? You've got to be kidding!! Darn. Oh well, just something to add to the next trip. We took some shots of the place though:

We did a lot of driving on this trip. A lot! And gas in CA is so freakin high!! It's outrageous. We figured we saved a lot of money by not having to rent a hotel most of the time and just staying at his parent's house, but now I'm thinking most of that money was eaten up with high gas prices.
Most of the gas ranged between $4.55 and $4.87 depending where in the state we were. But I snapped this shot of a gas station down by Peggy Sue's. Yikes!!!!

Some of the scenery on the way home: (anyone ever see the movie The Hills Have Eyes?? I'm just sayin... )

Since we missed eating at Peggy Sue's we stopped for lunch in Baker, the "Gateway to Death Valley". Ruben had always wanted to try a place there called the Mad Greek, so he did. He ordered the chicken gyro and said it was pretty good. http://www.roadtripamerica.com/eats/madgreek.htm

I was boring and the kids and I ate at Taco Bell.

After lunch, we were back on the road. It's kind of an uphill climb from there on. At one point you reach a 4,000 foot elevation. I noticed the van jerking and asked Ruben if he was doing that and he said no, that the van didn't want to go! Uh oh. Not good at all. I hate car trouble!!!

We pulled over at a semi-truck brake check area and let the car rest for a few minutes. Meanwhile I'm just praying we make it home. At that point we were about 60 miles from Vegas. We took off again and since it was now downhill we just took it nice and easy in the slow lane. I think I held my breath most of the way.

We made it to Primm, about a half an hour outside of Vegas, where there are some outlet shops so we exited the freeway there and decided to get out and walk around the shops while the van rested some more.

Now normally I'd be okay with doing some shopping. But not under these circumstances. I just wanted to be home. Of course, that didn't stop me from buying some things at the Bath and Body outlet and the Children's Place outlet. Hey, I might as well. We were already there and it was so cheap!

After about an hour of walking around, we decided to try and make it the rest of the way home. My stomach was in knots the whole way, but we made it. Whew!! Thank goodness. I was happy to finally be home!

Nothing left to do now but start unpacking and washing the endless loads of laundry!

And start planning for the next trip of course.

 

[mommaU4]

Well, there ya have it. That's it, the end. I want to thank anyone who actually made it through the whole thing.

I hope you somewhat enjoyed it.

Our next trip is in October. That one will just be Disneyland. It's right before our APs expire so we want to devote all our time to the parks. I'm not sure if I'll do another TR for that one or not. I'm not very good at them!!

Anyway, thanks again for reading along, and in the words the famous Porky Pig:

 

[reynmagsmom]

Great report.... started out on page 1 and just got done with last post and i have to disagree with you, you did a wonderful job on your TR and i look forward to the next one.... glad you all had such a great trip..... i think our next trip down we will make an effort to venture outside of DLR to see some more of CA that my family has never seen

 

[kaoden39]

I really enjoyed reading you trip report and I hope you write one for the next trip. Because I look forward to reading it.

 

[toocherie]

Beth: you did a great job on your trip report! and the food porn--well, to die for!

LOL--Porto's--my DBF's Mom brought a cake from there the last time we had a party--don't remember what it was, but just remember it was delish! (His sister lives in Glendale in their Dad's house and they went there a lot when they were kids). I didn't know they had "savory" dishes too . .. .

Re: Peggy Sue's--it has been a number of places over the year's, but Peggy Sue's seems to have finally stuck--what a bummer it was closed when you went there! I've never stopped there either--I stopped in the Mad Greek once . . . used the restroom and bought something, but thought they were weird in there so haven't been back. Did you go in the Alien Jerky place? That is really wild--all different flavors of beef jerky (and I think they have other jerkies too)--all based on a UFO theme . . .. how they do enough business I can't imagine but they've been there quite a while--the funniest part is the car parked outside with the two aliens in the front seat

Re: the Primm outlets . . . I've never been inside them--when I'm going to Vegas it's just too close to town to want to spend any time and on the way home we're just tired (and broke).

How did you find that hotel in Pismo? It was soooo nice--I might have to invite myself along on Callie's trip there (just kidding Callie!)

It really looked like a spectacular place!

Glad you guys made it home safe and sound but sorry your report is over!

 

[mommaU4]

Great report.... started out on page 1 and just got done with last post and i have to disagree with you, you did a wonderful job on your TR and i look forward to the next one.... glad you all had such a great trip..... i think our next trip down we will make an effort to venture outside of DLR to see some more of CA that my family has never seen

Thank-you for reading along from page 1! And for the nice compliment.
We did have a great trip and as a Disney fan and someone who's well aware of the restrictions on time and finances when traveling, I can completely understand how it's hard to tear yourself away from the parks. But if you can spare any time at all to travel around and see more of California, you won't regret it.

San Diego isn't that far from DL; about two hours, and it's really pretty down there. Busy, but nice. And if you can spare even more time, a trip up the coast, or into central or northern California would be wonderful.

Just think of all those scenes from Soarin Over California and how much better it would be to experience all that in person.
I haven't lived in CA for about 4 years now, but I guess my heart will always be there. It's a really pretty state with lots to see.

OK, enough of my babble. Thanks again for following along.

 

[mommaU4]

I really enjoyed reading you trip report and I hope you write one for the next trip. Because I look forward to reading it.

Thanks! I appreciate you taking the time to follow along.

 

[thmar]

Ditto on hoping you write another TR for your trip in October. Your TR was great reading...thanks!

 

[mommaU4]

Beth: you did a great job on your trip report! and the food porn--well, to die for!

LOL--Porto's--my DBF's Mom brought a cake from there the last time we had a party--don't remember what it was, but just remember it was delish! (His sister lives in Glendale in their Dad's house and they went there a lot when they were kids). I didn't know they had "savory" dishes too . .. .

Re: Peggy Sue's--it has been a number of places over the year's, but Peggy Sue's seems to have finally stuck--what a bummer it was closed when you went there! I've never stopped there either--I stopped in the Mad Greek once . . . used the restroom and bought something, but thought they were weird in there so haven't been back. Did you go in the Alien Jerky place? That is really wild--all different flavors of beef jerky (and I think they have other jerkies too)--all based on a UFO theme . . .. how they do enough business I can't imagine but they've been there quite a while--the funniest part is the car parked outside with the two aliens in the front seat

Re: the Primm outlets . . . I've never been inside them--when I'm going to Vegas it's just too close to town to want to spend any time and on the way home we're just tired (and broke).

How did you find that hotel in Pismo? It was soooo nice--I might have to invite myself along on Callie's trip there (just kidding Callie!)

It really looked like a spectacular place!

Glad you guys made it home safe and sound but sorry your report is over!

Hey Cheryl!

Portos:
Yes, Porto's is really known for their cakes. And back when I used to go with my mom they were just a tiny, little bakery, not fancy at all. Now, they have remodeled and everything looks great. Very modern and classy inside. They have several different counters and a place to sit and eat.

The meat pies are really my favorite thing to get there. But what I loved about them, is that they have kept their prices down. All those yummy desserts I showed were only $2.50 each. That's nothing compared to places like Disney or the Cheesecake Factory. I think that says a lot about that place and their commitment to their customers.


Peggy Sue's and Alien Jerky:
Yeah, I was pretty bummed about Peggy Sue's being closed. Mainly because Ruben has been waiting so long to go there. But maybe next time since we have to pass right by it anyway.

As for the Alien Jerky place, yes, I've seen it! Never been in as I'm not a fan of jerky, but I took some pics of it:

Maybe sometime if we aren't too rushed we can go inside just to say we've been in there.

There is also the Calico Ghost Town in Yermo, where Peggy Sue's is. We went there not long ago and it was cute. So I guess there are some fun/unique places to stop at along the way if you have the time.


Primm Outlets:
I'd never bothered to stop in there either. I'm always with the kids and Ruben and shopping is just about the last thing they want to do. LOL It wasn't bad though. They have a little food court, and it's nice and cool inside. The deals I found were really good too. If someone was a fan of shopping I'd recommend a quick stop there.
They also have tour busses that leave from Vegas and offer day trips to the outlets. For those serious shoppers. LOL


Pismo Hotel:
I loved it there. Really I did. Granted we were only there one night, but the staff was friendly and helpful, the rooms were clean with nice little touches here and there. The kids had so much fun playing on the sports deck, and I did too! I can't remember the last time I played ping pong or badminton!
And I liked the way you could see the ocean from the pool area. I can't wait to go back. Not sure when we'll be able to, but I know I will make it back there at some point.



Thanks for reading along! I appreciate it.
Oh, and as for the food porn, well, I still think I'd feel awkward taking pics of food in a nice restaurant, but just taking pics of snacks and desserts and such was fun! LOL So if I do another TR for October, you can be sure there will be more food porn.

 

[mommaU4]

Ditto on hoping you write another TR for your trip in October. Your TR was great reading...thanks!

Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it.

 

[staley7580]

LOVED IT!!!!

 

[tinkermell]

Beth,

Loved it all, and the pics finally showed up for me!! They turned out beautiful!!

 

[mommaU4]

LOVED IT!!!!

Thank-you!!

Beth,

Loved it all, and the pics finally showed up for me!! They turned out beautiful!!

Did they?? Oh good! I was wondering about that. How weird. Anyway, I'm glad they finally showed up and thank you so much for reading along.

 

[21yankees]

Well, there ya have it. That's it, the end. I want to thank anyone who actually made it through the whole thing.

I hope you somewhat enjoyed it.

Our next trip is in October. That one will just be Disneyland. It's right before our APs expire so we want to devote all our time to the parks. I'm not sure if I'll do another TR for that one or not. I'm not very good at them!!

Anyway, thanks again for reading along, and in the words the famous Porky Pig:

Beth I love your trip report. Awesome job . I loved all of the pictures of the food. Now we have a few places we need to check out. My dh wants to eat at the Mad Greek they had that place on the Food Network's show Diners, Drive-ins & Dives. We're flying out of Vegas next month and the plan is to stop there for dh to get a gyro.

I agree you should do a trip report for October.

steph