I planned to meet up with Jana at L.A. airport and then we'd go to the hotel (in the area) by curtesy shuttle together. I hadn't allowed for LAX to be a complete shambolic mess, it's spread out over about 8 terminals and no one seems to know what's going on nor do they seem in any hurry to help any tourists in need of assistance. After some time waiting (we's set a time limit to find each other) we made our separate ways to the hotel. I arrived first as Jana had been given the wrong directions and was walking around the airport completely lost ( in heels and carrying copious luggage). Eventually we each found the hotel and I had to commisserate a decidedly grumpy Jana by running a bath for her and massaging her aching feet 
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YEAH WE'RE GOING TO DISNEY
The next morning we drove to Aneheim and checked in at the Aneheim Hilton ( by the convention centre) nice hotel, good facilities except for the smallest pool I've ever seen for a hotel that size. After checkin we made our way to Disneyland California, after a slight detour due to some VERY dodgy directions we made our way to the park. DLC has a few nice rides and some decent touches, but I really felt that Walt's reaction when he saw it was " it's OK, but I can do better" and he did with WDW. The park just feels small, maybe it's the 3/4 size buildings, or that there are fewer rides, or that it really is short on space, but, to me, it doesn't quite come up to scratch ( I guess I'm spoilt). We were both a little disapointed with the park, but we were looking forward to California Adventure to see what Disney had come up with for this new park. Unfortunately we were both even more disapointed with CA, There are , granted, a couple of decent rides, but in general it has the aura of a park that was done on the cheap. The rides lack that Disney themeing, indeed when Jana and I sat down after lunch to try and put a finger on what we felt about the park it was it's almost total lack of Disney identity. With the exception of the coaster that loops Micky's head, there is almost no Disney to this park. No hidden Mickeys in fences etc ( they have streetlights with large Os on the top of them, how much cost or thinking to adding a couple of smaller oos and making them hidden micky's ?) I was left with the feeling the park had been built because the management didn't think they could sell DLC on it's own so decided to build another one on the cheap to hive it off. I'll take WDW anyday.
That evening we drove to San Diego, we were staying in the Del Mar area of that town as we were meeting up with an old friend of mine from 20 years ago. He'd given me a couple of hotels in the area and we decided to stay at http://www.lesartistesinn.com/ . It was a fun hotel and the rooms were all very interesting, certainly different to staying in a big chain. I must say the website looks better than the hotel itself LOL, but it was a nice enough place to stay and quite fun. Steve ( my chum) took Jana and I shooting (he's big into "gun fight at the OK corral" reenactments) We'd planned going to an outdoors range, but it had bucketted down with rain the night before and it would have been a quagmire, so we went to an indoors one instead. We went through a number of different hand guns, from automatic modern guns to full working copies of "cowboy" guns. Steve was VERY impressed with Jana's shooting ( so was I, but I'm not an expert LOL) on our first round of shooting she beat me by putting all 8 bullets in the target to my 7/8. In my defence she's fired a gun before and I hadn't LOL. Jana was most amused by the fact their was a young marine in the shooting bay next to us trying to impress his girlfriend, Jana wiped the floor with him as far as accurate shooting went LOL. Jana was a very perky girl for the rest of the day on the strength of that LOL .
Other than that we did some shopping, lunch at a winery and visited San Diego Zoo. San Diego Zoo was having some pretty extensive rehab work done so I guess we didn't see it at it's best, but it's still a pretty impressive facility. It's certainly not to be tackled by people with limited mobility as it's housed in a steep sided valley and there are a number of steep climbs. I did still think they could have done better for some of the animal enclosures, but over all a worthwhile day out, I wish we'd had time to visit the animal park that's run by the zoo, I think it is what I'd seen on TV and was expecting the zoo to be a lot bigger than it actually was.
We drove up to LA and stayed at the Sheraton by the airport as we had EARLY flights the following day. Me to Miami and Jana home to Pittsburg, as ever a week is never long enough together.
. YEAH WE'RE GOING TO DISNEY
The next morning we drove to Aneheim and checked in at the Aneheim Hilton ( by the convention centre) nice hotel, good facilities except for the smallest pool I've ever seen for a hotel that size. After checkin we made our way to Disneyland California, after a slight detour due to some VERY dodgy directions we made our way to the park. DLC has a few nice rides and some decent touches, but I really felt that Walt's reaction when he saw it was " it's OK, but I can do better" and he did with WDW. The park just feels small, maybe it's the 3/4 size buildings, or that there are fewer rides, or that it really is short on space, but, to me, it doesn't quite come up to scratch ( I guess I'm spoilt). We were both a little disapointed with the park, but we were looking forward to California Adventure to see what Disney had come up with for this new park. Unfortunately we were both even more disapointed with CA, There are , granted, a couple of decent rides, but in general it has the aura of a park that was done on the cheap. The rides lack that Disney themeing, indeed when Jana and I sat down after lunch to try and put a finger on what we felt about the park it was it's almost total lack of Disney identity. With the exception of the coaster that loops Micky's head, there is almost no Disney to this park. No hidden Mickeys in fences etc ( they have streetlights with large Os on the top of them, how much cost or thinking to adding a couple of smaller oos and making them hidden micky's ?) I was left with the feeling the park had been built because the management didn't think they could sell DLC on it's own so decided to build another one on the cheap to hive it off. I'll take WDW anyday.
That evening we drove to San Diego, we were staying in the Del Mar area of that town as we were meeting up with an old friend of mine from 20 years ago. He'd given me a couple of hotels in the area and we decided to stay at http://www.lesartistesinn.com/ . It was a fun hotel and the rooms were all very interesting, certainly different to staying in a big chain. I must say the website looks better than the hotel itself LOL, but it was a nice enough place to stay and quite fun. Steve ( my chum) took Jana and I shooting (he's big into "gun fight at the OK corral" reenactments) We'd planned going to an outdoors range, but it had bucketted down with rain the night before and it would have been a quagmire, so we went to an indoors one instead. We went through a number of different hand guns, from automatic modern guns to full working copies of "cowboy" guns. Steve was VERY impressed with Jana's shooting ( so was I, but I'm not an expert LOL) on our first round of shooting she beat me by putting all 8 bullets in the target to my 7/8. In my defence she's fired a gun before and I hadn't LOL. Jana was most amused by the fact their was a young marine in the shooting bay next to us trying to impress his girlfriend, Jana wiped the floor with him as far as accurate shooting went LOL. Jana was a very perky girl for the rest of the day on the strength of that LOL .
Other than that we did some shopping, lunch at a winery and visited San Diego Zoo. San Diego Zoo was having some pretty extensive rehab work done so I guess we didn't see it at it's best, but it's still a pretty impressive facility. It's certainly not to be tackled by people with limited mobility as it's housed in a steep sided valley and there are a number of steep climbs. I did still think they could have done better for some of the animal enclosures, but over all a worthwhile day out, I wish we'd had time to visit the animal park that's run by the zoo, I think it is what I'd seen on TV and was expecting the zoo to be a lot bigger than it actually was.
We drove up to LA and stayed at the Sheraton by the airport as we had EARLY flights the following day. Me to Miami and Jana home to Pittsburg, as ever a week is never long enough together.
so funny about the marine must come naturally to some people better be careful in arguement Vern
, in fact I shot better left handed than I did right handed which was a bit odd seeing as I'm right handed at everything else LOL.
