We're Home From the Road!! 17 Days of Travel with Tons of Pics~COMPLETE!!

[DizNee Luver]

Last Saturday I was installed as Chaplain for the Elks Lodge in our town. Last year, Mike was a chair officer but it takes a lot of time he just wasn't able to give to them due to working full time and our kiddos. So he stepped down and I was asked to do the chaplain. I pretty much show up for the weekly meeting and that's all my obligations.....so I should be ok to volunteer to do this. This is from the installation.









Tomorrow evening will be my first official meeting as chaplain.

 

[DizNee Luver]

So it's Spring Break here this week. Monday was beautiful, so we took the kids to the Oregon Zoo in Portland. It was low 70's and finding the animals was a tad difficult. It also was ridiculously busy. It took us 40 minutes to find parking (and we have a handicap permit to use if needed). We did finally get parked and headed in. These are a couple of the pics from that day.





One of the twin lion cubs.



The other cub with mom & dad.



These elephants were out behind the construction going on to make them a new elephant area......just makes it hard for pics and I can only imagine how stressed out these poor animals are!



We found out after leaving the zoo that this tigers 15 yr old sister suffered a seizure and passed away an hour before we got there. So we're not sure if they had sedated this one (brother) or he was just depressed. So sad!



......and a couple more pics.











We didn't stay super long.....like I mentioned, hard to find the animals & it was just very busy. But it was a good introduction to the twins for this summer's road trip & the San Diego Zoo!

 

[PHXscuba]

Great animal pictures and happy anniversary! I'm glad you were able to do something just the two of you (and the Mickey-hand shirts are precious).

Our weather here this week is gorgeous too. Our spring break was a couple weeks ago and I think everyone has spring fever now. I hope it doesn't warm up too fast because it makes for a very long summer. But I know most parts of the country are ready for it to de-ice!

PHXscuba

 

[DizNee Luver]

Great animal pictures and happy anniversary! I'm glad you were able to do something just the two of you (and the Mickey-hand shirts are precious).

Our weather here this week is gorgeous too. Our spring break was a couple weeks ago and I think everyone has spring fever now. I hope it doesn't warm up too fast because it makes for a very long summer. But I know most parts of the country are ready for it to de-ice!

PHXscuba

We had one day of sunshine.....now the forecast is for two weeks straight of rain.....oh joys!

We did enjoy our couple days off and at least we got to do one thing with the kids on their spring break......lol

 

[WDWJonasGirl]

How cool is that!! My spring break is not next week but the following week

 

[DizNee Luver]

100 Days Until We Hit The Road!!!​

 

[WDWJonasGirl]

100 Days Until We Hit The Road!!!​

YAY!!! I'm so happy for you guys!!

 

[DizNee Luver]

YAY!!! I'm so happy for you guys!!

 

[WDWJonasGirl]

I reccomend getting Angels stuff before you go. They also have Angels vinylmations in the parks. My dad LOVES the Angels and was so happy when they won the World series in 2002. I was only 7 and in first grade.

 

[WDWJonasGirl]

Found out prom stuff yesterday!! The theme for my senior prom is....

No, the theme has nothing to do with Cars but the location does:

The location is the Peterson Automotive Museum in LA

 

[DizNee Luver]

How fun!! So is prom being held there??

 

[Sherry E]

Kaitlin --

You'll be in my area! The Petersen Auto Museum is literally within shouting distance from where I live! (And Farmers Market/The Grove are within minutes from there as well.)

In fact, a lot of large events such as company Christmas parties and other things are held in that museum after hours. The Auto Museum is where rapper Biggie Smalls was (with P. Diddy/Puff Daddy/Sean Combs) shortly before being shot.

Recently there have been a lot more celebrity events held across the street from Petersen -- at LACMA -- too. Somehow, despite all of this fun taking place in my neighborhood, I still have not yet encountered Bradley Cooper, sadly. Oh well. One day he'll end up at The Grove, for some reason or another.

Petersen is one of the locations of several Johnny Rockets in the general area, which I was mentioning to Laurie earlier in this pre-TR.

 

[DizNee Luver]

Hi Sherry!!!

 

[kelmac284]

Great pics laurie and as usual I didn't get any notification in my email that you had added to this thread so I am glad I stopped by to check. Your anniversary pics looked awesome and how nice you got the champagne and such. Beautiful views and I love Newport!! That french toast looks to die for but I fear my entire allotment of calories for the day would be in that and then some LOL. But it might be worth it just once. YUM.

Loved the zoo pics as well and I love that zoo. We have not been back since we met you guys there. Glad you had fun!

Exciting that you are now in double digits. Our trip last week was whirlwind and SUPER crowded. Mom and I went to DTD the first day after we dropped off the girls and we did some shopping and had dinner at Catal which is one of my faves. Super yummy! Then on Friday while the girls were in their conference we drove up to LA and did the Science center. That is a SUPER cool museum if you ever get a chance on one of your trips. The space shuttle was awesome but they have a kelp aquarium like Monterey and lots of cool hands on stuff for the kids. We didn't see everything as we had other stuff to do but it is fun and FREE!!! And since mom has her bad knee we took the elevator and Jennifer Garner and two of her kids were in the elevator with us. Just us and them. I tried to take a pic on the sly but I didn't want her thinking I was taking pics of her so I only got one of the back of her. Cool to see her though.

Then we went to the grammy museum which was ineteresting but that one cost and I wasn't as impressed. It is right by the STaples Center though and it was neat to be downtown. We also saw the setup for the kids choice awards which was cool. Then we went to the farmer's market and had some pie at Dupars. It is really tiny but the pie was good. Not sure about the other food as we had already had lunch. And the grove was a lot smaller than I thought it would be. They have a free trolley that we rode but not much to see and do so we headed to Universal and had dinner at Citywalk. It was a really fun day and we have seen lots of other stuff we want to do if we go back like the Griffith observatory, Forestlawn, the getty and a tour of the deco bldgs downtown like teh Biltmore and the pantages theater.

Anyway then the kids had their conference sat morning and we thought we had to wait but katy's FAVORITE author who rights the kingdom keeper books which are all about the Disney parks was there so mom and I raced over there so I could buy her the latest book and get it signed. His time was up but he was so nice to wait so she could meet him. The park was NUTS though and we didn't get to do much. So we opted to go back on Sunday instead of CA. First time I have ever gone and NOT gone to CA. But we had 1 day 1 park tickets so it was hard. SUPER SUPER busy but we got to see Anna and Elsa as well as Capt America and THor which took time and we had 2 sets of Space fastpasses that we never got to use and never made it on the ride the entire trip. It was still fun though despite the crowds and thunder is AWESOME!

Anywho anxious to follow your report and see the next installment.

 

[DizNee Luver]

Great pics laurie and as usual I didn't get any notification in my email that you had added to this thread so I am glad I stopped by to check. Your anniversary pics looked awesome and how nice you got the champagne and such. Beautiful views and I love Newport!! That french toast looks to die for but I fear my entire allotment of calories for the day would be in that and then some LOL. But it might be worth it just once. YUM.

Loved the zoo pics as well and I love that zoo. We have not been back since we met you guys there. Glad you had fun!

Exciting that you are now in double digits. Our trip last week was whirlwind and SUPER crowded. Mom and I went to DTD the first day after we dropped off the girls and we did some shopping and had dinner at Catal which is one of my faves. Super yummy! Then on Friday while the girls were in their conference we drove up to LA and did the Science center. That is a SUPER cool museum if you ever get a chance on one of your trips. The space shuttle was awesome but they have a kelp aquarium like Monterey and lots of cool hands on stuff for the kids. We didn't see everything as we had other stuff to do but it is fun and FREE!!! And since mom has her bad knee we took the elevator and Jennifer Garner and two of her kids were in the elevator with us. Just us and them. I tried to take a pic on the sly but I didn't want her thinking I was taking pics of her so I only got one of the back of her. Cool to see her though.

Then we went to the grammy museum which was ineteresting but that one cost and I wasn't as impressed. It is right by the STaples Center though and it was neat to be downtown. We also saw the setup for the kids choice awards which was cool. Then we went to the farmer's market and had some pie at Dupars. It is really tiny but the pie was good. Not sure about the other food as we had already had lunch. And the grove was a lot smaller than I thought it would be. They have a free trolley that we rode but not much to see and do so we headed to Universal and had dinner at Citywalk. It was a really fun day and we have seen lots of other stuff we want to do if we go back like the Griffith observatory, Forestlawn, the getty and a tour of the deco bldgs downtown like teh Biltmore and the pantages theater.

Anyway then the kids had their conference sat morning and we thought we had to wait but katy's FAVORITE author who rights the kingdom keeper books which are all about the Disney parks was there so mom and I raced over there so I could buy her the latest book and get it signed. His time was up but he was so nice to wait so she could meet him. The park was NUTS though and we didn't get to do much. So we opted to go back on Sunday instead of CA. First time I have ever gone and NOT gone to CA. But we had 1 day 1 park tickets so it was hard. SUPER SUPER busy but we got to see Anna and Elsa as well as Capt America and THor which took time and we had 2 sets of Space fastpasses that we never got to use and never made it on the ride the entire trip. It was still fun though despite the crowds and thunder is AWESOME!

Anywho anxious to follow your report and see the next installment.

That french toast in Newport is definitely a two person serving (even though Mike seemed to be able to get through his). SO Good!!

The zoo has gone downhill in my opinion....but part of that could be because of the construction going on. They've been losing animals of late & of course public opinion wonders about the people running the place. Mike & I were discussing that they have a lot of "senior" animals and when they are successful in breeding them....they tend to sell the young ones and keep the aging ones. Well of course they are dying off........ I was pretty disappointed in this trip up there.

There are lots of places in LA/Hollywood we'd like to explore more.....We will just need to make a "To Do" list and check off things when we get to do them. I kinda wish we would have opted out of doing Universal Studios....but we've never gone and it's part of the City Pass deal....so we're going. If we didn't commit to it, we could have done a few more things like the Space Museum!

Did you get on Big Thunder Mt RR?? It's our favorite ride and I'm excited to see the additions this summer!! (all the videos are pretty cool....especially at night!)

 

[kelmac284]

Yeah although I LOVE Disney I am getting to where I like to do other stuff when we go. We are thinking our next trip will be a short 4 day weekend in November of 15 since we have summer trips the next three years in a row so that will probably be all at the parks but whenever we go back in the summer and have longer there is a ton of stuff I would like to see and do. We want to go back to the space center with the girls as well as the others and I will def do the city pass next summer trip we go cuz that is a killer deal!

Universal is neat. The shops at City Walk are fun and if you have not been it is neat but the one in Florida is WAY better. This one I think has a better back lot tour as it is original and was an actual studio and they still film movies there whereas the one in Florida was built as a theme park. But there are just not that many rides. And the ones they DO have are for bigger kids I think. Like the jurassic park ride. Not sure about the height requirements but I know it can be scary esp for the twins and maybe Addy not sure how "tough" she is LOL. I can't do the simpsons cuz I get motion sick. The mummy is cool but again height requirement. The back lot tour is neat although not as in depth as it used to be and honestly I probably won't go back to the hollywood one till they have harry potter. THAT is really cool although doubt it will be as good as the florida version. I think you will still have fun though.

Thunder is awesome. We did that one I think 3 times. I liked the additions and best part is it is MUCH smoother ride. It really used to knock you around so I like it better. I think you will like it but the lines were horrendous. I have never seen ques that went all the way back to the Zocal and they wound around 5 or 6 times. And even pirates went all the way back to Haunted Mansion and wound around several times. We only got to ride it once at night. I don't like weekends and def not during busy times. I def would NOT have gone then if it had not been for this field trip.

 

[WDWJonasGirl]

Kaitlin --

You'll be in my area! The Petersen Auto Museum is literally within shouting distance from where I live! (And Farmers Market/The Grove are within minutes from there as well.)

In fact, a lot of large events such as company Christmas parties and other things are held in that museum after hours. The Auto Museum is where rapper Biggie Smalls was (with P. Diddy/Puff Daddy/Sean Combs) shortly before being shot.

Recently there have been a lot more celebrity events held across the street from Petersen -- at LACMA -- too. Somehow, despite all of this fun taking place in my neighborhood, I still have not yet encountered Bradley Cooper, sadly. Oh well. One day he'll end up at The Grove, for some reason or another.

Petersen is one of the locations of several Johnny Rockets in the general area, which I was mentioning to Laurie earlier in this pre-TR.

Wow!! This will be my first time

How fun!! So is prom being held there??

Yes it is!!


You guys will love Universal!! I'm not sure what rides the twins will like but I know you will all love Despicable Me

 

[DizNee Luver]

Yeah although I LOVE Disney I am getting to where I like to do other stuff when we go. We are thinking our next trip will be a short 4 day weekend in November of 15 since we have summer trips the next three years in a row so that will probably be all at the parks but whenever we go back in the summer and have longer there is a ton of stuff I would like to see and do. We want to go back to the space center with the girls as well as the others and I will def do the city pass next summer trip we go cuz that is a killer deal!

Universal is neat. The shops at City Walk are fun and if you have not been it is neat but the one in Florida is WAY better. This one I think has a better back lot tour as it is original and was an actual studio and they still film movies there whereas the one in Florida was built as a theme park. But there are just not that many rides. And the ones they DO have are for bigger kids I think. Like the jurassic park ride. Not sure about the height requirements but I know it can be scary esp for the twins and maybe Addy not sure how "tough" she is LOL. I can't do the simpsons cuz I get motion sick. The mummy is cool but again height requirement. The back lot tour is neat although not as in depth as it used to be and honestly I probably won't go back to the hollywood one till they have harry potter. THAT is really cool although doubt it will be as good as the florida version. I think you will still have fun though.

Thunder is awesome. We did that one I think 3 times. I liked the additions and best part is it is MUCH smoother ride. It really used to knock you around so I like it better. I think you will like it but the lines were horrendous. I have never seen ques that went all the way back to the Zocal and they wound around 5 or 6 times. And even pirates went all the way back to Haunted Mansion and wound around several times. We only got to ride it once at night. I don't like weekends and def not during busy times. I def would NOT have gone then if it had not been for this field trip.

We decided that this trip would be about other things but we still needed our Disney fix....so we are doing 3 days. They are getting so expensive, that 3 days is killer on the pocket book. Makes me sad to think, they are getting very close to being out of our price range for trips.

We've done spring break time at Disneyland 3 times.....no thank you!!! The color in the park from all the different spring flowers is gorgeous....but I'll have to enjoy them from other people's pics!

As for Universal.....I don't see the twins doing at Universal other than looking around. Maybe the backlot tour, Simpsons & Despicable Me....but we will play that by ear. I've shown Addy & Anthony some of the youtube videos of the other rides and they seem gung ho to ride them with Tyler. I'm more into just checking it out & City Walk.

Yes it is!!


You guys will love Universal!! I'm not sure what rides the twins will like but I know you will all love Despicable Me

How awesome Kaitlin!!! Your prom is going to be EPIC!!

 

[Sherry E]

Hi, Laurie! (I'm responding to your hello and wave from yesterday!)

I've said before and will say again that I think your upcoming plan is a very smart one in how it is being handled. You're working DLR into the trip so it's not totally off the schedule, but also integrating a lot of other stuff into the mix so the trip is not all about Disney this time.

Yes, you will have your Disney fix but doing things this way (the way you have planned) also helps to kind of give the twins (and the rest of the family) a bit of what they have grown accustomed to on so many of your family outings, along with adding in brand new experiences for everyone as well.

This way -- just in case you have to stay away from DLR for a long while (and we can assume that the prices will go up again by either late next month or early June, as always) -- you will have exposed everyone to a lot of other fun things to do instead of DLR, or in addition to DLR but with the DLR segments of the trips being much shorter, so the transition from DLR trips to non-DLR trips might be easier. Or maybe it just seems that way to me!

Back in the day, CityWalk was where my friends and I would hang out on weekends. Towards the end of the whole Sunset Strip era, the big multiplex theaters at Universal opened up and we would go to see movies there and then maybe head to the Strip later. Eventually we transitioned away from the Strip and kept going to the Universal Cineplex (or whatever the heck it was called back then) for movies every weekend, where it was kind of upscale and fun. Then, as CityWalk began to develop as a destination in its own right over the years we would go there for dinner and shopping. However, it kept changing and the types of crowds were a bit shady for a while, so we kind of fell out of love with CityWalk a bit. But that was a long time ago -- I hear it has improved since then.

For a while -- way before The Grove arrived on the scene or the Hollywood/Highland Complex opened -- CityWalk was the place to be if you wanted an upbeat, lively, outdoor sort of shopping/dining/entertainment experience.

As for Universal Studios, I haven't been there in probably 23 or 24 years or so! At that time, the food was horrible. I hear that the in-park food has improved quite a bit, and it certainly seems as though the park itself has improved 100% since my last visit!

 

[DizNee Luver]

Hi, Laurie! (I'm responding to your hello and wave from yesterday!)

I've said before and will say again that I think your upcoming plan is a very smart one in how it is being handled. You're working DLR into the trip so it's not totally off the schedule, but also integrating a lot of other stuff into the mix so the trip is not all about Disney this time.

Yes, you will have your Disney fix but doing things this way (the way you have planned) also helps to kind of give the twins (and the rest of the family) a bit of what they have grown accustomed to on so many of your family outings, along with adding in brand new experiences for everyone as well.

This way -- just in case you have to stay away from DLR for a long while (and we can assume that the prices will go up again by either late next month or early June, as always) -- you will have exposed everyone to a lot of other fun things to do instead of DLR, or in addition to DLR but with the DLR segments of the trips being much shorter, so the transition from DLR trips to non-DLR trips might be easier. Or maybe it just seems that way to me!

Back in the day, CityWalk was where my friends and I would hang out on weekends. Towards the end of the whole Sunset Strip era, the big multiplex theaters at Universal opened up and we would go to see movies there and then maybe head to the Strip later. Eventually we transitioned away from the Strip and kept going to the Universal Cineplex (or whatever the heck it was called back then) for movies every weekend, where it was kind of upscale and fun. Then, as CityWalk began to develop as a destination in its own right over the years we would go there for dinner and shopping. However, it kept changing and the types of crowds were a bit shady for a while, so we kind of fell out of love with CityWalk a bit. But that was a long time ago -- I hear it has improved since then.

For a while -- way before The Grove arrived on the scene or the Hollywood/Highland Complex opened -- CityWalk was the place to be if you wanted an upbeat, lively, outdoor sort of shopping/dining/entertainment experience.

As for Universal Studios, I haven't been there in probably 23 or 24 years or so! At that time, the food was horrible. I hear that the in-park food has improved quite a bit, and it certainly seems as though the park itself has improved 100% since my last visit!

We are excited to do different things.....the whole family is looking forward to the San Diego stuff...just wish I could have added another day or two down there to wander about. I think we're on the right track in checking out other options to Disneyland. The prices just keep going up & up.....the only reason we decided to do the 3 days was because of the deal on the City Pass. But we've already trimmed the meal plan there to having breakfast items in our room and then doing all counter meals & no table service or character meals. As you know.....we are all about those.....but money is going to be tight doing this many days.....so we are approaching it differently. In fact we've done some other trims but I'll get into later.

We are only planning one meal inside of Universal Studios and dinner in the City Walk at Hard Rock Cafe. I'm guessing the twins won't be doing a lot of rides here....so hopefully there will be entertainment and such to keep them interested. (music with a beat and they are happy campers)