With My Darling, To Anaheim

I was able to pick up Michael late in the morning, due to the kindheartedness of my instructor. He let me out at 10 so I could. Direct from the airport, we went to MCRD to get Mike a military spouse's ID card. There are so many requirements to getting one, we thought it would be good to do asap. Then it was breakfast at Perry's Breakfast House across from Old Town. We were both rather tuckered out from our early mornings, and both very hungry. Mike had his usual bacon & eggs & toast, and I had sausage & eggs & hashbrowns. Also sipped some of Mike's coffee, and had OJ for a refresher. My poor Darling had a bit of a head cold with a runny nose, but he was a trooper the whole weekend.

We laid down for a good hour's nap, plus some, when we got to my room in the house; which was very nice, indeed: a wonderful way to rejuvenate. By about 4 we left for Hillcrest Cinemas in order to enjoy "The Artist" again together. Never get tired of that one! Mike's seen it in three different cities now, twice with me. When we got back, we moved everything we needed for the weekend with us to the motel a couple blocks down (landlady doesn't like overnight guests, and my bed is small) to Loma Lodge (America's Best Value). Then we had takeout Italian from the greatest little place in Old Town... Pizza Bella. Watched some Spanish crime show on TV, then we were out like lights.

The morning came too early, but we were excited for it. The train left just a few minutes after 8, and we were ready to go when it did. Great seats so we could watch the Pacific (and the many surfers) all the way to north of Camp Pendleton. It didn't take long before we were standing outside the Anaheim train station, overlooking the baseball stadium. A giant red "A" stood nearby with a small gold halo atop it. Caught a bus to Enterprise Rent-a-car, found the Super 8 just a block away, then stopped at Denny's down Harbor Blvd, opposite direction from Disney. More bacon & eggs, except this time I had a big salad and some nachos.

Next on the agenda was a 20-minute ride northeast to the Orange County Zoo in Irvine Park. We listened to Exodus the entire way (and everywhere else too) and were very soon there. Very easy to drive there, surprisingly. My favorite was the two beavers and their antics, but I also thought the bears, eagles, peacocks and coyotes were neat. Awesome zoo, although it was very small. We walked through easily in about an hour and a half. The park outside is nice too... lots of duck ponds and spreading trees. Activities too... a kiddie train and rental boats and bikes. But we took it easy. :)

We returned to the motel, got our key, then rested for just under a couple hours before heading off for Medieval Times. Wasn't too far away, although it seemed like it. A bit surprised and angry that although I had purchased tickets, I also needed to reserve them... didn't realize it, but I had stumbled onto an "Anaheim Attractions" website, instead of the original corporation. They were slightly discounted, but then again, they almost didn't let us in. Thank the Lord, they finally did... and we had wonderful seats. Loved the half chicken, potatoes and soup, all without utensils. And the show was pretty good when they started the jousting and sword fighting. Very colorful... and the horses were amazing! We looked at them in their stalls afterwords. Especially loved the black Friesian gelding. :)

We thought of getting to Disneyland early, but that didn't quite work. Had breakfast first at Tiffy's Restaurant, down Katella a bit... had seen it on the way to Medieval Times and had some joking about how "nice" it looked. So it was the Nice Restaurant for us, and it lived up to its name. I had pancakes and Mike had a waffle, and we were soon just full enough. Drove back to the hotel, then hoofed it to Disneyland:

And then we walked and walked and walked! Just to be fair to the lady from Super 8, it was only a half mile/11 minute walk to the gate on Harbor Blvd. :) How exciting it was to be there! We stopped in the theater on Main Street to watch the cartoons, watched a band perform some songs with a bunch of the characters in front of the castle, walked through, tried to do the Finding Nemo submarine, but it got temporarily closed. Mike did get to shake Donald's hand though, as we were walking around. Also had some Donald Duck caramel corn. :) It's a Small World was a bit too backed up, so we took the Jungle Cruise; met Mickey up in Toontown, and loved the Pirates of the Caribbean. Then took the train around the park (one of my favorites), and had lunch at the Jolly Holiday... even stained glass penguins in the windows... quiche and a sandwich and a cookie... and serenaded by a brass quintet playing favorites from Dumbo, Sleeping Beauty, Pinocchio, etc.; it was practically perfect in every way. :)

Then we walked through Frontierland, shooting rifles, and riding the original 1955 riverboat Colombia around Rivers of America. Loved the moose! Then it was Snow White's Scary Adventure (where my sisters were terrified in 1987 - I wasn't on that trip)... and we finally fit in Finding Nemo, and rode the monorail right after that. The Disneyland Parade was going to come right by the road from Tomorrowland, so we got second-row spots to see the spectacle. Stopped by the Golden Horseshoe Saloon for dinner (fish & chips & coffee/chili breadbowl & hot tea) to warm us up... it was now dark, and very chilly! Next, we walked back down Main Street and saw Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln (fitting, as today is President's Day), and looked around at the conjoining museum of Disneyland plans and attractions. But then, as we were finishing with the Casey Jones train room, we heard big "booms" outside... quickly we joined thousands of people packing Main Street and watched the fireworks show. It was terrific! We wondered around a bit afterwords, but didn't have the heart to wait 70 minutes for Space Mountain. Lingered by Sleeping Beauty's castle before we left, and finally found a good bus to take us back to Katella Ave. Definitely would like to go back.

Today we got up in time for breakfast at the hotel, returned the car a bit early, got a ride from Enterprise to the train station, watched a Woody Allen film (Zelig) while waiting for the train, then enjoyed a long, leisurely ride back to Old Town. Realized as we were almost to the base that I had somehow lost my wallet on the train... so we booked it to the downtown station, where, thank the Lord, the train had ended it's run. Parked, ran, found (thank God), ran back and resumed our mission to print out Mike's boarding passes on base. Then it was dinner at the Olive Garden (OB was way too busy) and a brief rest back home before I had to drop him off. :(

Oh, what a wonderful time!
Jw

Santa Monica

Partly for old times sake, and partly to use two of my four days off in an interesting manner, I drove up to Santa Monica, CA to look around. On other trips down here in the past I've wanted to see the aquarium on the pier, so I did it, adding the end of historic hwy 66 (which ends up on the pier)... and an investigation of the park on the pier. After I had done all this, along with a ride on the Ferris wheel and classic carousel, I strolled into the Pacific up to my ankles along the hot beach. Most of the fun on the beach was watching all the people... there were so many of all ages from all over the world. In fact, the couple I rode with in the Ferris wheel were from South Africa!

Loved the aquarium! It was just below the beginning of the pier. They had a tank with two moray eels at the entrance, petting tanks for sea stars, anemones, and little sharks. Lots of opportunities for good pictures.

Did a bit of exploring around the town too. The library and historical museum were both closed... but I did have a Ben & Jerry's scoop of chocolate chip cookie dough. I also found the summer installment of MHQ (military history quarterly) at Barnes & Noble on the promenade. And in my wanderings I looked in on the Santa Monica Playhouse (found it on the map first) and found they were playing a children's comedy called "Barnyard Madness with the Three Little Pigs" the next day.

For dinner I stopped in at "The Lobster" overlooking the pier. It was quite a treat! Dungeness crab salad (with lemon vinaigrette dressing, grapes, Parmesan cheese & almonds on arugula), and then four cheese ravioli. They served the tastiest bread and oil & vinegar dipping sauce for a starter. I had some more for a finisher... along with a hot chocolate.

Walked back to the motel (I had parked the car there when I arrived around 10:30...and tried out the nearby Hawaiian BBQ for lunch. Sort of tied together the feeling that I was back in Waikiki. Had spam & noodle soup and a guava drink.) and watched a movie on my laptop (The Final Countdown) because I was pretty tired. That was a lot of walking.

Slept in til 10am! Checked out just in time for checkout time! I first had Denny's down the street for breakfast, then parked in public parking for free while I saw the "Three Little Pigs". It was in a cute, little theater (only 3 rows of seats!). Turned out to be a combination of Vaudeville song & dance, the story of the Three Little Pigs, and Romeo & Juliette... with a happy ending. Made for some good fun.

I had thought I'd drive up north after the play, seeing the coast up by Malibu. But there were lots of clouds, so I decided to drive up CA-2 (Santa Monica Blvd, and the old 66) through Beverly Hills and West Hollywood. Saw HOLLYWOOD up on the hills! How neat that was. I imagined how things used to be as people drove that road in the old days... people driving across the country to end up where I was.

Since I had time, I took a side trip 7 miles south to San Pedro to see the Cabrillo Aquarium again. Remember I loved it last time, and I did again. From there I drove straight back to San Diego and home. It felt good to return to something familiar and friendly. Had Panera Bread for dinner, but had lots of issues connecting to chat, including a power outage on base! Thankfully, the lights came back on just as Starbucks closed at 10pm. So I was able to rest in my own bed after it all. :)

Jp

Just Another Day of Freedom

Gosh, this is really nice, doing what I want to.

I got up before 8 today (with my alarm) in order to head over to Juanita Bay Park in Kirkland to scout out where I want to take the wedding pictures and what I'll have to work with in surroundings and in the angle of the light. I was very pleased with a few sites (mostly involving large fir and willow trees) and worked it out so they're all on the same side of the park. :) That will make everybody's day easier!

While I was out on the bay on the boardwalk, I met a gentleman with a very neat setup. The lens for his camera was nearly a foot and a half long. He let me look through it to view the pair of bald eagles nestled up in a tree across the bay. The water was covered with lilies... and ducks were frolicking and birds were gliding and chirping and the lovely cher-TWEE-er of the red-winged blackbird sounded off every now and then. Peaceful.

I don't remember much between 10:30 (when I got home) and 3pm (when I took off for today's workout). I did walk the dog, get gas for my car (and avocados for lunch), and Meg and I drove down to Woodinville to pick up her wedding dress from the cleaners. She's using her best friend's wedding dress... makes it very special for her... and cheaper. :)

This was the last Navy thing for me for a while though. Family coming in soon and then Mom and I are taking off. We'll see how I keep myself up.

Jp

Whales and Tales

I hope I can blog when I'm in China. I'm not going to bring my laptop because I think it's a little too risky. They will have computers available, but I don't know if I'll have much time. I'll try...

I've been listening to Moby Dick at work these last couple days. It's such a long book, I've been taking breaks between groups of chapters. I'm on chapter 103 at the present time. Ahab has finally found a sea captain that had seen the white whale! I just love it! It's a combination of marine biology, philosophy, history, religion, and fiction! What a mammoth work! What a contribution to science and literature! Herman Melville was definitely a literary genius. And it's a great way to get through a long workday as well.

Yesterday, after work, I went with a friend to Discovery Park in West Seattle. We got lost because they don't mark the roads very well and we ended up at the Indian Cultural Center. After asking directions there, we finally found the visitor's center in time to buy a map before we had to go meet a friend for dinner. It was a bright sunny day, something that we, in Seattle, are not used to. Most of our days are partly cloudy. I think that's the reason that I-5 was so backed up; becuase everyone realized at the same time: "It's bright sunshine outside... and it's the weekend!" So, we're going to go back another time to walk the trails and see the Olympic Mountains from across the Puget Sound at the tip of the park by the lighthouse. The park has quite the history. Back in the days of World War I and II, it was all part of Fort Lawton. The 70th Infantry Division still has US Army Reserve sites at the park, but they are isolated, for a very good reason, I'm sure.

Anyway, after picking up another friend at the UW medical center (she is doing grad school in Physical Therepy), I backed into a parked Jeep. Thank the Lord that the driver was a nice person! There was no damage, but you never know with some people. We then went to dinner at the Spaghetti Factory in Lynnwood and then saw Kung Fu Panda for a few laughs. (the plot line was slightly predictable, but overall it was enjoyable)

Until Next Time,
Jp