California Trip - Day 7

June 26 - Sunday "Visit with Mary - Earthquake Capitol"

We drove up to Morro Bay. Megan told a "Choose Your Own Adventure" to the kids. We parked at Morro Rock beach and Tim and I fed the seagulls. The "poopy bird" got Megan once again.


I started reading "The Great Gathering". The motel was within 2 blocks of the waterfront. Incredibly, we backed into a space right in front of our room and it was the easiest unloading ever. I ate chicken leftovers for breakfast and the same for lunch.

We took off for San Miguel. We saw deer in the fields. We came to San Luis Obispo. It was a neat town. We realized San Miguel was NORTH of Morro, not south, so we backtracked.

We arrived at Mission San Miguel (founded in 1797). Megan bought a nativity in the gift shop. I wanted a book called "People of the Four Circles", but it was too expensive. Megan, Tim and I went on a partial tour of the historical museum seeing old living quarters, statues and memorabilia. I took Tim to the chapel. He saw the holy water. We talked about Catholicism.


Mary and her new boarder Patsy arrived. Patsy is Cherokee/Irish. She thought Tim was 17 and Miranda 16. I got in Mary's car and she led us to lunch. We traveled over rural roads. We saw a llama farm and many farm animals. We hit a "suicide squirrel" and dodged several others (they seem to wait for the cars to dash across the road).

Mary and I told Patsy the story of our dating days and "Billy the Rat" and how we almost got married twice. I told Patsy MannaVine would be good for her COPD, but she is on SSI and will try to get a prescription from her doctor.

We arrived at Parkfield (population 18) and saw the moving stone (so many inches every few thousand years due to the fault's movement).


Mary had us stop right at the intersection of the American and Pacific shelves (we straddled them on a bridge) and stood over the San Andreas Fault (the bridge 'warbles' over it); Bob in a box monitors it full time.


We ate at Parkfield's famous restaurant. Megan , Tim and I had chili-sizes (finally, non-spicy chili). I played the peg game (one at every table) - got it down to 2 twice. Equipment hung from the ceiling; it gongs like chimes if there is an earthquake.


Tim thought the waiter looked like Vincent on Eureka. Mary talked about the murder case of the little girl that has so much conflicting evidence, it must be solved totally by forensics (after-note - she was acquitted).

On the way back Mary brought me up-to-date on her smelt (fish) California saving project. The government turned off the water for weeks and not only endangered other humans and animals to placate an eco-group, but they ended up killing smelt in the process. So Mary has been on TV trying to come up with an equitable solution.

She is aware that hard times are near, says Mitt Romney may precipitate some if he wins the election (inheriting a situation he can't solve and having Mormons be blamed for it). She says we are always welcome to stay at her place for refuge . . . if we can get there, and she's still there.

Mary gave me 3 "Transformers" comics (I was getting shaky with withdrawal), and she guided us to a WalMart, warning us to stay away from the video section, as it has an "evil spirit" that has become more pronounced as that part of the store has gotten darker. We reviewed all the movies and series we like. Mary loves "Hellboy", "Transformers", and "Red Dwarf" (does not so much like The Next Generation and Iron Man).

We had a scenic drive back to the coast on Highway 46. Miranda did an elaborate mermaid/shark Choose-your-own-adventure for Tim.

My Comments:

What Bill didn't mention was the struggle I had with hotel reservations. Miranda liked the Santa Maria hotel so much, that I had changed our Monday night reservations to this hotel, and cancelled the Arroyo Grande reservation. I had to call Maleen about that because Monday night she and her family would be staying at the same hotel as us. I thought it would be so much more convenient to just stay at the Santa Maria hotel for Sunday night too, and cancel the reservation in Morro Bay.

No such luck. Apparently the Morro Bay hotel has a 48-hour cancellation policy, and even talking to the Best Western headquarters couldn't change that. In retrospect I don't mind, as I enjoyed staying in Morro Bay, and especially enjoyed Morro Bay rock, but at the time it was very frustrating.

We ended up at the Morro Bay rock by sheer coincidence. We just kept following this road, and suddenly there we were. We parked to look down at the Morro Bay beach and had to convince Tim that we didn't really want to go down there. Feeding the seagulls with our trail mix kept him occupied. I love this picture of the seagull on the hood of our car because he kinda blends in with Tim.

And yes, as I stretched out my arm to point something out, one of the flying seagulls pooped on my arm. I don't mind having water attracted to me, but bird poop is another thing!


I really liked the gift shop at Mission San Miguel. There was another figure that I almost purchased as well, but I knew we would be going to Solvang the next day, so I reined myself in and just got the nativity from Peru.


The specialty dessert at the Parkfield restaurant was an apple dumpling. For some reason, Miranda's order got delayed, so they gave her an apple dumpling to eat while she was waiting. She said it was VERY good. After our lunches, everybody ordered apple dumplings (except me, because of the gluten problem), but the waiter came back to tell us that all of the apple dumplings that were left had been "pre-ordered" by a family having dinner there. We all settled for ice cream instead, but Miranda had really lucked out.

My overwhelming memory of that day is driving like mad to keep up with Mary's car in front of us, and wandering over these back roads that didn't seem to be going anywhere. We had to dodge a lot of the squirrels too. Mary later explained to Bill that passing cars disturb the insects that the squirrels like to eat, and that's why they're dashing out into the road. I guess it would be a little hard for a squashed squirrel to 'learn by experience' that this isn't the best idea. I'm really glad that Bill had a chance to ride in Mary's car and catch up on everything with her - and equally glad that I didn't have to take part.

My favorite memory from this day was when Miranda was doing the mermaid/shark story for Tim, and the shark guided him onto a bubble that ate him. The shark chuckled and said "Gets them every time". We really do have a very creative family.

California Trip - Day 6

June 25th, Saturday - "Santa Barbara: Things Have Changed"

My back is out today (due to the Terminator "ride"). We had breck at Denny's. Megan shared a "Meat-Lovers Scramble" with me and I had some grits. The senior softball team was next to us ("Old Guys Rule"). Peter Falk died. Saw trailer for Spielberg's "Falling Skies"

On the way to Santa Barbara, Tim and Miranda told "Choose your own adventure" stories. We laughed till we cried because of Tim's malaprops (mortified for terrified; finagled for mingled, someone grabbed Miranda by the throat and she throttled around on the floor; minotaurs snorted their bull horns). Later than night he said, "if it's any constellation".

Santa Barbara has too many people and cars; it was like sardines. No parking spaces for miles and miles. We stopped for a visit with the Yaqubs (they said the old Kelly house has been trashed by renters). We dropped Miranda off for down time at Stearns' Wharf. Megan, Tim and I went to the museum, but it was closed for a wine-tasting festival.

We found the Pacific Company. Megan got our periodic supply of backscratchers and I got several weird things. Here's one of them (I think it's a goblet).


At Chaucers Book Store Tim got a book on knights and I lucked out to find a bathroom. We drove out on the wharf (parking was rough), did a little shopping while waiting for Miranda (Megan bought a crab, Tim got a bubble blower).


We had a heck of a time getting Miranda to hear us (held up traffic a bit). Miranda had to pee and we had a hard time finding a bathroom (76 didn't, Taco Bell did). I slept until Santa Maria. The first key they gave us was to an occupied room (fortunately the two guys were good-natured about it and no one was naked). The 2nd room ("Oregon") was about a block from the elevator and it took a long time to get everything up.

What a bathroom (like 4 rooms in one)! Santa Maria's Best Western Big America has the best bathrooms! Miranda got her own makeup area. Miranda: "This place smells like a flippin' camping ground" (made her think of the bad Tory experience).

We went to dinner at the Pantry (I had chicken strips with sauce and zucchini [with italian herbs and spices and olive oil - best flavor on veg's I've ever tasted] and fresh fruit [great strawberries]). Tim helped me get on the motel's computer to download my email (nothing gravid, Group Health lost my stones and I had 1+ casts). Megan and Miranda took our dirty clothes to a laundry; at closing everything was still soaked, so we've got wet clothes spread out all over the room.

My blood pressure is 122/75/55 - at least THAT'S okay.

My comments:

Our visit with the Yaqubs was delightful. I had tried to call to let them know we were coming, but apparently I had the wrong number so we just showed up. They were extremely gracious and seemed very happy to see us again. Nancy had a brace on one leg and is moving slower, and Adil looks rather frail, but he's still teaching. They don't have any cats at the moment, but I loved the cat rug they had in their bathroom.


They told great stories about the wildlife they have seen out on their deck. Lots of birds, naturally, but a whole family of skunks? They told us all about their neighbors, and the problems they have had with the Culler clan.

The drive through town was almost a bit scary due to the narrow streets and crowding. There were cars parked EVERYWHERE on both sides of the streets. It was a real disappointment that the museum was closed, but we had a good time out on Stearn's Wharf. I wouldn't mind making an extended visit to Santa Barbara, but I don't think I'd want to live there again. However, I was glad to see the huge fig tree that has been there FOREVER. We had gone right past it when we came down on the train.


The mix-up in rooms at the motel was really funny. They had given us a second-floor room and I asked if they had anything on the ground floor. The clerk told me that there was one room that had recently been thoroughly cleaned because the last occupant had (illegally) smoked in it. He was fined $200 for that! But he thought it would be OK so he gave us the key and we opened the door on two men lying on their beds watching TV. Awkward moment! but they were very nice about the whole thing. Apparently the other clerk had rented it shortly before.

I have never seen a town as full of Espanic people as Santa Maria - or at least the part we were staying in. Everybody at the laundromat was brown and speaking Spanish. A lot of the signs were in Spanish rather than English. At the grocery store, there were huge flats full of different kinds of peppers.


All of the water that they brought us at dinner had lemon wedges on them - which none of us like. I tried to get creative while waiting for the food to come.


Miranda really didn't feel well while we were doing the laundry, and it was very crowded and very busy. A little before 10:00 she had finished her laundry, and I had just started my laundry drying for the 2nd round (I think I put too much together). I drove her back to the hotel to drop her off, and naturally Bill insisted on coming back with me. When we got back, there was nobody there but the cleaning lady! I couldn't believe that all those people had gotten out so quickly. My laundry was still there, but still pretty wet, but they closed at 10:00, so we had to pack it up and take it back wet.

It was nice to have a day that didn't have a lot of things that had to be done, and I was especially pleased with the two Christmas ornaments that I bought in one of the stores on the Pier.

California Trip - Day 5

June 24, Friday "Universal Studios - Kong in 3D"

Froze last night. Tim had set the thermostat to 60. Escaped from Chinatown about 10:30. Drove straight to Universal. We got preferred parking - which was in a structure in the shade and pretty close to the entrance.


Before we went in we had a break at a western restaurant. I ordered "non-hot" chili which was too spicy to eat, so they gave me fresh fruit and I had a bar. We bought hats for Megan and Tim and all slathered up with sunscreen.

We decided to go on the tram 1st since the lines were longest. I was worried about bladder control, but I made it thru the 45 minutes of waiting and 55 minutes of ride. As with all attractions, there have been updates based on what's current in the media. Features of the tram included a 3-D King Kong Experience, with raptors, spiders, T. Rex and Kong fighting up close. Very realistic and exciting.


Lots of squirtings on all productions today. We did the Earthquake - the Big One , tho couldn't see it all due to being in the first car. Went thru the circling mummy cavern - Miranda got nausea. Dilophosaurs squirted Megan. The shark from Jaws came up right under Tim. Norman Bates came out with a knife - looked just like Anthony Perkins.


Tim, Miranda and I got separated from Megan later by park attendants clearing the street for a can-can routine (unfortunately Miranda said I couldn't wait for the dance to finish). 2nd thing we did was Terminator 3-D. It was pretty much the same as in the past. At the end the seats ratcheted up, then slammed down - not too pleasant. The Terminator 2 gift shop had lots of comics figurines and statues - many were large and expensive (Iron Man was $7000). Tim made a Terminator 2 penny.


Back to the Future has become the Simpsons ride; no one cared about that. ET and his strange smell have disappeared, replaced by the Mummy roller coaster. Waterworld (the old A team) didn't interest us.


The 3rd thing was Jurassic Park. Megan's leg was sore and I didn't want to get wet, so we sat it out and let Miranda and Tim ride. We sat in the semi-shade. There were mummy girls on stilts. I saw the Monster Mash with Beetlejuice, Mummy, Bride of Frankenstein, Frankenstein and Wolfman. On the way back up to the top level (4 sets of escalators).

Oh wait, after the JP ride, we went to Jurassic Outfitters store, which had mummy and dinosaur stuff. There were some very expensive figures and statues (like the $300 Spinosaurus) that were neat. Tim got a JP shirt.

Back to the return up: Tim walked up 3 of the 4 levels and was a mess when he got to the top. Very dramatic. But that was nothing compared to his reaction to the Haunted House (the best Haunted House I've ever been through). At one point Megan elected to go up an elevator rather than the stairs (and we lost Miranda, who had gone on ahead). Megan, Tim and I waited for the elevator. Lots of monsters got off (which we wouldn't have seen on the regular tour). We rode upstairs with Chuckie.


After that, Tim was a basket case, clawing onto us, screaming and crying like a girl - totally off the deep end! Over and over, hysterically, he cried "They forced me to come in here - don't scare me!!!!". Every new thing to jump out, he went bananas. (I don't think he was faking - we all wanted to take him back to it.)

The last show we took in was "Animal Actors". The birds were magnificent, especially the falcon. There was much humor. The fox nipped at it's trainer. The orangutan was hilarious.

We were all exhausted and in pain and hobbled out. Megan's experiment to try walking was a failure. It was definitely decided today that Tim is now taller than I am.

We drove to Oxnard. It was much closer than we anticipated - less than an hour drive. We saw a gazillion birds of some kind on the telephone wires. We petted a long-haired dachshund named Chloe; her owner reminded me of Ron.

We ate dinner at Carrows - it was all good. I had chicken cordon bleu, creamed spinach and clam chowder. Everyone had a lavish dessert but me - I wonder how much I'm losing. Tim ate like a pig and we all made fun of him. He had another punch-drunk episode and kept babbling about incomprehensible things.

My comments:

Before I comment on this day, I want to say how hilarious I am finding it that Bill is putting down just about everything he eats. My mother used to make me keep a journal when we went on trips, and I faithfully recorded every meal. Of course, I was only a kid at the time, but it's obvious that food is VERY important to our family.

The reason that Tim and I bought hats is Miranda and I had gotten sunburned at Sea World. We hadn't thought about it, because it was an overcast day, but my arms, back of my neck, and especially the top of my head were very red. Bill rubbed Kerosin ointment on them, and I never did really peel, but I was more careful after that.

One of the changes on the tram tour was Bates Motel and Norman Bates. Before you just saw the house and were told what it was. This time they had the motel as well, and this guy (who really did look a lot like Norman Bates) was carrying an obviously wrapped body to stuff into the trunk of his car. When he noticed the tram car, he came running towards it with a long knife. We barely escaped!

All of us were clueless when they started talking about Desperate Housewives and Wisteria Place, although we got to see all of their houses. I think that is probably my favorite part of the tram tour - seeing all the backdrops and outdoor sets and being told what movies they were in. They still have the flash flood (although being in the front car we couldn't see as well), but they no longer 'part the seas' to cross over like Moses did. Miranda was particularly thrilled to see one of the space vehicles from the Firefly series.


It seems like these theme amusement parks are turning more and more to using 3-D and screen images rather than animated figures. It's probably both cheaper and easier to maintain, but I rather missed the old King Kong looming up next to the tram. However, I really liked the race cars that did the Macarena. THAT wasn't done with screen images.

We really did have problems staying together. Since lots of walking makes my legs hurt, I had a tendency to walk quickly (in order to get there faster). I would assume that the other were right behind me, only to turn and realize I had lost them again. This was frustrating for all of us.

Actually, I think it was exhaustion that kept me off the Jurassic Park ride. I just didn't want to stand in line for half an hour. Besides, I had gotten wet enough from that dumb dinosaur on the tour ride who squirted me - and ONLY me (at least in our car).


I was rather sorry we couldn't go on the Mummy roller coaster. The entrance was really impressive.

Unfortunately the Mummy gift shop was closed (everything was relocated to the Jurassic Park store - although there wasn't much), but I loved the sign.


The last show we went to before we limped out was the Animal Actors show, which was a lot of fun as always. I especially liked the dog that kept circumventing orders to get the treat. When the falcon flew down from it's box, it went right over our heads. If we had reached up, we could have touched it.

I enjoyed Universal Studios, but I am sad when I think about the things they used to have that are gone. No more ET ride; no more Backdraft; no more Conan adventure; no more going through and learning about how special effects are done. I particularly remember this last one because they always chose a child from the audience to demonstrate riding on ET's bike - and one year that we went, Maleen was the child chosen. They also no longer have the Star Trek show (where people from the audience would dress up like Klingons and have contests with each other), or the American Tail show (with Feival). I really wanted to try out the new Shrek 3-D, but nobody else was interested and we ran out of time. The mummy ride might have been fun, but we were told that people who get motion sickness don't do well on it, which blew that for us.

I thought I would end with a picture of how Tim spent his time in all of the various hotels we stayed in.

California Trip - Day 4

June 23 - Thursday "Sea World - Orcas and Circuses"

My tooth has gotten worse; hope I can make it thru till we get home. Miranda says my monopolizing the sink is driving her over the edge. Repacking things after the shopping yesterday is very difficult.

Sea World was lots more fun than I supposed. It cost $450 to get in (ouch). Tim lost his cell in the car and had a fit till we found it under the seat. Megan rented a go-cart to ride around in. 1st stop: lunch. I watched a pigeon build a nest and feed her chick in the rafters.* The lunch plates were humongous. Tim inhaled a ton; Megan's salad had breaded chicken (we gave her OPP - gluten-blocking pills); I had a bar and ate Tim's peas.

(*That is one remarkable pigeon - building a nest, laying and hatching an egg, and then feeding her chick - all during our lunch break.)

Megan's wheelchair broke down and we had to wait for a replacement. Miranda got told not to feed the birds, but everybody else did and no one told THEM.

We saw belugas, polar bears and walrus, penguins, turtles and shark exhibits. Megan had a hard time seeing some things. A specific gift shop for each animal; prices were high. Saw fresh-water aquarium: piranha's, many fish typical of pet stores with a few exotics.

Saw little birds basking in hot sand. Tim discovered we were at the wrong end of the park for the Sea Circus, so we boogied back. Tim says he wants to be a marine biologist. He discovered churros and kept spending his money on them.

Megan out-shouted the clown in the warm-up show. The clowns chose a guy of the audience (a plant?) and put him in a hamster wheel on the water. The show was acrobatics - LOTS of fun (strong man, gymnasts, dancers, etc.) Tim now wants to be a gymnast.

We got right in line for the sea lion show and it filled up fast. Very professional face paintings went by. The sea lion show was super! Megan and Miranda went on the skyway; the line was too long for Tim and me so we went to the Tidepool (he handled bat stars but missed the Manta petting tank as it was being re-done); and World of the Sea Aquarium (saw some really big fish); Dolphin tank, Toy shop. Saw bunnies eating grass.

Since we missed the Shamu show, Megan wanted to see one. We really lucked out to see the trainers playing with 3 of the 6 in a pool. They did all sorts of tricks. We saw an egret close up on a fence - not afraid of people.



We got off track leaving Sea World and had to stop at Barnes & Noble to find out where we were. Decided to stop at Denny's before starting the long haul. It was the best meal yet - I had chicken-fried steak, beans, broccoli, salad, fruit - lots of food but hopefully not too calorific. Stacy was a great waitress.

On our way back to L.A. we tried to keep Megan awake by singing songs (I sang "Time"). We ended up in Glendale/Pomona and realized we were lost. We stopped at a gas station to fill up and buy a better map. It was late (11:00) and not the best section of town. A man asked questions about the color of the car. The hackles were going up on my neck.

The Lord sent an angel as a business woman who helped us with her knowledge & GPS (the new map was useless). We got back on the freeway and ended up in downtown L.A. (Chinatown). Now the neighborhood was REALLY scary. The hotel was down a dark alley and in a narrow corridor. A car pulled in behind us and just sat that. Now everybody's hackles were up (except Tim, who was blithely gaming away).

Megan went into the corridor and 2 men followed. The alley was so narrow, I couldn't get out; had to crawl over Tim. Inside, everything seemed okay. We went down a winding driveway (the blimp would have scraped) & couldn't find a parking place in the garage (which was WORSE than Group Health). I went up to the office for help. The guy came down and told us to park in a no-spot and they would shuffle cars around in the morning. We did and took the bags up the elevator (you had to swipe the card multiple times to get it to work).

The car lights inside the car wouldn't go out. Megan and I went back down and couldn't solve it. The desk guy turned up and fixed things. Another car also moved out, so we could park in a real spot. Again the Lord was watching out for us. The room was awful (once we had a worse one). Tiny toilet room, tiny sink area, tiny beds (not even queen-size - just double). It's very discomfiting.

My comments:

Lest you freak at the price that Bill mentioned for tickets, let me add that those tickets were good for Sea World AND Universal Studios - unlimited access for 14 days. Pity we didn't have a chance to use them more often.

I loved the little motorized vehicle that I rented at Sea World. Sometimes it was hard for the others to keep up with me. Interestingly enough, whenever I left it to go to the bathroom, or get food, I would find somebody sitting on it when I got back. Usually Tim, but occasionally others would take advantage of my absence.


Bill mentioned that my salad had breaded chicken on it. I decided I should limit how much I ate of it, and told Tim that he could have some. He reminded me of a chicken pecking grain - the speed with which he picked and devoured my chicken was incredible. If I hadn't told him to stop, I think he would have eaten it all!

Miranda was very pleased when we reached the walk-through shark tank. It was the one thing she remembered from a previous trip. The tank actually arches over the top, like a tunnel, and you can see sharks swimming above you. Super cool.

Cirque de Mer was amazing. As Bill mentioned, there were clowns going through the audience and screaming at people, so they would scream back. I was a bit surprised at how loud a scream I produced when one of the clowns yelled at me. Personally I think the 'guy-from-the-audience' was a plant, even if they did give him a T-shirt afterwards. Either that, or he was one of the most remarkably good-natured men I've ever seen considering what they put him through.

The star of the sea lion show was not the sea lions, but the guy who pretended to be the Janitor. He was turning on tunes and then dancing to them while imitating certain people. His Elvis impression was hilarious. Good show, but not as great as the one I remember from last time.

This was the one day that I deeply regretted we hadn't brought Chester (our GPS) along with us. Somehow I went the wrong way on the freeway and we ended up heading east instead of north. I can't complain too much because the dinner at Denny's really was very good, and Stacy was the nicest waitress we had the whole trip. And then, of course, we got lost in Los Angeles as well.

What Bill didn't mention about the unbelievable parking situation at the hotel is that we actually had to pay $10 for the privilege to park there! And he was right, the white whale never would have made it. While the Best Western Dragon Gate Hotel might be the closest Best Western to Universal Studios, I would highly recommend you avoid it. Once again, we got to bed very late and I knew we would miss the "Continental Breakfast" in the morning by oversleeping.

California Trip - Day 3

June 22, 2011 - Wednesday "On the Beach: Evening with Ginger"

Slept better (but than, ANYTHING would beat the "pseudo-sleep" of the train). Shared a bed with Tim. The tap water was absolutely VILE! (Tasted putridly of chlorine.) Made me want to barf. Mary called my cell early - we're on for Sunday. Megan called Hal - on for Saturday.

Charged the cell a little. Brushed teeth - doing it twice a day to try to get rid of sore front tooth. Last bathroom break. The others stopped at Taco Bell. I just had a bar (I think I'm still losing). Tim is having trouble with his jaw. Megan's water cup broke and doused her. I had a nice chat with the custodian cleaning the men's room.

Tim said a prayer for us. We got on 405 and were off to San Diego. Passed Rosecrans and Manhatten Beach. Megan showed off her memorizing abilities. Miranda "That's crazy!". Megan and Miranda would not let Tim and me tell Cheezer stories. We played "20 Questions Unlimited". Words were "Rainbow" (me); "Jail" (Tim); "Dragonfly" (Megan); "Animal Cage" (Miranda).

I napped and all of a sudden we were in San Diego. Steve called, wants to take us to exclusive Club 33 at Dizzy; has to lock in our reservations: is it real? Nice houses in San Diego; Tim wants to live here. Found our hotel; has elevator to 2nd floor. Room nicer and bigger, but not nearly as many features.

We went shopping at WalMart and Food4Less for mouthwash, kleenex, spring water, et. al. Our toilet wasn't flushing well, so the hotel moved us to another room 4 doors down. The air conditioner wasn't working well in that one, but we let it slide. Miranda and I went for a 30 minute walk. I got back and crashed (slept) until Ginger arrived.

EVENING WITH GINGER

Ginger came to our apartment at 6:00 pm. We visited for awhile and then all got in our car to go to dinner. We went to TGIFriday's. I had the fish & chips with baked beans. Everybody like their food and stuffed.

After dinner, Ginger directed us to the beach. We went to the waterfront, where kids were partying by the firepits. Tim took off his shoes and walked out into the water. Megan joined him, as she didn't want him to be alone. Miranda and I stayed back on the strand and talked to Ginger. She wanted us all to go out in the water, but I was cold and didn't want wet or sandy feet (usual wuss mode).


"Blob - 1" (Tim) and "Blob - 2" (Megan) came back. Miranda and Megan sat on a bench while Ginger, Tim and I got up close to the firepits. Before we left, Megan and Tim used the outdoor water sprays to get the sand off. Everybody loved the tall-trunked palm trees.

Ginger started teaching Tim French: "Il fait froid, aujourdhui". She told Miranda and me not to worry about his grades; "Maybe he'll invent something everybody wants, if not, you can be happy without money."

On the way back we were stopped by a policeman, but he was nice and let us off with a warning.

My Comments:

Because she gets car-sick easily, Miranda sat up front next to me for the whole trip. This put Bill and Tim in the back seat together, which wasn't entirely wise. Bill tended to revert to teenage humor and behavior. Not only did the two of them try to tell Cheezer stories (rude, revolting things), but they regaled each other with bathroom humor and Dad started throwing little bits of paper at Miranda, which irritated her highly once she noticed it. You think he'd know better!

I got back in touch with Meg, and Saturday was not on after all. They had a dinner appointment, so we just stuck with our Monday night plans. Visiting with Ginger was great. She has such a Pollyannish attitude and sees the best about everything. This rather annoyed Miranda because she was trying to tell Ginger about Tory's bad points, and Ginger kept twisting them around into good points.

I loved the beach. I was great to feel the waves wash over my feet, and Tim was very glad to have somebody out there with him. Bill explained to me that the terms "Blob-1" and "Blob-2" came from Ginger who was peering through the darkness trying to identify us while we were standing on the shore. I had forgotten how hard it is to walk on sand. It shifts under you with each step, and I was really a bit worried that I'd fall. Crawling through the sand to get to something that I could use to help me stand up was NOT something I wanted to go through.

The policeman just turned up out of nowhere. We were near a college campus of some sort, and Ginger had told me to turn right, which I did. The light was red, but there was no traffic at all. However, I didn't see the sign that said "no right turn on red", and that's what the policeman pulled me over for. Ginger apologized more than I did, and told the policeman it was entirely her fault (which it really wasn't). The policeman did the routine check to make sure my driver's license was legit, and then let me off with a warning and a bit of humor ("you're making me work too hard"). The rest of the trip back to the hotel was listening to Ginger talk about how absolutely wonderful that policeman was and that he was now her most favorite person in the world.

I forgot to take a picture of Ginger while we were together, so here is a picture of Ginger and her sister Carol that I took a few years ago. Ginger hasn't changed at all.

California Trip - Day 2

June 21, 2011 - Tuesday (First Day of Summer) "The White Whale Debacle"

Stayed awake after 5:00 am; went to breakfast at 6:15. Miranda and Tim had left for the lounge car ab out 1-3 am and played games there (Megan left before that, being miffed by all the commotion and not being comfortable in her seat).


Stop in Oakland. Bob and his 2 nieces got off. Stop in San Jose. Tim looked like Snee and crashed. Megan read the chapter in "Thief' on Germany. THIS IS THE POINT AT WHICH WE RE-ARRANGED THE WHOLE TRIP TO AVOID TONS OF DRIVING. Cancelled plans to see Tim in Santa Rosa. Stop Paso Robles, San Louis Obispo.

We were now by the ocean in the fog. Tim liked the waves. At 4:00 pm we had the same lunch as yesterday - cheeseburgers without buns (they were pretty large as well as tasty). Went thru Santa Barbara. Saw pelicans and hawks. Oxnard stop. Simi Valley. Farms and tile roof houses. A long tunnel. Van Nuys stop. Nice houses. Lots of graffiti on walls. Doppler effect. Burbank - next to last. I finished (mostly) "Thief".

It was balmy at the Amtrak terminal in L.A. It was more like SeaTac than Amtrak - it seemed we had to lug our carry-ons a mile (and I was carrying 5 of the 9 - about 120 lbs.). We caught a cab out front after getting our 4 suitcases. Megan was exhausted from walking and just watched stuff. The cab ride from L.A. to Inglewood and the car rental took about 30 minutes and cost $60.00.

At Thrifty Car, we got a big white bus so as to hold all the luggage and Vicki. Megan got mad at me for pressuring her to get $200 worth of extra insurance, but the whale was $60,000 and I was afraid of deductibles. In driving it to the hotel, it was just too big to make turns (not knowing where the edges were), and it was too big to get into any of the stalls (like the Group Health Parking structure).

After installing the kids, Megan and I went back to exchange the bus. Things actually went pretty smoothly, tho I was freaking out that we were going to graze something. We got a smaller dark red (maroon) car (still big, but one that Megan was much happier with). We stopped at a 7-11 to get food for the kids.

Back at the hotel (we had a traffic light that skipped a cycle), everybody ate. Tim had somehow used all the washrags and face cloths in taking a shower. We had no paper towels or paper plates for the kids to eat their food on (room had microwave), but Batman's bag had sporks. Tim and Miranda were having horrid problems with their allergies, and both of them felt dizzy (so did I a bit; I think it's an EM field in the room.)

My comments:

When I went up to the lounge car in the middle of the night, I found an empty table and played solitaire. There was a group of youngish adults pontificating on the most ridiculous subjects and I was really glad I had my back to them as it allowed me to smile at some of the pompous statements they were making.

Tim joined me and we played Buckum for a while, and then Miranda joined us too and we played Fan Tan. She was pretty miffed that she didn't win any of the games. At 6:15 we went down to the dining car, as we figured a good breakfast would help.

The waiter managed to get our orders partially wrong, despite the care we took in explaining things to him. Most of the trip Bill asked for his potatoes, rice, bread (ie. carbs) to be replaced with cottage cheese or fresh fruit. Didn't work here. However, the food was adequate, and we returned to another long day of being jolted around on the train.

It was a real wrench to me to change our plans around to NOT go to Santa Rosa to join Tim and Maleen's family. To be quite honest, I did it more for Miranda than to spare myself the driving. I could tell that she wasn't going to be very happy cooped up in a car with Tim and Dad, and keeping her from having a melt-down was one of my major objectives for this trip. I have to admit that it took some pressure off of me, as well, to get us places that were long distances away from each other. It was nice to actually use my cell phone to call both Maleen and Tim to explain the change in plans to them. One of these days I'm going to have to learn how to use this thing.

I wish I could remember what brand and model the white whale was, but it was so big I had to be practically boosted up to get into the seat. It was very scary to drive (for me), and I just couldn't imagine steering that thing through all the places we were going. I was MUCH happier with the Ford Edge that we traded it for. It was only slightly bigger than the Hyundai that I drive at home, and held all our luggage (barely). Naturally we didn't get any kind of a price break for 'down-sizing', but I had already accepted that.
Our hotel didn't have any rooms on the ground floor - that was reserved for parking, a small jacuzzi, and tables to eat breakfast at. There weren't many parking places left by the time we got back with the new car, but I managed to inch into one of them. The pillars made it impossible for me to walk out the usual way and I had to go around the front of the car to the other side. However, I wasn't complaining. I can't count the number of times on our trip that Bill and I would look at each other and say "If we still had the whale, we wouldn't have been able to (park here, drive here, get through here, etc.)"

Since the train hadn't gotten in until after 9:00 pm, it was well after midnight by the time we finally went to bed. I knew we were going to sleep in the next morning!

California Trip - Day One

CALIFORNIA TRIP - DAY ONE

Bill kept a detailed journal on this trip, so I'm just going to type in what he wrote for each day - and then I'll add my own comments at the end.

June 20th, Monday "Thief in the Night: Things to Come"

Frantic last-minute preparations to leave. Got up at 7:00 am. Brett arrived 8 am. We left at 8:30. We had 4 bags (filled to the max) and 9 carry-ons (we were only allowed 8, so I combined 2 when boarding).

We got to the station at 9:00 am; had 1 1/2 hours till boarding. I read "Thief in the Night" book. 10 minutes before boarding we had to frantically fill out check tags for each bag. Once we walked out on the boarding walk, the train came within about 5 minutes and started off within 5 minutes. (Good thing I didn't go back to use the bathroom) There was only one other person on the lower level, so we were pretty much by ourselves (in the 1st 4 seats). The lots of room was for wheelchair people, so we had to be ready to move.


We missed seeing the Masters' house. We stopped briefly in Olympia, Centralia. Miranda read "Sorcerer's Son" to Tim, but he wanted to listen to his CD's (Tom Lehrer, Dr. Demento). Stopped in Longview/Kelso, Vancouver. Crossed over the Columbia River in Portland. More people got on at Portland. Somebody called to wish me Happy Father's Day, but it was a wrong number.

Salem stop next. By this time, lots of people were aboard. I spend a lot of time reading "Thief". Tim and Miranda were constantly on games. Megan did puzzle books. Lots of delays - switches & signals, passing train, maintenance. At dinner we went to the snack bar. They warmed up cheeseburgers and a pizza for us. Megan and I took the buns off and used some condiments. They were really good-tasting. Outside of that I only had 2 bars today, so I had a good diet day (not enuf water, tho).

I didn't realize the train would take so long; the others weren't happy with me for not taking a plane. I'm really learning a lot from "Thief", however. Megan is snoring (Oh, wait, that's Bob, the Native American with 2 granddaughters, one row back). Probably not going to be much sleep tonight as we're sleeping in seats. About 8 pm we saw snow outside (lots - we must have been high up). The leg rests were very uncomfortable.

- THE NIGHTMARE NIGHT -

It was Tim at his worst: playing DS all night (the incessant tapping), complaining, getting into the food bag all night, rearranging bags to try to sleep on the dirty floor, leaning hard against me, on and on. I only slept 2 hours (if that) and am now totally exhausted - with a toothache.


My comments:

While it was still light, the scenery was great. However, the train seats have a hard metal bar between them, and I am a bit too wide so I find myself sitting on the bar when I travel. Not very comfortable! I didn't get much sleep at all.

I really enjoyed talking with Bob, the Native American. His granddaughters (nieces?) were extremely attentive, although they were seated upstairs. The youngest one came down frequently to check on Bob and make sure he was OK. Nice girls. I talked with them about Disneyland and might have convinced Bob that he should take them there.

We did have more leg room by sitting in the front seats, but the drawback was no little tray to fold out to use. Before the train got too full, I moved back one seat to play cards. I'm really glad I brought the deck along, although I was sure sick of solitaire by the end of our trip!

It's probably a good thing that Tim brought both his Game Boy and his DS. He let Miranda borrow his DS to play Pokemon, and she monopolized it most of the trip. This actually worked out pretty well. The two of them sat together most of the time so Tim could give her tips on which Pokemon were worth catching and how to do it. This left Bill and me free to veg on the other side of the aisle.

Our conductor was really a hoot. He was a big guy, and obviously thought Tim and Miranda were brother and sister. After Miranda had gone upstairs to get something from the snack bar, he told us that he had 'kept his eye on her' to make sure she didn't get into trouble. He seemed quite surprised to find out that she's 34!

I think the most irritating thing was the constant intercom messages about the dining car and reservation times. Just as you were starting to drift off to sleep, you would hear "This is Timothy from the dining car. Please do NOT come to the dining car until we have called your reservation time. We are now seating all 1:00 pm reservations for lunch. I repeat, all 1:00 lunch reservations are now being seated." There were also intercom messages about the wine and cheese-tasting party for the sleeper car people. Oh - and the intercoms about the upcoming stops, although they did stop those in the middle of the night. I guess they went around and woke people up who were getting off.

I think a train trip for up to half a day would be great - but two days is way too long (especially if you don't have sleeper cars, which we couldn't afford). Even Bill has said that next time we should fly rather than taking the train (although he's actually pushing for us to drive instead).