What I Have Learned on My Trip So Far:
They love Jack in the Box—there’s one about every mile.
If you blast Katy Perry’s California Girls in your rented car with the windows down, the locals WILL stare.
Around Mother’s Day, they sell bouquets of flowers on the street.
Putting sand on your sister’s tongue WILL make her stop talking.
Kelp fights are hilarious to watch.
You can ride a mobile hammock.
I must own a beach cruiser or a quike.
So I made it to California with my family, my clothes, and two fully inflated lungs. Yesterday involved a lot of travelling and resting, so I am going to count today as Day One. We went to Huntington Beach to soak up the sun. The day began pretty cloudy—all you Winnipeggers are laughing—but the sun prevailed despite what the KTLA newsman said this morning.
We lounged for a bit, then decided we wanted to get a little exercise, so we took out a quike, and it was hilarious. We raced with a few other families… and we won, no big deal. We walked out to the pier and found some street performers doing flips and asking for my money. We did some shorefront shopping and then went to Ruby’s for dinner.
Ruby’s made another one of my dreams come true: eating in a 50s-style diner. It was really cool, right on the end of the pier in the middle of the ocean. They wore red-and-white-striped dresses and diner caps, with Coca-Cola memorabilia littering the walls, checkered floors, and black-topped bar stools. It was a very quick “get in, get out” kind of place, but the food was good nonetheless. We ended the day with a walk along the beach and a view of the lovely California sunset. It’s off to bed for me soon—tomorrow we are taking on Disney California Adventure Park: Paradise Pier Roller Coaster, Hollywood Pictures Backlot, Golden Gate, Cars Lot, and “A Bug’s Land.” Tyler and I are going to take on all the rides, and we’ll try to get Courtney on some too.
California Adventure Day
Today we spent our day at California Adventure, which is an extension of Disneyland and home of Paradise Pier. If you do not like rides, don’t waste your time, sailors. California Screamin’, the roller coaster, literally takes your breath away. It counts you down, then shoots you into a series of drops, twists, and turns, and you don’t catch your breath until you hit the deck. Another awesome ride—fun for most, unless you don’t like getting wet—is the Grizzly River Run. You take to the rapids in an eight-seater raft and get soaked along the way. After MUCH convincing, we got Courtney onto the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, and this is what she looked like…
Yeah, some chick is covering my face… thanks! We had dinner at Downtown Disney just outside the park at the ESPN restaurant. We closed the night with World of Colour, the water show that plays every night. The water moves along with the music, and projections are shown on a fan of water—the music is fantastic.
Tomorrow we will be Hollywood swingin’, and I will finally get to see Marilyn’s star!
Hollywood Swingin’
Most people these days go to Hollywood to see their favourite celebrities of the new millennium. I went to Hollywood mostly to explore the past. I am a HUGE fan of the 50s—Marilyn, Audrey, and one of my favourite 50s comedians, Lucille Ball. Some Like It Hot, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and I Love Lucy are some of my favourites from the silver screen. If I weren’t born in the 90s, growing up on the Spice Girls, I would definitely have wanted to be born in the 50s.
We did a star walk, where I found Marilyn’s star—not Audrey’s or Lucille’s (maybe Friday). But I snapped so many pictures of stars like The Muppets, Shrek, and Kermit the Frog—they all have their own stars, which was pretty cool. Hollywood Boulevard is full of wannabes: “Buy my CD,” singing songs like, “Pay me or I’m going to stalk you,” or “Hey, want a picture with Jack Sparrow?” NO! …Wait a second… yes, I do!
This guy was unreal—even his mouth moved like Jack Sparrow’s did. Made me wonder if Johnny Depp just dresses like Jack for fun and strolls down Hollywood Boulevard, and no one ever knows… Anyway, moving on.
We went on a tour of celebrity homes: Katy Perry (her window was open), Justin Timberlake, Jim Morrison, Al Pacino, Drew Carey, Borat, Jennifer Aniston, Ringo Starr, and quite a few more. The tour also took us down Sunset Boulevard and Rodeo Drive.
After the bus tour, we got free access to Madame Tussauds Wax Museum. Lucky for my sister, they just made a Justin Bieber wax figure… Oh. Em. Gee. Lucky for me, they always have Audrey, Marilyn, and Ginger. For my dad, they had Raquel Welch; my mom, Colin Farrell and John Wayne; and my brother… well, he was cool with Obama and the Godfather.
Some of you may be saying, “Uh, a wax museum… woo… hoo…” Seriously, you will be giddy. It’s the next best thing to actually meeting them, I swear.
Surfside Dinner
I told my dad about Bubba Gump’s before we left, as I heard it was great from my BFF Vicki B. My dad asked a local for his input, and guess what? He said the same—so that’s where we went. It is the ultimate Forrest Gump experience: they quiz you and have signs for the waiters. If you want them to come to your table, you flip it to “Stop Forrest Stop,” but if you wish to be left alone, flip it to “Run Forrest Run.” Only my parents had watched Forrest Gump—in 1994—so us kids were S.O.L., except I knew one.
“My momma always said, ‘Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.’”
Boom. Done. Next. Brittany is the winner! Anyway, food and service were great; my dad and I agreed it was the best service we’d had since arriving.
Disneyland tomorrow, sailors… See ya REEEAAAAAL soon!
Disneyland
Walt Disney—a beautiful, imaginative, and magical man. Honestly, who doesn’t enjoy Disney? Today was for my grandpa, who went into surgery yesterday, and for my grandma (Rest In Peace), who, with my grandpa, took my father and his brothers to this magical land in the ’70s and made them ride It’s a Small World twice after they made her ride the Matterhorn. It’s a Small World was fantastic, though the song does stick with you. The Matterhorn was closed today, to my dismay, but my family took solace in Splash Mountain—we rode it three times.
The first ride we gravitated toward was Thunder Mountain Railroad. Since Space Mountain and the Matterhorn were closed, it was a pretty darn good rollercoaster. We took some easy rides, like the train around the perimeter of the park and the Jungle Cruise. Some of my favourites were Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Tom Sawyer’s Island, where you take a raft to an island and explore pirate caves and secret hideaways. All in all, it was a tiring day. If you go, wear good shoes and write down where you parked your car—we forgot.
Universal Studios
Alright, I want to be honest… the magic has been left in Disneyland. The rides at Universal Studios were a wee bit lacklustre. I heard rave reviews about rides such as Jurassic Park, The Mummy, and The Simpsons. I would say only one of the three was excellent, and that would have to be Jurassic Park—we rode it twice. Universal’s more interactive approach worked for them. I highly recommend the Backlot tour, which alternates between a tour of movie sets and interactive adventures (I will not spoil it).
The House of Horrors had me screaming at every corner, and my 18-year-old sister screamed, “Mommy, make it stop!” as she gripped my mother’s hand and pulled me back while I was trying to run out. World of Water was awesome, with a story unfolding before your eyes like live theatre, mixed with stunts, pyrotechnics, and hydrotechnics. The special effects show was fascinating—they show all their Hollywood movie tricks, past and present, from King Kong to Coraline.
This was the first time I danced on a stage in about two years, and it was fantastic. There is a Blues Brothers show three times a day, and my dad is a big fan, so we went. Midway through the show, they got everyone to stand. Elwood marched right over to my sister and me and said, “You two, come with me.” WHAAAAAT?! …So I did. We were ushered on stage to dance to Shake Your Tail Feather, and it was way too fun.
The day was short—10 AM to 6 PM (park hours)—but it was nice, giving me time to come back to the condo, blog, hot tub, and have some wine.