Disneyland 2024 - Day 3 - Foiled by Children

When Kerry was planning our trip she had to look up what the start time is for each park and we were confused by the fact that the park didn't open until 9:00a on Sunday the 21st. We soon discovered what was going on when we went to get in line. There was something called the CHOC Walk which stands for Children's Health of Orange County. I guess they get to do a walk through the park which is why it opened later. This itself wasn't a problem but I think they either handed out free passes or people did the walk and then did Disneyland because the lineup was backed up to the middle of the courtyard entrance.

We started with Galaxy's edge before heading over to New Orleans Square and hopping on Pirates of the Caribbean. Ordinarily we would be trying to do Splash Mountain, Pooh Bear and the Haunted Mansion at this time but all three of these rides are closed. We did see some baby ducks. I guess that is the same. We also spent some time in the gift shop after Pirates looking for something for Uncle Ronnie. I liked the "The Beatings Will Continue Until Moral Improves" hat since he's a crew chief at Air Canada Jazz but I think Kerry went with a shirt instead.

We then spent a bit of time in Fantasyland where we got on Mister Toad's ride. All these Fantasyland rides are effectively the same though I would have preferred Peter Pan as it hangs you from the ceiling in a boat instead of just a car. I passed on doing the tea cups. There wasn't room for a fifth in the tea cup anyways and I hate the spinning. I realized I don't mind the spinning on Mater's Junkyard Jamboree but in that ride the vehicle itself doesn't spin where as the teacups do spin and you can control the spin and of course I never get to control.

We went back to the hotel and spent some time by the pool before heading to the Cheesecake Factory and then park. As we got into the park, the train was right at main street and we were headed to Tomorrowland so it was a good opportunity to take the train. We started in day time and ended in night time and it was interesting that they stopped in New Orleans Square despite the fact that you couldn't get off or on at the station. We just had to sit there for several minutes staring at the plywood construction walls. We did get a quick look at the construction though and it looks like they are still a few months away from opening back up.

When Kerry and I were here before kids we managed to get on the Story Book Canal Boats just as the fire works were staring so we knew that if you timed your line right you could get 'stuck' on the ride during the fireworks that are shot off both in front of and behind the ride. As we were getting on they referred to our boat as a 'Fire Boat' so we timed it perfectly. About 60 seconds in they stopped the boat and we got to watch the fire works from a great view point and while sitting. The timing was about 9:27 for anyone that wants to try this themselves.  

 

Disneyland 2024 - Day 2 - Early Rise Resisted

We're staying at a Disneyland hotel which means that one some days we can enter the park earlier than normal. On Saturday that meant we could get in at 7:30a and some rides were running as soon as we entered the park. We decided to pass some of those rides up and try to get into 'Galaxy's Edge' to do 'Rise of the Resistance'. This is definitely one of our favorite rides but it was closed all day on Friday. This was likely the best chance we were ever going to have of being near the front of the line because we were at the closest entrance at rope drop. Unfortunately it was closed on Saturday morning as well. 

We salvaged things by going on 'Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run' which is good and on our list but it's usually pretty easy to get on so it seemed like a bit of a waste of our early morning. Carter and Kerry were in the pilots seats, Callie and Melissa were gunners and I filled in the engineering role with the last seat empty. When steering, one goes up and down and one goes left and right. Carter was very unhappy with Kerry's flight skills and I think he wanted to throw her out an airlock by the time the ride was over. I think they score your flight but I didn't bother looking. It didn't seem good based on the rough ride.

'Rise of the Resistance' was still down so we started land hopping and went over to do the 'Jungle Cruise' and then 'Toon Town' where we managed to get a picture with Peg Leg Pete. This is the first time I've ever seen him as a character for photos. He was in front of 'Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railroad' which is a new ride in 'Toon Town' that we first rode in Orlando. When we were at Disneyland last time, 'Toon Town' was completely closed and now it had a nice new look. For this trip though we have Haunted Mansion, Pooh Bear, Splash Mountain all closed which feels like a lot to be closed all at once.

We finished Toon Town with the coaster before doing It's a Smallworld and Indiana Jones and then we headed back to the pool. The pool was way busier than any I've been to despite it being quite a bit larger. I think there are at least three main pools with multiple hot tubs and you have to check in when you arrive to get a wrist bracelet so they can make sure you are staying at the hotel. The bracelet allow you to order food easily and charge to your room which we definitely did not do. Drinks were $18 and everything was equally expensive. I think prices have doubled since we were here just a decade ago.

For dinner we went to the Lamplight Lounge which used to be Arial's Grotto. We weren't super hungry so most of us just ordered appetizers and we were not disappointed. Kerry and Melissa had the lobster nachos and they said they were quite possibly the best nachos they had ever had. Callie and I had the potato skins which surprising did not have any skins at all. They were essentially hash browns that I think had been marinated in something before being formed into patties and deep fried. They were the best potato skins without potato skins that I have ever had. We went to Ghirardelli for desert before I headed back to the room. 

Disneyland 2024 - Day 1 - San Diego to Anaheim

A bit of a different start to our summer vacation this year. I was in San Diego for a conference so the plan was for me to travel from there to Anaheim and meet the family in Disneyland. I could have taken a flight which would have meant a taxi to the airport, waiting for the plane, the flight and then a taxi from LAX. It probably would have taken 5 or 6 hours. Instead there was an Amtrak train that left from about three blocks from my hotel and ended up just a 5 minute cab ride away from Disneyland. I left San Diego at 6:01a and was in the park by 8:45a, all for $40 dollars USD and they even offered free snacks and coffee as it was a business class ticket. I highly recommend.

When I got to our hotel I attempted to check in however our room wasn't quite ready yet. We're in Disneyland for Kerry's 50th birthday and are staying in the Grand Californian. It's not cheap but we're making up for the cost by spending our last night in the airport. Our flight leaves early in the morning and the park closes at midnight so by the time we get done at the park and get to our hotel we'd have to leave in a couple of hours anyways. I checked my bags with the front desk and got my electronic ticket and then headed to the park. The rest of the family was scheduled to arrive after lunch and there was plenty of time for a few rides.

Going to Disneyland as a single rider is quite advantageous. There are several rides that have specific single-rider lines and even when they don't, they often call out asking if there are any single riders to help fill in a row. Within just a few hours I managed to do six rides including Indian Jones and the Millennium Falcon. I joined a nice family of 5 on the Falcon and acted as their engineer. It seemed like a successful run. After this, the conference and the early morning caught up to me and I headed back to the hotel to see if my room was ready. It wasn't so I had quick nap in the lobby until the family arrived.

The family was later than anticipated and didn't arrive until about 3:00p. Their flight had been over fueled so they were assigned another plane. All things considered though they were lucky it was only a slight delay. This was the day of the Crowed Strike bug that shut down millions of computers around the world and grounded thousands of flights. We're hoping things get resolved before the next leg of our trip. Our room was ready and we brought our things up. Carter was excited to get his own Bambi bed.  

The plan for the evening was to go out for dinner with Kerry's brother's family who had already been here for a few days. Unfortunately only Corey and Ryan were able to make it because Kristen wasn't feeling well. We went to the Naples restaurant and which was of course Italian. It was nice that it was only about 100m from the lobby of our hotel. We usually stay in hotels that are about a 15 minute walk which isn't a big deal except when you've already been walking for hours. It's nice to be able to pop up to the room if we forget something or in this case book a restaurant that's at the front door. 

At this point it was finally time for the rest of the family to head into the park. We have park hoppers so by this time we could start at any park and since California Adventure was close we started there. Ryan really wanted to do Grizzly River which is usually a bad idea this late in the day because it's guaranteed to get you wet. Callie and Kerry bought ponchos but the rest of us took the risk. We were pretty lucky and it was still warn so we didn't have to back to the room to dry. We also got the highlight of Carter's trip so far with a selfie with Big Al, one of the bears from the Country Bear Jamboree. 

 

Work Trip to San Diego

The last time I was in San Diego was in 2019 before COVID so it was nice to have an opportunity to go again for a conference. My dad was in town on his way back to Sabo in the Caribbean so we both got a ride to the airport via Kerry. His flight was two hours before mine so I had a bit of time to kill. The timing of check-in seemed to work for me though because when I checked in they assigned me to the exit row. I guess it hadn't sold yet so they just gave people the remaining seats and since I didn't check in myself there was no opportunity for them to charge me. 

I checked into my hotel but my room wasn't ready so I left my bags there. Since this first night was extra I paid for myself and it was a Motel 6. I keep saying this but I think this is the last time I'm doing Motel 6. The room smelt like rubbing alcohol and smoke and when I handed my bags over they didn't even ask for my information or give me a tag. I could have sat in the lobby scoping people out and stolen any bag I wanted at shift change. My first tourist destination was 'Old Town' which is an easy trip on the light rail system. It's a neat area to visit but since I have no room in my luggage, I couldn't do much shopping.

I had plenty of time after a bit of site seeing to go to a Padres game. I wasn't expecting it to be sold out but based on the people trying to get tickets there weren't many left. I was able to get a single ticket behind home plate in the nose bleeds but I liked the seats. When I was buying a couple tried to buy a pair of tickets and the only ones available were $180 for the pair. They declined. A few minutes later someone showed up and flashed their military card and got the same tickets for $60.  There was also a point during the game where everyone military got to stand and get applause. They like their military down here.

The next day I left my hotel room as soon as possible and headed to my new hotel. Much nicer and it was surprisingly ready at 8:00a. It was nice to be able to check in and put my bags somewhere a bit safer then the night before. I then headed to the San Diego Zoo. I think this is my fifth time going and it really is a nice zoo. There is plenty of shade, the exhibits appear well designed and focused on the animals and there are a lot of animals. It was also very expensive at $79 USD. Now I wish I had a military services card. My favorite exhibit this time was watching the 100+ year old Galapagos turtles taking a shower. 

The conference was excellent and I have plenty of information to bring back to work. I also got to go out for dinner one evening to The Fish Market but the highlight food wise was when the conference rented out Balboa park for the Thursday evening. It's many museums including natural history, model railway, art etc. and each museum had different food choices in the lobby. This included fried chicken, kebabs, deserts, open bar and for some reason, entire Tuna's being chopped up and served raw. Not even as part of sushi. Just raw tuna on a bed of rice. It was fun to watch them cut but I did not partake. Now on to part two of my vacation in Anaheim. 

 

- Dinner at the fishhouse

- Bal boa park (fish, railroad, 

Summer in Prince George

Last year we had our Europe trip early in July and were planning on going up to Prince George in August. Unfortunately the engine went in our car and we weren't able to make it. This meant we hadn't been up; for over two years which is the longest I've ever been away from Prince George. I also realized that I moved out of the house 25 years ago and have lived outside of Prince George longer than I lived there. We traditionally go the weekend after school gets out before the summer gets busy so were there for Canada day. We had some food, checked out the fire engine playground and then headed out to the lake.

My brother Eric has done quite a bit of work at the lake property in the past two years. He finished the stone basket retaining wall to manage the eroding beach and he's cleared the brush all around where we tend to hang out. The properly is 2 1/2 acres so much of it remains fully forested but it's good to clear out the brush near where we have camp fires to reduce the fire risk. In recent years we've had fire bans but this year has been plenty rainy so it wasn't a problem. Carter managed to get some time in the kayak and I took some time to build a small garden for strawberry bushes. I wish this properly was closer.

I took some time to take pictures of the entire property that my parents live at. We moved there when I was five and were there until I graduated university and moved to the lower mainland. They have been toying with the idea of selling though it's not easy since there isn't a lot of good places for them to downsize to in Prince George. Mom indicated there weren't immediate plans and asked why I was taking pictures but I did it anyways. I realized that as I was taking pictures almost everything has changed since I lived there. They are still good triggers of those memories though.

Carter had come up with us but he flew back because he had a basketball camp starting on the Tuesday. He still got two full days in PG and really just missed one day since we drove back on the Wednesday.  He was lucky it was only a one hour flight rather tan the 10 hour drive though I admit to mostly sleeping as Kerry does all the driving. We stopped off at some traditional rest stops including the heritage park at 108 Mile. We also stopped in at Hosting's fam in both directions. It's pricy but I like that we're supporting a local economy.  Callie might not make it next year if she has a job so at some point it might just be me flying up. I can always stay a few weeks and work from there. 

Father's Day

I don't have big demands for Father's Day each year. When the kids were younger I would just ask for some sort of sporting equipment that I could use to play with them like a baseball bat or a basketball. Now I tend to request experiences. This year it was Carter's suggestion to go to a smash burger place in Vancouver. I'm not entirely sure we were aware but on one of his recent Friday afternoon outings him and his friends made it all the way downtown to the West End to a place called Vonn's. It's owned by a Palestinian family but the burgers are quite western with a bit of a spice to them. I had the chicken burger which had two entire chicken breasts deep fried. It was very good but not easy to eat. 

Callie's approach to Father's Day is a bit different. She likes to point out that I'm 'not a terrible father'. A few years ago I got a Darth Vader "Galaxy's Best Father" t-shirt and this year the theme continued. The book contains all sorts of examples of less than stellar father's like Thanos and Darth Vader. She seems to enjoy it so I'll take it in stride. 
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Schwab-Kilden Family Garage Sale

We have a local realtor that advertises a garage sale every year and this year we decided we would see if we could make a few dollars for the kids. We've never had a garage sale and usually just donate all our clothes to Big Brother but the crawl space was getting a bit over crowed so it was time to see if we could get rid of some items that we knew we were never going to use again. This started by bringing everything up from the crawl space and scattering it around the house.  The sale was in mid June which isn't a great time for a teacher and people in school so we started about a month out so we had enough time to organize. Our house was a true disaster the whole time.

The benefit of doing it on this weekend was the free advertising. We figured we would get more traffic. Corey's family decided they wanted to join so we each got one side of the driveway. Unfortunately we did not get a lot of traffic. We had priced everything to sell but there just wasn't enough people coming buy that wanted what we had. We did well with some cleaning tools from Reg and our old lawn chairs but in the end we only made about $150. Luckily we packed everything up and took it to Value village and to our surprise they took everything so at least we reached our goal of clearing out the crawl space. We'll do that again when we move in the next decade.