A Trip to Dallas - The Grassy Knoll

Day two started with a trip to the George Bush Presidential Library and Archives. I've never been to a presidential library so I didn't know what to expect. As I arrived I decided the whole thing seemed somewhat absurd. I can't imagine going to the Justin Trudeau library or the Steven Harper library and can you imagine what the Donald Trump library is going to look like? It was still an interesting experience. They had a full mockup of the oval office and the attendant was very knowledgeable though I did stump him with some of my woodworking related questions on the furniture. 

They didn't push a political agenda too much with the exception of the 'The Bush Tax Cuts' and the 'No Child Left Behind' exhibits. I suppose Obama would have Obamacare and half the country would think that would be too political. One of the wings hosted a 'Liberty and Laughter - The Lighter Side of the Whitehouse' which was fun as it showcased the sense of humor of most of the recent presidents. I'm assuming it was a few years old as Trump wasn't represented. There was also several recent Bush paintings. He's actually not that bad.

After the library, I took the train downtown to the hotel I'd be at for the conference and then went to check out the place that JFK was shot. There were several grassy knolls so I'm not entirely sure which one was related to the second shooter discussion. The book repository was also a lot closer then I was expecting. I took a bit of time to listen to some people with flyers speaking. No one mentioned JFK was still alive but there was a lot of talk about the cover up by the government. A few blocks away was a memorial where I discovered his middle name was Fitzgerald. I'm not sure I knew that until now. 

It was a lot easier for me to get around today as everything I was interested in was downtown including the conference where I'll be for the next three days. There are two separate utility conferences in the same location so there are a lot of vendors and it's a giant conference hall. I checked in and got my swag. Highlights were a chocolate bar and some gummy bears. My day will start at 8:30a tomorrow with Rick Perry as the key note speaker. I suspect oil and gas will play a big part in his speech. 

I spent the rest of the afternoon checking out the buildings in downtown Dallas. The most impressive was the old court house that had been turned into a museum but had since permanently closed. I checked in the window and the first exhibit was a Pegasus. I see them everywhere down here and I knew there was a gas station with that as a symbol but I haven't really figured out the full history. There is a giant neon one on top of my hotel which has been there for 80+ years. I'll have to do more research and try to get a picture. I didn't even know it was there until researching this blog section.

I thought my day was over but there was a lot of noise outside my hotel. I went to investigate and realized there was a viewing party for the Dallas Mavericks. AT&T has a square nearby with a giant video screen where they were showing the game. The warm evenings and people made for a fun atmosphere though they did lose and are now down 3 games to 0. One more home game while I'm here. Hopefully they win. Always fun to be in a city when one of their sports teams wins a playoff game.

A Trip to Dallas - Riding The Rails in the Wrong Direction

The day started very early. In an almost post Covid world not everything is back to normal. Air travel is up but it's been inconsistent and staffing has been a problem. This has resulted in significant delays at airport security. Unfortunately it's hard to predict when the delays happen so for leaving for my 6:00a flight it was a serious consideration to just go the evening before and sleep at the airport. I decided to gamble because I knew they close security overnight and I'd probably just be in the check-in counter area all night. All turned out well. I got there at 3:00a and the ticket counter had just opened. I was near the front of the line for security and no issues getting on my flight.

The flight I had chosen was booked about a month beforehand and was the cheapest I could find. It also happened to be a direct flight which isn't something I can usually take advantage of. I slept through most of the flight which helped me catch up on most of my lost sleep. The main issue I had was that with the time change and the early start I lost track of what time it was in both time zones so I wasn't really sure what meal I was supposed to eat and when. The other issue was the Dallas airport didn't  have a clear taxi pick up area at least where I ended up. I managed to find a security guy who called a cab in for me.

It's Saturday and my conference starts on Monday. I like to add an extra day to work trips so I can explore whatever city I'm in. I tried to research Dallas but it's not really a tourism town and it's very spread out so most people drive. This meant I was going to have problems finding places to go as well as figuring out how to get there. My hotel was near a train station so I took the train downtown. The basic infrastructure was fine but it was not very clear on what train to take and it had a strong pee smell. It looked like most of the people riding were homeless. They had all their belongings with them and I think they were just trying to stay cool. 

My first destination was the Ross Perot Museum of Nature and Science. The station I got off on was a bit sketchy. I had several people approach me for money and a few groups of people approach me from different directions asking about the camera I was holding. I don't usually worry about getting asked for money but it was a bit more aggressive then I was used to. I made it to the museum with no problems and bought a ticket for general entry as well as a ticket for a show on dinosaurs in the Antarctic.

The museum itself was quite nice with a good layout. The content was a bit different from what I would expect from a science museum. The dinosaur movie started with 5 minutes on the importance of 'energy' and the role of oil and coal in the creation of energy. The movie ended with a statement about the impact of volcanoes on global warming and a reminder that Antarctica was warm in the past and it was a great lush environment. I quickly realized this museum was going to have a different message then the ones I was used to in BC and California.

I decided to head back to my hotel before it got dark and hopped back on the train. I had trouble when I arrived figuring out where I was going as the only maps were 'simplified' views of the routes that didn't show an overview of what city I was going to. I ended up getting on a train that took a turn I wasn't expecting. By the time I figured it out I was in the middle of nowhere and the nearby houses were boarded up. I got off and spent the next 20 minutes telling people I didn't have any cash for them. I got asked by 6 different people. I did manage to get back to my hotel but hopefully my second day in Dallas goes a bit better.

Carter's First Solo

Carter's Dinner and Jazz night took place last week. We did this with Callie and it included a multi course meal served with jazz in between. This year they ran into trouble with the catering and it ended up being a Pizza and Jazz night. Not quite the same. The highlight of course was that Carter got to do a solo on his Saxamaphone. The sax usually gets to do a solo. Callie had a flute which isn't a very jazzy instrument. I was quite impressed by his tone. I'm not an expert but I have heard some bad solos but his sounded great considering this is extra curricular and he only started playing this year. He doesn't want to cart his instrument at home so we only get to hear it at events like this. 

A Cool Spring

Not much to report with this post but I wanted to make a note of how cool this spring has been. As of May 19th our warmest day had been 17 degrees and i still hadn't put out the cushions for the patio furniture. the bulbs have been doing fine but things like the Lilacs are only just budding. It does appear to be good for growing new lilacs though. These here are propagated from the the lilac at the Historic Stewart farm and these first four are going back there. The plan is to put the in the front lawn. They will take a few years but they should be quite spectacular in a few years. They started last spring at about 6 inches high. Will plant them in the fall.

Spring Break 2022 - A Trip to Disneyland - Travel Days Home

Kerry and the kids were out late the night before as it was our last day at the park so we left quite late. 8:40a is a couple hours later than what we would typically want to start a drive especially since this drive was going to be 12+ hours. Although we tried to start the trip with limited baggage, somehow by the end of the trip we had run out of cargo space. We were loaded to the ceiling and Callie looked like she was living in a hoarder house in the front seat. She had bags pillows and blankets up to her waist. We stopped for lunch at In and Out Burger. It has a very limited menu and it works for them. They make fries and a couple forms of burgers as well as good milk shakes. Everything is fresh and there are always lots of cars in the line-up. We were trying to make good time so we ate in the car which didn't work out well for Carter. He had a bit of trouble keeping his meal together and Callie kept the tray that came with the meal. He was okay with the burger but felt the fries tasted like styrofoam. Out destination for day one was the Black Bear Diner in the parking lot of our hotel but it closed early so we stopped at the Black Bear Diner in Yreka.

We typically take two days to do this drive but we wanted to have time to do our test before going over the border so we stopped in Seattle for night two. This would mean a short drive across the border the next day. Our hotel was one Kerry had stayed at before. The Maxwell is pineapple themed and they try to trap you into extra purchases such as the cute dog that you can buy with proceeds going towards some charity. You can even by the sheets for $2,000+. Callie bought the dog. We did not buy the sheets. It was a very nice hotel but at $400 it was a bit of a splurge. We had hoped that by cancelling our two days extra in Disneyland we would balance out but we only saved about $260 on those two days.

We got into Seattle around 5:00p and wandered around downtown a bit. Seattle is more of a weekend summer city so Monday night was not very busy. Most business were closing at 6:00p and many of the restaurants weren't even open. We walked past the Space Noodle (as Carter used to refer to it as) down to the piers before heading back up to Pike Street Market. It was of course closed but we did stop in at the first Starbucks. It isn't very big so there was room for a lineup outside though it was just big enough for the people that were there. It too closed early. We added another 15,000 steps wandering around. I think we walked over 100km on our trip.

We woke up around 7:00a on Tuesday morning and got ready to take our Covid test. We decided the most convenient and most cost effective test we could take was via Zoom. Kerry and the kids had 12 tests from school between them and there is a service where someone watches you take the test and then records the results. For $40 we had a rapid test that was good for 24 hours. The process was pretty painless and took about 35 minutes. We ended up getting a PDF that included an image of our passport and the test result and we could upload it at the border. We had heard different opinions on how closely the border guards would look but ours diligently looked at each of our test results. The border itself was amazingly short. Only two lanes open in the mid afternoon and only three cars ahead of us. I'm sure that will change once testing is no longer mandatory as of April 1st. Our trip was a lot of fun and even though it was inconvenient to get tested we are still quite happy we took the leap and went. Only so many family vacations left with Callie in grade 11 this year.

Spring Break 2022 - A Trip to Disneyland - Our Final Day

Today was our last day and we were back to starting at Disneyland and Rise of the Resistance. The lineup never dropped below 90 minutes that we could see, so going first thing was our best option. We got a bit unlucky with the lineup because although we got to the gate early and were near the ropes at 8:00a we took the wrong way into Galaxy's edge. There is one near Frontierland and the one we took near Critter Country. By the time we got to the entrance the line was already snaking in the direction of Frontierland so we had to run backwards against the lineup. Lesson learned for next time.

The ride was even better the second time because there is so much going on. The line up starts as if you are part of the Rebellion and you are on one of their secret bases. You get ushered onto a transport ship and an Admiral Ackbar like character attempts to get you off the base but everyone is captured. You are still in the line up but the transport moves as if avoiding enemy ships. At this point the First Order captures you and you go through the hanger of an Imperial Star Destroyer and are lead into a prison cell where a Jedi frees you and you get on the actual ride.

The ride itself is on an 8 seater cart that moves you through various scenes that include Imperial Walkers, canons on the ship, views of the fight going on outside and even an elevator that drops you fairly suddenly. At this point it turns into a ride much like Star Tours where you are flying in a simulator and they get you back down to the planets surface. Even leaving the ride is interesting as you are back in a rebel base with damaged equipment from the battle. We really loved the Millenium Falcon Smuggler's run ride and but if we had a choice we would pick Rise of the Resistance every time. 

Our goal continued to be to hit all the rides that we hadn't been to and this included the Tiki room. We got lucky and were the last few people in the door and the show started almost immediately. I'm sure this ride was cutting edge when it first started and I do wonder about the technology/electronics that goes into getting the bird movements timed with the singing but I think I fall asleep most times watching it. The room is dark and you are sitting down so sleep is only a few seconds away. It doesn't take up much space so I think they will always keep it around. Plus it's where you get the Dole Whips so we always head in that direction.

We had a Genie Pass to Space Mountain and on our way out I finally found R2 however I was quite disappointed in his construction. Now that I'm trying to build one there are quite a few details that I never noticed before that this one didn't have. The most glaring one for his setup is that his shirt is on backwards. by that I mean that he is leaning the right way but his head should be pointed in the other direction. There are also some details on the shoulder that are missing that I only know about because they will be a pain to recreate. The version they had in the gift shop of Galaxy's Edge was much better. We won't be going for 100% screen accurate because there is no such thing since they had multiple versions in the movies but we will try to include as many details as we can.

As we headed back into Frontierland we saw that the Mark Twain paddle wheeler was leaving so we hopped on for a trip around the park. I'm trying not to always jump on the 'cancel culture' band wagon but we are wondering how long they will have the natives on display. Disneyworld got in trouble for a cheer leading team that was doing an Indian themed war chant about scalping their opponents and they don't have any other scenes with people like this. Also, they don't really say which tribes are represented and it's mostly just stereotypical native scenes. They could at least say which bands are represented.

Out last ride of the morning was the canoes. We often don't get to these because they are closed and I think it's because it can get too hot, both for the passengers and the guides. The weather today was cooler with rain forecast for the afternoon so it was perfect paddling temperature. We decided to take the monorail to Downtown Disney on our way out since it does sort of count as a ride. It only has two stops in Disneyland though they are planning on adding a new large hotel so perhaps they will add another stop as part of that work.

On our way back to the park in the afternoon we had to stop by the lobby of the hotel for pictures in the tree. We've been to this hotel several times so we have many pictures of the kids through the ages. Today was somewhat comical because the kids suddenly found it much more difficult to fit between the branches and get up higher. Callie eventually just gave up and Carter was stuck behind a branch and didn't want to try to get farther. There used to be two trees but it looked like one was cut down and this one might be too big for it's space. Hopefully they replace it with the same type of tree. They are fun to climb.

For the start of the evening we went back to California Adventure Park for dinner and choose Flo's Diner. I had the fried chicken and it was quite delicious. You got three big pieces and it wasn't greasy and the chicken was moist and the spices were perfect. I might only eat there every time we go now. It also came with garlic mashed potatoes with gravy and a side of vegetables. I am not a gravy fan but it was still good. Although we didn't take advantage of it we also discovered a nice quiet area on the back side of Flo's where you can sit. We decided we'd enjoy people watching instead.

Our last ride at California Adventure Park was Luigi's Rollicking Roadsters. It had been closed when we tried previously. The ride itself is quite fun. It's like the teacups but instead of being on a fixed track, the cars are free to move anywhere. This doesn't mean you get to control them. The fun part is that it starts off random and them moves to a choreographed dance where all the cars move in unison. They even throw in a 720 degree spin at one point. 

California Adventure Park closes at 10:00p and Disneyland at 12:00p so we headed back to Disneyland to close out our trip. Unfortunately it had started to rain. I don't think I've ever experienced rain on any of our trips here. The good thing was it slowly cleared out the park. The bad thing was that certain rides like Alice in Wonderland closed. There is a hill on this ride and apparently it gets too slick to run it. Too bad because this was the only ride we didn't do. I headed back to the hotel and Kerry and the Kids stuck around for Splash Mountain to finish out a great trip that was long overdue.

Spring Break 2022 - A Trip to Disneyland - Day Four

Day four had us starting in California Adventure Park again. We had no desire to get in line for Web Slingers and instead planned to go to 'Soaring Over California'. Although this is a popular ride during much of the day, it's apparently not one of the rides people run to first thing in the morning. There was no rope blocking us from getting to the ride and instead we were able to walk right into the lineup at 7:30a. Even by 8:00a there was no more than two full 'flights' lined up. If not for the fact that you can't Genie Pass Web Slingers and Cars I think I would pick some less popular rides to run to.

Kerry and Carter headed over to Guardians of the Galaxy while Callie and I wandered around Hollywood Studios. There isn't actually much to do in Hollywood Studios and hopefully they just take the whole thing over for Marvel which I think is what they've started to do. There are a few 'movie sets' set up and each of them is starting to get the Marvel touch including an area dedicated to Stan Lee as well as the Avengers Super Store. As I say this I still don't think there is enough room. Better that Disney dedicates a whole park to Marvel in the future. Could be a whole land just for Wakanda.

Our mission for today was to wrap up the final rides that we hadn't done. This included Emotional Whirlwind, Jesse's Carousel, the Swings and some repeat rides on the Incredicoaster and Goofy's Sky School. Emotional Whirlwind used to be Flicks Flyers from Bugs Land. I'm not typically too nostalgic but now that they've eliminated Bugs Land entirely I miss some of the rides since we often took the kids there when they were little. The most traumatic ride missing is Heimlich's Chew Chew train. 

Kerry and Carter were on another ride that Callie and I didn't want to do so we decided to park ourselves in front of Web Slingers hoping we could catch Spiderman. He gets the most 'amazing' entrance for when he comes out for photos. They have developed an animatronic version of the character that they sling into the sky. The actor then crawls down the side of the building for pictures. It looked way more realistic than I was expecting. (If you can accept the premise that a radioactive spider created a man who can fly through the air on spider string.)

We started to head back to the hotel but did our traditional walk through the kids area in front of the Grand Californian before walking through the lobby of the hotel. There are currently only three Disney hotels at Disneyland and the high end one is the Grand Californian. Several years ago we stayed at the Disney Hotel and decided we couldn't afford this one even though at the time the difference was only about $100. We should have taken advantage of that price as it's now a much bigger difference and the price is usually about $800 US. Will have to win the lottery or wait for a really good exchange rate.

Now for a quick travel tip. Take pictures of anything you take on vacation so you have a picture of it in case you lose it. I lost my glasses on the Indiana Jones ride and they called with a possible hit and asked me a bunch of questions about them. I couldn't remember anything, not the brand or any real details of what they looked like. I was lucky enough to have pictures of me wearing them so I could claim them if they do find them. So far no luck but I've taken pictures of my new ones. They had a possible hit but they weren't mine. (And I didn't like them enough to claim them as mine. :))

After the hotel and a trip to the Lost and Found to check on our hats and glasses we went back to Disneyland and went on the Jungle Cruise to see the 'back side of water'. Corny jokes were all the same and I didn't notice if they did anything to work in the movie like that had done with Johnny Depp and Pirates of the Caribbean. I'm not sure what they would do but they could at least get his pet panther in somewhere and perhaps include the Rock in the line up somewhere. Maybe they've done something but it was too subtle for me to find. 

We were still marking rides off our list and this included the Train which circles the park. We stopped off at New Orleans Square for some beignets including some sort of 'cookie' version. I didn't notice anything different but it might have been they just had it on the coating and it all fell off. Just tasted like regular beignets. We managed to get right on the train without much of a wait in line and took it to Tomorrowland. We considered getting off at Toon Town but it's closed and almost no one got off at that stop.

All week there had been no Fireworks or significant parades and we just figured they were temporarily on hold to avoid large crowds congregating so when we got in line for the Storybook boat ride we were surprised when the fireworks started. I guess they are just doing Friday/Saturday. Storybook boat ride is a great place to be when they start. They pause the ride and you can be lucky enough to be sitting on one of the boats when the fireworks start. It's a great view and you get to sit down which is a bonus.

My last ride of the evening was Snow White as well as a walk through Cinderella's castle. I then went on a mission to find my last treat for the day. I have a limit of two per day and for some reason I'm not thrilled with the ones they have available. Many are too big and I prefer chocolate items. I'm also quite disappointed that they appear to have eliminated fudge altogether. I used to bring some back to freeze until they changed their supplier and now it's gone altogether. Bring back the fudge Disney!