The 2-Hour Tour

On our first morning in San Diego, we knew exactly what we wanted to do... go cruise the harbor! This was Steven's first time in San Diego, and the closest I got to the water when I was there in grad school was a pavilion overlooking the harbor at the convention center.

(For those of you who don't know, that's Laura B.! She and I were grad school roomies and coworkers, and she was one of my fabulous bridesmaids!)

Unfortunately on that trip, the flowers on the building were prettier than the shot of the harbor!

This time was different. Steven and I hopped a cab to the bay, grabbed tickets from the Convention and Visitor's Bureau (if you visit San Diego -- GO HERE FIRST! We saved so much on admission to everything, even the zoo). Then we boarded our boat for a 2-hour harbor cruise.

Despite the never-ending, cheesy jokes from the captain, the cruise was alot of fun. The first half of the cruise was of the south end of the harbor. And for some reason it was HOT out on the water. And being the geniuses we are, we forgot to pack Steven a hat. So we improvised.

And if he ever sees that I posted this photo, he will kill me. So no telling. K? Thanks!

The entire coastline was absolutely gorgeous. It was at this point I started begging to move there.

We got to see tons of Navy vessels, and learned lots of random facts about how to tell cruisers from destroyers, and so on. Do I remember any of that? No. So here are two pictures of some sort of military boats.

After the first hour, we docked. Some people got off. Other people got on. We scouted out better seats. And then we headed north. And it got nice and cool.

We saw these cute little boats. All lined up along the coast. Apparently the boat owners/captains live on them. And pay rent for these little spots. Like $200 plus a month. For a buoy. 

We kept heading north. Admiring the ships, the water, and the breeze. And then it got cold. And windy.

Did I mention I wore a skirt that day? It even got cold enough for Steven to come inside where it was warm. Then the captain/narrator/king of bad jokes mentioned Sea Lions, so we all ran back out into the wind.

They were cute, but not as cute as the ones at the Zoo, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

After the cruise we walked over to the very touristy Seaport Village and got lunch. We also got Steven a hat, to avoid more of the brochure-hat incidents.

We had Chicago-Style Deep Dish, on the harbor in San Diego, of all places. Oh well. It was yummy. Next up is the USS Midway and the famous San Diego Zoo!

The Surprise Vacation ... California Dreamin'

We've discussed the possibility of going somewhere over Memorial Weekend for months. We both had Friday and Monday off, making it the perfect opportunity for a getaway. We also knew we'd have no time to do this around our anniversary, so we decided to take advantage of the opportunity. Steven decided that he needed to surprise me, so for weeks he plotted and planned the vacation, while I plotted and planned how to get him to tell me.

Image Credit

But he didn't. Wouldn't. Laughed at my pitiful attempts. I may or may not have sulked. 

But it was so worth it, when Thursday morning, before our last half day of work, he told me that we were off to San Deigo. I was beyond excited, ecstatic, or any other e-word that's appropriate here. I absolutely adore California. Every time I go there, I want to just have all of our stuff shipped to us and never leave. I'm sure Foster wouldn't mind the plane ride.  

Ok. So he would mind. But he'd get over it after a Scooby Snack or something. 

But I digress. 

So we worked our half day and took off for the airport. And we waited. And waited. And waited. The flights were awful. Apparently EVERYONE was dreamin' of California for Memorial Day.

So we waited some more. 

Then, a miracle happen. A flight got delayed coming into Dallas. 

A dozen people misconnected. 

We got on. 

The Last of Disney...

I took a ton of pictures at Disney, but, well I'm honestly tired of posting about it. So here are the last of my favorite pictures. We had a ton of fun, and learned a lot about how to do Disney the right way. Next year we're going to Hawaii for our big vacation. I think Steven will be thankful for something a little more low-key :) So, without further ado, the last of the Disney 2010 photos:

You Can Fly, You Can Fly, You Can Fly!

I have never been a fan of heights. Slides scared me as a child. Ladders scare me as an adult. While I say that I'd love to skydive, I really just like the idea of skydiving. Let's be honest. I don't even like jumping off the diving board at the pool.

So when another guest at Disney mentioned this "really cool" attraction at Downtown Disney where you can go up in a helium balloon, I turned a little green. Steven, on the other hand, looked like a kid at Christmas.

So went went to Downtown Disney. We shopped, we walked, and I glared at the sky, hoping Steven wouldn't notice the giant red and yellow balloon. But he did. He practically RAN to it. I was secretly praying it would be insanely expensive, or that the line would be ridiculous. ANYTHING.

I mean, who trusts a HELIUM balloon? Seriously. You buy them for a birthday party, and they're on the ground a day later. Who would trust a helium balloon to carry them a thousand feet in the air? Or thirty feet. Whatever. 

My husband would, that's who. 

So I went, and held on for dear life. All the way up, and all the way back down.

And I lived, but just barely. 

And I might have had a little bit of fun. But if you tell him, I'll deny I ever said so. 

Welcome to Hollywood!

Our day in Disney's Hollywood Studios was... well interesting. We visited this park last because according to all of the crowd calendars, it was the only day that wasn't going to be horrific. They had Magic Hours over the weekend, and then as Easter approached, the crowds were supposed to go up, up, up! 

Well, surprise surprise. The crowds went UP a day early! We arrived at the park to a ridiculous crowd. We raced to Rockin' Roller Coaster for fast passes, and soon after grabbed ones for the Tower of Terror. The fastpasses for Toy Story Mania were gone long before lunch, and the line crept along with wait times reaching more than 3 hours. You know those days that test your patience? This was one of them. We were hot, cranky, and couldn't get in to do ANYTHING we wanted. Even the backlot tour had a wait of over an hour ... the typical wait is about 5 minutes. It was long, tiring, and frustrating. 

We weren't the only frustrated people though... Magic Kingdom had a back up 3 miles outside of the parking lot. They closed that park off to people with just single day tickets. The whole thing was a madhouse.

Luckily though, after giving ourselves an afternoon time-out at ABC Commissary (and treating ourselves to dessert!) we were able to get into the Indiana Jones Stunt show, and from there the day started to move and a much happier pace. We got to ride Star Tours, and found out later that this ride will be closing later this year for some "re-imagining."

We saw alot of the short little shows, to break up the time between rides. I enjoyed the exhibits after the Art of Disney Animation Show.

After twisting and turning and fighting our way through the park, the time reached 8:30 p.m. I still hadn't come within spitting distance of the entrance to Toy Story Mania. We went and saw the wait time down to 90 minutes. The park closed at ten. Perfection. So we waited.

I admired Disney's ability to recreate childhood favorites, and maintain perfect theming throughout a long line.

I giggled over the cute signs, and watched as my husband and most everyone around me became grumpy, tired and bored. Then I became grumpy tired and bored.

Then we got to this guy. He talked, cracked jokes, and was generally entertaining... until I realized we'd been within earshot long enough for him to get through his entire cycle ... ugh. Luckily a short time after that an angelic cast member sent us up the handicapped line to fill in a hole. We considered hugging her, but refrained.

The we rode the ride, and our arms hurt, and I kicked Steven's tail. I almost photographed the scores, but I thought he was grumpy enough.

And that friends, was our last full day in the parks. We spent the next morning at Downtown Disney (and rode Characters in Flight -- cool yet terrifying!) and the next evening at Epcot, where we ate at very yummy Le Cellier. Then Thursday came, and we were tired. Very tired. We swam, and contemplated what we would do for the next two days. 

Then we realized the only thing we wanted to do was go home.

Do you remember those Berenstian Bears books from when you were a kid?  One was called Too Much Birthday. This was our own version of that book. Too much vacation. We had a blast, and loved every second, but I have never been so tired in my life.

So we packed in a hurry, made a few calls and headed out. We waved goodbye to Disney, and headed back to Texas. 

Back in Texas & The Magic Kingdom

Steven and I made it back from San Diego today. When the flight attendant announced the current temperature at DFW when we were taking off from California there was an audible groan on the plane. It was 98 degrees. I don't think it went over 75 the whole time we were in San Diego. Possibly more like 70. Needless to say California Weather in May = Glorious and Texas Weather in May = GROSS!

So while I'm muddling through the thousand pictures I took in my future home favorite weekend vacation spot, I thought I'd work on finishing up the Disney photos. We spent 1.5 days in the Magic Kingdom, and I literally took 10 pictures. Here are 4 of them. It was hot, busy, crowded, and much fun. We also got stuck on Space Mountain. No, I don't have pictures of the inside, because I was afraid of falling to my death. It was pretty cool though. So, without further ado, our abbreviated photo tour of the Magic Kingdom Park:

Up next is Hollywood Studios. Most of the Hollywood Studios photos were taken while waiting in line for Toy Story Mania. We waited for 90 minutes... and that was a short wait that day.... more to come!

Hello From Sunny, 65 Degree San Diego!

Steven and I ran off for a quick trip to San Diego for the weekend! We cruised the harbor yesterday, and today we're heading back out to the USS Midway, and then to Gaslamp and Old Town. Tomorrow we're hitting up the zoo! The last of the Disney pictures will (hopefully!) be up this week! More when we get back... but for now I'm going to go enjoy the sunshine and the glorious temperatures!

My Floridian Safari

I've heard mixed reviews about Animal Kingdom. Some people love it, some people hate it, and it literally made one of my friends ill every time she went there. Needless to say, I went into Animal Kingdom with some reservations.

As it turns out, we adored every minute we spent in Animal Kingdom. We got rained out on our first day, so we returned for another day of fun. Like all Disney parks, the theme-ing was awesome. We especially enjoyed the Africa and Asia sections. More to come on that later.

Today, it's all about the Kilamanjaro Safari! We loved it so much, we rode it twice! Here are some of my favorite shots from our African-Floridian Safari!

That's just a quick overview of our Safari. We had a blast, and thanks to Disney's classic magic and theming, it felt incredibly real! Well other than the cheesy poacher story line, but I just chose to ignore it!

Next up are the few... very, very few... photos I took in the Magic Kingdom.  We were so busy when we were there that I barely remembered to pull out my camera! But I promise there will be more from Disney's Hollywood Studios and the rest of Animal Kingdom. Like I said, we love, love, love Animal Kingdom. It was just more our speed than the other parks. Everything seemed calmer and less stressed. 

Hope that everyone had a lovely weekend!

Wordless Wednesday - Safari Preview

Snapshots of Future World

Stay tuned for Magic Kindgom, World Showcase, The Safari, Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios.  Although, I can't guarantee that order, or that I'll actually spread it out to that many posts. We shall see. 

Coming Soon...

Our trip to the happiest place on Earth...