Forever A Fangirl

Addicted to Disney: Only Nine More Months 'Till Toy Story III Comes Out!

TheFilmStage

"Directed by Lee Unkrich. The creators of the beloved "Toy Story" films re-open the toy box and bring moviegoers back to the delightful world of Woody, Buzz and our favorite gang of toy characters in "Toy Story 3." Lee Unkrich (co-director of "Toy Story 2" and "Finding Nemo") directs this highly anticipated film, and Michael Arndt, the Academy Award®-winning screenwriter of "Little Miss Sunshine," brings his unique talents and comedic sensibilities to the proceedings. Hits theaters June 18, 2010 in Disney Digital 3-D."

You would totally not see me gushing about Toy Story III without my experiences at Disneyland this April past.

First, let me tell you about me, my family, & Disneyland.

I'd wanted to go to Disneyland my whole life but lived on the east coast and had parents that  were not at all interested in the idea(!) Even though I knew a fair number of kids that went to what we then called "Epcot," an adjunct to Disney World in Florida along with Disney World, I hadn't wanted to go there anywhere near as much as I wanted to go to the original Disneyland.

When I was 19 y.o. I moved to Southern California, eventually settling in Huntington Beach and as often as I could afford it I went  to Disneyland and a few years later I married a guy whose Mom worked for Disney and who could bring her family to the Disneyland Park for free--anytime!

Dream come true! I went often and solidified my love for the Disneyland Park.

Life circumstances forced a move to the Chicago area, which though a great place to bring up my kids left us way too far from Disneyland. Also, I did not bring my then spouse, whose best qualities it turned out, began and ended with a mom who worked at Disneyland (j/k but only slightly).

Since I've lived in the Chicago area I've again met lots of folks who've travelled to Disney World which I still have zero interest in, and few that have been to Disneyland. They don't realize that it costs the same or less to vacation at Disneyland as it does Disney World.

Why? Because often, it is nearly the same airfare from here to Disneyland as it is to Disney World and definitely the configuration of Disneyland being in the center of a regular suburb where you can run out and get all of your day-to-day necessities and save a ton of money-- eating out less often (for example, continental breakfast at the motel, pack sandwiches, snacks and drinks in your backpack for lunch, a nice dinner--and a chance to rest in the park) versus Disney World which was plunked way out where you pretty much have no choice or need to be very inventive about saving money on meals and anything else you need to run to the store for.

So to the point, I'm sort of on a fixed income due to heart failure and so we really, really pinch pennies to be able to go to Disneyland so it is a really big deal $$$ to go but it's been a priority of mine to expose my sons to it as it is truly magical in the realm of man-made wonders. My now-17 y.o. gets excited about very little but Disneyland is one place that he honestly loves and even his like-minded father loves going. I gave them the opportunity to get hooked--which once inside the gates took no effort at all. We spend about 4 days in the park and break it up with trips to the beach or San Diego or L.A. or Hollywood--tons of stuff to do in So.Cal.

This time--April 2009, as you probably recall, the economy was going down the tubes fast. The airlines had increased fares and fees and overall, it was a much bigger challenge to pull off this trip but it had been tradition to go every two years and this time we stretched it to 2.5 years and I just wasn't waiting any longer.

I'm so glad we went (though that is my normal reaction)! They've done a bunch of things to add spit and polish to Disneyland proper (ongoing) and all the main attractions were open. It's the adjoining park to Disneyland that is going through a really radical change and based on the blueprints I've seen--and they are proudly showing off plans that will continue for years--the park is going to be what Walt Disney himself would have imagined.

I'd thought California Adventure was just fine and really love some of its awesome attractions both big and small. Soaring Over California--not to be missed, Grizzly River Run--my son's favourite ride in the park and way fun as long as you wear your swimsuit under whatever else you don't care about getting wet. You also need to go on it at least 10 times in a row or more. Crush! Turtle Talk with Crush is awesome, dude! All of the sometimes-overlooked Disney Animation section is great--and constantly being updated.

But!The biggest surprise and the most satisfying ride in California Adventure was one of the first of many changes to come, with a name that needs more zing, Toy Story Midway Mania!

OMG! This is the "funnest" ride since I stumbled across Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters in the Fantasyland section of Disneyland. To call Midway Mania a "4-D attraction" really gives you no clue about how immersed you get in it and how incredibly fun and addictive it is.You really feel a part of the game-ride which involved all the characters from Toy Story in different settings that look straight out of a Toy Story movie and has you trying to take them out with a paint gun whilst in a car moving along, making it way more difficult to do so. As per usual Disney, there are little tricks and shortcuts that you can find and utilize to your advantage though some not so easy to pull off--you must be very quick and accurate.

Midway Mania is perfect for gamer people with their stellar shooting accuracy, but it pulls in a complete non-gamer like me because of the interactiveness and because I'm shooting paint balls, not clicking a keyboard, though I admit my hand got sore after a couple of days of going on it. It encompasses everything the Imagineers and the Pixar people have learned and turned it into an experience that is fun every time. The original Toy Story attraction in the adjacent Disneyland is somewhat similar but on a bigger scale and utilizes "laser" guns. I had actually passed it up the first time out there--didn't go on it once, decided 2 years later to give it a shot and it immediately became my favourite Disneyland attraction. I went on Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters a bazillion times.

So this is a long-winded way of saying that the Pixar people and Disney Imagineers just keep getting better and I'm truly looking forward to Toy Story III as a way to get a taste of the fun of the rides and to appreciate the continuing evolution of Disney/Pixar animation.

I've added on the current promo materials for Toy Story III (premiere: June, 2010) but plan to incorporate Disney's near complete re-thinking of California Adventure and the progress of the changes in the next few years with an additional photo album.

I have all the "blueprints" that were on display at Disney and I'm putting them together and will include them in a post to come so you can have a better idea about how Disney is able to integrate the worlds of our reality with the brilliant minds of Disney Pixar and their resulting mind-blowing interactive creations.

Cont. after Jump: Toy Story 3 - Footage Revealed

Disneyland and Laguna Beach Family Vacation 04/09- Part 1

Last big family trip until the youngest is done with uni. Thank the powers that we have Maple Lake. I'll put up a few more after I go through them. There are some interesting ones of the open-in-2012 "Cars" section of the park. Nifty models and colour plans.

My new favourite Disneyland (California Adventure) ride- "Pixar's Toy Story Midway Madness." <exhale>
Mr. Potato Head is animatronic and interactive. Keeps you company in the line--which we found later can be bypassed by riding single rider--no line at all. I sucked at this paintball shooting game but it was big fun. Lots of people said they liked it more than Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters in Disneyland but they are really different.

I love Disney but I could have stayed here for a week, just chillin'. It's south Laguna Beach at sunset.

I have a ton of Disneyland shots but this too is in Disney's California Adventure whcih they are in the process of a near-complete makeover after only 8 years(!).There were flowers everywhere and after the long Chicago winter everything looked so _alive_.

Trading Detroit-Windsor For Port Huron-Sarnia

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Starting back in June when we drove to Maple Lake, Ontario to open up the cottage for the summer we endured what was the most dreaded part of the trip--crossing the border into Canada at Detroit.

Crossing into Canada at Detroit-Windsor is frustrating, time consuming, confusing and worst of all IMO, frightening if you are unfortunate enough to to do so when it's dark.

Due to various commitments here we often did it in the dark--and I did it alone--for the last time I might add. The second to last time that we came home I made up my mind: no Detroit crossing for me. It appeared that crossing the border by driving slightly north--via Flint, MI would be viable though possibly of a longer duration. Every other trip we'd made via Detroit--six of them previously this summer--resulted in a travel time of a minimum of 13 hours. We don't dawdle or make excessive stops, either. Short stops with some brisk walking (we have a dog) and back on the road. This trip we ventured out and decided to blow Detroit off completely. The crossing at Port Huron-Sarnia was painless and fast and on the way home we made the almost 700 mile trip in 12 hours flat!

We had a superb long Labour Day weekend. We took an extra day so had three full days at the cottage. The weather just got better each day with the last actually getting quite hot. It was hands-down the best weather of the 5 weeks total that I spent on Maple Lake this year* and it was a fantastic send off for summer.

*They broke a 70-year record for rainfall.

My very favourite Maple Lake photo from summer, 2008.

 

Two weeks later this groin (the rock thing above that spouse built) help form this much beach (below w/ red canoe). There was no beach initially due to rain all summer.

   

 

Spouse is a master beach-maker!

 

Overshare

Not quite finished steps to cottage

 

Aug 26, 2008 at 3:45 AM

Did you know I see a shrink once every 3 months? Now you do. I saw him today. I never stay longer than 5 minutes. He makes upwards of $100 for 5 minutes though I think he can only squeeze in maybe 6 patients per hour, leaving the rest for quickly-scrawled mandatory paperwork. Dx: Depression w/anxiety though I think I've had a handle on the depression for about 5 years now. Prior to that other long stretches as well. First time I've been diagnosed with anxiety but it practically ruled my life prior to the heart failure. (Yes, I've wondered if there was a connection as my heart failure was of unknown causes (kinda spooky, not knowing). Anyway Dr. P. is doing medication management--but forgot to ask about that today. ;)

New store with my name...where's the apostrophe?!

 

OK. Gotta go. Twitter updates and Photoshop just to give you something. I'll be back

*Smooches*

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New store with my name...where's the apostrophe?!

I'm not sure if I over-shared this. The Lake had more rain this summer and spring past than it's had in 70 years. That's' before my dad--who is the patriarch--started going up there--before the cottages were built.

My week alone...before spouse groomed the bank ;)

Lake Bottom and my personal flotation device (raft)

Got a little yucky for a short while after storms

 

Twitterific: 8/25/08

Comment spamming my personal blog, catching up. I'm terribly behind.
Twitter is too much for me! Do not deserve the noble moniker "blogger." 10
minutes ago from web

Must finish the great dig--my email--before our trek north Fri to Maple Lake, Ontario, CA. Cottage closing, saying goodbye to the Lake :( (about 2 hours ago from web)

 

Also, I need to drop email from my life completely, forever. *sigh* A fond daydream.

 

Time to make Earl Grey and watch Weeds! about 2 hours ago from web

 

Remembering that I forgot to celebrate 10 yr Anni of not dying from heart failure. Aug 19-a fun day spent at Gameworks for 16 y.o.son's b-day about 2 hours ago from web

Aug 2: Sunset--exactly as it was

 

Purple Dinosaurs and Ruby Slippers...

 

...are a couple of things that are suggested as packing items to be added to the bags you intend to kiss goodbye to check in with the airline when you next travel by airplane.

Chances are good that bags are going to get lost--so that is the advice being doled out by the Big Three airlines and travel experts. Plus, in the words of another airline representative,
If you fly, "ask a million questions" but "don't tax the system" or things may turn ugly.

Flying was scary enough without veiled threats and directives to put "unusual objects like purple dinosaurs or ruby slippers" in each of your checked bags because when the inevitable happens you'll have a better shot at getting your bags back.
Last new bit of advice for airline passengers that I learned today: Make multiple copies of your itinerary and laminate one for each checked bag. That way when they lose your luggage it will help them in maybe getting it back for you.

I feel travel plans being canceled and road trips coming on.

Dad's Day recap

Today was a bit different.

My 15 y.o. took me out for his practice driving. It was only the second time he's ever driven a car and he did well.

We started in a parking lot and went to side streets. The downside to side streets is that they can be narrow and the downside to life is that some people cannot parallel park so we had a very near brush with an oversize parked SUV hogging a chunk of the road. I gasped involuntarily but otherwise did not get at all alarmed on the outside. :p

It's actually kind of cute 'cos Chris is saying stuff like, "I can't go out onto the main road because I've never driven behind a car." So innocent-sounding. Even though he's a teen there's still a wee bit of the stuff that I got all mushy about when I towered over him, not the reverse as it is now.

His dad works 7 days a week so we had a nice take away dinner from Sizzling Wok and then went and did our usual Sunday evening thing of mini-golf. "Al," the manager recognized us from last season and said the fees were "on him"! That's $25.75, ladies and gentlemen. My wallet thanks him--and I thought he was a cool dude before.

The rain held off until the 7th hole and by the time we got to the 13th it had stopped but we were soaked. We rode top down and got semi-dry on the way home where we did prezzies--just sensible stuff--clothes. Cool greeting cards though that we mocked up ourselves and printed so a nice ending to the weekend.

I hope everyone had some fun. Here we go--another week!

Take care and make it a good one!

xx

Cyn

From last weekend:

My Uncle Jim w/ a three-lb. pickerel (small pike) his 9-y.o. granddaughter caught in Maple Lake on our first day there.

That is spouse behind him.

If you're getting one, how are you planning on spending your tax refund?

Spouse finally finished our income taxes last night and we get a refund!

Also, he informed me that the silly Economic Stimulus Act 2008 “rebate” which is 5 times the size of the tax refund is going to really help towards vacation. (We try to break even. Using the US government as a no-interest-earning savings account does not compute for us.)  It will pan out that we are going to spend most of our "big American dollars" in my native Canada.

What is that saying, "As Canada goes, so goes the United States."?

I kid, I kid. It used to be the other way around but I think in some key ways the Canada of today is more European-leaning than USA-following. IMO, the "foot down" moment was when Canada would not follow the USA into the Iraq war though they did, like a number of other countries send military support-- and bore the casualties.

I love the States. But not the "rebate."

Note to Bush: These rebates need to go to pay the quadrillion dollar National
Debt you've racked up on the war and other bad choices, dumb-a$$.

Transition/ While we were walking Raven last night spouse reminded that his itty-bitty work bonus is being distributed in a month as well. In order of size we have Geo. Bushes rebate, and both the tax refund and the work "bonus" are about the same–not very big, but together nothing to sneeze at.

I think that like many people, we’ve been spooked by the thought of gasoline prices getting even higher over the summer and how much that may curtail our usual plans. It’s with enormous relief that I can anticipate a slight financial uptick for us and have the ability to start really planning for fun times!

It’s been a long, cold, wet winter and it’s so nice to be able to realistically plan for summer vacation!/edit

We hashed out all the days off tonight. We are less restained so far this year with son only going to summer school for half the summer (driver's ed--another post) and then needing a dermatologist appt/ blood test once a month. And spouse was granted another week's vacation having been with the Company 10 years so yay! for vacation.

So we'll be merrily burning up gasoline going back and forth all summer if all goes as planned.

I''ll also need to get the Interent installed at Maple Lake if I'm staying half the summer in total~ Two long weekends  for putting together/putting away the cottage plus possibly six weeks! This is very exciting stuff.

I'm just going to fret about the Internet*** until then as it's satellite and expensive. Bleh. I'll dive into that later today.

***Long story about begging for Internet in the woods of Ontario at: My other other blog ~ Maple Lake Ontario .

Beware! Meme and Johnny Depp 2008 Ahead!

I blame Broke and Angry for all the time I spent on this. Fun, but time-consuming!

To do this meme:

Go to your search engine and type in your answer to the following questions. Then click on the "image" results and pick one photo from the first page of results.

1. Age at my next birthday (not fair! I just had a birthday!):

2. Place I'd like to travel: Paradise Island

      

                              3. My favourite place:

4. Favourite object(s): (mine is zinc yellow tho')                              

5. Favorite food (I picked holiday food):

         

Pecan pie

6. Favourite animal:

Schipperke dog

This little guy looks a lot like our Raven when she was younger. So much that I'd think it was Raven --but of course, it's not. heh. (Plus, Raven doesn't have boy parts.)

7. What my pet's name is:

I like "Raven's" cape. :)
More after jump...(Click--->)

Wired: "Watch the Film That Inspired It All: C'était un Rendez-vous"

I'm glad watching this is not illegal. It's too much fun! Come to think of it though, what the driver is doing in his circa 1976 Mercedes (the sound of an "Alpine or Ferrari engine added later," according to a commenter) is for sure illegal. There's an explanation (in the comments within this post but before reading look closely--at the sky, and lights--or not--as visual clues as to the times of day and even year this was filmed. It's very fun, I  promise. Most guys will love it but if you're a chica with a need for speed, it's also a blast (though sometimes the buses across intersections were a bit unsettling).

Watch the Film That Inspired It All: C'était un Rendez-vous

From Wired Online: By Charles Graeber 10.16.07 | 12:00 AM

Alex Roy's Cannonball dreams started with a movie, but it didn't star Burt Reynolds. The film was C'était un Rendez-vous. Made in 1976, it's a dashing precursor to every Jackass-inspired digicam stunt ever posted on YouTube — nine heart-pounding minutes choreographed to a screaming drivetrain. Through a bumper-mounted camera, the viewer becomes the car — traveling more than 80 mph as the anonymous driver revs into the enormous traffic circle around Paris' Arc de Triomphe, steers hammer-down from the Champs Élysées to Sacré-Coeur in Montmartre (through 16 red lights, wrong-way one-ways, stunned pedestrians, garbage trucks, and median strips (edit/ and many pidgeons--C.) to meet up with a beautiful blonde waiting patiently in the park at the Montmartre church.

Below~ Some comments not my own (including the answer to the type of car  this is. Hint: It's more than one!):

Gone To Maple Lake

Heading out in the morning to spend Labour Day weekend at Maple Lake and to close the cottage up for the winter.
Despite the fact that we'll be driving as much as vacationing  we had such a great time there last month that we couldn't bear to have it be our only visit of the year.

If my Dad reads this he should rest assured that Uncle Jim will check the cottage after we've closed it up to make sure we've winter-proofed correctly--so no worries.

Forecast is for stellar weather so we should be able to get out on the Lake and for sure I'll be in the Lake as well.

Until later, y'all take care!

CN Tower, Toronto--The World's Biggest Disappointment

I was born in Toronto, Canada many moons ago but left when my father, due to work, was transfered to the United States.
Since then there have been many changes  in Canada including a population jump of about 14,000,000  to  33, 390, 141 (July, 2007 est.).

I visit Ontario with my son and spouse at least once a year, traveling to the oft-mentioned Maple Lake. However, I rarely make it back to the metro Toronto area. This trip though we squeezed in a bit of time in an effort to see some of the city--most of which has changed drastically or did not exist when I resided there.

One of the most hyped attractions in Toronto is the CN Tower which at at 1815 feet in height, is arguably the world's tallest free-standing structure.

Though in no way an aesthetic wonder, The Canadian National Tower was near our hotel and seemed a good choice to attempt to view the sunset over Lake Ontario (it had rained that day with clearing in the early evening).

The ride up to the Indoor Observation deck was uneventful. When we got to the deck the sun was just sinking behind some lingering clouds so no spectacular sunset this time.

When one purchases tickets (about $30 CDN each) to enjoy the views of the CN Tower the agents urge tourists to to fork over another $5 to fully experience the wonder of the view by traveling higher to the Sky Pod, "the World's Highest Public Observation Deck... located at a dizzying 447 m (1,465 ft.)."

We agreed to go though we were told that there was a 40-minute wait to board the Pod once one had ascended to the Indoor deck.

The wait turned out to be about 2.5 hours. If we'd known this we'd not have chosen to go as when one is "that" high a couple hundred more feet is almost not discernible.

What ticked me off and what I find patently ridiculous is that the sole elevator to the Sky Pod can only hold 9 people at a time. Nine. Tourists are not informed of this when purchasing tickets.

Whomever thought up this ruse to empty tourists of  another finn(sp) should be strung up by their thumbs. Seriously. We had a very limited amount of time in Toronto. Spending all that time in line to see something that we pretty much saw already after a much shorter wait was just ludicrous.

I've always been a no-questions-asked supporter of Toronto/Ontario but I learned a big lesson here.

Canadians can be as crass and money-grubbing as anyone. The CN Tower is nothing special. The views I saw (taking the slight cloudiness into consideration) were no better than what I'd see from the plane. Almost a hundred dollars lighter in the pockets and so much time lost left me feeling that my "perfect" city  is anything but.

Though there are many great sights to see in Ontario, simply stated, the CN Tower is a tourist trap.

For the Folks

My folks usually spend several months at Maple Lake each year but they cannot this year. Here's a few shots of the Lake for them, plus a bonus shot or two taken from the CN Tower of their hometown, Toronto.

(Photoshopped the boats out)                                                                                                

                                                                        

                                                                                                                     

Toronto at sunset from the CN Tower. Some interesting architecture going on, especially with some "smaller" buildings (keep in mind, all is being viewed from one of the tallest buildings um, on the planet). I'd have to study up to name anything here, though.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Part of the harbor, a bit of Lake Ontario
(Toronto)                                                                                     

"Bonus" shot of my son at Casa Loma in Toronto.
I have a ton of Casa Loma shots to sort through as both spouse and son had cameras.                                                                                                                   

We're Home...

...as of about midnight.
Everyone--even our dog Raven is wiped out.
Thankfully, the trip home was uneventful save for the awful time we had with the traffic getting out of the city of Toronto. It reminded me of  Chicago gridlock--and it was mid-morning--not the time that I'd have expected such a jam.

We stayed in Chinatown for our last two nights in Canada. I've heard that there are four Chinatown's in TO--we were in the one about 6 blocks in from the CN Tower.

We stayed at a Hotel Super 8 in the Chinatown Centre Shopping Mall complex. It was so new that they hadn't yet installed all the services but it was a lovely place just the same. Our room was sumptuous with cherry wood furniture throughout, scads of space, and very firm mattresses on the beds. Both son and spouse seemed to really like that touch.

The neat thing was that there was a Chinatown street festival just below our 3rd floor digs so we were able to walk right out and have abundant choices in Chinese notions, souvenirs, and best of all, food.

I'd picked our hotel it for it's proximity to the CN Tower and The Hockey Hall of Fame. We'd also planned to go to Casa Loma--a real castle-- in the one day visit. Unfortunately, two things got in the way way of being able to do all that we wanted.

One, due to the festival and construction closing down many roads in the areas of the hotel, we spent a great deal of time on the night of arrival just trying to access the hotel which we kept driving by, looking in vain for any way to park near it. Just as in many American cities there were plenty of one way and no turn streets and it made it all the more challenging.

The other cog in the machinery was that though the hotel accepted "animal guests" one could not leave said guest alone in the room for more than 10 minutes.
With the temperatures predicted to soar in the the high eighties with high humidity there was no way we could've brought Raven with us to Casa Loma which was where all three of us wanted to go the most.

So while the guys were sleeping I decided that I would stay at the room with Raven. By the morning there was a steady drizzle outside which was fine for roaming the castle. Raven and I stayed behind, sleeping, then reading Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows (more on that in a post to come).

***All photos of Casa Loma by my son.

Every Picture Tells A Story, Don't It?

Little to no Internet.
It's effing HOT.
You really should spend two days of your vacation in Cambridge, Ontario getting your poor, ancient sedan repaired because your spouse thinks nothing of making incredibly severe u-turns whilst toting a tonne of stuff in the car- top carrier.
Did I mention that it is effing hot?
Highlight thus far: We have a brand-new canoe which if it cools off below 34C, we'll take out on the lake this evening. 

I feel cranky about: loud things*
*large dogs
*people
*motorboats
*jet skies

H and K's,
She Who Shall Not Be Named
(Yes, I'm reading Harry Potter.)

Originally posted on theloveumake.vox.com

Gone To Maple Lake

I'm packing now. Will soon be gone to the cottage. It's in a pretty remote area so only dial-up and I'll be sharing the laptop too--but I'll try to drop in at least once.

I hope to rent or buy a canoe but I wouldn't turn down a pretty rowboat like the one pictured here.

I'll probably make you nuts when I come back from the back woods of Ontario laden with photos. But I am very much looking forward to hanging out and taking in/enjoying some local treasures.

Mosquito

I've read that the mosquitoes and black flies are thick and the temperature's have been below normal though are slated to turn wretchedly hot in town the day after we arrive but at the Lake we are 10F degrees cooler so on those days that's where I'll be. In the Lake.  :)  Normally, nights are quite chilly and in the wooden cabin it's best to cover up--it's so fun to leave the windows open like we can't here in suburbia.

Lots to see--want to do the Wolf Centre and drive into Toronto at least for a day or two (the cottage is about 2.5 hours drive from Toronto).

Tomorrow is packing day--all day. Then hopefully out of here early Saturday.

Take care y'all!

Show us your favorite photo from last summer.

Just one? Impossible! I'll show restraint and show two three several.

Roger's 47th~6.25.06~

Tower of Terror, Disney, Chris's 14th ~2006. This was just a really fun day. :) I snapped this of the monitor instead of paying $7 for it. I wasn't the only one. :p

Johnny Depp in a box!------------------------------>

Disneyland 2006~Father and Son~

Our Lake At Dawn~ 2006

St. Peter's Anglican Church, Maple Lake, after tornadoes~

My son had stayed on at the cottage with my folks after our visit. Just before I was due to drive the 700 miles to the Lake in Ontario, several tornadoes struck the area. Quite a bit of damage to wooded areas--many trees were in front of St. Peter's Church (above--it's on the lake)) when I'd left my son two weeks earlier--they are gone now. Thankfully, few cottages took any serious damage.

QotD: I Should Make A List *no I shouldn't, it wouldn't help

What do you always forget to pack? 
Submitted by quornflour.

I never forget to packing anything. Ever.

I over pack which has turned into a Very Bad Thing since the changes that have taken place this decade when one flies on a plane.

Fifty pound limit. Whaaaaat?

But I adapt. I recently bought a soft-sided suitcase (on sale half price--holy crap, luggage is expensive!).

I love my new suitcase because it expands (unzip & gain two inches depth) in two different places giving me the crucial extra room I require and it's got zippered compartments to keep all my junk from being tossed about during it's journey. Another cool thing, the compartments inside are clear--see-through--so when the airline people inevitably paw through they will more quickly determine that I get a gold star and have passed.

I want to know this though: Why is it always me that gets pulled aside at security for closer inspection and it's inevitably me whose suitcase bears a little note of apology for being roughed up not only the outside but the inside as well? What? Do I have radioactive underwear?

Trippin' To Ohio

OHIO.beth

Because I am a "try this new thingie (Internet app)" nut,  I have linked (click Beth's face) my new  Google Picasa photo album from my weekend that was.

I've known Beth since were were on a big forum back in 2003. I've loved her nearly that long. The short of it is kindred spirits/never met 'till now. (Example: We were both booted off said forum for speaking our minds--not in a nasty, troll kind of way, either, though we were treated as such. Boo to that place. We have both moved on.)

It was her birthday and her darling, hunky spouse pulled out all the stops with a multi-day celebration for and of her.

I was very happy/lucky to have been a part of it--it was so fun. I don't usually like parties for grown-ups but this was different 'cos most everyone was somehow connected with Beth--so it gave a springboard of commonality. Very fun, funny, goofy/bright folks--my type exactly.

D.C. things seen

                                        

                                       

Capital Bldg., D.C.    

  ...with lovely cherry blossoms *some colour added due to-gray day/very pale pink blossoms
               

               

                                             

Cherry blossom walk

 

               

                                             

Einstein 
The trolley tour guide pointed him out.
He's in a rather obscure area at the side of the road.

            

   

               

                                             

WWII, Capital Bldg.,Washington Monument

Spouse took this one.

          

               

                                    

Great starting point for this memorial-intense area of D.C.

Union Station

            

          

               

                                       

Vietnam Women's Memorial

For the nurses near the front lines.          

            

               

                                             

     Vietnam Memorial Wall            

     Gotta go there to feel it.

               
 

               

                                    

A few Soldiers who died the first week in April (all years) Vietnam *photo by my spouse
Of all the memorials in D.C. this is the one that touches me the most.  It just seems the most personal. There are always plentiful signs (mementoes, flowers) that their families still remember, still care. And one is encouraged to touch it--to feel it (and sometimes take a pencil and paper and take am inverse stencil print of a soldier's name from it).
I dunno. It makes me cry each time I've seen it. The only one that comes close is Lincoln.

               

                                     WWII Memorial detail
If only... The most impressive thing to me about this memorial are the quotations throughout. Sadly, the rest of it is not really memorable. It seems to lack cohesion and to be blunt, looks cheap and pedestrian. A shame, really. It could have been so much more.

            

               

                                        

The National Archives

 

               

                                    National National Archives Frieze

Detail of frieze

   

                

                                  

Korean War Memorial 
My favourite memorial after Lincoln & Vietnam and I knew no one in that war. This memorial kicks ass, tho'. It's powerful and beautiful. One feels as if she is _right there_ with them.            

          

Trying for more detail by using high contrast. 

               

                                   Union Station ceiling detail   

               

                                  

  Lincoln Memorial "basement"

  Don't forget to click to enlarge.         

    

       

               

                                             

    

Lincoln Memorial

The Great Emancipator. He just was refurbished (cleaned). I've not ever seen him so white. Looking spiffy, Abe.         

   

Got This Year's Disney Album Up

Click

Back From Our California Adventure

Back from Cali: Much to say but since I've hit the ugh, tarmac running, no time right now to do it. So here's some random pictures to fill in for a bit. I did keep a bit of a journal on the laptop and I'll copy some of it here later.
In a nutshell. Really glad we went. Had more highs than lows. Disneyland's 50th fireworks are almost too spectacular to be called just fireworks--just awesome-smile-on-your face beauty with a huge dose of tripping down memory lane. Saved them for our last night where we viewed them from in front of the Main Street train station.
Spouse took  almost all the fireworks photos--which I must give him kudos for as taking good pictures of  moving light is not easy.
I still very much love Disneyland and beachside Orange County and San Diego. Very unpleasant dealings with the people running the Disneyland Californian Resort Hotel. More details later. Suffice now that the Park Vue Hotel directly across the street from the Main entrance where we also stayed was one-fourth the price and four times better than the Disneyland Californian. Bad, bad customer service at the Californian and chintzy or extra-pricey amenities. Learnt a huge expensive lesson there.
Now for a few photos:

Buzz Lightyears's Astro Blasters~ This is a new ride and currently my favourite Disneyland ride. It's just way fun--like being inside an arcade game.

California Screamin' in California Adventure--A photo of the photo they sell for $13.

My son & me on his 14th birthday at California Adventure

And him w/ his dad...

Several photos from the 50th Anniversary show follow...

The castle looked pretty cool as it changed colours throughout the presentation. In addition to the firework there was music and audio bits from many Disney movies and attractions. Very nostalgic but technlogically the mulitmedia show/fireworks were anything but dated.

We had a nice sight line for the castle, though due to squeezing out the very last ride on the Grizzly Bear Rapids next door instead of venturing further into the park with wall-to-wall people getting spots for the show we hopped in front to the Main Street USA train station near the park entrance/exit in order to see the castle and it's pretty colours.

We did a lot of this after the show:

California Dreamin'

Trying to pack...not fun. Really no need for a carry-on as it held my contact lenses stuff, cosmetics, & toiletries--all now banned.

Looking forward to Disneyland and my son's 14th birthday and our first time staying in the park.

San Diego will be fun as well. It's looking like kayaking around sea caves then beachy stuff, Balboa Park, and checking out random sights, and Sea World.
Then four days of Disney and one of Universal Studios, then eight days gone, home to stay for a very long time.

Dreams Realized

Well, I'm gonna be selling and selling and selling some more (candy) as my son Chris and the choral gang are going to ....TUSCANY!
Holy crap, I am soooo stoked.
I've kind of done most everything in my life on a turned around time-line. There have been so many "dreams" I've had-- and they mostly involve going to parts of the world previously unknown to me. Hawaii this summer past was one. Setting my kid up to fall in love with Disneyland was another.   (I am steadily checking off the list.)
Tuscany is near Rome and the kids will go on excursions to Florence, Pisa, etc. They are performing in several places too, including a mass in St. Peter's Basilica (!)
The very cool thing about that part of the world IMO, is that one can travel to a number of countires w/in one trip.
So whilst my son "tours" with his fellow singers (from around the world), spouse and I are going to go to Greece, a place that I've been awestruck by since I was about 13 y.o. when I first saw slides of it that a young Canadian friend showed me after she went on a school trip to there.
Later, we'll join up with Chris's group as they near the end of their tour. This time though we'll stay on and do what Chris and I have promised to do if given the chance--(see some more of Italy then) visit the countries where he can speak his first foreign language--Germany, Switzerland, & Austria. Of course, this is added incentive for Chris to continue learning German but it comes effortlessly to him, so he really needed no extra push.
This is so exciting that I could burst and it's too early yet--the tour is July 2007--to start worrying about about paying for it.

Going To California

John The Baptist
San Francisco, first meet-up ~2004.

From the cable car

Fcuk as seen from cable car.

Perfect for San Francisso

Some of last year's meet-up people. :)

Reminds me of the California Adventure ride "over" the state of California (this view from plane     approaching SF.)

View from Legion Of Honour

(...Northern (brrrrr..I wanna go to Disneyland :/ but Santa Rosa-- is in an area near/in the Russian River Valley and there are some nice little wineries in those parts :)-- and San Francisco (for lots of stuff/until my $ runs out)) for a bloggers/Forum Board Meet-up.

No more vacation after this for a while--just work and moving to St. Charles will be my main focus besides my three biggest loves--Being a mom, Being the proud owner of a Mustang GT convertible, and taking pic's--especially more recently with the nice camera (Nikon digital SLR with nice lenses), sometimes altering them, sometimes leaving them alone.
It is more handy though to borrow my son's nice 3.1 mega-pixel Cool Pix--super light-weight/portable--and at $100, reasonably priced, (though we have bought a $60-$70  camera kit-plus camera bag for my son's 8-day tour/performances in Hawaii with his choral group this July past and for me to grab every once in a while a while. Like I said--portable with good resolution under $100 stripped down, are the real reasons I use the cameras interchangeably depending on whether I want to lug the digi-SLR around.

I have a lot of learning to do and right now I'm doing it on 3 different cameras-- and all are new to me! Fun! :D

Haliburton & Minden Ontario; Maple Lake

Maple Lake (in front of the cottage)
5:30 a.m., Aug 10, 2005

That same morning...

Head, a/k/a Haliburton Lake, in Haliburton, Ontario
(This photo and ones that follow are by my spouse.)

Kashagawigamog Lake, Ontario

Ritchie Falls, on the Drag River, Ontario

Ditto...

Minden, Ontario

(Don't forget to click the photos to enlarge them.)

Flying Over The Hawaiian Islands/Deserted Hotel, Poipu Kauai

Going to the 50th state is not a cheap vacation in a couple ways but it can be made affordable and if you are like my spouse and me--many of the things we enjoy(ed) most are free. Open air markets--got a lovely pair of freshwater pearl earrings and a nifty cow-bone (stays cool) pipe. The market had artisans and their families and they were of all backgrounds from native Hawaiian to Chinese to Caucasian. A lovely young Chinese-Hawai'ian lady (spouse is well-versed in Chinese culture and knew instantly that this gal was of non-mixed blood--she was a bit taken aback then rather flattered that a tourist cared enough to comment) took a great deal of times explaining what the carved totems on the guy's necklaces symbolize--plus she explained about the cow bone pipe. We actually kissed goodbye. We just loved the non-touristy aspect of the island--gabbing with the locals--having some out of this world meals at a fraction of the cost of the upscale-type joints--which do abound near the pricey resorts. We really dig snorkeling and it is sublime in Kauai where all beaches, as in the rest of Hawai'i are open for anyone to make use of.
Beaches are the cleanest I've ever seen-- with not even natural detritus like seaweed and such--and different depending where you go--black sand, white sand, golden-- some shores "littered" with coral for shell hunters (weren't very many shells--but we didn't get up at 6am to going looking as we were advised).
Things we didn't have time or fundage to do this time that we will do next--kayaking--there's loads of nooks and crannies on the island that can only be enjoyed from the water. Kayak rental can be as low as $10 a day. Hiking--tons of trails from the beginner to advanced leads you to some very private, beautiful spots. I'm not fond of helicopters but everyone says that one must take a tour of some of the 70% of the isle which is unihabited. It's really pricey (like $120 apiece) and this time, since we dropped $500 for the plane fare/hotel to O'ahu for the day and night we went over to see our son perform at the cultural center--that was our splurge and it was worth it to see the show. I couldn't wait to get out of O'ahu though--traffic--just like any American city--tons of upscale shopping--crappy snorkeling--ergh. I found out quickly why the natives of Kauai call O'ahu "Pearl Harbor." In fairness, O'ahu serves it's purpose as an air hub in the Pacific and it looks like their are some cool places if you go looking. The difference in Kauai is you don't have to go looking for cool places--it's right there (being only 30 miles across).
Biggest way to save money when going to Hawai'i say the locals is to go in the off season--November to March--when everything is 40% less. You could even camp by the ocean for $5 a night instead of using a hotel/condo. The car rental rates are literally the lowest in the nation--gas cost was exactly the same as here on O'ahu--about 25 cents more a gallon on Kauai. So yeah it is expensive to buy property there and the airfare is pricey. You can get around everything else.

Both my spouse and I fell in love with Kauai and will most definitely return--hopefully sooner than later as we really want to see Maui and Molokai islands, too.

I'm pretty hard-headed about the you only live once rule. As I (we) did this time I'll (we'll) work my (our) tush off just to be able to go again. It'll happen--just gonna take a bit of time.    

First approach over the Hawaiian Islands (click all photos to expand)

Getting closer...

Well maybe not--onward to the next isle...

I think this is Molokai...

And if it is, this is too...

\
...as is this.

Oahu or Maui

Lihue Airport landing--finally!!!

Directly next door to the condo complex we stayed at--the beach area of an abandoned hotel.

Wonder what happened and how beach front real estate of this value can sit there without someone coming in and making a go of it like the hotels/condos on either side of it.
Very puzzling both this and the proportionally high number of shuttered, mostly cinder-block-type homes on the island of Kauai.

Still Photoblogging: the Happy Couple On Kauai

Most photos here are with the 2.1 pixel, 3X optical zoom Cool Pix 775 (in this rather crude pixelated format, it's not a large leap in picture quality between it and the Nikon D-70). This is the first time we used it after it's humble beginnings in a thrift shop. I'm satisfied with the results but then I've liked the results with all the Nikon/Nikkor lenses that I've used.

 

Another canyon shot, Kauai

On the Kauai Coastline

North shore, Kauai
A sunset described as "buttery" in the travel book.

Near Barking Sands Missile Range, North shore, Kauai~

Spouse, in pusuit of the elusive sunset. It's behind 'ya, hun.

There 'ya go. ;)

I just liked the way this rock formation looked.
It has an ancient, almost regal vibe.

Temporary (or not) Photoblog

Falls near Waimea Canyon, Western Kauai, Hawai'i
(Click photos for expanded view)

View from the 15th floor of the Pacific Ocean Hotel.
This is the east side of the city part of the Waikiki strip. The public beach begins right here--just outside the pic to the left (though legally ALL beaches in Hawai'i are public.)

Similar shot to above, different time. It's Ala Moana (Ave., I think) next to Waikiki beach from the 15th floor of the Pacific Ocean Hotel, late afternoon.

The youngest girl from a whole family of hula dancers. She was fantastic and they as a group were great--super-entertaining. My son's and 9 other children's choruses are in the background in teal-coloured shirts.
This was a stealth photo taken at the end of the show when the performers reentered and were bowing--and I got nabbed by a grumpy lady. Hello? The show's over--they're smiling and bowing and the audience is clapping enthusiastically. A few flashs are kinda expected especially when a parent/person has traveled 5000 miles to see the show. But they let me go. :/
Still unsteady with the tele-lens, especially under these circumstances.

I'm excited about several of these photos and the ones that are following because it was my very first time shooting with a tele-lens for my new-ish Nikon D-70. And hey, I was visiting Hawai'i for the very first time, too! I finally made it! Almost as exciting as my first trip to Disneyland at age 19.
 
I packed a tripod but dumb me never had it with me. I tried to use "natural" tripods like the railing in the case of the shots from the 15th floor-balcony (which all my O'ahu-Waikiki shots are from). I never had the $ before to own a telephoto lens so many of the shots are crap :DELETE:. Heh. I've gotten used to throwing away 80% of what I do.

~I wanted to say, unless captioned as such, all the photos are au naturel in that all I did was what a decent film developer would do--fix the brightness/contrast-type stuff. Most of the pics from Kauai a/k/a heaven on earth, are under cloudy to semi-dark conditions   mostly because we were trying to get shots of sunsets and everytime  clouds came in  but Kauai is almost universally (all 30% of the island that is/can be inhabited) beautiful so clouds or not, some good shots, on land and out to the beautiful huge Paciifc Ocean. Possibly quite a few more on my spouse's camera (about 400-plus taken--mostly by my spouse but maybe 100 by me). We must buy a stick that fits to be able DL the photos (it's an adoptee from the resale shop --a nifty Nikon coolpix 775. Only 2.1 pixles but a nice optical zoom lens. It's only costing me (beyond the $5 I paid for it initially) for accessories. 

~~Also, unless I'm in love with a photo, I've hacked the pixels way down using a Jasc program to save storage space.

Broken Eggs And Planning For Hawaii

Hanalei Bay View

Yum. I just ate the broken one.
It's siblings all made it intact, but one formerly potential s/he didn't, so s/he had to be 'et.
It's a funny day, Easter is for us non-believers.
I was raised with chocolate bunnies and plastic-coloured eggs and a family dinner. Not word one mentioned about JC in our house.

I'm really not fond of plastic egg hunts all that much. The kids turn into little beasts vying to find them, then tear them open to reveal their contents, hoping for little chocolate eggs, jelly beans, Peeps or money--in my experience money is most desired (I'll take the chocolate eggs please, with a few jelly beans if they are Jelly Bellies).
So my big thrill tomorrow barring any surprises will be colouring eggs with my son. (Spouse is putting in his last day at his second job--he quit to make time to prepare this house for sale.)

My son is on spring break from his junior high school, so he helped me haul the heaviest shipment I've attempted today.
I've buried myself in this auction uh, stuff. :/
Good thing though as spouse and I think we have an island/hotel/car/airplane picked out for Hawaii this July--and it needs to be paid for.
I was pretty overwhelmed at first, trying to figure out on which inland we should take our childless vacation--knowing that we'd have to go to Oahu twice in the eight days, until I realized that the best way to pick an island and a hotel was by discussing what we wanted when we got there--stuff like mountain vs. ocean view...boiled down to about a half a dozen "must-see's/do's. Fortunately, we pretty much want the same thing--less nightlife/shopping, more nature (followed by lounging with cocktails, quite naturally)...
So I think I have it "all". Kauai with two trips to Oahu, both to see my son, once in performance and once to hang with for the day.
Interesting "honeymoon"--it's destination dictated by our 12.5 y.o. child's performances. I take it as a good sign. Christopher was almost two years old when his dad and I got married almost eleven years ago. The pregnancy was not planned to our financial advantage so there was no money for a honeymoon. I was just getting done with grad school and was looking for a job and it was a spur of the moment decision--I decided I was "ready" to get married but all wanted was a civil ceremony.
We ended up with my sis-law's father an Episcopalian priest, doing the honours and my mother managing to involve herself enough that the setting had a frill or two.
So this has been long awaited or perhaps hard fought for.
We'll see about doing a renewing our vows thing--maybe the day/night we visit with our son...

Ciao! for now,

--Cyn