May 24, 2008

We were up early this morning, but we didn’t get an early start.  Our day started with a four family garage sale.  We joined three of our closest neighbours and dragged stuff out onto our drive.  We didn’t have a lot to get rid of . . . fortunately!  There were very few “shoppers” out and we didn’t get rid of much stuff until we started packing up.  Then we started giving a lot of it to the neighbours.  We will donate any leftover stuff to a local charity for sale in their fund-raising store. So we only have about two boxes to take to the charity when we get back home.  We were cleaned up and on the road to Toronto by 1:30.  We have to drive about 170 miles west to get to the Toronto airport.  We checked in at the Carlingview Airport Inn at about 4:00 and rested until dinnertime.  As we left the hotel to look for a restaurant we noticed some oddly dressed teenagers in the lobby.  Then we saw more on the street . . . and more . . . they were everywhere.  We found out that there is a Convention called “Anime North 2008” taking place less than a mile away.  There are thousands of kids dressed as Japanese comic characters roaming the streets.  It’s like a Star Trek convention only weirder!

The restaurant was full of character too, so were well entertained during dinner.  After dinner we dropped by the pool for a swim and enjoyed a long relax in the hot tub before returning to the room for some TV before bed.

May 25, 2008

Gary was up 40 minutes before our scheduled 5:30 wake-up call so we had plenty of time before our 6:15 shuttle to the airport.  There were no Anime characters in sight that early, so maybe they aren’t as strange as we are. We arrived at the airport with lots of time to spare so we had some breakfast. Then the strangest thing happened, our 8:00 a.m. Air Canada flight pulled away from the gate 10 minutes early and we were on our way to Las Vegas. (if you have ever flown AC you know they are usually late). It was a smooth and pleasant flight.  It was a brand new Airbus A319 with a small screen in each seatback, and streaming video.  Everyone could watch a different movie or TV show, with over 40 items to choose from.  Gary is thrilled with anything that lets him push buttons, so the touch screen kept him amused the whole flight.

We took a cab from McCarran Airport and arrived at Treasure Island just before noon.  We were delighted to find that a room overlooking the pool was available immediately.  We quickly unpacked and headed back downstairs to waste some money in the slot machines.  We enjoyed a nice lunch at Canter’s Delicatessen and then decided to go to the pool for a while.  We arrived back at the room and noticed that the pool had transformed while we were away.  The backbeat from the rap music played by the poolside DJ was rattling our 7^th floor window and making the pictures on our walls vibrate.  This is apparently a regular Sunday afternoon pool party, and while it looked like the patrons were having fun, we would have preferred some old 60’s rock & roll or some country.  And it could have been several hundred decibels quieter.  Are we getting old?  Could it be?  

After trying to nap through the rattling of the windows we decided to go for a walk. We caught the little monorail from TI to the Mirage, walked through the Mirage and over to Caesars Palace where I had to pick up our tickets for Cher.  We are going to see her Tuesday night. After we got the tickets we played a few slot machines on our way out to continue our walk down/up the Strip. We stopped at the Bellagio to watch the dancing fountain and then crossed the street to check out what Planet Hollywood had done to the old Aladdin property. Not much has changed inside, we did walk through what used to be called the Desert Passage and stopped to browse in a couple of the shops. 

We were getting tired so we decided to just go as far as the Walgreen’s. We purchased a few snacks and some pop (that would be soda for some of you) for the room and then started the long walk back to TI. It was almost 8 p.m. when we got back to TI so we dropped our stuff off in the room and headed to the buffet. We had a wonderful meal and took our time eating and relaxing. To finish the night off we spent a bit more time on the slots, neither of us are big spenders so I guess we can’t be disappointed when we go back to the room without winning. We were feeling the three-hour time difference and were both exhausted so it was lights out.

May 26, 2008

Our internal clocks hadn’t adjusted yet so we were both up, dressed and ready to go down for breakfast by 8 a.m. We ate at Kahunaville, a restaurant right beside the pool. We sat outside and I walked around taking pictures of the pool before people started arriving. We had originally planned to go over to the Bellagio but with the early access to the pool and my legs still tired from the day before we decided to just park ourselves on a couple of lounges and spent the morning in the hot tub and pool.

Just around noon we went back up to the room and got dressed before heading over to the Mirage for lunch at the California Pizza Kitchen. It was very good pizza but not very hot so when the waitress asked how our meal was I mentioned it was only warm.  It was too late to send it back since it was almost all gone but they did comp us for it. After lunch we walked over to the Bellagio and took lots of pictures of the conservatory, it is always a must see for us.

We must have gotten back on track as we woke up at our normal time. We decided the day before had been such a nice relaxing experience that we would do it again. We headed down to Kahunaville for breakfast, we sat outside again and enjoyed a peaceful pool. After breakfast the hotel patrons were coming in so we grabbed a couple of lounges and made ourselves at home. By noon it was getting quite hot so we went up to the room, got showered and headed out on the Strip to do some touring.

We walked over to the Fashion Mall but only took a quick look inside, we then crossed the street over to the new resort called Palazzo, it is actually a part of the Venetian. We wandered though to the Venetian and grabbed a quick lunch in their food court. We were starting to get weary so we walked back to the TI and settled in for a short nap. After the lengthy nap we had the previous day I decided to set the alarm just in case. We had tickets for the Cher show at 7:30 p.m. and I did not want to sleep through that! 

When we got up we decided to head over to Caesars Palace, that is where the show was being held. Cher is playing in the Coliseum theatre that was built for Celine Dion. We had a bite to eat and played a few slot machines while we waited for the doors to open. There was a huge line and it took a bit of time to get in. Once we were in the theatre we quickly found our seats and waited for the show to start.

We were not disappointed; the show was amazing.  Cher was amazing!  She sang all my favorite songs and I don’t know how many costumes she changed into but it had to be over 20! I didn’t want it to end, it is a show that I would gladly pay to go see again.

After the show we made our way back to TI and just wandered around the casino playing the machines. I have found out this trip that I have more fun playing the penny slots.  I probably spend as much money but it just seems that I can last longer before my money runs out.

Our 7^th wedding anniversary, seven years ago on this day we were married in Las Vegas, my how time flies. We got up and followed the same routine as the previous days, breakfast by the pool, a little lounging, a little sun. We talked about going for a walk up the Strip but when we actually got around to doing it we decided to just hang around the resort. We played a few machines and then went for lunch. After lunch we went back out to the pool for an hour and the decided we had enough sun.

Back in the room we were trying to get some IT support, we had lost our internet connection. No one seemed to be able to help so we gave up. Gary decided to have a nap and I started writing up the trip report in hopes that we would get connectivity again soon.

We hopped in a cab and went to the Car Rental Plaza near McCarran Airport where we picked up a Toyota Highlander for our drive to Disneyland tomorrow.  Naturally, as soon as we had the car we had to head to the Disney Outlet Store on the west end of Las Vegas Boulevard.  I picked up a few bargains and then we cruised the Las Vegas strip.  We wanted to reminisce a bit, so we went looking for the Candlelight Wedding Chapel where we were married seven years ago today.  It was gone!  They flattened it to make way for a new high-rise casino property.

Back at Treasure Island we wasted a few more dollars in the slot machines before heading to The Mirage for dinner.  After our dinner at the Mirage buffet, I have decided that I prefer the buffet at Treasure Island.

We hit the floor running.  We had hoped to be on the road by 8:00 a.m. but Gary woke up at 5:45 . . . claims he thought it was 6:45 . . . and woke me up.  After threatening him with severe bodily harm I got up too.  We grabbed a coffee at Starbucks and were on the road by 7:00 a.m.  We made great time crossing the Mojave Desert, with only one stop, a quick breakfast at Baker, CA.  The Mojave showed a few signs of recent rainfall and there were blossoms evident all the way across.  The Joshua Tree blooms were well past their prime, but the yuccas were spectacular in some areas.

We were in Los Angeles by 11:30 and I just had to make a stop at the Disney Character Outlet in nearby Fullerton before we went to our hotel.  After picking up a few bargains we arrived at the Candy Cane Inn.  We really like this hotel, it is so homey, the staff is so friendly, and you can walk to Disneyland.  We were checked in by 1:00 and Gary dropped off the rental car while I unpacked.

After a short rest we hopped on the hotel shuttle with plans to spend the afternoon at Downtown Disney.  We discovered that we could upgrade our 3 day passes to 4 day passes for only $15.00 each, so we bought the upgrades and spent the rest of the day at Disneyland.

The magic started almost immediately.  We picked up anniversary buttons, since our wedding anniversary was the day before, and headed directly toward the newest attraction, the new Nemo submarine ride.  On the way we shopped our way through the Emporium.  In the watch store the phone rang and one of the ladies called us over.  Mickey Mouse was on the phone singing Happy Anniversary to us!  A little while later we noticed that Buzz Lightyear was temporarily closed – the Cast Member leaned over and whispered, “Wait nearby, it will be open in about two minutes.”  It did, and we were first in line to board.  Then we went to the Nemo ride.  The sign at the gate indicated that the wait was over an hour but we got in line anyway.  More magic – Cast Member Christina noticed our anniversary buttons and said, “Let’s make some dreams come true.”  She took us out of line; up the exit ramp to the loading platform and we were the first to board the next submarine.  Thank you Christina!

We rode Alice in Wonderland and then headed to Frontierland to see Billy Hill and the Hillbillies.  When we got to Frontierland we decided we had time for something before the show.  There was only a 10-minute wait for Pirates of the Caribbean so we hopped in that line.  Then we went back to the Golden Horseshoe to watch The Billies.  A great show as usual.

We walked over to New Orleans Square and I shopped while Gary waited for our seating at Café Orleans.  Our dinner there was great.  We both had French onion soup and I followed with Caesar salad with blackened chicken while Gary had the Monte Cristo sandwich.  Our server, Keith, asked if we had room for dessert and we both replied, “No, we have no room.”  Well, Keith had noticed our anniversary buttons and out he came with two complimentary “Mickey” beignets . . . complete with candles.  They were wonderful . . . better than we had at Café du Monde in New Orleans a few years ago.  The magic just keeps on happening!

We wandered down Main Street after waiting for the parade to finish.  We had planned to spend the night at Downtown Disney, but by the time we got through the gate I turned to Gary and said, “Why don’t we just head back to the Candy Cane Inn and hop in the hot tub.”  He didn’t need any persuasion, so off we went.  After a swim and a hot tub we relaxed in the room for a while before bed.

What a magical start to our Disneyland adventure!

Our first full day at Disneyland, we were up and at the park just before rope drop. We wandered through the Emporium while we waited for the rope to drop and then headed directly to Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. This is a must do for us since we can no longer ride it at WDW. After Mr. Toad we went directly across to Pinocchio and the right on to Snow White. So far there were no lines and we had walked on all three rides. However, no so for Peter Pan, the line was as long as it is at WDW, so we decided to go over to Indiana Jones and get a fastpass for later in the day. From there we wandered over to Splash Mountain and again, it was a walk on. We rode in the center of the log, at Disneyland it is single row seating.  I figured I would be safe in the middle . . . WRONG!  There was not one inch of me, I mean not one inch that wasn’t soaked when we got off. I can’t figure it out, I watched other riders get off with the usual few splash marks, but me, totally soaked. It was a good thing that we were having perfect weather and the sun was shining, so I dried out in about 4 hours.

Once again we were up early and on our way to the park. This was our Disney California Adventure day but it didn’t open until 10 o’clock so we went into Disneyland for a bit. We rode the Main Street fire truck down to the castle and then proceeded directly to the Peter Pan ride. The wait wasn’t too bad yet so we hopped in the line. This is another classic ride and a not to be missed for us.

Now it was time for the Electric Parade so we got an ice cream and sat at the tables in front of Bur-r-r Bank Ice Cream and watched the parade. The Electric Parade is my favorite Disney parade, I really miss it at WDW, even though Spectromagic is very good, the Electric Parade just seems more Disney. When the parade had passed we followed the crowd out through the gates, most of the people were heading back over to DL since it was open until midnight but we had pushed the limit, it was time for some sleep.

Our last day, wow did the time fly by. If you ask most people they will tell you that you only need 2 days for Disneyland & Disney California Adventure.  I agree that you only need one day for DCA but not DL. I could spend a week in DL and never get tired of it.

12:00 p.m. - AC792 to Toronto - It was a smooth flight and we arrived back in Kingston at midnight.