Brunch with the Family

I have been so excited about sharing these photos with you!  These are from the restaurant where Andrew and Amy took us for Breakfast/Lunch the last morning we were in L.A.  It's on Ventura Blvd, in the San Fernando Valley (Tarzana) and it's called CiCi's Cafe.   If you're ever in the area, you MUST try it.

On Monday morning we drove down to A and A's apartment from Santa Clarita and Kevin still hadn't decided when he was going to fly home to Omaha.  After looking at some airline ticket prices and discussing logistics about how to get around if he stayed and how to get to the airport with Amy and Andrew working, he decided to ride back to Phoenix with us and fly out of the PHX airport the next day.  It saved him about $100 and we got to have a few more hours with him, which was great for us.

After Kevin booked his flight for the next day we loaded up and drove a short distance to one of Andrew's favorite places.  He said that he orders from there a lot for work as well and I can see why.  Everything that I saw and tasted looked delicious and their menu is HUGE!  It would take years to get thru everything on the menu unless you ate their every day, which would not be hard to do.

The restaurant itself is fairly unassuming.  It's located in a strip mall so you'd never know it was so appetizing unless someone took you there.  This is the basic dining room below.  They definitely need to expand because Andrew says they're always busy.

So...photos from top to bottom - here are 3 of the gorgeous and delicious meals:

• Andrew's Steak Salad
• Terry's Banana Macadamia Nut Pancakes (not low carb!)
• My sandwich, which is seem to recall had turkey, swiss cheese, artichoke hearts and arugala (and maybe more) plus sweet potato french fries.  MMMMMM!! 

Don't they all look amazing?  Kevin had some kind of an egg scramble which really doesn't photograph too well, so you don't need to see it here.

Sadly, Amy ordered some food, but then didn't feel good enough to stay and eat with us.  So we said goodbye to her there so she could go home, rest  and try to feel better before going to work.  I'm happy to report that she has gone to the doctor since then and they're trying to figure why she hasn't been feeling well for a while.  We love her and were sad that she couldn't stay and eat with us.  We hope that they figure it out soon.

California Adventure with the Family

The middle part of our Disneyland day with the kids was spent at California Adventure, which you may know is right next door to Disneyland.  Kevin had never been there (I'm not sure how that happened) so we were excited to show him some of the great rides there.

My favorite one there, by far, is Soaring Over California!  If you haven't ever ridden it, it's definitely worth the visit.  You can't take pictures while on the ride though, so I can't give you anything to see there.

The guys did the Tower of Terror and liked it.   Amy and I saw several Disney characters while we were waiting for the guys to come back from the Tower of Terror.  We must have been near a "cast member" entrance.

The Muppet 3-D show was cute as well as the Monsters Inc. ride, but overall CA Adventure would have a hard time standing alone as a viable amusement park.  There are some interesting things there though.  We always talk about going to check out the winery, but never quite get there.  Have you been there?  If so, what's your favorite part?




Here's a link to more photos from the day.

Disneyland with the Family

When Terry and I arrived at Disneyland with Amy, Andrew and Kevin on Sep 20th, they had already begun decorating the park for Halloween.  In fact, Space Mountain and the Haunted Mansion were both closed for decorating.  We were a little disappointed since Space Mtn had been closed for a total re-do when Terry and I were there the last time (which was about 5 years ago) and we've heard so many great reports on it since then.  Oh well, I guess it just gives us a good reason to go back again soon.

Here are a few highlights of the first part of the day.  You can also see more details on Amy's blog here.

Here are the guys doing Splash Mountain just before they plunged into the water.  They didn't get too wet though, which was probably good.  Amy and I decided not to go on it because it was in the afternoon and we didn't want to be wet when the sun went down.

I think part of the reason that the kids get tired before the end of the day, is because they wear shoes with no support, so their legs and backs hurt by the end of the day.   As I've gotten older, I've become much more picky about my shoes, especially when I'm going to be wearing them all day.  It's amazing the difference it makes!

Don't you just love the detail at the Disney parks?  These squirrels are at the tops of the pillars on one of the rides in FantasyLand.  I think it was Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.  Look for them next time you're there.

I was very impressed with how well frozen my Mickey ice cream bar was on a warm afternoon.  I'm not sure how they keep them so cold in those little freezers.  It was creamy and delicious!

And isn't it great how they made Captain Jack look like Johnny Depp on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride?

Can you tell that Amy was a bit warm that day?  It was actually warmer than I thought it would be, but definitely much better than a visit in the summer would be and the lines were great - especially for a weekend day!

Don't Amy & Andrew look so cute?

Terry and Kevin look pretty interested in something on the ground, but I'm not sure what it is.

Next we visit California Adventure, where Kevin has never been before.

Quick stop at Amy & Andrew's place

After visiting the studio where Andrew works, we made a quick stop at Amy & Andrew's apartment which is very close by in Tarzana.  Since they haven't been in there long, we had just seen pictures on their blog so it was nice to actually be able to visit and see it in person.

It's very cute, and they make the best of the small space.  Since there's only one chair, and I was sitting on it, Amy & Kevin staked out the bed so they could chat and Terry hung out where he could find space, but mostly perused the bookshelves to see if there was anything of interest there.

Afterward we headed up to Santa Clarita to check into our hotel, pick up some dinner, then head to Terry's brother's house for the evening.

Andrew's Place of Employment, Magic and Fun!

On Saturday morning after our big Dbacks night we left town for Los Angeles. You see, we had decided just a couple of days before that we were going to meet our kids there. Amy and Andrew already live there (well, in the San Fernando Valley) and Kevin had just a week or two before he was going to leave Omaha, Nebraska and move to Meridian, Mississippi for his first job since leaving the Air Force. And because it had been over a year since we'd seen him, we talked him into flying to L.A. to spend the weekend with us. He also agreed to take us all to Disneyland as a sort of late birthday/Christmas present. (Isn't that sweet of him?). More on that in another post.

Anyway, Terry and I drove about 6 hours from Phoenix straight to LAX to pick up Kevin from the airport. Unfortunately, Terry missed an exit for I-10, which is so easy to do in L.A. so we ended up taking surface streets through part of the city. It was fine. We still got to Kevin within just a few minutes of when he landed. If you've never been to L.A. you can see by this photo of the freeway at midday Saturday, that it's a bit intimidating, especially for a newcomer.

Did you know that they have massive billboards on the sides of buildings for TV shows there? I don't think I've noticed that anywhere else in the country (or am I just missing it?).

After picking Kevin up we found out that Andrew had gone into work and would be able to give us a tour of the recording/mixing studio that he works at. Now I'm not allowed to say the name of the studio or the name of his boss in this post and you're not allowed to guess who it is online. Because if you guess it correctly then I'd have to kill you. If you want to know the next time I see you or via email, I can do that. Just not online. It's kept very hush hush.

I will tell you that we drove to a very nondescript smallish light industrial type building in a very average looking part of the San Fernando Valley and that's where Andrew's workplace is. (Hope that doesn't give anything away.)

Once we started touring the place, to our surprise, the building was actually quite roomy and very eclectic inside. It still had kind of an 80's feel with the wood paneling and dark colors, but also had some fun surprises and so much to look at and enjoy.

This yellow lucite chair was one of the first things I noticed.

Then we rounded a corner and I saw this huge aqua banquette. I took the picture just so Linda could see it's magnificence.

The restroom that I visited was filled with Rolling Stones paraphernalia and this amazing mirrored dresser. I saw some similar pieces this weekend at Pier 1 Imports. I love that look!

It was really like a mini museum with all sorts of autographed memorabilia from the bands that had come thru the doors to work on their records, as well as dozens of other items that Andrew's boss had probably just picked up here or there. Do you remember the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man from Ghost Busters?

The walls were filled with framed albums, cds, awards and more tokens of appreciation and accomplishments for the work that had been done there.

The actual working rooms were pretty impressive too, even for someone like me who has no idea what any of it is. Look at these control boards below. They were probably 10 feet across! Wow! What does someone do with all those buttons and knobs.

The coolest thing is that Andrew is working with the team of this well known engineer and learning the ins and outs of the record business...and he LOVES it! From what I hear, his team is extremely happy with his work as well. Go Andrew! His name is even on the latest Green Day album. Did I say too much? You can see him here working his magic.

Oh, by the way, those boring looking amplifiers in the picture at the bottom... Those are Marshall stacks! From what I remember, those are pretty awesome for an electric guitar player. Just thought I'd impress you with my musical knowledge. Ha Ha! I have a feeling they may be a little outdated, but I'm not sure.

And here's our daughter (his wife) Amy, looking all proud of her husband for the awesome job that he has. We're proud of him too!

Thanks for the tour, Andrew! We loved it!

Coastal Living
Have I told you lately that I love Coastal Living Magazine? (o.k., maybe so.) But have you seen the September issue?

As always, it's packed with great decorating, travel and food tips. Three of those things that I love most.

The piece that caught my attention was about Venice Beach, California. Having lived for 18 years in So Cal, this brought back some great memories. Venice is one of the places that we used to take our out-of-town visitors to experience what was uniquely Los Angeles. Based on the article, it sounds like it's an even more fun, eclectic and refreshing place to visit than when we were there years ago. I can't wait to stop by again when I'm in town to visit Amy & Andrew.

I also loved the article about Key West, Florida. This is a destination that we haven't had the privilege of visiting yet, but is definitely big on our list. We'll hold onto this info in our travel folder to refer to when we get the chance to visit that part of the country.

I love the anticipation of visiting new places!

...Are we there yet?

Drives of a Lifetime (part 2)

O.k. let's finish reviewing this list of National Geographic Traveler magazine's "50 Drives of a Lifetime". Or at least we'll take a peek at the next 4 of them that we've had a chance to enjoy. Of course, I could do several posts on each and every stop, but won't take the time here. Let me know if you'd like to hear more about any of these and I'd be happy to oblige.

Warning - this is going to make you want to go on a road trip!

1. Olympic Peninsula, Washington - We've done a pretty good chunk of this one just a few years ago. I think this was one of our first driving vacations without the kids with us and with my new camera. I drove Terry crazy asking him to stop so I could take pictures. It was fun, but definitely quiet without Amy & Kevin. We would absolutely go back to this area again!

Here are a few highlights:
Crescent Lake is gorgeous!
Sol Duc Hot Springs is pretty cool but a little smelly from the sulpher in the springs.
Hoh Rain forest was amazing, but probably the most humid place I've ever been.
Here are just a few photos that I took:

Crescent Lake and the cottages at Crescent Lake - Don't they just take you back about 50+ years?

The one at the top is a photo of Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park.

2. California's Pacific Coast Highway - Since we lived in southern Cal for 18 years we had the privilege of driving PCH and the central coast many times. It is truly one of the most gorgeous places in the world and explains why the cost of living is out of this world. Of the places listed here, my top pics would probably be:

Monterey Bay Aquarium - You have to go at least once. It is so much fun to watch the sea otters and see all the crazy creatures that live under our seas.

San Simeon - Hearst Castle is just unbelievable! Especially considering it was built during the Great Depression. I want to go around Christmas sometime when they have it decorated for the holidays.

Carmel-by-the-Sea - storybook town, perfect weather and oh so quaint. Would have loved to go much more often. This is a little sliver of the Carmel Mission. There are old Spanish missions all up and down the Cal coast. Well worth visiting too!

Cambria - great little town for a romantic getaway.

3. Rocky Mountains - Although we have done just a sliver of this drive, I thought I'd mention it because we just got back from visiting Rocky Mountain National Park (one of our favorites) last week. We saw tranquil lakes, amazing wildlife, and drove Trail Ridge Road. It's the highest continuous paved road in the United States, reaching an elevation of 12,183 feet (That's above the tree line).

4. Santa Barbara Loop - This is another area that we're quite familiar with, since it was less than 2 hours from our house so an easy day trip or lovely weekend. Also a gorgeous area in So Cal! Hard to list favorites. We have lots of stories from these parts.

Solvang - A fun place to visit with lots of shopping, bakeries, outdoor theater in the summer and much more.

Santa Barbara - A wonderful respite from the heat in the summer with an awesome arts and crafts fair every Sunday. Nice restaurants too. If you ever have a chance, attend an outdoor concert with a view of the ocean at the Santa Barbara Bowl. We discovered it just before we moved away and are sad that we didn't know about it sooner.

Santa Ynez Valley - Made semi-famous by the movie, Sideways. The NGT magazine failed to mention one of our favorite stops for lunch. The Cold Springs Tavern, which used to be a stage coach stop. It's well worth the short diversion off the highway on the way to Solvang. Be sure to check it out for a meal or some afternoon refreshment. And don't let the bikers intimidate you. Most of them are dentists or podiatrists from Orange County.

Even though we've skimmed the edges of some of the other Southwestern drives, I don't feel like we've done enough to mention them, so I'll leave it at that. It's been so much fun reliving some of those unforgettable trips. I would love to do them all again anytime.

In looking at the remaining drives, I think it would be nearly impossible to decide which one I would want to do next, if I could choose any of them. I will definitely keep this list as reference for when we're planning trips in the future. Let me know which of them you've had a chance to see. Travel is such a gift! I would do it full time if I had the chance...o.k., maybe not full time, but at least half time. I'm so blessed that I've had the chance to go as much as I have, considering I had only gone on 1 vacation before I was 16 years old.

If you want to continue to hear about our Colorado trip, stay tuned and come back soon.

Happy Trails! I look forward to hearing from you.

Coffee Cup History - Continued...

I'm sure this coffee cup will be familiar to you. It's from "Friends", the TV Show.

I bought this cup at NBC studios when I had a chance to go to a taping of the show with one of my own friends (Kathy Oatey). We were there in one of it's last seasons in production. It was a special privilege to see the cast and their relationships with each other in real life while on the set. There were many laughs and a long night of taping, but I'm happy that I had the chance to witness that little bit of history.

Sometimes I really LOVE my job!!!!

One of the aspects of being an Event Manager is the long tedious hours of site visits at resort after resort at vacation destinations. It actually is pretty tiring, especially if you have a lot of places to visit, but it's one of my favorite parts of the job.

Fortunately, this weekend I'm going on a 2nd visit to the place we chose for a fund-raising retreat that Leadership Catalyst is doing in November. My hubby and I will visit the Four Seasons Aviara Resort in Carlsbad, CA and get to stay overnight and pamper ourselves in one of their gorgeous rooms. We'll be meeting with our coordinator from the resort as well as our friends, Don & Carol to look at the meeting room and discuss questions that we have about the event. Don is our tech expert and will help us make all the necessary decisions and ask all the right questions about our audio-visual set up for the event.

Since we'll be over there anyway for our Monday meeting, we decided to make a weekend of it, even though we just got back from vacation a few weeks ago. We'll be staying just north of San Diego for the first night, because we can't afford to PAY for a night at Aviara. Well, I guess we COULD afford it, but don't really WANT to spend that much money for one night in a hotel room.


I hope we get a chance to check out this awesome fireplace while we're there. Doesn't it look so inviting for when the temps dip below 70 degrees? The highs are expected to be in the mid-70's and lows in the mid-60's, which is pretty close to paradise, I'd say. Even as I type this I have to force myself to pack a sweater and long sleeves for the evenings. It's just so hard to imagine after 105 degree high temp today.

I'm sure you can tell that all these pics are from the resort website, but I'll be taking more while we're out and about and I'll try to post while I'm there.

Another cool thing...I get to use a work day and don't have to take vacation...because I really AM working. YES, I AM and please don't tell my co-workers how much I enjoy it. I think they're jealous already.

Previews of our upcoming vacation...

• Vacation days approved - check
  
• Airline tickets purchased - check
• Rental car reserved - check
• 5 different hotels reserved:
• West Beaverton, OR - check
• Newport, OR - check
• Crescent City, CA - check
• Prospect, OR - check
• Vancouver, WA - check
• AAA books and maps picked up
• House-sitter secured - check
  

Things to see:

• Parts of 3 states in 10 days
• Oregon coast - check
• Redwood National Park - check
• Crater Lake National Park - check
• a glimpse of Portland - check
• much, much more
  

Hope to accomplish:

• Rest & relaxation
• Sleeping in
• Staying up late
• Lots of great seafood!
• The chance to wear a sweater or jacket (or both)!
• Capturing the beauty of God's creation
• Time with my hubby