Funny Email from Linda
While we were away, Linda was home alone and when she came home to the empty house around 10:30PM, she heard a loud ruckus and noise coming from the garage. She was freaked out and shaking. She thought there was someone in the garage, what’s she going to do or is there some creature in there like one of our rabid raccoons which hang out in our yard. Panicked, she found a nice couple walking down our street and she had them wait by the front door while Linda scanned the house. All was clear. What’s funny is she finally figured out what the noise was. I have a mini fridge/freezer in the garage for beer and pop and a diet coke can froze and completely exploded. I’ve never seen anything like it. When it exploded, it bounced off an MGD beer can which also exploded. Well, that explains the ruckus and the huge mess left behind in the fridge. I’m sorry I was away to miss that clean up. Not. I didn’t think the freezer worked. I guess it does now.

Camping Weekend
Linda was busy this weekend with her friends and I wanted to go camping so I rented her a car (very cheaply at $12.99/day) and packed up the van and took the 2 kids away with me for a couple of nights.

The weather was supposed to be rainy Saturday and Sunday – so I changed plans of going to Cultus Lake or Harrison and went local to Golden Ears Provincial Park which is only 45 minutes away. I lucked out as I didn’t have reservations but they had just opened up a new area and I got a great big spot. We were late getting there at 8:30PM and the kids were restless and tired and I had a bunch of work to do. Camping with the 2 kids was going to be tougher than I thought. I had to set up camp, feed them, start a fire, change them, put them to bed. Carter was writing a diary and wrote: “No fun, bad night, no fire, bored.” The wood I paid $20 for from the park ranger was damp and they had no kindling which seemed like a rip off.

By 11PM I was under control and had the fire finally going and was able to kick back with a beer and watch a flick. I watched half of “Letters From Iwo Jima” outside by the fire and really enjoyed it before packing it in.
The washrooms were closed by our site but with a little investigation that made sense. There was a big bear trap on the other side and they were trying to discourage campers from going near it. The bear was spotted 3 sites over a few days earlier. Oh joy. I’m in a tent and there’s a bear close by.

Haley was afraid of the dark several times throughout the night and woke up crying and upset. Sigh. Then at sunrise which is early this time of year she woke me up saying “It’s morning time, let’s play”. Sigh. I put a video on for her and lied there trying to sleep but no luck. The weather was nice though and we had a great day. Lots of biking, running, eating, playground, playing at the beach on Alouette Lake. I got a good fire going that night and we all watched Harry Potter Goblet of Fire outside by the fire. I watched the rest of “Letters from Iwo Jima” and it was an excellent flick which I recommend. Being completely in Japanese with sub titles, you’re really forced to pay attention to everything. See “Flags of our Fathers” first. I had all the tarps up and it did rain a bit Sunday morning but that didn’t affect anything. We all had a great time and I look forward to camping again this weekend when the weather is supposed to be hot and sunny.

Home From California

What a great trip we all had

Dropping off the damaged car at Alamo was easy - no big deal there
We were 3 hours early for the flight and it was delayed 45 more minutes which made for a long wait. I put "Over The Hedge" movie on for the kids to watch int he waiting area which kept them busy.

We flew back in a small Air Canada Jazz Plane - like 100 passengers 2x2 seating and I thought it would be a drag. Turned out great. Little screens to watch movies and surprising comfortable. The kids quickly fell asleep as did I for 45 minutes. Luggage was there when we got to the baggage carosel which is a first. Drive home took forever - I was still in San Diego mode where traffic moved at 80MPH and now it's doing 25MPH.

Time to catch up on Heroes and American Idol TV Shows.

Legoland

We got to Legoland which is 30 minutes north of us - before the 10AM opening and there a lot of people there already – hundreds – like a Disney opening. We were like “huh – Monday should be a slow day”. Turns out home schooled kids get in for 75% off on this particular Monday. Once the crowds dispersed – you never saw a crowd again.
I bought our tickets on eBay and they weren’t working in the scanner. I was getting choked thinking I got ripped off and then Linda opened the stroller entry gate which no one was manning and we all just walked through not even showing our tickets to anyone. Anyone need 4 tickets to Legoland ? Selling them for $125US. I’m quite pleased that our day was free. Legoland is over $200US to enter which is pricey considering the park caters to 3-9 year olds. Parents should be cheaper not more. And they also get you for $10 parking when they own the whole massive lot.

We liked the park a lot since it was perfect for Carter and Haley. We just love seeing them happy doing fun stuff. One of the highlights was the Volvo driving center. 2 Sections one for 3-5 yr olds and another for 6-9 yr olds. Kids get a little car shaped like Lego pieces and drive it around a track – they have complete control which makes it a lot of fun. The older kids also get stop signs and red lights which makes it more interesting. Some kids drive like Yolanda and drive into the back of other kids.

We went on a few small roller coasters and then went on the Pirate Ship which had squirt guns all around it and we squirted people and they squirted us and explosions in the water soaked me good.

We saw a couple of 4-D movies, shops, playgrounds, rides and Mini legoland. This is an area which has reproductions of other areas in the world. We saw, New York with all the buildings, New Orleans with the Mardi Gras, Las Vegas Strip, San Francisco and Washington DC monuments. Overall a great time was had by the kids and I bought a couple of Lego clothing articles and we closed the park and shopped until 5:45PM. I’d get a discount before paying full fare though

On the way home we stopped at In/Out Burger and that was pretty good. After midnight now and time for bed – early morning and flight home at noon.

Bumper Cars on I-8
After writing my Blog and working on the computer across the street at the Best Western who had FREE internet, I decided to take a drive East to see where the Frys Electronics store was – I was planning on checking it out today.
I’m putting along doing 60 in my new Rented Chevy Impala in the right lane of the 5 lanes ready to exit and this car I see in the distance isn’t slowing down. She creams right into the back of me while I’m doing 60 !!! WTF ? A million things go through my mind as I see her headlights about to smack me. Why isn’t she slowing down or changing lanes, what’s going to happen to me when we hit, am I going to hit another car, are airbags going to be deployed, will the car turn sideways and flip, oh crap, there goes my vacation, uh oh, Linda’s going to be mad at me, damn, I wish I bought insurance through the rental company and Hold On tight this is going to hurt.

So we both pull over on this busy highway which makes our highway 1 in Vancouver look like a side street. My lower back is sore and I’m shaking like a leaf on a fall day. I run over to Yolandas car – I know all about her now and give her this “WTF” look and ask why ?? She doesn’t speak English and I don’t hablo de espagnol . She reaches into her purse and I’m thinking uh oh, crazy Californian with a gun – I’m in trouble now. She’s just getting her license though – I’ve seen too many weird movies lately. She must have kids cause she had a whack of crayola pens which I used to write details on. I don’t have a phone and neither does she – I try flag cars down but they don’t even slow down to 80. This is like a racetrack afterhours. Unbelievable. Even 2 cop cars drove by me jumping around to get their attention.

Then a car comes within inches of our 2 cars and now I’m freaked. I’ve seen too many Amazing Car Crashes TV Shows to know that when cars are pulled over, they are like magnets to crash into. I began to freak and we said our goodbyes. Never got to see where Frys was.

I later found out that there are Call Boxes every half mile on highways which allow you to call police. I don’t think I would have wanted to walk along that highway though. I met with the on duty hotel manager and he helped me find some phone numbers and calm me down. He was so nice and even threw in free buffet breakfast for us all today. Nice guy. I didn’t wake Linda when I got back to the room – I didn’t sleep though. The car was still drivable, I was safe at the room and that’s all that mattered. VISA Insurance on my credit card will take care of everything.
What would a holiday be for me if there wasn’t some drama ? Everything was going so smooth until Yolanda came into the picture.

Lessons learned – stay at hotels that offer free internet, don’t look for Frys Electronics stores at 11PM at night and drive faster than 60MPH or you’re gonna get creamed.

San Diego Day 9

Today was our most kicked back day. I’m finally in complete vacation mode and unfortunately, only 1 day left now. I’d love to extend the trip 3 more days even but flights are too hard to move.

Happy Mothers Day

For Linda we splurged and went all out. No free hotel danishes for her – we went to IHOP at 9:30AM for a delicious breakfast. We then went to Starbucks and walked along Pacific Beach. Checked out the beach shops and walked along the seawall a bit and then hung out in the sand and ocean with a Shaved Ice. Watched the surfers a bit. Afterwards we went to Mission Beach and walked around there for a bit. There was a great outdoor bar called the Wavehouse. They had a live singer doing Jimmy Buffet songs and a wave machine. People could go with their wake boards and ride the waves – it was a very cool. They even allowed kids in the bar but we passed on it as the kids were getting bored. I’d have love to have gone in though and had a few drinks. We went to Belmont Park which had a midway but we didn’t go on any rides. Nothing jumped out at us except the Roller Coaster. We would have stayed longer but the sunburns on everyone was a bit much and we needed a break. We played in the pool for quite awhile and then headed out to see “Meet the Robinsons” movie in 3D. It was an OK movie. The kids seemed to like though. I expected more from the 3D effects but it was still well done. The Westfield mall by Mission Center was quite nice, 20 screens, outdoor mall and everything you want. The Fashion valley Mall by the hotel here is very similar – I was surprised to see 2 big malls within a couple of miles of each other. Afterwards we shopped at Target again for our second time this trip. I haven’t bought myself anything yet. The kids and Linda have no troubles shopping though. We still have a day left for me.

San Diego is so easy to get around – our hotel in Mission Valley is very central to highways and we can be at 2 malls, beaches, downtown all within about 5-10 minutes. I was mixed up one night though with Dave and didn’t know whether I was coming or going on the highway – my lefts and rights and east and wests were all messed up.
Carter and I went swimming again in the evening while Linda started to pack things up. Tomorrow we go to Legoland – Carter doesn’t know yet and I can’t wait to take him there. He just loves his Lego more than anything.

San Diego Day 8
Another day of sunshine – we woke to cool clouds so I was thinking the worst at first and then it just heated up like it has every day on our trip. A little windy and cooler by the ocean but nothing that bothered us.
It was sad to see Dave and Elisabeth and their girls go home this morning. We’ve been having such a good time and we all get along so great. Carter and Bridget are a perfect match as are Haley and Bronwyn. They got along so well – not one incident or issue. I miss my beer buddy Dave. Dave where are you ? it’s 9:30PM and people are in bed here.

The day started with us having to move to a new room. I was nervous cause with Priceline, you don’t always get what you want, you just a get a good price. Our room has been fine, 2 queen beds, good linen. Our tower was in the far back and we didn’t feel like it was a 3 Star hotel. They cater more to Conventions and big groups more than families I think. We couldn’t stay our next 3 nights in the same room – 2 different reservations so I was hoping we still got 2 queen beds. We lucked out. We got put in a much nicer tower, bigger room, 2 sinks and a balcony overlooking the pool on the 8th floor. We didn’t know that the rooms were so nice outside of our tower. We saw some rooms on the lower floor with chandeliers even. I wish we all had the same rooms when Dave and E. were here. One thing that followed us from one room to another in a different tower was this picture of a young girl. Linda thinks it belongs more in the Haunted Mansion that a hotel room and they have it in every room. Must be the owners daughter or something. Kind of a creepy picture.

We headed out to Seaport Village in San Diego and walked along the seawall and Linda checked out the shops. They have several buskers/entertainers doing shows around the village. We saw a great juggling, comedy gymnastic act and a neat magician while eating our Ben and Jerrys ice Cream. We walked around the outside of the Aircraft Carrier Midway but didn’t take the tour as it was going to cost us at least $38 and Linda and I have already done a Carrier tour in the past. I love downtown San Diego – it’s so nice and clean and just has a good vibe to it. I love Vancouver and they are similar in many ways. No begging bums though like Vancouver.

We then went to Coronado beach across the water. They don’t have a toll on the bridge anymore which is good. I’d love to live on Coronado – would move there in a minute I think. The beach is spectacular and so vast and clean. We drove up on a Saturday and found parking right away. We built sand castles and played in the water and then went back to the hotel to play in the pool.

For dinner we went upscale – we went to Hooters in Mission Bay. I’ve love their chicken wings, what can I say. The kids quickly fell asleep in the car.

Tomorrow is mother’s day and we’ll go out for breakfast and I don’t know what next yet. May Old Town, some rides at Belmont Park at Pacific Beach, maybe walk around Balboa park or hang by the pool. Only 3 more sleeps – I love being on vacation.

San Diego Day
We spent Friday touring San Diego. We first went to la Jolla which is about 10 miles away – north west of us on the coast. Very nice town – very upscale – very affluent area. Walked around the village a bit and saw the beach cove and some seals hanging out on the rocks and then headed back to the hotel. The adult girls went to the mall which is within walking distance, Dave and the older kids went to the pool and I took the younger ones to Ocean Beach about 10 minutes from the hotel. We had a good time playing in the sand just hanging out in the sun. Afterwards we headed downtown for dinner. We walked around Gaslamp Quarter a bit and ended up at Dick’s last Resort which was a lot of laughs. The place basically has no rules so the kids could do what they want and our waitress made the evening very interactive. At one point she had all 4 kids on the floor of the entrance to the restaurant coloring and working on a big piece of paper. Guests had to walk around them. In the end, they made mother’s day cards for Linda and Elisabeth. The kids had balloon hats and were tearing up the place.

I ate way too much – chicken and ribs and appy’s and a big ass 32oz MGD. I was done. The food was excellent– kind of pricey though. One fun thing they had besides their lack of manners is a machine which you put your money in and it’s a crane like you pick up stuffed animals but instead you pick up lobsters. If you get one, they cook it all up for you with the extras as well. Fun stuff. I’d love to see a Dicks in Vancouver, been to others in Myrtle Beach and Chicago in the past and always have a great time.

On the way back we hit Target for some shopping and had a hassle buying gas. It seems that you have to prepay your gas but when you are filling it up, you don’t know. If you say $50 and you need more – you have to start over and prepay more. Not a great system.

Dave and Elisabeth leave in the morning – we’re going to miss them – it’s bee a faboulus time with them and all the kids get along perfectly – not one squak from any of them. I don’t know what our plan is for Saturday and Sunday – weather is going to get cold so I don’t know what’s in store for us yet.

SeaWorld San Diego
Up and out the door at 8:30AM for SeaWorld. The plan was to catch some breakfast and some groceries and hit the park by 10AM. Well, no sooner had we left did Dave and I split up. I lost him I the rush hour traffic and didn’t have my cell phone with me. I could find him or call his cel – you can’t call a cel collect unfortunately. So we went grocery shopping anyways and then headed to the park. I saw Dave right away waiting for us and he was waiting by the park the whole time – we just missed each other. He even called 911 to see if there was an accident and why we didn’t show up. Unfortunate but it all worked out.

SeaWorld was fantastic. We did Journey to Atlantis which is a roller coaster/flume ride. A thrill ride and you get soaked. We saw Beluga Whales, penguins and Polar bears and aquariums which were all fun. The big stuff though was Shamu the whale show which is an excellent show for everyone. The trainers riding on the whales snout was cool and I’d love to try that. The Dolphin show was up there too as excellent. The Pets rule show was very impressive. Making all those different animals do cool tricks. Dogs, Birds, Cats, Pigs – all did fun tricks – lots of laughs. I’m OK with whales and dolphin shows as they allow us to view and love these animals and hopefully learn to appreciate them more.

We got to do a Dolphin Encounter – this is where a dolphin comes up to the side of the tank and allows people to pet them. The kids and I loved it. In the pic – you can see both carter and I with our hands on it. I’m holding Haley right over the water almost so she could have a chance. It was all very exciting for them.

The Shark Encounter was cool – Carter loves his sharks and this was a great exhibit. Big nurse sharks and black tip and other fearsome beasts with huge teeth. SeaWorld has a walkway on a conveyor belt inside the shark tank all in glass so you can see sharks everywhere, up, left, right and up close. They also have a 4-D movie – The Haunted Lighthouse which was also very good. The problem was that as soon as the kids saw 3-D glasses and a theatre – Carter and Haley starting crying their eyes out. They were terrified before the movie even started so Linda took them out while I watched it. That ‘Honey I shrunk the Audience’ really messed them up. The movie was great though and I jumped several times out of my seat.

SeaWorld was great but too pricey. I bought my tickets on eBay so I saved about 70USD off of gate prices which was good but they still nailed you for $10 parking. Their parking lot is massive and almost empty and they have the nerve to charge $10 after wanting over $200 at the gate ?? Good show though and would do it all over again in a second. Something you only need to do once though – not like Disney where you need to go every year if you can :)

We had dinner at Chilis which was very tasty. Good service – good food. We then went swimming in the pool and everyone crashed. Except me of course. I’m across the highway at a Best Western doing laundry at 11:30 at night. They also have free internet here. The Town and Country charges me $9.95/night which is just silly. Doing laundry since the kids have been playing in the wet sand on the beach and destroying all their clothes. We have a few more days here and with the heat wave here – we need fresh clothes all around.

No beers or karaoke bar tonight for us.

We were supposed to all go to Legoland tomorrow but instead we’re going Monday after Dave and Elisabeth go home Saturday. We’re going to tour around San Diego and forget theme parks for a couple of days. It’s just too much with kids with how much we pack into each day. We’re all just pooped.

I’m beat now – laundry almost dried and security is sitting here with me at the table – I guess he’s keeping an eye on me – not saying anything – odd.