Notes: This is the text-only version of this report. The illustrated version of this report is still under development. Check back later if you want to see the finsihed product. Don't want to wait? The photos are over at my Yahoo Photo Gallery. The California photos are in 5 albums labeled "California 1 of 5" through "California 5 of 5" Those photos are arranged in the albums in chronological order.
Today begins our tour of California. This trip would be taken with members of the Bishop's Choir of St. Mary's Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption. Our choir has made numerous international trips through the years: Italy, England, Belgium, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Ireland, and Canada. This would make our first major performance trip within the United States.
Our flight was scheduled to leave Cincinnati around 8:45 PM, and so after doing most of the trip preparations on Thursday, we decided to sleep in on Friday to start getting our bodies acclimated to Pacific Time. We had also arranged to have my Uncle and Aunt drive us to the airport. Our day started off earlier than expected when my relatives arrived two hours early while we were in the middle of final preparations.
This tour was arranged through Peter's Way Tours, a firm mostly specializing in overseas trips, an offshoot of that is their standard trip instructions advise such things as taking a passport and arriving at the airport three hours early. Of course, we decided to follow their recommendation so we were dropped off at the airport right around 5:30 PM. We had an uneventful trip to the airport even though it was during rush hour.
We entered the airport, proceeded to the check in counter and had no trouble checking our bags and getting boarding passes. We then headed down to the basement of the terminal where the security screening takes place. There was a bit of a line for the checkpoint but not going back beyond the standard line. All in all I would say it took us less than 15minutes to clear security. We next boarded the underground train that would take us out to the concourse. I see the airport has both trains running again, after they severely damaged one, but the damaged train is currently one car short. All in all we are walking into the middle of Concourse B right around 6PM.
Knowing we had some time, and knowing that we would not be getting dinner on the flight, we stopped off at Wolfgang Puck's Airport Café. Mom went with the turkey sandwich and fruit flavored iced tea, and I went with a BBQ Chicken pizza with draft beer. It was a relaxing meal and we took our time and finally decided to proceed to the gate area around 7:30.
When we arrived at the gate area there were already numerous tour participants present. Lora, Anthony, the Peavler's, Rhonda, Sister Mary Carol, and the Schaffers. I took some pictures of the waiting group, we made some phone calls to relatives, and everyone was eager with anticipation. John Wegener popped in for a surprise visit, which especially delighted the children of the choir as they each received a Zero candy bar with $20 wrapped around it.
It was then time to board the plane, as with most flights these days, it would be a full flight. Mom and I took our seats in Row 22 of the 737, and prepared for takeoff. We sat on the tarmac still at the gate for quite some time when they eventually announced that due to bad weather over the central United States that we were going to be rerouted to take a more Southerly route to San Francisco, the bad news is that we don't have enough fuel, so we sit and wait for the fuel truck to arrive, additional fuel to be added, and the paperwork processed. Just as we were about to leave, air traffic control rerouted us again, on an even longer path that would go over Chicago. Guess what, even more fuel needed. So, we wait for the fuel truck again and start to wonder why it is that they don't simply fill the fuel tanks on airplanes to begin with. All in all we finally get up in the air about an hour behind schedule. Let me tell you, sitting in an airplane on the ground for an hour is not fun.
We are now aloft and after a little bit we get introduced to Delta's new excuse for meal service. Now it seems that instead of an actual lunch or dinner, you get a "Snack Pack" which is a little plastic tray that contains: a cookie, a little box of raisins, a package of tiny crackers that taste kind of like croutons and a block of havarti cheese to spread on the crackers. It's better than nothing, I suppose. We then watch the in-flight movie, which was the recent remake of The Pink Panther.
I now have a $2 Delta headset that can be used on this and all future Delta flights, and using the supplied adapter on any of my existing audio equipment. Delta decided to use a non standard connector I suppose to prevent people from using their own headset. At least they are superior to the old stethoscope looking sets they used to use, and they are easily adjustable since they earpieces clip onto your earlobes. We did have one laugh during the movie, part of the way into it I ask Mom how she is enjoying the movie, and she says that if they want to show a foreign film, to at least subtitle it. I look over at her armrest and she has the audio set to channel 2, I turn to channel 2 and realize that has the Spanish translation. I tell her to turn to channel 1 and we laugh about it for a bit. The movie, I liked it and thought it was funny.
After the movie I pulled out my laptop and watched Back to the Future on it, well most of the movie, Marty had just retuned to Lone Pine Mall and Doc had just revealed his bulletproof vest when the call was made to cease use of electronic devices as we were starting our approach into San Francisco. Somewhere along the way, Delta offered a second beverage service with your choice of peanuts, cookies, cheese crackers, granola bar, or bag of chips.
We have a relatively smooth landing after a bit of a rough flight owing to the weather. We had arrived in San Francisco. We made our way through the airport following the signs to the baggage claim. While walking through the airport I heard announcements for the USO, a sad reminder of world affairs. We made our way to the escalators and went down one floor to the bag claim area. Faster members in the group had already started pulling the groups bags (they had green Peter's Way tags) off the carousel. Surprisingly our bags were some of the first off the carousel. So we stood around mingling as others awaited their bags, and for everybody to make it down to the bag claim area. We arrived at the bag claim around 11:30 pacific time, and met us with our tour director, Mike Purcell, around 11:45. Mike welcomed us to San Francisco. He told us the good news is the hotel is not far from the airport; the bad news is that the hotel's bell staff leaves at midnight, so it looks like we will be handling our own baggage. We walk what seems to be the length of the airport to go from the Delta bag claim to the bus parking area. Our bags get loaded onto the bus and we start to head towards our hotel. Mike jokes that just like Delta we have to stop at the gas station first. It's a short ride into the city, and we pass the Civic Center at night, with its cupola modeled after St. Peters in Vatican City. We make our way to Cathedral Hill Hotel.
We assemble in the lobby of the hotel and wait for Mike to pass out the envelopes containing our room key cards as well as the breakfast meal vouchers. We soon head up to our rooms, which at this hotel were all on the third floor. Remember our body clocks were now telling us that it is about 3: -3:15 in the morning. Without much ceremony we made our way to our room.
The room seemed a little on the small side, but it would surely be adequate. I looked around for places to recharge phones, camera batteries, laptop, etc. While there were numerous outlets in the room, all but one of them were two prong outlets, and of course the laptop needs a three-prong outlet. Guess I have to start packing an adapter in my laptop bag. Oh well, so the laptop gets charged while sitting on the bathroom counter. As I said, its late, we are tired from the flight, and we were glad to hear that we would be getting a late start tomorrow as the start time was set at 10:45am. We set the travel alarm, fall into bed, and it did not take long for us to fall asleep.
We awoke; get ready and go in search of breakfast. We have vouchers from the hotel, so we head down to the hotel lobby where we find some of our group lounging, but we learn they have already had breakfast, but they guided us to the breakfast room. We partook in the hotel's breakfast buffet while a bit disconcerted to discover no one else from our group was eating breakfast at the time. We enjoyed our breakfast then rejoined the group assembling in the lobby and hearing from those that decided to start the day with a morning walk.
Soon we are boarding our Coach USA bus and getting introduced to Mike Purcell, the group leader, whom we learn was involved in the news media in the past and has experienced quite a bit of world travel, as well as Ron who would be our coach driver.
We start the day with a drive down Van Ness Ave, which is one of San Francisco's main thoroughfares as we head towards the Golden Gate Bridge. Since we are using a shorter bus today we are able to get an up close look at the Palace of Fine Arts. This Romanesque structure was built for the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition, and is one of very few structures left as most of the buildings were built as temporary buildings. From the Palace of Fine Arts we drove through the San Francisco Presidio, which is a military base going all the way back to when the area was under the control of Spain, then Mexico, and finally the United States. The area is now a park.
From the Presidio we drive across the fog covered Golden Gate Bridge. The bridge is one of the iconic symbols of San Francisco, built in the 1930'and opened in 1937. The bridges two towers, cables and railings are all bright orange, and Mike commented that once the painters have finished, it is time to start painting again. From the Golden Gate Bridge we saw views of Alcatraz, the famous prison island and Angel Island. We drove across the bridge and at the other side we took at 15-minute rest stop at a "Vista Point". This particular vista point offered views of part of the Presidio, a marina, and of course the Golden Gate Bridge. The fog patterns were interesting in just the 15 minutes we were there, at time the bridge would be mostly shrouded in fog, then at other times almost clear, you could watch the fog rolling over the area. It also gave us a chance to see the San Francisco skyline.
While I was enjoying the view, Mike as well as several others from our group indicated there was a plaque that I needed to see. I followed the group to the plaque, where I learned I was at the H. Dana Bowers Memorial Vista Point. I don't think its any relation, but per the plaque he was responsible for several beautification and landscaping projects along the highways and he created the particular vista point I was at.
I then turned back towards the bay in time to see a three masted boat go sailing by. Having satisfied my need of bridge photos, I decided to check out the statue sitting in the middle of the park. The statue consisted of a sailor with a duffel bag standing next to a large cleat. Signage indicated that it was the Lone Sailor Memorial. The statue sits on a giant marble pedestal, on the base of which is a giant compass rose, complete with directional markings. Between the 4 major points on the compass are metal sculpted images of 4 branches of nautical service: Navy, Merchant Marine, Coast Guard, and Marine Corps.
Soon it was time to leave the vista point, so we headed north on 101 through a tunnel under the hills, to come out in Sausalito. At the current time we just drive past the town of Sausalito, but Mike does point out the 'Ark Homes'. Sausalito is billed as a houseboat community and indeed it is, but the area also has several regular houses, which are built on pontoons, so they look more like a floating house than a houseboat, if that makes sense. Mike said they are typically called arks and are very valuable.
But, as I said Sausalito is later on our tour, so we head towards Muir Woods. Mike gives us a little background on Muir Woods. As you might guess, at one time California had large woods full of redwood trees, well that was until the logging industry got their hands on it. The current site of Muir Woods was spared for a long time just due to the difficulty in reaching the site. In 1905 William Kent bought what is now known as Muir Woods to protect it from the loggers, it was later named after conservationist John Muir and donated to the federal government for use as a park.
As I mentioned, it is not an easy site to get to, and is not near the interstate. We start up the approach road. There are two major roads to Muir Woods, and as we would later learn as a matter of practicality, they have decreed that busses enter via the Upper road, and leave by the lower road. Both roads feature several tight turns, which explains why we weren't using a full size bus. It seemed as if we were going to wind our way up the entire mountain but Mike assures us we were only going over a foothill. There were a couple sections where the road was only one lane wide where some recent landslides have occurred that have not yet been repaired. After a while on the upper road, the children of the choir decided to start singing "She'll be Coming Round the Mountain" which only seemed fitting, and soon we were arriving at the Muir Woods visitor center.
We offloaded the bus, and headed from the back of the lot up to the visitor's center. Along the way I noticed some information tables set up by a conservation group that could have been mistaken for a Muir Woods exhibit if the tables weren't clearly in the designated "First Amendment Zone". It seems the park has restricted solicitations and the like to designated areas, this one happens to be in the parking lot by the restroom building.
We proceed to the Visitor's Center where we are each given a brochure about Muir Woods and instructed that we have an hour to explore Muir Woods on our own. Mike leads us through the park entryway under the "Muir Woods National Monument" entryway, and points out the building containing the cafeteria, gift shop and restrooms. Mike leads us as far as Bridge 1 and indicates that we can either go straight ahead, or cross bridge 1 or follow that trail. Mike advised taking the paved loop trail. At this point the group split in half, and we were in the group that took the first left over Bridge 1. Someone in our group pointed out the common Disney advice to always turn left given an option.
I normally would not consider myself a major nature person, but some sites are just so breathtakingly beautiful. We saw several unique sites including an "H" shape tree where it looks like two trees have merged together, some fallen logs over the creeks that run down the middle of he main trail. Further down the trees kept getting larger and grander, and thanks to nature's air conditioning the area was actually quite cool. It seemed like every view was better than the last one. There were some more interesting sites, like the Bicentennial Tree, and then there is hollow tree that you can stand inside of. Yep, that was a classic photo op for the children of the choir. Further down was a hollowed out log on the ground that you could look up through. We noticed the trailheads for more rustic trails that go up deeper into the woods.
We come to Bridge 2, and a trail guide. According to the guide if we turn around now, our round trip time should be half an hour, if we continue to the next turn around, which is at the Cathedral Grove, the estimated trip time would be a full hour, which would leave no time for snacks or gifts. The guide mentioned the additional distance to be something in the neighborhood of 1.7 miles, which was enough discouragement for most of us to cross bridge 2 and start the return trip. At Bridge 2, I took the opportunity to pick up a more detailed trail guide for a souvenir ($1). Along the way back we saw more of the same, including a section of trunk the have split open and on it side. Its an attempt to discourage people from touching the live trees, as they can examine the trunk segment, a bit further down is the obligatory exhibit about how you can age a tree by the rings in the trunk. We saw a little round area where it looks like they have your tree seedlings in pots on exhibit. We decided to skip the ecological presentation and headed into the visitor's center.
In the Visitor's center we picked up some souvenirs, such as personalized redwood pens, and some books and postcards from the park. We also took the chance to get some cold beverages which we enjoyed while we walked back to the coach. After the group was reassembled we boarded the coach and continued the tour.
We left Muir Woods via the lower access road and after another windy hillside drive we were headed to Sausalito. As we approached Sausalito we learned a bit about the popular tourist area. Amongst other things it has a large marina, and ferry service with San Francisco. We are given some time to stroll the main street of Sausalito. Rhonda, Mom and I walk up and down the street, and stop in Seven Seas Restaurant for a quick lunch. I went with a bowl of clam chowder, Mom did the hot dog, and Rhonda did a slice of pizza, which we followed up with some ice cream. After our quick lunch we headed back to San Francisco. We traveled by the waterfront road for some distance to enjoy the view.
When we returned to Golden Gate Bridge the fog had lifted, and we were treated to a nice clear view of the bridge as we crossed. When we reached the other side, Mike joked that we were taking up a collection for the road toll. The Golden Gate Bridge collects a toll, but only when going southbound. It costs a car $5 to go southbound and busses are slightly higher, but we don't have to stop as the bus was outfitted with a Fastrack card.
We drove through the Presidio again and we starting to retrace our steps back Van Ness Street when Ron decided that since we have the shorter bus, we could take a couple back streets, which allowed us to see a small sampling of San Francisco's numerous Victorian homes. We also started to get a feel for the terrain of the city as it seems like every block required a hill up or a hill down. As we returned to our hotel we passed through Japantown and Mike pointed out the Japanese peace pagoda.
We returned to the hotel and had about an hour to relax and freshen up for the evening's concert. As I mentioned at the start of this report this was a choir tour, and so there would be numerous choral activities along the way. While freshening up in the room, I discovered that the hotel's WiFi service is $10/night. Looks like I will have something to discourage Internet usage for the first few nights. We got robes and music together, freshened up and started to relax, but stopped short of naps due to the danger of not awaking on time.
We next headed back to the bus and as the church was two blocks away, the group was given the option to walk or ride. We opted to take the ride where we learned that due to the traffic patterns, it actually takes longer to ride to the church. There is one part where you drive right past the church but on the wrong side of the street, then due to the one way streets and bus restrictions you have to take a big loop out of the way to get back to the church. Mike was leading the walking group, and Ron drove us riders over to the church. We ended up passing the Japanese peace pagoda again, and we passed some nations embassy on the way to the church.
The church in this case was the cathedral in San Francisco, a cathedral that so happens to share the same name as our church, as we noted on the banners on the poles in front of the church "St. Mary's Cathedral of the Assumption" The current cathedral is a very modern structure, The rooftop is a giant cross, as Ron remarked that it looked like a washer agitator.
We proceeded to enter the front door under a metal sculpted panel that adds beauty as well as protects the stained glass behind it. Upon entering the cathedral the full effect of the very modern architecture becomes apparent. We start by walking around the baptismal font, which has been placed by the front entrance. The cathedral is shaped more like a giant fan than the more traditional cross shape.
Before I describe the rest of the church its time to prepare for the nights singing. We gather near the organ, robe and prepare music. We had the luxury of getting tonight's musical lineup in advance so we were able to prepare music folders before leaving home. We met the cathedral's music director and got settled in. Their music director recommended putting the female voices in the choir area of the cathedral, and the male voices one section over. We arranged ourselves, and practiced a song or two, and then we decided to see if it would make a difference if we all sat in the choir section. We tried a song there, then decided to go back the way the local music director had recommended.
After a short practice we decided to experiment with different vantage points to sing from for the concert, we tried near the front door by the baptistery, and then we tried in the back towards the side by the support column. Then following a tip from their music director we went behind the support column where we could not see the audience, but owing to the shape of the church the sound carries exceptionally well from that point. A decision is made that after the closing hymn we would process to behind one of the support columns to start the concert, then later on in the concert we would proceed to the front altar steps.
Some time is then given for a restroom stop, as well as time to take any personal belongings down to the music director's office for safe keeping during the mass and concert. We then get a few minutes to relax before mass begins.
First we sing the 5:30 vigil mass then we go straight from the recessional by parading back behind one of the support columns to begin the concert. The attendance at the concert was rather low, but that's the nature of these trip concerts. While the local parishes do what they can to promote our concerts you never know quite what to expect. We perform a few songs from the back of the church then process to the front for the remainder of the concert.
At the conclusion of the concert we had some time to explore the cathedral. As I mentioned the cathedral is very modern in design. I already mentioned how the church is in a fan shape. Some points of interest include the ceiling, I had noted the cross shaped roof on the outside, on the inside of the church the ceiling goes up into a high area, in which there is a cross formed by stained glass skylights. Above the altar, silvery metal tubes brightening the area surround the cross. The pipes for the organ are mounted atop a pedestal above the choir area. As is common in newer churches the baptismal font is by the front door of church surrounded by a railing. Above the front door is a yellow toned stained glass window. I took some photos from inside the church, and then went down the stairs to help gather up personal belongings from the music area underneath the cathedral.
After our visit to the cathedral we again boarded the bus and headed to dinner. Dinner tonight was at the North Beach Restaurant. We received a brief tour of Chinatown and North Beach along the way. North Beach is San Francisco's "Little Italy". San Francisco is a very cosmopolitan city and it seems that each ethnic group has their own area to call home. Another tradition in the city is the numerous ethnic festivals held throughout the year. It just so happened that this weekend was North Beach's turn to celebrate and so many streets were filled with booths ands stages and partygoers.
After seeing some of North Beach, we headed to the North Beach Restaurant. This restaurant, according to Mike is one of the top ten restaurants in San Francisco, and seems to be highly regarded. Our group was shown to the restaurant's wine cellar where two long banquet tables had been setup.
We found places at table and soon the servers were bringing out the much-desired ice water. I think the servers may have been surprised at how fast a choir that had just finished a concert can go through ice water. We also received baskets with assorted types of bread. In true Italian tradition, there was no butter served with the bread, instead there were bottles of olive oil on the table. When you use the olive oil as a dipping sauce for your bread it does taste almost like buttered bread. Wine orders were placed, and soon bottles of wine appeared on the table to accompany dinner.
As we were enjoying the bread, one of the waiters came around to explain the night's menu, and the fact that we do get to choose what we want to eat from four selections. Soon after the waiter explained our meal, the servers started bringing out the salad. First we each had a green salad served to us with some Italian dressing. Before we could start on the salad they started passing out platters full of all sorts of toppings to make antipasti, so the most common approach was to make antipasti salad.
Amongst the toppings was a tray of salami and cheese, then some cold veal, calamari, and some sort of beans. I was eager to try a little bit of each topping, and soon the platters were being passed around family style. I was eager to try the calamari, as I had never had it before, my opinion is that it doesn't have a lot of taste but the texture is unique, sort of like rubber. I also like the cuts of veal and the cheese. In our area we had finished our salads and were contemplating making another plate of the antipasti toppings but then we also remembered we had three more courses to eat, so we left the antipasti toppings alone.
Shortly after we had finished our salads, those plates and platters were cleared and the pasta dish was served. This would be the house pasta, which were little pasta rolls with some cheese, veal and mushrooms in them with some sort of brown sauce. I enjoyed the pasta dish while waiting for my main entrée selection.
For dinner we were each given a choice of one of the following entrees: Tuscan Chicken, Veal, Fillet of Sole, or Pork. All the entrees came with roasted potatoes and a green vegetable that looked a bit like spinach. I had opted for the seafood, and Mom had chosen the "sucking pig" Pork entrée. I believe that everybody enjoyed their dinner and we soon engaged in conversation and I took some group photos.
After dinner there was some time to sit and relax before dessert was served. For dessert we received a sponge rum cake. From the first bite, we could tell that the cake was very heavy on the rum.
After dinner the owner of the restaurant came to thank us for coming, and we were going to follow a choir tradition, that of singing the "Gaelic Blessing" for him, but the owner insisted that he gather the servers together, because they are the ones that really did the work. After the servers were gathered together, the choir sang, and the restaurant staff was greatly appreciative. They even commented that it was the nicest thing customers have ever done for them. Soon after the song, we had arranged for Ron to come pick us up, so we decided to go and wait out in front of the restaurant.
It wasn't too much longer when Ron came back with the bus, and Ron drove us back to the Cathedral Hill Hotel. We were informed that tomorrow the tour still start around 9AM. We considered it to be a fun filled first day, and we were eagerly waiting the next day. I stopped by the hotel gift shop on the way back to the room and bought a 24 oz. bottle of Diet Pepsi for $2. Soon, we were back in the room, so we had some time to relax before falling asleep for the night.
We awoke on Sunday morning, and while getting ready, I learned that the showerheads in the hotel rooms were designed with 5-foot people in mind. We did get ready, and then we headed down to the breakfast room in time to eat breakfast with most of the group. I might have mentioned that breakfast consisted of various fresh fruits, pastry, cereal, as well as a hot bar with eggs, meat, biscuits and gravy, hash browns, and while yesterday they had waffles and syrup, I noticed that today they offered French toast and syrup. We enjoyed breakfast with the group, and soon met back out at the bus for another day of touring.
We noticed that for day 3, we had our third different bus of the trip. We started out much the same as yesterday. Mike pointed out a unique octagonal shaped house, and from a distance we could see cars zigzagging down Lombard Street. Today we are heading to the wine county, so the first part of the drive is the same as going to Muir Woods. On the way to the winery, Mike mentioned that California's wine industry was started by the missions for the purpose of making altar wines. Since then the wine industry has really blossomed in this region of California, mainly because the area hosts a climate similar to the famous wine making areas in France and Italy. Mike went on to even conjecture that some of the European wine makers are starting to move their wine operations to California. Much of California's wineries are in the towns of Napa and Sonoma. For our tour they had selected one winery in Sonoma for us to visit.
Sonoma is smaller than the more famous Napa, and it also happens to be a bit closer. One thing that looked out of place is that while we were driving to Sonoma, we are driving through acre after acre of vineyards and other rural lands, and all of a sudden we drive past a speedway. It just seems so wrong to have a racetrack in the middle of all that pastoral scenery.
We learned that were going to visit the Viansa winery, which Mike said produces wines in the Tuscan tradition. While we were arriving to the vineyard, a Tuscan style villa could be seen up on a hill. We drove past the villa and tuned into a long driveway. By the main street there is a wine goddess looking sculpture and their flagpole bears the Italian flag. We proceed to head up the driveway past what look like some very thin looking trees or plants, maybe vines. The bus drops us off at the villa and we are informed we have some time to take a rest stop, stretch our legs and look around before our tour.
Most people took the chance at a rest stop, and then headed up the stairs to the garden where there is a panoramic view of the vineyards. Some others tried to dodge the heat by sitting in a shaded area in the front courtyard. We had some small talk while waiting for the tour.
When the designated time for the tour rolled around, we gathered by a rather imposing set of doors leading into the villa home. While standing outside the doors, a representative of the winery met us and welcomed us. He pointed to the sign above the doors and indicated how the name Viansa is a contraction of the founder's names. He also mentioned that the building we are about to enter is not air conditioned, but to take notice of the natural air conditioning in the wine cellar.
He opens the first set of doors and we enter into a foyer and there were some interesting pictures lining the walls but there was no time to study them before we were ushered through the second set of doors into the wine cellar. This wine cellar was smaller than I thought it would be, and in the shape of a cross. We were in the long arm of the cross, and the two short arms held racks of wine barrels. At the far end of the room there appears to be some vintage wine making apparatus and stairs leading upstairs.
Before he started his presentation, he noted the wonderful acoustics of the cellar, and gave the choir a chance to sing a song and experience the acoustics. The choir took him up on the offer and I noted how the sound seemed to linger in the room for a few seconds after the song ended. The presentation was not your typical "How wine is made" presentation, instead it was more of a "Why we are different than any other winery" presentation. Our guide began by giving us some of the history of the company. It seems that in the beginning they decided to make both common wines, and special premium wines. The problem was they distributed both types of wine under the same label, and therefore consumers purchased the more common wines instead of the premium wines. This caused a rift in the old company where one side saw the sales results and wanted to switch exclusively to common wines, and the people who went on to found Viansa wanted to go exclusively to the premium wines.
So it remains to this day, Viansa does not work with wholesalers or retailers, nor to they distribute through restaurants. The only way to purchase Viansa wines is directly from Viansa, either in person or by mail/internet order. He proceeded to tell us about their wine of the month club, but he then broke the bad news that due to the laws of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, he can't ship wines there. Those of us who live in Ohio can receive his wines. He also mentioned that in California, you are allowed to bring your own wine to restaurants, subject to a corkage fee of course, so he recommended that we could buy wine from him and then we would have the best wine in the restaurant.
He also stated that Viansa has done well as a premium limited edition winery, and that we are in fact, not in their real wine cellar but a small mockup of what the cellar looks like, the real cellar is elsewhere on the property and is much larger. He did point out that the wooden barrels they use to store the wine could cause a great change in the wines' taste. He said that wooden barrels from different countries are made of different woods, so they take the type of barrel into account when deciding on a new wine. He also stated that they do change their barrels periodically so the wine does not develop a stale wood taste. As he said, for a winery, wooden barrels represent a huge investment,
After his presentation, we were led upstairs to the company store. The winery has a gourmet grocery, but more about that later. We were escorted to one end of the room where a fancy bar is setup, with wine racks behind the bar holding row after row of wine bottles. We each take a spot along the bar, and are issued a wine goblet, a wine list of their wines, and a wine of the month club application. As we are waiting, wine samples are poured into our goblets, but we are told to not taste it yet.
After everybody has his or her sample, he leads us in a lesson on the proper way to sample wine. We are led through the process of first swirling the wine to let the oxygen in and the flavor to come out, then taking a sniff to appreciate the smell or bouquet of the wine, then putting a little on our lips to prepare our lips for the wine. He explained that wine is acidic, so the little bit of wine on our lips should cause us to salivate. Then he tells us the proper way to toast with wine glasses, and finally taking a drink and letting the wine swirl around on our tongue so that it can stimulate all of our various taste buds.
Before sampling the wines we first have a little focacccia bread to cleanse the palate, then between each wine we get a bite of cheese to help cleans the palate, and the use of various kinds of cheese helps set our taste buds up for the next wine. I admit I am not a big wine fan, so I can't really comment on the wines, except that they served us two white wines and two red wines. He went on to tell us how some wines should be served chilled, and others at room temperature. After the wine tasting we had time to explore their pantry store which serves as a gift shop as well as a gourmet party supply store. If you are looking for a unique salsa or dip for your next event, they have countless varieties on hand, and better yet, they are all available for sample. Around the various tables they have bowls of pretzel sticks, then little dishes of all their different gourmet dips. Also in the area is a wine store, coffee bar, deli, even some lunches you can purchase. Some time was given to explore their store and to walk around on the balcony in back of the villa that overlooks the vineyard. The topography of the land means that while the wine cellar is on the ground floor at the front of the villa, the gourmet pantry is on the ground level in the rear of the building, and then the land drops off sharply, allowing a great view of the vineyard. Mike had explained to us how the various wineries throw all kinds of events to attract customers, and this winery is known for having barbeque dinners and live bands to attract customers. Well no barbeque today, but they did have a live band performing out in front of a big white party tent. We also understand that they are also popular as a site for weddings.
Ample time was given to explore and relax. I noted how cool the white tent is compared to being outside. They also have some unusual looking sculptures lining the gardens to look at. As we were heading back to the bus I noticed the railings along the stairways are made to resemble vines. We passed a trellis like area on the way down, and gathered in front of he villa. I did note that while they have the Italian flag by the highway, they fly the American flag from atop the villa.
We boarded he bus and headed to downtown Sonoma, As was explained to us, downtown Sonoma is historically significant, due to the Bear Flag Rebellion. Apparently it was in Sonoma where the citizens of California rebelled against Mexico to become part of the United States. We drove around the Sonoma town square then pulled into a parking area and some time was given to explore Sonoma and have lunch.
From our parking spot we entered the town of Sonoma alongside some buildings that were marked as historical buildings that were part of a fort that was in the area. We entered the town square and walked past the front a historical inn. I noticed the Bear Flag Memorial in the town square, and then we decided to find some lunch. In some parts of Sonoma, the town reminded me of Hill Valley, particularly when I saw the still operating movie theatre. It is a classic single screen movie palace with a big art deco marquee out front. According to the signs they were showing "Cars", and visible from the outside between the ticket booth and the theatre doors they had what may be a car from the movie as a decoration, we walked around the town square and wound up eating at Mary's, which was a pizza place. We each ordered their hamburger, which was actually more like a giant steak hoagie with all the toppings; the sandwiches included a side salad, bread, and a beverage for $9. We thought the deal was reasonable, and the food tasted pretty good.
Also in Sonoma, we walked past but did not visit the local mission church. While our tour would include a few of the California Missions, this was not to be one of them. We also passed another on the highway out to Sonoma,
After our stop in Sonoma, we headed back to San Francisco; some used this as an opportunity to grab a nap as we were covering the same stretch of roads we used earlier in the day. Our plans for the day included a long stretch of free time, and Mike went to each and every person on the tour offering suggestions on how to use their time. I don't mean he just rambles off some suggestions; he actually talked with each person individually to try to suggest what is best for them. As it turns out, so many people indicated their priorities were to see Fisherman's Wharf area attractions and to ride a cable car that he then presented some suggestions on just how to do that to the group, and even offered to have the bus take anybody who wanted to go to Fisherman's Wharf after the days activities.
As we approached San Francisco, our guide mentioned that our scheduled itinerary included Golden Gate Park, however, tour busses are technically forbidden from Golden Gate Park on Sundays as the park is reserved for the people of San Francisco. We instead headed to Twin Peaks. Twin Peaks is a famous overlook that seems like climbing a mountain as you drive up a long curvy road to arrive at a little park at the top. When stepping off the bus we noticed that it was a lot cooler from the top of Twin Peaks, and that the winds were strong up there. It was a challenge to try to put on your jacket. As you might expect I took numerous pictures from San Francisco from atop Twin Peaks. This would have been a nice time to have a panoramic camera. Some time was given to explore the view from atop Twin Peaks, and then we headed back into the city,
We drove through San Francisco past some more of the Victorian era homes, and I noted the clever platforms they have erected to allow those in wheelchairs to board the streetcars. We saw some sights such as the San Francisco mint and the Castro district. The Castro district is lined with rainbow flags, and is the center for the city's very open homosexual population. We were driving along Market Street, which is interesting in that they run historic streetcars that have been donated from various cities around the world. We saw cars that Mike thought were from Milan, Italy, and even the one from Cincinnati, Ohio. From the Castro district, we passed by the local main Episcopal Church that looks sort of like Notre Dame, and the original San Francisco cathedral. We also headed towards the civic center, which is where most of the cities government services are located, as well as the main library and the opera house.
We had passed the Civic Center on Friday night, but today we passed by it in the daytime. The city's major governmental buildings are all situated around a town square style park. The main city building features a cupola in the center that is modeled after St. Peter's in Vatican City. Mike pointed out a complex that contains government buildings at the federal, state and city level. What was interesting about that arrangement of buildings is that not only are they one behind each other, but they all differ in height with the federal building being the highest and the city building being the shortest. It was also noted that the city building looked the best, and the buildings got plainer with the federal building being totally plain.
After leaving the Civic Center we returned to the hotel. At this time a little bit of time was given to return to our rooms and freshen up. We had completed the planned group touring for the day, but upon learning that most of the group was headed to the Fisherman's Wharf area attractions, Mike and Ron agreed to provide a one-way bus transport to the Wharf.
So we got freshened up and returned to the bus. We went towards the Wharf by way of passing by Union Square, which Mike pointed out, was one of the prime shopping areas in town, with a town square lined by several major department stores. From Union Square we headed through Chinatown where we drove underneath the Chinese Gate. We noted the unique lampposts and the fronts of the building. Mike told us that Chinatown is actually more a "Hollywood" representation of China than an accurate depiction. From Chinatown we headed back through North Beach, which is the Italian district. Along the way we passed by the Stinking Rose, a restaurant where everything, including the ice cream includes garlic. We also passed through the Russian Hill area and got another glimpse of the crooked block of Lombard Street.
We may have seen a couple more sights, but soon we were being dropped off in front of Pier 39. Pier 39 contains a large touristy area. The Aquarium dominates the street side of Pier 39. We also looked up at what appeared to be a theater which was advertising, I am not kidding: "Menopause: The Musical". We started out by shopping in the first shop on the left hand side. This shop is your typical tourist gift shop with all sorts of area souvenirs. It is the kind of shop where everything appears to be discount price, but you start wondering if that's part of there marketing. In the center of the shop there was a large display of t-shirts, which appeared to be reasonably priced, but alas I noted they had no XXL sizes.
In the back of the shop there was a section of what you might call tacky souvenirs. You know, the kind that looks cheap, yet people are attracted to them. We looked through this shop, then started out going the wrong way. Instead of going back to see the rest of Pier 39, we actually headed towards Pier 41. (The odd number piers are on one side of the center of the Wharf, and the even numbered piers on the other) Between Piers 39 and 41 is the terminal for the Blue and Gold line, they provide sightseeing cruise services. Pier 41 is dominated by the ferry service to Alcatraz Island. I noted the Alcatraz tours were already sold out for the day, but we perused the gift shop. The Alcatraz Cell Block shop, they sell all sorts of items related to the famous prison, including some tasteless T-shirts for babies and small kids themed to Alcatraz. While we were in the shop we ran into another tour member who asked if we had seen the sea lion exhibit. We indicated that we hadn't, but she told us it was back on Pier 39 and offered to show us where it was.
We walked alongside the boat docks where boats were boarding for the various bay area tours, and retuned to Pier 39. I stopped briefly to show John Peavler the tacky souvenir section of that first gift shop. John collects tacky gifts from wherever he travels. I showed him the display and his face lit up like he had hit the jackpot.
I returned to the group and we walked alongside the outside of the pier. To be clear, the main access to the pier's attractions are outside, but the buildings are built along three sides of the pier, so we were actually walking along the outer edge of the pier closest to the water. We walked almost all the way to the end of the pier where we came upon the famous sea lion exhibit. From what I understand this exhibit was not a planned attraction, the sea lions just happened to show up. There is a display about the sea lions of the wall alongside the sea lion pool. We spent a bit of time looking at the sea lion pool before moving on. Oh, and I am not talking about the usual two or three sea lions you see at amusement parks or zoos, there were numerous sea lions gathered here.
From the sea lion exhibit we went up some stairs and through a door into the Pier 39 attraction area. Now you are outside on both sides of the door, so I presume the doors are there as a measure to try to cut down on the harsh cross winds that might otherwise blow through the area. We had entered at a square at the ocean end of the pier. Dominating the large open square is a fancy looking double deck carousel. Alongside the carousel is a stage for minor entertainment acts. I dubbed it a sideshow stage as the entertainment included jugglers and fire-eaters while we were in the area.
We stopped by a fudge shop for some free samples, and wound up buying some chocolates. We then started to walk through the Magnetotron which is a shop specializing in refrigerator magnets, but that store was way too crowded for my comfort level. We walked over to an old time candy store that had just about every kind of candy known to man. For some reason, the "Candyman" song wafted through my head as I looked through bin after bin of different kinds of candy. I was shocked to see a bin containing candy cigarettes, as I thought that parent's groups and anti-smoking groups had pushed that product off the market. I also noted the candy shop was definitely charging tourist zone prices.
We started walking along the plaza and passed by art galleries, restaurants, shops and attractions. Some of the more noteworthy places were the hot dog stand done up in vintage Coca-Cola décor, then I peeked in an arcade as seaside arcades are known to house vintage arcade machines, but this was not one of those arcades. I passed by a building advertising motion movies, at prices that exceed what I am used to paying for regular feature length films.
I took another look at the carousel, I am not a big enough carousel fan to identify a manufacturer on sight, but I wonder if this is a Vekoma machine. The reason I suggest Vekoma is that the carousel contained numerous 'toys' like a hot air balloon you can spin, or chariots that rock back and forth, that I have also seen used on the Vekoma made carousel at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom. As I said this is a double deck model and it dominated the area. I noted that ride sales were being handled by two change machines that had been converted for the purpose. Rides were $3 for one, or $5 for two. I declined to ride the carousel. I passed by the escalator up to Bubba Gump's place before we headed into a large souvenir store. The store contained a lot of shirts, hats, and gift items, but what made the store note worthy is that they had a large selection of Del Sol products. What makes Del Sol products unique is that they make shirts, bags and other items that react to sunlight, Viewed indoors or out of the sun, they feature black and white designs, but expose them to direct sunlight and the black and white design changes to a full color design. Normal lights won't cause the reaction, but the store does have some special magic lamps where you can see the products change color right in front of your eyes. We have bought some Del Sol products in the past so we have seen that they do actually work.
Further up the row of stores is a place promising, "FREE" Flying carpet rides. No, it wasn't the amusement ride, instead, it was a deal where you sit on a 'flying carpet' in a green room, and through the magic of television they superimpose a fantasy background around you. Of course it's free to try, they get their money went you want a photograph.
We passed by some more stores including a cable car store with all kinds of cable car related items, and their gimmick is that with purchase you can ring a cable car bell. Another store was one of those nostalgia places, with old jukeboxes, vending machines, slot machines and other collectibles from times gone by. As we walked along the stores of Pier 39 we noticed how brisk the wind was getting, and perhaps the famous Mark Twain quote "The coldest winter I ever spent was the summer in San Francisco" has merit.
We reached the main street, and in front of Pier 39 there are several flagpoles with decorative flags announcing you are at Pier 39, those flags confirmed that yes the wind was pretty brisk. We turned right and headed up alongside the bay, our ultimate goal was to get to Hyde Street so we could catch a cable car back to the hotel. We walked past Pier 41 again, and passed by some sidewalk art sellers.
Along the way we came upon little green kiosks that promised to be restrooms. I had seen these on the Internet and they are supposed to be modern day marvels that fully clean and deodorize themselves after every user. Let's just leave it at, don't you believe it.
We looked at a map and realized we were four blocks from the Powell and Hyde cable car station, so we veered from following the bay to a more direct route. We saw the outsides of some relatively well-known wax museums that are synonymous with tourist traps. The winds were brisk and cutting through our relatively light jackets. While admiring the street side restaurants, we questioned how popular their outdoor seating areas must be. Eventually, we reached Hyde Street and climbed up the half a block to the cable car station.
While we were headed to the cable car station, we had passed some other tour members who had indicated the line for he cars was lengthy, but we pressed on. We arrived at the station, and found the line to be wrapped completely around the turntable. The local taxi drivers are keen to this as they wait just outside the station area. "That line is an hour long, and I am right here!" one cabbie called out to us. The rest of the people in my group weren't too keen on taking the cable car, so after I saw that Mom, Rhonda and Lora were in the taxi, I headed back up the stairs to the cable car area.
Powell and Hyde is the turnaround point for one of the city's three remaining cable car lines. The area is a long, narrow area set on a city block just off the street. The area allows for unloading of arriving passengers, then an area for about 2-3 cars to park after being unloaded, then the turntable, then a place to park another 2 cars waiting to be loaded, and finally a place to load the cars. This whole area of track is lined with a short iron fence. At this time the line to board a cable car wrapped alongside the fence all the way around. I first passed some ticket booths that had signs advising you to purchase tickets before getting in line. I noted that all the ticket windows were closed, so I got in line anyway, without a ticket. The line itself seemed to move at a good pace owing to people giving up, particularly after a harsh gust of wind would come through. I watched the operation as I stood in line, the most interesting part of the operation is the turntable, from my casual understanding of the system, and I don't understand why they could not have had a rounded section of track at the end of the line to turn the car around. I understand they can only run forwards, not backwards, but is the turntable merely a space saver rather than having a turnaround circle of track? So what happens is when a car reaches the end of the line it is rolled onto the turntable. The cable must end before the turntable but it seems the operators allow the car to build up momentum so it will coast onto the turntable. Once on the table, I realize there is no obvious mechanical mechanism to rotate the table as it appears that the cars crew gets out, and one on each side manually push the car, and thus the turntable around. Then it appears that they have to push the car off the turntable far enough where they can then get back inside and make use of the cable.
I observed the operations further and noted that although they could load a car in a relatively short amount of time, the car would then just sit there for a few minutes. It took me a while to figure out that this was their way of doing block safety. I couldn't see if they were merely watching a clock and dispatching cars at a regular interval, or if there is some signal that tells them when the car ahead passes a certain point. What it did seem like is they were sending a car out about every 10 minutes. This helped the line as it frustrated some people who didn't understand the purpose of keeping the cars spaced out so they don't wind up all bunched up together later down the line. As I made the turnaround alongside the turntable, about halfway through the line, I looked up and saw the Ghiradelli building. The line continued and right before boarding we passed another disused ticket booth. I'd say all in all it took about 40 minutes in line before I got to climb aboard a cable car. You might say that's a long time to wait for public transit, or you might take the stance of a coaster enthusiast who realizes this is his one chance to ride this unique ride, after all San Francisco has the very last set of manually operated cable cars. I know I have waited longer than 40 minutes to go on some thrill rides, and I looked at this as another ride.
As I waited to board, the Rice-A-Roni jingle played in my head, and then I looked at the back of a cable car and saw the Rice-A-Roni advertisement. Earlier in the trip, our guide Mike had given us some cable car information. He indicated that prior to cable cars, horse drawn trolleys served the city. Owing to the severe terrain of the city, sometimes the horses would have trouble on the steep hills. The cable car was invented as a solution to save the horses by coming up with a way to propel the cars without them. The system works by running a channel down the middle of the track between the two rails. Inside that channel is a cable that moves at a constant 9mph, the cable itself being powered at a central facility. When they want a cable car to move, the main operator, known as the gripper, pulls on the big green lever which activates the grip on the car to grab hold of the cable, to stop not only must he let off the grip lever, but he must also pull back on the big red lever to set the brake. The gripper and conductor also each have a secondary brake. Later on, I found a neat simulator on the San Francisco cable car company's website that allows you to drive a cable car. Anyway, cable cars soon became a big hit with cities owing to not having to feed and care for horses, as well as their energy efficiency. The basic idea is still in use on some automated tramways, but most of those no longer run right along with other traffic, and the gripper has been replaced by a computer. Mike indicated that recently there was a major overhaul that caused the cable car system to be out of service for about two years, and for the city it felt like everyone had lost a dear friend for those two years.
I boarded the car and took a look around. The back half of the car is enclosed and has two rows of wood benches facing the center; the front half of the car is open air with two rows of benches in the center of the car on either side of the control levers, facing the sides. Of course they cram as many people as possible into the car, including allowing people to stand on the running boards along the sides of the car. Given the wind and the cold air, I opted to head to the enclosed portion of the car, and wound up standing so I could get a view out the window. After they loaded the car full of people, the conductor made his way through the car collecting the $5 cable car fare from each person, and passing out receipts. There must be some sort of gradual grip on the cable as the car starts slowly and then builds speed, with a max speed of 9mph it's always slow enough to take in the view. I mean I would not be as daring as the guy who was standing on the running boards, holding on with one hand, leaning out and shooting video with his other hand.
I noted the conductor and gripper are also helpful in warning passengers of sharp curves, steep hills, or when those on the running board need to 'tuck it in'. Some hills so steep that not only did those standing have a challenge, but those sitting were pushed into each other. I noted that the gripper and conductor communicate with each other through a bell code. Following Mike's advice I had planned on taking the cable car to Union Square. Along the way I passed a couple interesting sights such as the top of the crooked block of Lombard Street so I had a better view of just how crooked it is, then a bit later we made a turn past the cable car museum which also houses the cable car mechanism. It was a fun and unique ride and some time later I found myself in Union Square. As I had mentioned Union Square is lined with major retailers such as Macy's and Neiman Marcus (Mike calls it "needless markups" which seems appropriate). I took a look at the sculpture in the middle of Union Square.
Mike had said that Union Square was about 8 blocks from our hotel, and as it would turn out it is 8 blocks uphill. Mike suggested we had three options: walk, catch a taxi or use the city bus. I opted for the city bus, and not really knowing the schedules, I was happy to find a large group of people waiting at the stop. I had been advised that the bus I needed to get to the hotel was the only bus that used that stop, so that meant I must be about on time. Not hardly, being a regular user of public transportation I could read the body language that told me that the bus was running unreasonably late, and so 40 minutes later a crowded city bus pulls up. Okay, so maybe I didn't choose the most expeditious way back to the hotel, but I picked the unusual option. I boarded the city bus, paid the $1.50 fare and proceeded to head way back. This was one of those double length busses, the kind that can flex in the middle. I stood in the back half of the bus and rode the eight blocks to our hotel. As a tourist I liked the electronic signs that announced each and every intersection we were coming to. I had ridden these flexible buses in Las Vegas and had seen the front half turn before the back half, but here I saw the front half of the bus start climbing a hill while the back half was still flat, or the other way around at the top of the hill.
Soon I arrived back at the hotel, and had an encounter that verified panhandling is still alive and well. I entered the hotel lobby just in time to take a cell phone call from Mom wondering how I was doing. She seemed surprised I was already back at the hotel, and she told me the rest of them had already had dinner. I proceeded to grab a giant size hamburger and an Anchor Liberty beer from the hotel bar. Anchor beer is a San Francisco beer, so I thought I would try the local beer, and found it to be quite good. I spotted a few other people from our tour in the hotel bar, and after eating I returned to our room. Tomorrow, we would be leaving San Francisco and heading south, which meant that tonight was a clean up the room and get packed night, after all we were instructed to have our bags ready to be picked up by the bellmen at 7Am the next morning. It did not take me long to get ready for bed, and soon I was falling asleep.
We woke up nice and early, but not too early and decided to skip breakfast this morning in favor of breakfast bars. We were a bit concerned when it was closer to 7:30 when the bellmen came for the bags. We headed down to the corner and were ready to board the bus around 7:45. After the group was assembled we took a short drive around to the hotel's loading dock so the luggage could be put on board. We then started to head towards San Luis Obispo. Traffic was a bit heavy on highway 101 so we took a slight detour on 280 that perhaps saved us some time. We were traveling for most of the week on Highway 101, also known as El Camino Real (The Kings Highway). We were expected to stop at numerous missions during our tour, and El Camino Real plays an important part in the missions. It seems that this road closely follows the path of Fr. Serra as he founded the missions, so close in fact that by driving the 101 you come close to all of the California missions. To mark this route, the highway is lined with mission bells every so often. These are tall shepherd's crook shaped poles that hold a bell. These are the same kind of bells you can find in front of the missions. Mike indicated that the highway 101 mission bells are also one of the most frequently stolen pieces of highway art.
It is interesting to note that the company that makes the bells for highway 101 will also make them for private use. They come in various sizes in case you want one for your yard, or as a business want one in your courtyard or whatever. I noted that the bells sold for home or commercial use are shorter than actual highway bells. I also noted that these bells are mostly non-functional bells, as they come without clappers unless specifically ordered to have one.
We headed down Highway 101 for a ways until we made a rest stop in Salinas. Salinas is an area known as the salad bowl of America, and as such the area is full of various agricultural firms growing all kinds of produce. It seems that the town vegetable is the artichoke, and our rest stop was taken at one of these tourist trap like places that specializes in deep fried artichoke. No, I was not brave enough to try one. We stopped at a little complex that contained a diner (guess what famous appetizer they have), a produce market, a wine and cheese shop, and a coffee bar.
We entered the complex near the diner where we bypassed the diner and turned right. The façade of the place contains a giant artichoke, and inside that giant artichoke are the restrooms. After a brief stop, we looked through the produce market where I thought the neat thing was the bins looked like the fruit they contained, so you could get a banana from the giant banana, an apple from the giant apple, and orange from the giant orange and so on. We continued past the produce market into the wine shop. I noted that in addition to full size bottles, they also sold the little airplane size bottles of wine. At the far end as a coffee bar, owing to the cold temperatures that morning, the coffee bar did a very brisk business that morning. Carmel Maciato here I come!
From Salinas we headed to Monterey where we drove down through the Cannery Row area. This area used to be full of canneries for seafood and the like, but now they have tried to keep the look of the old buildings while putting a touristy type area in its place. After driving down through the cannery row area, a rest stop was given. We happened to be parked right across the street from the Aquarium, and although we didn't have time to visit the aquarium, we could walk out on a pier behind the aquarium and take a look at the Pacific Ocean. According to signs posted by the aquarium, it is sometimes possible to spot otters in the kelp at the end of the pier. I didn't spot any otters but I did spot a starfish.
After our brief stop in Monterey, we were scheduled to take a drive down the famous 17 Mile Drive. This is reputed to be a very scenic drive through a very exclusive seafront town that offers spectacular views, the lone cypress tree, and the Pebble Beach golf club. As we approached the entrance to 17-mile drive, the coach stopped and something was wrong. 17 Mile Drive is a privately owned road, by the Pebble Beach Corporation. I mentioned it was an exclusive community, and one of their tactics for keeping the number of tourists down, while letting the tourists cover a good portion of the areas expenses is to institute a hefty road toll to drive the 17 Mile Drive. The normal road toll is $8.75 per car, but we were in a bus, and they must either particularly loathe tour busses, or see them as big dollar signs. The rule for tour busses is that the road toll becomes $4.25 per passenger on the bus. It was discovered that Peter's Way had not made advance arrangements to cover this entry fee, so after some discussion it was decided to skip this part of the tour. We decided to head towards Carmel.
Our first stop in Carmel was the Carmel Plaza for lunch. As we were arriving at the shopping plaza we were advised that Lenny's Deli was an excellent lunch choice, and that they usually give discounts for tour buses. As soon as he got finished saying that a Lenny's representative was out to meet the bus and pass out 10% off coupons. Ron paid the ridiculous $25 bus-parking fee and we headed into the plaza.
The plaza consisted of several stores surrounding an outdoor courtyard. We soon found Lenny's and despite the cool air opted to eat at their outdoor tables in the courtyard. It wasn't as unpleasant as it might sound owing to the fact that they have both a fire pit and several heat poles that look like lampposts but generate nice amounts of heat instead. I think most of our group partook in deli style sandwiches here. The sandwiches were huge and came served with both coleslaw and potato salad. It was a nice relaxing lunch and did I get a surprise when I received my check. Okay, sales tax I can understand, automatic gratuity, I guess that's okay as it was a tour group, but energy surcharge, what's up with that. By the time its all said and done, we were looking at $16 sandwiches. Some time was given for both lunch and looking through the shops, and then we were back on the bus headed to the Carmel Mission. The Carmel Mission would be our first mission stop on the tour.
As I said earlier, the missions were all placed along what would later become Highway 101. A real high level overview is that the missions were founded by Fr. Serra. The missions are all placed within "a day's walk from each other", which is apparently about 20-25 miles. The missions date back to when California was controlled by Spain, and were intended to spread Christianity, in the Roman Catholic tradition in particular to the Native American people. They thrived under Spanish rule, but fell into ruins after the area separated from Spain and became Mexico. From what we were told Mexico took the mission lands from the church, and the people in charge of the missions did not put up any resistance. The missions, as you might expect fell into disrepair, if not complete ruin, during this time period. They remained this way until after California became part of the United States. Sometime in the later 1800's, California returned the mission lands back to the Catholic Church, and the former missions were either restored or new churches built on the lands as fit each situation.
The Carmel Mission is also the National Shrine of Blessed Junipero Serra, and although it commonly goes by the name Carmel Mission, the full name is "San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo Mission" We pulled up in front of the church gates and could see the church just beyond a small courtyard. We entered the mission through a gift shop where we found an admission gate in the back of the gift shop. It appears that the missions help make their budgets by charging admission. The posted price for this particular mission is $5, which includes a self-tour booklet. We walked through the admission gate out into the courtyard. It is said that the Carmel Mission is of the Moorish architectural style, and evidence of that can be found in both the fountain as well as the front window of the church, both visible from the courtyard. While awaiting direction, we looked around the courtyard, where there was a tile plaque commemorating the mission restoration efforts, as well as a historical plaque about the historic significance of the mission that appears to have been given to the mission by the French Republic. We peered into a small outbuilding next to the church, which has been converted into a museum, but not for long as our tour leader called for us to gather inside the church.
We walked into the church and right away I could tell that it had achieved Basilica status as right inside the front doors they have the umbrella and bell, which are only displayed, at Basilicas. While at our home Basilica our umbrella and bell are made into parade pieces, which may be used in procession, at the Carmel Mission they appear to be permanently mounted to the walls towards the rear of the church.
We proceeded towards the center of the church where the choir sang a couple of songs to commemorate the visit. Then we had some time to explore the grounds. Towards the front of the church here is a little wing off to one side, and in a little room off of that wing there is a large nativity scene setup, a very ornate and detailed nativity set at that. We also went towards the back of the church were there is a little side chapel which is dominated by a statue to Our Lady of Bethlehem. Also of interest in this side chapel is a marble tile inlaid in the floor commemorating a papal visit to the Carmel Mission in 1987. In the main nave of the church, the Stations of the Cross are depicted in paintings, which are interspersed with statues, each with an elaborate, almost stage like frame with a curtain behind it. The ornate detail continues behind the main altar where surrounding the tabernacle is an altarpiece you associate with older churches. Directly above the tabernacle you have the crucifixion scene surrounded by pictures of the various saints.
Turning around and starting to leave, we noted the organ pipes.
It is worth noting that the mission does emphasize its windows, yet very little electric light is used. What windows they have are recessed deep into arches near the top of the walls so that you can't really see the window, yet the amount of natural light they let in is enough to cast just the right amount of reverent light. I see I have a picture I took looking towards the main entrance of the church which due to the lower lighting conditions in the church allows for a very dramatic effect as the light can be seen streaming in through the door. We took a look at the baptismal font tucked behind a locked gate before returning to the courtyard. Our self-tour pamphlet suggested walking around the exterior of the mission church, which would allow for exterior views as well as a walk through a meditation garden and cemetery. We opted to ignore the suggestion and instead headed to the main museum area.
When you first enter the museum area you enter into an impressive room with Fr. Serra's sarcophagus in the center that is surrounded by statues of people reverently paying their respects, and at the foot of the tomb a carved bear sits on top. An altarpiece sits at one end of the room. We proceeded through the mission that attempts to give a view into what mission life was like. They have full size rooms, such as the mission library, the dining room, a typical priest's quarters, Father Serra's rather simple looking room, and more. Between the rooms there were several artifacts, and displays, such as a map showing the entire mission system. We toured through the museum that emptied out into the gift shop at the end.
Some time was taken to purchase souvenirs, and then I went to get some exterior photos of the mission church, as well as the gift shop/museum building. As we were returning to the bus, I came across the Blessed Sacrament chapel. I note that this chapel is positioned such that one doesn't have to pay the admission charge to enter. I took a look inside this smaller chapel before boarding the bus for our next destination.
It turns out; the next destination is a moving one. We made the drive from Carmel to Los Angeles using Scenic Highway 1. Highway 1 is a two-lane road that runs alongside the coastline, and is an attraction in its own right. Some claim it to be one of the most beautiful and most photographed drives in the world. Anybody who thinks that there are no more great undeveloped natural areas left in the United States needs to make this drive. On one side of the road you have the Pacific Ocean, and on the other side you have mostly undeveloped hillside. But, it's nicer than that, because you aren't driving at ocean level, instead you are driving alongside a cliff overlooking the ocean. Since the road runs alongside the edge of the cliff for most of the drive, the road is very curvy making for a very interesting drive. The scenery on one side ranged from waves crashing off of jagged rock formations out in the ocean to calm tranquil sandy coves, and everything in between. On the other side, was an ever-changing hillside. I happened to be on the hillside side of the bus, guess I picked the wrong side for this ride.
Dotting the landscape on the drive are the private residences you would pass every few miles. Talk about living where there are no next-door neighbors, ok, I guess they are technically next-door neighbors but they are miles away. These are homes that are not placed near the road, instead you would look up on the hill and see a home sitting all by itself up in the hills, or on the ocean side you would look down and see a home. I think the best might be the house or two we saw sitting up on high peaks on the ocean side of the road. The driveways to these homes are not readily apparent owing to the fact they are so long so the end of the drive may be nowhere near where you see the house.
Perhaps the most famous of these houses is the Hearst Castle, which regrettably was not part of the tour. Our guide, Mike, told us a bit about the lavishness of the estate. It sounds somewhat like the Biltmore Estate on the east coast. Anyway Hearst Castle is now open to public tours, and looking at some pictures of it, no expense was spared. We could catch a glimpse of Hearst Castle from a distance as we rode past it.
We did make a few stops along the way for rest and photo taking. We drove over the famous Bixby Bridge, one of the highest single span bridges in the world, and often used in commercials. We pulled off at an observation point after we passed the bridge, which allows for taking photos of the Bixby Bridge. One of the stops we did not plan on making was when a pelican came in for a landing right in front of the tour bus. I mean this was not chance landing, that bird dove down as if it were a guided missile and stopped right there in the middle of the road, daring the driver to continue. We have a theory that this particular pelican has been fed by several prior tour groups, so now he associates a tour bus with food delivery. Mike shooed the bird away and we continued, but not before I was able to get a photo or two.
Midway through the drive, the landscape changes and suddenly we were driving through a forest of redwood trees. We pull into the Big Sur State Park for a rest stop. We make use of the facilities in the lodge as well as a chance to get some refreshments at what were actually fair street prices. Several people made use of the lodge's ice cream parlor. While we waited for the group to reconvene we had some time to look around and photograph the redwoods of Big Sur Park, at least those in the immediate vicinity of the lodge. Mike cautioned us against purchasing the "Plant your own Redwood" kits they sell. He explained while redwood trees take a long time to grow, they have a very shallow root system, and as evidence take a look over at the lodge where the veranda like porch has been rerouted to accommodate the trunk of a redwood that is right next to the lodge. The lodge itself had some educational displays and looked like your typical state park lodge.
A bit further down the road we pulled off at another roadside park, this park containing a habitat of Elephant Seals, according to the signage. That is part of what is making the time in California so interesting, seeing natural animal habitats. The animal habitats do not appear to be enclosed and in fact at some of them there are signs warning not to disturb the animals for fear they may abandon the habitat. Man and animal peacefully coexisting? Some time was spent observing and photographing the elephant seals, and not just one or two animals but whole rows of them. So, lets see, first we had the famous Pier 39 sea lions, now the Big Sur elephant seals, and I have the feeling we aren't done with natural animal encounters.
Now, let's be truthful, while Highway 1 was indeed scenic and picturesque, it might actually be possible to see too much natural beauty at one time, particularly when it spans miles. Some people used various parts of the drive to catch up on sleep, particularly as bus coma sets in. I have mentioned how spread out things are along Highway 1. We came across a little town named Ragged Point. Ragged Point seems to exist for no reason other than to serve as a rest and service plaza for those driving along Highway 1. As restroom facilities are scarce, and with an hours long bus ride, every chance you can get to stretch your legs is welcome, so we stopped at Ragged Point.
I may have the cast iron stomach when it comes to amusement rides, but when I stepped off the bus at Ragged Point, my insides were still sloshing back and forth as if they were still following the curving roadway. After making a rest stop, I looked around Ragged Point. It consists of a hotel, restaurant, snack bar, coffee bar, convenience store, gift shop and gas station. It might be what you could call a tourist trap; I know they take advantage of the fact that they have the only gas pumps for close to 50 miles. While gasoline was going for about $3-$3.30 other places in California, Ragged Point was charging $4.39.
After several hours of viewing virtually unspoiled coastline, we headed for the city of San Luis Obispo. We had reservations to spend the night at the Embassy Suites. As we approached the city, it was going to be a race to see if we could get to the hotel before the Manager's Reception ended. Embassy Suites has a reception every night in the early evening which features free appetizers and cocktails, our group is a party group, and a chance to get a free drink is indeed appealing. How close did we cut it? Well, we headed from the hotel front door to the reception room and got in line to get our free cocktail just before the reception ended.
Embassy Suites are really nice hotels, and we had no evening plans for that night. After the children of the group were taken to the indoor pool, the group started to unwind first over the free reception, then after the reception ended we sort of took over that nook of the hotel. I had been downloading my photos every night from my camera to my laptop. While we were unwinding from the drive, I set the laptop up, downloaded the days photos into it, then started the Windows XP built in slide show viewer. Most of the group lingered around the room to view the raw unedited slide show, and I received a lot of compliments on it. People love seeing photos of themselves, and I think people were surprised when photos from the drive we had just finished were shown on the screen. After the slide show, and courtesy of the hotel free wireless Internet service, I let some group members check in on their email.
As we were watching the slides, a group of us decided to get a pizza order together for the pizza shop down the road. Then Greg was able to get the key for the piano in the hotel atrium and he entertained the group by playing the hotel piano until "quiet hours" started at 9PM. We took the chance then to go up to our suite and get freshened up and returned to the atrium. There we waited, and we waited, and we waited, and eventually the pizza arrived. It seems the pizza shop had decided they were having a slow night so they sent most of their staff home shortly before we called them with what they claimed was "their biggest delivery order ever". We weren't quite prepared for how large their pizzas and other food was and so we wound up with much more pizza than we expected. Thus at around 10PM, we were having a big group pizza party in the lobby of the hotel. Pizza and beer, does it get any better? We then returned to our suite, and on the way noticed how entertained the children were with the hotel's glass elevators overlooking the atrium. I stayed up a while enjoying the free wireless Internet service before heading back to the bedroom. Another big day planned for tomorrow!
Tuesday we awoke and got ready. We were only staying here the one night, so we had to have everything ready for the bell staff. We then headed to hotel atrium. During the day giant skylights let light flood into the atrium giving a real nice light and airy look. I took a few photos of the atrium, and when one of the hotel staff members who was wearing a chefs hat saw me taking a photo of Mom by the atrium fountain, he stepped in to take a group photo of the two of us together, so that was a nice gesture, as I have precious few photos of me on this trip. We then headed to the hotels courtesy breakfast. It was a full breakfast buffet with a made to order omelet station. I demonstrated my knowledge of dining hall protocol when upon seeing the tiny glasses they provided for beverages, I poured myself 2 or 3 glasses of each beverage I wanted, just like back in the college dining hall.
After breakfast we were loaded onto the bus, and the winner was announced for a gift basket raffle the hotel was having just for our group. We then started the day's touring by going to the Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa.
We arrived at the Mission early in the morning and after getting off the bus we milled around the walkway alongside the mission. In front of the mission there is a large fountain with sculpted bears inside, then over to the side there is a large cross and statue of Fr. Serra which marks where Fr. Serra mission in San Luis Obispo before the building was built.
Along the exterior of the building I noted the marker from the California register of historic places, as well as a disclaimer noting that "This in an unreinforced masonry building. You may not be safe inside or near unreinforced masonry buildings during an earthquake" Hotels furnish guests with a guide of what to do during an earthquake, signs of how real the danger is out in California. (Or anywhere for that matter, it's just that it's such a rare occurrence back in Ohio that we rarely think of it). This particular mission was in the middle of a "Welcome Home" promotion as evidenced by a large white banner on the front of the church. Above the main entry three bells sit in window like openings, with two more along the side of the mission, signage on the front of the mission tells about the bells, and how each bell is named after a patron saint of one of the first five Alta California missions.
We enter the mission church into a rather narrow church. At first the church seems have very simple decorations. The Stations of the Cross are simple paintings, but a row of painted flower motif decorations adds color to the white walls. Continuing the "Welcome Home" theme, a banner of white fabric stretches along the ceiling from the front door up to the sanctuary, We approach the sanctuary and there is a large opening to the right, where we note that the mission is apparently built in an "L" shape with the altar at the intersection of the two arms of the L. Further research indicated the branch to the right was added in a renovation project to increase seating capacity. Another white fabric banner stretches from the sanctuary to the back of this annex section. Of interest in the annex is a small private prayer room, as well as some statuary, including a pieta as well as the churches tabernacle. We looked out the doors at the back of the annex, which give view of another one of the mission's fountains.
After taking time to explore inside the church we headed outside to the reflection gardens located behind the church. It's a square gardens nestled in behind the mission buildings. There are several points of interest in the garden. In one area there is a primitive style oven like the Native Americans would have used, the major walkways of the garden are shaded with trellises that bear grape vines. As Mike had told us earlier in the trip, the California wine industry got its start with the missions making sacramental wine. In the center of the garden there is a display of mission bells along with a sign that explains that each of the three bells on display sounds a different tone, and has a different purpose. I saw some of the group who were examining a large grill set in the corner of the garden for mission functions. After some time to explore the gardens we returned to the church, I noted the doors into the church are marked in the walkway with an inlaid cross pattern.
Once inside the church, the choir took some time to sing a few songs, including a selection by the children of the choir. We then started making our way back towards the bus. On the way out of the mission I noted the tomb to a 5-year-old set in the wall in the back of the church right at the end of one of the pews. After we left the church we had some time to peek into the adjoining gift shop and some souvenirs were purchased.
We then returned to the bus where I noted that the bus was parked in a cultural area of sort. On one side of the street you have the mission, on the other side you have the San Luis Obispo Historical Museum, and adjoining both of them you have a little park dedicated to the Bicentennial of the United States of America. The flagpole in this park caught my eye because around the base of the flagpole was a display of historical US flags, in this case made out of carved wood. Near the flagpole was a marker about the US Bicentennial. The display could use some repair, as one of the panels around the base of the flagpole is missing, and the others could use some repair. It caught my eye as I have a miniature version of it in my office at work, it's a desktop United States flag that is lined with the historical US flags on separate staffs set in a ring around the current flag which sits higher than the others. I also noted the street signs at the intersections were done in a very attractive script.
We were soon back on the bus and heading out of San Luis Obispo, in fact we passed the exit that our hotel was on. It was pointed out to us that at the same exit is the infamous Madonna Inn, which sounds to be like the Wildwood Inn back home with fanciful themed rooms. Mike also pointed out that the men's room at the Madonna Inn is somewhat famous as the urinal is a waterfall. We then settled in for the ride to our next destination.
I should have gotten a clue about my next destination when we pulled off the freeway and the Days Inn directly in front of us had a large decorative windmill. The exit we had taken also had a sign indicated we were in the middle of two different missions, the furthest one being 16 miles. It may come as a surprise to you, that given the nature of the group, we were not scheduled to see either of those missions. So, instead we turned left, going away from Mission La Purisima Concepcion and headed towards Mission Santa Innes. We passed by an ostrich farm, and were soon pulling into the quaint town of Solvang.
Solvang is a Danish community in California, and offers a quaint little shopping village with buildings designed to evoke feelings of old world Denmark. We found a parking space in a lot located between the mission and the town, received our due back time, and headed into the village.
Solvang is dotted with buildings designed to look like windmills, and other buildings with trim accents designed to give them a Danish feel. The streets are lined with Danish flags, and it's the kind of quiet village you could spend a day at. We didn't quite have a day, so we got started at the Solvang Bakery where we enjoyed a Danish Danish pastry. While the bakery had plenty of tempting baked goods, we noted that it also had a somewhat unusual souvenir selection. Case in point was the Classical Composers Action Figure series. Yeah, who wouldn't want a Bach, Mozart, or Beethoven action figure?
We headed across the street and started looking in a few of the stores. The first shop we looked through was the clock shop. Sure it had more cuckoo clocks than should be allowed in one place, but they also had several different kinds of clocks, mainly the expensive kind, There were some neat animated clocks, and the one with a ferris wheel design would not have looked out of place in an upscale building. It had an upscale price as well, which is why its still there.
We next went through a general souvenir store offering those "I visited Solvang" type souvenirs. Around the corner, I noted a clothing shop that had a giant pair of wooden shoes on display. I noted that the Smorgasbord restaurant is not what I would consider to be a smorgasbord as it had a menu with prices for each dish. We went towards one end of town where in a little park like area I noticed two very handsome carved wooden benches, one with handrails in the shape of horses, and the other dolphins. At yet another store I found the front door to be held open by a roaming gnome. No word on if that gnome works for Travelocity, but he was helpful by holding the door open, American flag in hand. Along the way I also picked up a handy pocket size fold up map of Solvang.
I continued my touring where I noted the corners of the buildings had what looked like little birdhouses hanging from them. Most of the buildings were done in a traditional Danish style of architecture, even the phone booths. I passed one office that upon reading the sign turns out to be for a Congressman. I made my way to the town bookstore. This particular bookstore is noteworthy because it houses the Hans Christian Anderson museum, you may recall the famous author of childhood stories. The museum is located on the second floor of the bookstore and features older editions of his books, as well as some artifacts surrounding his life.
I returned past the Solvang Bakery and noted the side wall is covered with a row of what look like dolls. The sign next to the display indicated that they were portraits of the various monarchs that have ruled over Denmark. I then went over to the wall that surrounds Mission Innes and took some photos for the collection.
All too soon, it was time to leave Solvang. Mike commented that his directions were to take us to Santa Barbara using Highway 101, but since we had spent so much time driving along the ocean yesterday, we would take a different scenic drive. The scenic drive was a twisty curvy drive through the foothills. He noted that this was one of the areas affected by one of California's forest fires. By my map, it looks like we took San Marcos Pass Road. Along the way we were advised to crane our necks and look up into the mountainside where we could get a glimpse of the infamous Neverland Ranch off in the distance. We soon made our way into Santa Barbara, and at first we drove past the Santa Barbara mission without stopping. We were informed that we would take our lunch break first. We headed towards an ocean front area. On the way through the town, I noticed a new approach to self-enforcing speed controls. We have seen speed bumps, and noticed that they aren't all that effective. What they have done here is to put a little barrier in the street maybe a yard wide, and at the same point bow the sides of the street out slightly. The effect is you have to slow down to negotiate the gratuitous tight curve around the center pylon. I don't think I have seen that tactic used before.
We passed a lot of nice homes, and then through the Santa Barbara business district. We reached the Oceanside and were turned loose for lunch. Of particular interest where we were dropped off for lunch was a fisherman's wharf style area jutting out into the ocean, complete with a row of international flags, and a nautical style yardarm, complete with nautical flags. I could pick out that the top flags spelled out "H-A-R-B-O-R-R" but then the trees got in the way.
We investigated our lunch options, the first place we came across was a seafood restaurant, and neither my Mom nor Rhonda are much into seafood, the next option was a Mexican place. Pass that one up as well; the third place was Lighthouse Pizza. We went inside and found a fast food style pizza place. Having freshly endured a pizza dinner last night we passed that up. We turned up the street into town and saw some interesting things. One was a gigantic old-fashioned bicycle, the kind where the front wheel is very large, and the back wheel is very small. At the next intersection we came across a place that was renting sporty looking cars. They don't look practical for distance driving, but they have a whimsical sporty appearance to them, and are open air. Next to that car rental place was the Hotel California(n). Unfortunately, the Hotel California(n) appears to be closed.
Deciding that we were doing no better in town, we took a second look at the restaurants along the ocean. We learned that the Mexican restaurant did NOT offer a token menu of American specialties for those non-ethnic eaters who get dragged in there. We did note, however that the seafood restaurant at least has hamburgers. Great, Rhonda and Mom can enjoy a hamburger, and I can have fresh grilled salmon for my main meal of the day. What's not to like about having seafood in an ocean side restaurant, and it was quite delicious. Looking around the dining room, we noted it to be a popular stop, and both our choir director and the tour director were eating there.
After lunch, it was back on the bus, and we backtracked our way through Santa Barbara to the Santa Barbara Mission. This particular mission sits high on the hillside, and the main church building is an attractive shade of pink and sports twin bell towers. We pulled up into the bus drop off area, and started to head towards the mission.
Out in front of the mission is a large blacktopped area that looks as if it may have been a parking lot. What makes the parking lot particularly interesting is that it is literally covered with row after row of what look like sidewalk chalk drawings from a distance, but upon closer look, I would not be surprised if some paint was used. They seem to hold up well even with people walking over them. These are not simple little drawings either, each one could be a full-fledged work of art in its own right.
We next start to climb the front stairs to head inside the mission, but discover that the front doors are locked. We proceed to walk along a shaded breezeway that runs along the side of the mission until we come to a door that is clearly marked as the proper entrance. We head into the mission and find ourselves in the gift shop. We walk through the gift shop and find ourselves at a closed door. It appears that this mission charges $4 per person to enter. Unfortunately, we also learn that our travel company has not made the proper arrangements. An executive decision was made to not tour this particular mission, and we regrouped outside on the front stairs. The concept of charging admission to go into a church is quite foreign to us, and we joked about instituting an admission charge at our own Basilica.
So we paused on the church steps for some group photos, and then explored the garden out in front of the mission. It had a nice fountain with water lilies in it, but of greater curiosity was a primitive washbasin alongside the driveway. Signage indicated this very lavenderia was used by the Native Americans. Water would flow down the center and the sides would be used for washing, and the center for rinsing.
We boarded the bus, and backtracked through the nice town of Santa Barbara a second time. This time we passed Ruby's Diner. This got a few nods, as Ruby is our favorite server for the weekly choir breakfast over at the Holiday Inn. Yes, I got a photo. We soon headed onto Highway 101 and started the drive into Los Angeles. There was nothing much to see on this segment of the drive, and many members used the time to catch up on some sleep, besides we have three packed full days ahead of us. If you think this tour is going to start winding down, you have another think coming. I even resorted to turning on the laptop and listening to music on iTunes as we made the drive. On a prior choir trip, a prior choir trip archivist took several photos and video of people sleeping on the bus, particularly of those who claim never to sleep on the bus. I carried on the tradition by getting a few sleeping riders photos.
I should say most people got a nice nap in until we were welcomed to the Los Angeles area by our bus slowing down from a nice cruising speed to that stop and go traffic. Wait, I realize this is rush hour, but the traffic should be headed out of the city, not in. We inched our way forward until we got to the Hollywood, California area.
Our hotel for our three nights in the Los Angeles area is the Universal City Hilton. At the name suggests the hotel is located directly across the street from Universal Studios, which is sure to excite the amusement park fanatics in the group. We arrive at the hotel; receive our room keys, breakfast tickets and instructions and head up to our rooms. In this hotel, we have moved up in the world to the seventh floor. We arrive and take a look around our unusually shaped room. After getting settled in and starting to relax, I set my laptop on the desk, and hook it up to the hotel Internet service. I learned that the hotel Internet service was $10/night and decided to pass on the offer at the current time. I realized there was another way to get the information I was interested in. I called down to the hotel front desk, which put me in contact with the concierge, who informed me that the theme park would be open until 9PM. It was about 5:45; so I decided to bite the bullet, purchase a one-day ticket for the evening so I could make sure I had enough time to see the park. I knew that I was scheduled to see the park's part of the tour. I also knew that the tour included park visit would be brief.
The park provides courtesy busses from the hotel about every 15 minutes. I made my way to the lobby, even taking the stairs down when the elevator was just taking too long to arrive. I made my way out to the shuttle stop and was soon on a crowded shuttle bus headed to the park.
The shuttle let me off in what is roughly the middle of Citywalk. Citywalk is the park's after hours entertainment complex which offers nightclubs, restaurants, movie theaters, unique shopping and more ways to provide a variety of food options during the day, and lots of entertainment options to keep you on their property at night, long after the park closes.
I followed the signs to the theme park, and my first clue something was wrong was when I felt like I was a salmon swimming upstream in a sea of people headed the other way. My next clue something was wrong was when every ticket booth was closed, and only the reentry gate was open. I approached the security guard at the reentry gate who made it very clear that the park will be closing at 7PM, that it is now 6:30PM, no more tickets are available, and even if I were to get my hands on one I wouldn't be able to do anything in the park anyway. The guard was rather matter of fact and gruff about it, and I left walking back towards Citywalk thinking, "That isn't a very friendly park"
I did take some time to tour CityWalk. They had a lot of interesting food booths like one place that could make just about anything into a crepe. What caught my eye was a store, man I forgot this was here. The store is a candy store, and not only that; it specializes in a very special brand of candy, PEZ. I walked through the store and saw bin after bin of PEZ for sale. Each bin was clearly labeled for the particular dispenser it offered. This would appear to be a PEZ collectors dream. I start looking through the bins, and then I notice the prices are about three times what I am used to paying for them back home. Oh well, its still a very neat shop. I continued walking down CityWalk and was tempted to take in a movie, but then decided against it. I did walk into the Jillian's and decided that it made the Gameworks back home look large, and worse yet no pinball. Clubs like Jillians want players that are going to spend some time, not those that want to stop by for a game or two. You have to buy game cards, and then unless you want a bad deal, you have to buy a high denomination game card. I decided I didn't need a card that bad, so they didn't get any of my money.
As I was preparing to leave CityWalk, I decided I wanted a quick bite to eat. I noted a row of fast food places on the second level and went upstairs. I didn't want just any national chain, but Tommy Burger caught my eye. I thought I heard something about them, but forgot what it was. There was no line in the Tommy Burger so I walked up and asked for a double cheeseburger basket. She asked if I wanted everything, and I asked what everything entailed. Oh, the usual stuff, plus chili. Now, where I come from it is perfectly acceptable to put chili on hot dogs, but hamburgers? I decided to try the chili so I got a burger with most of the toppings (hold the pickle and tomato). Before I knew it I was handed a tray with a generous size cup of soft drink, a generous size order of French fries, and a nice large messy looking burger. All of this, for under $7, at a major amusement park, in California. It was clearly a better deal than Mom got for food at the hotel restaurant.
I went outside to the dining area, and got a table by the balcony rail so I could people watch while I ate. Okay, the chili was way too mild, but other than that it wasn't a bad dinner. I proceeded to have a nice reday laxing dinner then went downstairs to catch the center court entertainment, On one side of center court they have a sprayground the children probably love and the parents wish weren't there. Entertaining tonight they had a piano player. He was using what looked like a flimsy looking grand piano. Upon closer inspection it was actually a keyboard mounted into a cabinet that looks like a grand piano. It appears that this particular grand piano houses a fog machine where the strings and hammers should be, which makes it look like the piano is smoking hot. I watched the piano player for a while until a shuttle came. It seems the shuttle serves both the Sheraton and the Hilton, so two hotels later, I am heading up towards my room.
As I had returned to my room much earlier than expected, and Rhonda and Mom were still out having dinner, I decided to head to the hotel pool. I decided to first check and see if there were changing rooms down by the pool, as the thought of walking about the Hilton in swimwear was not appealing. I did make it down to the pool area and did find suitable changing rooms. I also found other poolside amenities such as what looks like it might be a pool bar during peak hours, and a stand passing out free towels. I changed, grabbed a towel and headed for the pool. The pool was of an octagonal shape, with two ropes set up to make a large rectangle section in he center. It seems the two sides of the pool were shallow, and the center section was deep, or as deep as you can get out of a hotel pool. It also occurred to me that the rectangular center section might also be suitable for lap swimming, not Olympic size laps of course, but laps nonetheless. Despite the cool air, there were some other people in the pool, and its nice to know the all time classic hotel pool game of Marco Polo is still alive.
I spent some time in the pool before heading to the hot tub. I had not been in a large communal hot tub in a number of years. It was relaxing from the moment I first stepped into the nice hot water. So hot, you could see steam coming up off the water. The hot tub was also octagonal in shape and was set in one remote corner of the pool deck, and surrounded by hedges for a little privacy. I relaxed in the hot tub for quite some time before heading out. I got changed again, and then headed back up for the room.
Shortly after I returned, Mom and Rhonda returned from dinner and we sat and socially chatted for a while. I noticed a basket of fruit and other snacks had been left in the room. Mom told how it was dropped off by room service, we indicated we had not ordered room service, but they responded it was complements of the hotel. We assumed it was a welcome gift, and it wasn't till the next day while waiting for the bus that we learned that it seemed that no one else had received one. Then after Rhonda left, I forked out the $10 for the in room Internet connection. I whiled away the time surfing the net until it was time for bed.
Wednesday finds us with our first alarm clock malfunction, so we oversleep. The good news is we didn't miss the bus; the bad news is we did miss breakfast, however we had packed snacks for just such an occurrence and the gift basket from the hotel will come in handy.
We got ready, and met the group down in the lobby. While waiting for the bus, I heard several people rave about the hotel breakfast, well we do still have two more mornings here, so I will be sure to check it out. We boarded the bus and started out on our day's touring.
Our first stop was relatively close to our hotel as we had barely had time to settle into our seats before arriving at the Hollywood Bowl. The Hollywood Bowl is their major outdoor concert venue. It makes use of the steep terrain so that the back of the seating area looks down into the stage. Our driver was going to drive us up to the top and around the back so that we could look into the bowl, but as soon as we pulled into the bowl parking lot, a man with a service truck moved and parked his truck blocking the road around the top. I'd say it might be on purpose because as we were leaving he moved the truck out of the way. To be fair, we were given the chance to walk up the stairs and look into the bowl, but no one took Mike up on this offer. So that made our stop at Hollywood Bowl brief, then we started heading to Hollywood itself.
As we were headed to Hollywood, Mike told us about the famous Hollywood sign. It was originally intended for a subdivision called "Hollywoodland", and the letters of the famous sign were covered in lights so that it could be easily seen at night. Over time the LAND part of the sign fell over and was never repaired, then after years of neglect and vandalism, a replacement sign was erected, but without the lights. Apparently it is also on some register of pop icons. Eagle eyed passengers could catch a brief glimpse of the Hollywood sign, how brief? I couldn't get my camera ready in time. Also along the freeway we saw crowds gathering at a large cross placed high up on a hill, visible from the freeway. Mike indicated it was the Easter Cross, but it is a frequently visited site,
We arrived in Hollywood, and I could see a big Egyptian looking gateway as we headed to Hollywood Blvd. Mike explained how the sidewalks of Hollywood are terrazzo and lined with pink stars, each in tribute to, or honor of someone who has been deemed noteworthy in one or more of the five performing arts mediums: Movies, Theatre, Music, Television, or Radio. Note that it is possible to be noted for multiple categories. WE drove down Hollywood Blvd, and passed several famous theatres, like the Kodak Theatre, home of the Academy Awards, as well as Graumann's Chinese Theatre and the El Capitan. We pulled into a parking area behind the Chinese Theatre and were given some time to explore Hollywood Blvd.
This time could be used to walk the sidewalks and see the various stars, or if ambitious try to find your favorite stars. We headed to the forecourt of the Chinese Theatre where there is, perhaps, a more personal memory left by the stars. The forecourt is where stars leave handprints, footprints and carve inscriptions into blocks of concrete. I'd seen the façade of the Chinese Theatre as "The Great Movie Ride" at Disney Studios Park in Florida, so it was neat to see the original. The outdoor forecourt for the theatre is impressive with its detailed Chinese façade, the doors guarded by two giant dog statues which, according to the theatre's website were imported from China, a couple fountains, and the ornate front doors.
Our tour did not include a visit inside the famous movie palace, but I did walk across the street to get a good photo, and se stopped in the Roosevelt Hotel. Mike had told us that there was a time when the stars stayed at the Roosevelt, particularly if they had a movie opening up at the Chinese Theatre. The lobby of the Roosevelt looks to be straight out of the thirties, although the hotel shows quiet signs of being an active hotel. They do have unusual fixtures in their restroom, which made it worth a visit for an entirely different reason.
We used the rest of our Hollywood Blvd. time to go shopping in what amounts to your typical tourist trap souvenir store. A few things were purchased, but I realize I did not get the proverbial "Map to the Movie Stars Houses",
We got back on the bus, and proceeded to drive down Hollywood Blvd, passing the famous intersection of Hollywood and Vine, and then we continued our driving tour through Hollywood by going down Sunset Blvd. I forget the routing now, but we did see some famous sites, such as driving down Rodeo Drive, home of the finest shopping money can buy, exclusive high end retailers have stores here that provide customized service, to perhaps as few as 7 to 10 people per day, by appointment only, and then Mike suggested that there are spending minimums you have to meet, at least until you are an established customer.
We also drove past what was identified as one of Marylyn Monroe's houses, but the one shown was very plain and totally nondescript. We did drive through along the outskirts of Beverly Hills, enough to see the Beverly Hills sign, but we didn't go into the residential areas. Mike commented that some exclusive communities set fines for driving a tour bus in residential areas, but Beverly Hills threatens a very expensive fine. We drove around awhile and I'm sure Wilshire Blvd, came into play.
We also drove around Century City and got to glimpse inside the studio gates of 20th Century Fox, see the big tower used in Lethal Enforcer, the Avenue of The Stars and sights in that general area. We also drove past the La Brea Tar Pits and could catch a brief glimpse as we rode past. The Hollywood/LA driving tour was designed to end at Long Beach.
Long Beach is a big port for the United States, and we could see that evidenced in giant shipping yards loaded with shipping containers that have either just arrived on ships, or are waiting to be loaded onto ships. One yard is full of scrap metal, and Mike commented that no one in America wants to process scrap metal anymore, so they ship it overseas. The community of Long Beach is more than an industrial shipping port, as it has a thriving community with shopping, hotels, museums, marina, and is also a port for cruise ships. Long Beach is and was also a resort town. Most of the streets are lined with modern buildings now, but at least one old majestic hotel still stands, providing a hint as to what the resort town may have once looked like. I also know, and Ron acknowledged that the area used to sport an amusement park, called The Pike. The park is all but gone now, but it looks as if a stylized roller coaster themed sculpture lines one edge of the town square as if in tribute to the lost park. There is also a Ferris wheel sitting near the coaster sculpture, but it is unclear if that is a normal Long Beach attraction, or if it belongs to the circus that was in the process of either setting up or taking down its big top nearby.
We had a little time to kill so we stopped on a road overlooking the harbor. Across the harbor we could see a very famous cruise ship, The Queen Mary. The Queen Mary was a famous transatlantic ocean liner that provided service between London and New York City. The next attraction on our tour was to have a guided tour of the Queen Mary, followed by lunch aboard the ship. While waiting for our tour time, we learned that our choir director, Robert Schaffer has first hand experience with the Queen Mary. During World War II, the Queen Mary was commandeered as a troop ship, and our director was transported aboard Queen Mary while he was serving in the military.
Story time over, we headed back through Long Beach and across the access bridge to the area where the Queen Mary is docked. Right before reaching the Queen Mary we pass a geodesic dome that is identified as currently being used as the cruise ship terminal, but was once used to house the Spruce Goose before it was sent up to Oregon. We pulled up alongside Queen Mary and were allowed to get off the bus, for a rest stop, and then gather in a designated area alongside the ship to await our guide,
While we awaited our guide, I took a look around the outside of the ship. The sidewalk was low enough that all I could really see was the black metal side with rows of portholes, and the red painted section lower down on the ship. Looking up, I could see the more impressive topside of the ship. The dock area has an England theme evident in the English style phone boxes and the Union Jack flying from the flagpoles. Looking along the side of the ship I noticed numerous gangplanks heading to various openings in the side of the ship, and I could only guess at the purpose of some of them. I could see a large gangplank heading to what is marked as an exposition center housed below decks. Since the ship no longer cruises, I realize that its main uses are as an expo hall, and hotel, with some restaurants, as well as ship tours.
We headed over to the designated waiting area. I spotted a rather large boat clear on the dock that is missing even a decorative rope from the Queen Mary. I was briefly worried as it looked like the elevators for the gangplank were barricaded off. As we were waiting a group from the local Segway rental concession must have thought they had a crowd of potential customers, but at least their demonstration of the Segway was interesting. Further down the dock, we saw the entrance for the Ghosts and Legends Tour, which is a haunted attraction, located in part of the ship, and further down, there is a Russian submarine available for tours.
At the appointed time we were introduced to our tour guide. A very friendly fellow whose name I totally forget. He welcomed us to the RMS Queen Mary, and let us know that he just had one rule, no running on the decks, as they are uneven. That said, we were taken inside the dockside hotel lobby and placed on elevators. We were to go to the 4th floor and meet him there. Once the group was assembled on the 4th floor of the dockside building, we walked across the gangplank as a group right onto the promenade deck of the ship.
Our guide had us go through the doors right in front of us, make a quick right into a little alcove so that we could begin the tour. It's too bad I forget his name, as this guide deserves special recognition. If I were to guess he was in drama club at school because he had a voice for the theater, which when combined with his extensive knowledge of the ship made for a very engaging tour. This would not be your ordinary dull tour guide by any means.
We started off with a brief history of the ship. A long time ago, before transatlantic air travel was affordable, the most common way to cross the Atlantic was by ocean liner. While an ocean liner may resemble a cruise ship, they differ in that a cruise ship is primarily a recreational vessel, and an ocean liner is primarily a transportation vessel. The operators of ocean liners were constantly trying to build bigger, fancier and faster ships. Around the 1920's Cunard Lines started building what would become the Queen Mary, oh she started out shrouded in secrecy and just a project number for a name, but she was going to be one of the finest ocean liners built to date.
That was before the stock market crashed, setting off the great depression, which in turn halted construction of the Queen Mary. In order to secure the financing they would need to build the Queen Mary, they were informed they would have to merge with another ocean liner operator, White Star Lines. A rule of thumb used to be that Cunard named ships with names ending in "ia", while White Star used names ending in "ic". Anyway the two operators merged, secured financing and completed construction of the Queen Mary. And so the Queen Mary cruised happily though the 1930's, and into the 1940's.
During World Way II, the Queen Mary was commandeered by the English military and pressed into service as a troop ship. The Cunard paint scheme was covered over with the military dull gray color scheme, while on board facilities were converted to make them suitable for military use. As I mentioned the Queen Mary was both fast, and could carry a large amount of troops, which made her a big asset to the Allied powers during World War II, a fact not lost on the Axis powers. Legend has it that Queen Mary never took a hit in combat, owing mainly to its sheer speed. During this period she became nicknamed the gray ghost.
After World War II, the Queen Mary was restored both inside and out and returned to passenger service. This passenger service continued into the 1960's when it was decided to retire her at the end of 1967. After she was retired the ship was put up for sale, where the high bidder was the city of Long Beach, CA. The Queen Mary made one last cruise, where it was determined she was too large for the Panama Canal, so had to be routed clear around South America. The ship was permanently moored in Long Beach where it survives to this day as a hotel and tourist attraction.
Incidentally, don't think this is the last of Cunnard Lines, as it appears they still operate trans Atlantic ocean liners to this day, the latest being the Queen Mary II, and according to photos I have seen it makes reference to its ancestor. Around me I could see some static displays telling much the same story, and behind me I could see stairs up to the Sun Deck. We were informed the area we were standing in was the shopping area for the first class passengers and only the first class passengers. True to popular belief, class of service segregated the ocean liners, and there was little if any class interaction.
We walked across the hall, passing the grand staircase to a similar nook on the other side of the shopping arcade. Our guide pointed out to us that in the spot where the elevators are on the other side there is an attractive picture of the ship made up of several different pieces of wood. Our guide indicated that there are close to 40 different kinds of wood in the picture, and they all represent a type of wood that is used somewhere on the ship.
Now is as good a time as any to indicate that the ship was designed in the Art Deco style, which gives it a very classic look. We took a walk around what was once the first class shopping area, which today is being used as a shopping area. The shops offer souvenirs, and other goods. In what were once the store display windows, a historical display about the ship has been set up. At the other end of the shopping arcade, the hallway splits into two, and near the ceiling a frieze has been carved into the wood, and in the frieze you can see people in motion. We took the right pathway and stopped in front of a large room.
This room was identified as formerly being used as the children's playroom, and a display depicts what the room once looked like, it was even tall enough to house playground equipment. Today the area is used as a Starbucks Coffee. At this time our guide asked us if we knew that it was believed there were spirits still aboard the Queen Mary, some indicated that yes they had. Our guide informed us that yes, there are still spirits aboard the ship, and if we come back after 3:30 we can enjoy the spirits in the closed room behind him. The room being the Observation Lounge, it was an art deco cocktail lounge then, and it's a cocktail lounge now. Our guide made note that the cocktail lounge, or adult playroom was located conveniently close to the children's playroom. We followed the "u" shaped hallway around past a stairway and then past more shops. We were informed that the area also used to contain a library, sitting room, and those rooms were also used as chapels.
We walked back across the shopping area and stopped at the top of the grand staircase. A rope is setup at the top of the grand staircase indicating that access to the lower decks was restricted to hotel guests and spa customers. We did look at the earth toned leather panels that lined the grand staircase, as well as the facial portrait sculpture and painting of Queen Mary.
We then exited the shopping area and started to walk down the promenade deck. The promenade deck is an enclosed deck with large windows along one side. Just outside the shopping area is an area with the ships historical marker plaques as well as a ship's bell inscribed "Queen Mary" Also lining the promenade deck are more shops, an ice cream parlor and a restaurant. We were given the chance to enter one of the grandest rooms on the boat. Tourists normally can only peek into the room from behind a rope stretched across the doorway, but our guide was able to drop the rope and let us inside. There were some rules to be followed, like he wanted us to gather around the main fireplace and not wander around the room, and don't sit down.
The room was once the first class lounge, and is now apparently the hotel ballroom. It's an elegant looking room with a stage at one end and a fireplace in the center of each of the other three walls. The walls are ornamented with metal sculpture work, and the light standards and fireplace mantles are made of marble (or was it alabaster). Our guide did note that all three fireplaces and all the light supports were made from the same chuck of marble to ensure that the grain and texture of the material would be consistent, Above the main fireplace is a tall thin stone mural depicting mythological creatures. He noted the mural had several small rectangular panels in it, which could be opened up to expose a projection room located behind the fireplace, which allowed the first class lounge to become the first class cinema. It was noted that the fireplaces never did burn wood, for safety reasons,
Special note was also made of the side fireplaces; above each fireplace was a large rose tinted mirror. The reason for the rose tinting the mirrors was that so passengers who had started to become seasick could walk over and gaze at the mirror. Due to the rose tint the passenger would appear to be normal and healthy, even if in reality they did look la bit green. I wonder if this is where the saying about viewing the world through rose tinted glasses comes from. We were allowed to walk up the mirror and have a look at our reflection in the rose colored mirror. As the special mirrors are damaged, a replacement mirror panel next to the rose panel is a regular mirror that really helps to demonstrate the effect,
Our guide told us a bit about what life would be like in the first class lounge. During the day the room would be a sitting room where passengers would come and mingle. Later in the day high tea would be served, and after high tea some organized recreational activities, such as bingo, a horse racing game they would play for money, and other kinds of recreation. At night the furniture would be pushed to the walls, and the carpets rolled up and people would dance the night away. A small section of the parquet dance floor has survived and has been left exposed in front of the main fireplace.
After our tour of the first class lounge we continued our tour down the promenade deck. We came to a display that consisted of a large cutaway cross section of the ship. It was at this point that we were informed of the ships dimensions and it was noted the Queen Mary was a much larger ship than the ill-fated Titanic. At the same time he also dispelled a common misconception. It is widely believed that the way cabin class worked on a liner was that the lower class you were, the lower in the ship your cabin was. Our guide indicated that in the case of the Queen Mary, that is not true, and the location of the different classes was determined by smoothness of ride. Therefore first class cabins were located in the center of the ship, which was more stable and less volatile to rough waters, the second-class cabins would be back in the stern. Still a pretty stable area, but located directly above the engines which may be seen as an annoyance, lastly third class was located in the bow of the boat which was most susceptible of giving a rough ride in rough waters. He indicated that the capacity of the boat was around 2,100 passengers and 1,200 crewmembers. The ship needed so many crewmembers because the Queen Mary was all about service, and owing to the time it took to cross the ocean, multiple shifts of people were needed.
While on the promenade deck the guide likes to call out those that have sailed on the Queen Mary, so Bob Schaffer was recognized for his service. He also relayed the story about how during the last cruise, most of the promenade deck windows were broken. The people in charge of the ship when it arrived in Long Beach must not have been too familiar with the ship they just purchased, because they only measured one window when ordering replacement glass. What they did not realize is that the decks on the Queen Mary are not entirely level, instead the boat dips down in the middle, so the shape is similar to a banana. The idea is that having the center of the boat lower than the ends improves the stability of the boat. Our guide called this the cant of the boat, and unless you are looking for it it's hard to notice, and apparently the people ordering windows didn't notice it. On the day the new windows arrived, only one window fit, and that was the one they had measured. All the other windows varied by a very small amount that isn't noticeable to the naked eye.
We walked down towards the other end of the promenade deck that evidently was a place to see people and be seen, as people would stroll around the decks. Towards the stern of the boat we went inside into an area that looked like a hallway. Our guide mentioned that just like that we had stepped from first class into second class. The second-class hallway wasn't quite as elegant, but it is still wood paneled and had two elevators that are now disused with their doors welded shut. We used the stairs to go down one deck, for the Titanic fans there is a big metal gate at the top of the stairs, and in this case the gate had a sign saying that the lower decks are restricted to hotel guests. On our way down the stairs, we were told to be sure to use the handrail. It turns out the handrail has metal bumps on it every so often to help provide a grip should the ship encounter a rough patch of water while you are on the stairs.
We entered into the second-class lobby, but turned around to head back into the first class zone. The cant of the boat that I had mentioned earlier is more pronounced below decks, and it lends itself to a popular optical illusion, the Endless Hallway. Looking down the cabin hallway it is impossible to see the other end. We took turns peering down the endless hallway with no one blocking the clear view down the hall. We then started to walk down the hallway.
We walked past a row of cabins, the area itself was pretty nondescript except for a little box mounted next to each cabin door, and each box had a red light and a green light. We were told that these lights were used to summon either the steward or stewardess to your cabin.
Towards the other end of the hallway, we stopped in front of a cabin door. We were asked to wait out in the hallway while our guide checked the cabin for ghosts (or tenants). Once the suite was confirmed to be vacant, we were permitted to tour the suite. On our way into the suite we were told to pay special attention to the bathrooms. We entered the suite and immediately to the left is the servant's room. When the Queen Mary was new it was not unusual to travel with your maid, caretaker, or domestic. The servant's room had a plain gray pattern on the walls, a single bed and was pretty Spartan looking. We continued down a hallway and made a right and headed to the end of the hallway to the open door that was a bathroom.
The bathroom was done in plain white tile and wasn't large or fancy. The plumbing for the toilet looked original, but a clever job had been done on the sink. It looked like the sink used to be of a two faucet design, but in the renovation to a hotel, one tap was replaced with a modern mixing faucet and the other side was replaced with a soap dish that has the ability to look as if it was always there. But the main attraction in the bathroom was the bathtub. Still visible but non-functional are the original bathtub faucets, all four of them sitting in a vertical row mounted in an easy to reach place of somebody standing in the bathroom. Why 4 faucets, well your choices are "Hot Salt", "Hot Fresh", "Cold Salt", and "Cold Fresh". There was also an electrical box mounted in the bathtub with call buttons for the cabin attendants. It should be noted that a more modern shower faucet has since been retrofitted in.
We continued to tour the suite and the next room we came to was the living room, with couches and comfortable chairs along the walls. The next room contained the bedroom with a queen bed, and nice furniture. Both main rooms had portholes offering an outside view, and a couple of the portholes were open to circulate the air. Next to the bedroom was another bathroom, similar to the first one.
After having time to tour the suite we were called into the living room. Our guide let us know that for the most part the suite looks like it did back when the ship was in service. Some modern conveniences have been added to the rooms, like television, telephone, webTV, clock radio and other things modern travelers have come to expect. He also introduced us to the original climate control system. Apparently there were cooling tubes that carried cool air from the outside into the various rooms of the ship, at each room the cooling tube ended in a nozzle that was aimed at a fan mounted on the wall. The fans are still there, except they have now been labeled as inoperable. He then told us about how salt water baths were one of the big fads when the ship was built, so the bathtubs were designed to accommodate salt-water bathing. He noted how each side of the suite has a locked door, and comments that "Money opens doors", the cabins on the Queen Mary were meant to be scaleable to fit and accommodate any size group by opening up divider doors and enlarging the suite. He also slid in a plug for their hotel, and if you want an unusual night, you can spend the night on the Queen Mary in a first-class cabin.
We exited the cabin and went into what was the first-class lobby. Art Deco touches could be seen around the elevators, the wall of the travel bureau, and on the grand staircase. Above the travel bureau was a digital clock that no longer runs. We could peer down the grand staircase to some kind of spa but instead we headed up the stairs and kept on walking out onto the promenade deck where we headed to a restaurant. Our tour guide seamlessly ended his tour in the dining room where he handed us over to the restaurant waiting staff. The dining room was a large thin room next to the windows giving a nice view into Long Beach. Unique gentle looking sculpted light fixtures provide the light
We sat down to what would be the main meal of the day, which according to the menu was the Executive Luncheon. We had a choice between a beef dish, spicy chicken over pasta, or grilled halibut. Mom and Rhonda did the beef, and I went with the halibut. We started with a field green salad, and while waiting for the entrees I took lots of group photos. The luncheon was very good and ended with some strawberry cheesecake.
After dinner we were given some time to explore the ship on our own. We first headed to the gift shops in the first class shopping area to make sure we had the Queen Mary souvenirs we wanted. I then separated and went off alone to explore the boat. I wanted to go topside, so I climbed the stairs labeled Sun Deck that gave me access to a large wooden open-air deck. I walked along the deck with views of the city off to the sides, along with a row of lifeboats, inboard there were some more restaurants. I walked to the back where I could go down some stairways and get pretty close to the stern of the ship. I did notice a small stage and chairs setup that looked perfect for a wedding. I climbed down about 3 flights of stairs and walked as far as I could to the stern of the ship. I walked right up to the mast where I noted no flag was flying.
After enjoying the view from the stern, I turned to head back when I noted signs above a doorway advertising there was something to see inside. I went inside and quickly noticed that I was in a utilitarian portion of the boat with no fancy decorations. I walked down a steep open metal stairway that led into a hallway with the classic green on the bottom half, white on the top half paint job. I followed the hallway around to what was labeled the "Isolation Area". According to the signs, all passengers headed to America had to undergo quarantine, but it was doubtful the area was ever really used for that. Its main purpose was to be used as an infirmary for the sick, and a makeshift brig to hold stowaways. The beds were hard wooden bunks. One small room to the side must have been kept aside for stowaways, and on display is a memo warning to be vigilant in watching out for stowaways, as long as a lengthy roster of captured stowaways. The center room was done up like an infirmary, and the other side room had a couple stretchers and signs about death at sea, and a memorial plaque for those that died on the Queen Mary.
Next to this area a window looked into what was labeled as a capstan room, and according to the dictionary a capstan is a kind of winch, so possibly associated with the anchor considering where on the ship the room was, next to the capstan room was a room labeled rope store. This was about as mechanical as you can get, because the ships engines were removed during the hotel and expo center conversion,
I carefully made my way up the metal stairs back outside, then looked around and saw openings to two locked empty rooms which may be special event space of some kind. I climbed back up one deck and I stepped just inside the open doorway to what looked like a large banquet hall before starting to head back upstairs. I noted more self-guided tour signs urging me to head back to the sun deck, so I did.
Up on the sun deck on the other side of the ship, there are still some old fashioned looking deck chairs that give a timeless quality to the area. Down a bit further is a display on emergency procedures and a sign advertising lifeboat demonstrations on a set schedule. I got to get close to a lifeboat, which was still sitting up on its davits, not that you could see in because they have blue tarps over them. In fact that was about as close to a lifeboat as I want to get. A bit further were signs explaining the smokestacks, and a sign detailing when you can hear the ships horns. There was an area where you can get close to a smokestack.
I walked up another flight of stairs to the Sports Deck that had a metal floor and a shuffleboard court on it. Towards the bow, one can see into the wireless radio room, which I understand is still open to ham radio operators. Next to the wireless room is a room with an exhibit of older communications technology, like radios and phones. Past the wireless room was an area where you could look at the officer's quarters, or at the least mockups of the officer's quarters. You could see the captain's cabin, captain's office, engineer's cabin, officer's galley and much more, and in other display cases they have crew uniforms.
I decided to walk up another flight of stairs to the bridge. In the back half of the bridge you can see the navigators quarters and office and some navigational tools of the day. On the bridge itself you can stand behind chains and a highly polished brass railing. While the engines may be gone they left all the controls, and they keep the controls polished bright, and above each control device is a sign explaining what it was used for. Oh, and you could get a captain's eye view out the front window and see the main mast ahead. Also up on the bridge were what looked like an electrical box, as well as controls for the ships stabilizers and for the watertight doors that are supposed to compartmentalize the lower decks of the ships and prevent sinking. Yep, it sure worked well for the Titanic, didn't it? Also up on the bridge was the flag locker, with glass doors so you could see the vintage nautical flags, each one in its own cubbyhole corresponding to the letter or number it represents.
By the time I had finished exploring the bridge, my time limit was about to expire, so I made my way down several flights of stairs back to the promenade deck, including one wooden stairway that looked dubious, but it held me. I looked back in the shopping area but did not see Mom or Rhonda, but a cell phone call later told me they were waiting for me on the dock. So I crossed back over the gangplank to the elevator tower, down the elevator to the dock where I met up with the group waiting for the bus. I did decide to purchase a soft drink from the vending machine on the dock. Hey, exploring a big ocean liner makes a guy thirsty!
We boarded the bus and headed off. Our itinerary called for us to return to the hotel and freshen up, then head to the church for the evenings concert. Owing both to the traffic and the fact that we were far closer to the church than the hotel, it was decided not to return to the hotel, and instead we pulled music together on our way to our next destination. While we didn't have enough time to go back to the hotel, it was really too early to go to the church, so we stopped by Ports O' Call village to kill some time.
Port's O Call village is a marina village with what was a row of cute little stores in a tourist area setting. Perhaps Ports O Call is quiet on weekdays, or else it has gone downhill as most of the stores were closed, and its rather plain looking kids carousel ride was closed. There were some interesting looking boats to look at, and a couple stores were open and we could see the statues marked Ports O Call village. The most exciting thing to happen there was there was a film crew filming something there that day. We started to watch from a park bench, and a production person 1 told us we could stay there as long as we didn't look at the cameras, however production person 2 who had not conferred with person 1 pretty much told us to get lost. Easy to do since we were only there for a little while, and besides it was time to head to the church.
Our next stop was Mary Star of the Sea parish in San Pedro. Tonight would be the first time on the tour we would present the full concert. We arrived at the parish church and went inside. We spent some time practicing, and then took a look around the church. One interesting note was the use of electric push button votive candles. While waiting for the concert, we took a look in the bulletin and noticed this was a very active parish with more than ten Sunday Masses, offered in at least four different languages.
The evening's concert was very well attended by an appreciative audience, and as I mentioned we performed the larger hour-long concert, with one short rest break for the choir. I think the concert went fine, and as I said we had a nice large audience. The music director for the church was nice enough to make a DVD of the concert for us, so the memories can last. The church itself was quite large for a parish church and featured a marble canopy over the altar that was sitting next to a large wooden cross.
After the concert we were invited to the parish hall for fellowship. The parish hall was in a smaller building next to the church where we gathered for cookies and punch while we mingled with members of their parish, and we sold a number of our choir CDs. Amongst the visitors at the fellowship was the music director for the San Diego mission where we would be in two nights later. It was a fun relaxing evening mingling with the locals over refreshments. After the concert and fellowship we returned to our busses and took a nighttime ride back to the hotel. We arrived back at the hotel fairly late, and I wanted to make sure I didn't miss that fantastic breakfast buffet, so we went to bed fairly quickly tonight.
This morning, we did awake on time, so we got to experience he breakfast buffet that people were raving about yesterday. We went to the hotel restaurant and handed in our meal vouchers. They were right, we were presented with a buffet that lives up to the adage "If they don't have it, you don't need it" Sure, they had all the traditional American breakfast favorites, but interspersed with them, they had items that would appeal to other cultures, like the blintzes served with the pancakes, French toast and that sort of thing, or the chorizo scrambled eggs. In one section they had an entire line of Asian breakfast foods, in another area they had deli meats and cheeses like we had over in Italy. Then don't even get me started on the pastry bar, the eggs to order station, a whole line of juices and other beverages. Noteworthy with the juices was a machine that served fresh squeezed orange juice, in that you saw whole oranges go into the top of the machine and juice come out the bottom. You can believe I had a hearty breakfast as I tried several things I normally would not consider breakfast foods, mainly items off the Asian line that looked more like appetizers than breakfast food.
After a very filling and wonderful breakfast it was time to board the bus for today's activities. Today we would be touring the Los Angeles Cathedral, along with attending Mass and then performing our shorter half hour concert. We arranged music and prepared for the concert while en route to the cathedral. Also along the way some tried to spot the Hollywood sign, but it was even foggier than yesterday. We also heard how the old Los Angeles Cathedral was destroyed by earthquake, which led the way to a newer, larger and more modern cathedral being built. We arrived in downtown Los Angeles, and found ourselves pulling up to a modern looking church. As the bus pulled up docents of the Cathedral came out from the entry plaza to meet the bus, and divide us up into tour groups.
We were lead through an opening into a lower part of the courtyard; above the entryway the church bells hang in horizontal rows. There is a greeter's kiosk immediately inside, and we were shown to a storage room next to the greeter booth where we could store the robes and music so we didn't have to carry them on the tour. We were split into two groups and first we were shown the lower courtyard. The main feature in the lower area is a fountain, inside which is carved a significant scriptural verse in a multitude of different languages, but I forget what that verse is. On the ground in the lower yard is drawn a chart showing where the stars were the day the church was dedicated.
We soon went up a ramp to the upper courtyard. The upper area contains a meditation garden and a picnic area. Of special notice you can see the special base the church sits on that will allow it to freely move around in order to survive pretty strong (up to 8 on the Richter scale) earthquakes. We also looked at the bronze doors, which like Cathedrals of old were covered in engravings. The bronze doors are mostly decorative, and right inside the bronze doors are more modern front doors. When you first enter the church you go up a ramp.
Our guide noted that as we enter the church we are rising up closer to God. In the entry hallway, we paused at a lone mural on an otherwise blank hallway. The mural appears to depict more of an American history scene, with a cross thrown in the center for good measure. We continued up the side ramp. Over to the right hand side, there were doorways leading into the main church, as well as several small alcoves for votive candles. Our guide noted that sometimes they dedicate a section of these alcoves for special concerns.
At the top of the ramp sits an old backdrop from an altar that came from an old church. According to the church's website, the piece dates back to the 1600's and was in its original church in Spain, until the 1920's when it was sold to a New York art dealer to raise money. The piece was purchased with the intent of installing it in a then proposed Los Angeles Cathedral. When that didn't pan out it was sent to a mission church, but they didn't really need it as they already had a Spanish style altar and building. It went into storage for a while, and then went on display in an art museum. Finally it was restored and installed at the back of the new Cathedral, according to the website, it is meant to be a connection with the old style sacred art.
We entered the back of the main nave of the church. In the back we noted the Ambry, or cabinet where the holy oils are stored, but more noteworthy was their baptistery. They have a larger step into baptistery in the shape of a cross at the back of the church. According to our guide, the person to be baptized stands on the back side of it facing the altar then steps into the font, gets baptized, then comes out the other opening which leads right to the main aisle. Around the border of the church are four holy water fonts, which give the piece an octagonal design. Our guide mentioned that one of the more recent guidelines is that all new churches or newly renovated churches will provide a facility for immersion baptism, and that the only holy water font will be the baptismal font.
The artwork on the rear and side walls of the church are tapestries. Our guide told a story of how they wanted the artwork done by a local artist, but they also wanted it to be in the form of tapestry. Problem was the artist they had selected had no experience in tapestry, so they came up with a way for the artiste to design the artwork on a computer, the computerized designs were sent to an artisan over in Europe who used the computerized plans to make the tapestries. Along the walls there are a series of angel candleholders, each one unique, and they are only lit on the anniversary of the dedication. Above us in the center of the light clusters is what looks like horns pointed straight down. Our guide told us the horns conceal the speakers for the sound system.
Along the outside walls, but above the tapestries are windows made out of alabaster that give off a neutral tone when the sun shines through it. We headed towards the front of the church where we noted two cardinal hats suspended from the ceiling. We were told that when a Cardinal dies, their hat is suspended from the ceiling above the altar as a reminder, and it stays there until it falls to the floor. In the front we noted no real barrier that separates the congregation and altar. The furniture like the podium, priest's chair and cathedra are very minimalist in design. It was noted the podium could be lowered down for the disabled or short people. We looked at the altar that is made of two solid pieces of marble, a round support and a flat slab on top. Our guide told us some of the background stories on how the altar was installed. Behind the altar is another mural that is actually a LA street map. Sure, the streets are not labeled, but people can still try to figure out where they live in relationship to the mural.
To the side of the altar the choir section is just a little bit above floor level in the front of the church with the choir facing the congregation, with the organ pipes mounted behind the choir.
After finishing up our tour at the choir area it was time to prepare for the musical activities. We were led into a stairway and taken down several flights to the basement of the church, then we followed a maze of hallways and into a room labeled "Choir Storage" In the choir storage room is a full choir room setup. We gathered, went over the plans for the day, had a short rehearsal and headed back upstairs. After returning to the church, a few members of the choir, me included, literally ran out the front door of the church down the ramp to the storage room by the greeters booth to reclaim the robes and music, and we brought everything back up to the church.
It was explained to us that the 12:10 mass during the week is an executive Mass designed to accommodate the office worker. The service starts at 12:10 to give them time to arrive, they keep the service down to half an hour, then they provide a cafeteria on the way to the parking garage so that people can grab a quick bite and get back to work. There would be some music in the service, but they prefer not to have a guest choir sing the Mass because things tend to run long and people get nervous. On the other hand, we did want to make our presence known, so we decided to attend Mass in choir robes, all in our reserved side section (which was not the choir area), then we planned it out to move over there during the communion procession so that the people realize something special is going on. The mass started and we were welcomed by the priest who pointed out our choice of red robes, commented that it isn't a fashion statement, then introduced us and advertised our concert after mass. I noted that it was also a red day for the priests, so we were color coordinated to the priest's vestments.
The mass itself was fairly typical, where I noted they have an unusual way of collecting the offering. Instead of passing collection plates, or using baskets on large poles, they instead place larger donation baskets at the fronts of the aisles, and during offertory time people are to come up to the front of their section to drop in their offering. Later on we made the transition over to the choir area. The cathedral, Our Lady of the Angels, routinely schedules musical performances after the noon mass and we would take the place of the usual organ concert. As I mentioned we performed our shorter concert, though we did deviate by including Thomas More's Last Prayer, which fit in well with the fact it was Thomas More's Feast day in the church calendar.
After the concert there was a brief conflict between those who were eager to get to our next destination, Universal Studios Hollywood, and those who wanted to spend more time touring the church on their own, and possibly seeing the mausoleum down in the basement. We were given a short time to see the church and visit the gift shop. Our tour was scheduled to have lunch in the aforementioned Cathedral cafeteria, we did decide to skip the cafeteria, and let people find their own meal at either the hotel or Universal.
Soon we were headed onto the bus, and Mike handed out the theme park tickets as we boarded the bus. The bus then returned us to the hotel where we had a brief photo opportunity as Ron the bus driver dressed up in a choir robe. We went back to our rooms to freshen up and change from church touring mode to theme park touring mode. We were referred to the hotel courtesy bus for transportation to the theme park, so shortly before 3pm a large group of us assembled and boarded the bus to Universal Studios. We had a nice bus driver who in addition to dropping people off at the usual spot in the middle of Citywalk, he was willing to make a second stop and drop people off almost right in front of the park gates, where the courtesy bus from the subway station stops.
When we arrived at the park, Mom and Rhonda needed lunch so headed into Citywalk, while I was more interested in getting into the park. It was already almost 3pm, and the park closed at 7pm. Not as much time as I would have liked, so I had to tour in overdrive. I headed to the park entrance.
Universal Studios Hollywood is almost entirely unlike Universal Studios Florida. The Orlando Park was built as a theme park foremost, and had a token movie studio attached, the Hollywood park is chiefly a movie studio that has an amusement park attached. In fact the 'park' started out as just a movie studio tour that evolved into the world famous Universal Studio Tram Tour. More attractions were added to the studio tour until it evolved into an amusement park. I approached the park gates and noted the familiar iconic symbols of the hollow Universal Globe sitting out front, as well as the Universal studio gate in the middle of the entrance gate are in their usual places at this park.
I already have a complimentary ticket in hand from the organized group tour that I am participating in. I did note the dizzying array of add on options available for tickets. It seems that the base ticket is about $60, and then it goes up from there. You can add on "Front of the line" privileges for about $40 more, or you can add on unlimited food (but not drink) privileges for about $20 more, or you can elect both add on options. I didn't add on any options and instead headed into the park. They use the same cursory bag check that the Florida theme parks are doing, then I noted the ticket validation computer must have been acting up as my ticket was manually voided by the attendant drawing a star on the back. Front gate formalities out of the way, it's time to have fun.
I entered the park and walked around construction walls that surround the parks front gate plaza sculpture. I didn't have time to look at that as I was ambushed not by the keyhole photo person, but by somebody offering me a free tote bag. I ask what the catch is and the person insists there is no catch until I reach out for the bag, then he attempted to drag me over to a booth to sign up for some credit card offer. I don't have time for this nonsense. I ultimately have to rudely tell the person to get out of my way, and I come to a crossroads.
Universal Studios has done something really neat, that is instead of putting a poster of the park map and a schedule in a case and calling that a park directory, they instead use a Digital Park Directory. What this means is that by the descriptions of the shows it tells you when the remaining performances of that show are going to take place, and by the descriptions of the rides it tells you what the status or wait time for the ride is at the current time. My heart sank when I glanced over at "Mummy" and saw "Temporarily Closed" listed as its status. That's a bummer. I proceeded to alter my park touring plans, I have since 'Monday morning quarterback-ed" my day in the park and realized I probably could have done things better, but as they say, it's too late to worry about that now.
Right behind me was the Van Helsing attraction, and according to the digital board, it had no wait. I don't know what possessed me to see Van Helsing, but I found myself walking towards the creepy castle like building. The park guide billed this as a chance to see some props from the movie, so I expected a museum exhibition like atmosphere. Soon after I entered, I realized the attraction was really a walk through haunted house. The park is known for its Halloween event, so I figured this just might be a good haunted house. It was just a run of the mill-haunted house that utilized props from Van Helsing, and even combined some live actors. Unfortunately for Van Helsing, I come from a region where a haunted house isn't good until you have a chain saw wielding maniac come running towards your group, combined with scenes of blood, guts and gore. I guess its okay for an all ages theme park haunted house. It did win points for the cool tableaux and the rolling barrel bridge illusion.
After I toured the haunted house, I started touring the park without the aid of a park map, and after strolling past the Blues Brothers stage and through an English themed area I came to Cyberdyne Systems. That can only mean one thing: Terminator 2: 3D, which I recalled from my visit to Universal Studios Florida as one of the best theme park 3D movies around. I joined the line, or I should say I picked up a pair of 3D glasses, and walked through the empty queue area up and into the pre show room.
The back-story is that you are attending a media event for the company's newest product. The pre show room is meant to resemble the lobby; ahead of you are the doors to the auditorium with a small balcony above the doors, and a video wall off to the side. After they keep you entertained/distracted by flashing humorous messages up on a scrolling electronic sign, your host comes out on the balcony. Imagine the stereotypical PR person, you know infectious enthusiasm, sickly sweet in what she says, and yes a bit condescending. Imagine all those traits exaggerated and you have the Cyberdyne PR person. After welcoming the group she starts with "And how many have already managed to break the safety glasses you were given just a short time ago?" In my group there was a group of guests heckling the PR person, I don't know if that's scripted but the PR person was able to respond back and still keep in character. She introduced the pre show video as an introduction to her company.
The video was played on the video wall and offered an overly optimistic view of the company while detailing many of the futuristic projects they are working on. Or are they futuristic, in one case they talk about a future education system where "Every student gets exactly the same lesson, from exactly the same teacher, at exactly the same time", and I think of distance learning and web based training. In another case they talk about a mother who is able to tuck her child in, although she is halfway around the globe, and I think that I have heard that surgical robots are not that far off. The video is interrupted by static and then a rogue message cuts in, something about Skynet must be stopped. Just as you are wondering what Skynet is the PR video resumes and just happens to talk about Skynet that is a "Star Wars" style military defense system, where the Skynet computer would control missiles and command robotic soldiers that will take care of our national defense for us. "You can sleep easier at night knowing Skynet is there protecting you". You switch back to the rogue video to learn that Skynet must be stopped before its too late, and it turns on the humans and turns the earth into a wasteland where the Terminator robotic soldiers take over. And, how do they know this, well the two ordinary people in the video claim to have come back from the future. They also come just short of saying there is a bomb in the building, but they do tell people they have 5 minutes to get out. The PR video returns and finishes its overly happy spiel as if nothing had gone wrong.
After the video the PR host apologizes for the disruption and comments on how it only takes a few sick, twisted individuals to ruin it for everybody. In short, unless you are familiar with the story, at this point you don't know who to believe, the bubbly PR person, or the nuts from the future. Soon the doors open and you go into the main theatre.
I entered the theatre, took a seat and prepared to watch the show. It starts out as a live action and animatronics show as the PR person takes the podium and introduces us to the robot soldiers they call the "Terminators". On cue the robots appear on the sides of the auditorium on raised platforms and proceed to take target practice at the targets at the other side of the auditorium. It comes as no surprise that the robots are excellent marksman. Then the show gets interrupted as a terminator from the future comes riding through the audience on a motorcycle, and joined by the two people who were interrupting the PR video out in the lobby. They quickly take control of the auditorium and take out the PR person. Then what may be the signature special effect of the show occurs as the Terminator and the boy from the pre show get on the motorcycle and appear to ride right into the movie screen. The terminator robots lower down so you have a wide angle-surrounding screen. They claim that you are jumping into the future to take on a then fully developed Skynet that has turned on its owners and turned the world into a wasteland just as promised. At that point the faux media event cover ends as you go into the future in the movie. The movie contains lots of good 3D effects, and you learn the seats have some motion base ability. What I don't get is why at the end of the show they slowly raise the seats up and then drop them down hard.
All in all the show was just as great as I remembered it, and soon I was joining the group of people heading out of the auditorium and down a ramp into the gift shop. A congested gift shop at that, there is one clear path out, but they have a large video game blocking that path.
I proceeded to walk across the back of the park skipping the Animal Actors Stage (see cute animals perform tricks), and Fear Factor (the park's new audience participation stunt show based on the hit TV series, and the character meet and greet areas until I came around to the Starway.
Universal Studios theme park is not a very large park and appears to be shoehorned into one small corner of the studio. That's not to say there isn't a lot to do, but it's a congested park. You enter through the original part of the park that has the tram tour and several shows along with the Back to the Future ride, some time ago the park decided to expand into a part of the lower lot. When I saw lower lot, I can't stress enough that this park is on a steep hillside, so to get from the upper lot to the lower lot, required either using the Starway or taking a van. Most folks opt for the Starway that is a clever take on the word Stairway. Yes there are stairs, but they also offer escalators. The difference in height between the two parts of the park requires the use of 4 separate escalators to get from one half to the other. To help move people they have three escalators, which are reversible. I was lucky in the fact I was going down, and they had 2 lanes going down and 1 up. You can tell you are in a theme park due to the repeated announcements on how to ride an escalator, for those people that have never seen one before.
After going down the first escalator you come to a nice overlook where you can get a nice view of Hollywood, they even have coin operated binoculars whose timer mechanism looks suspiciously like a parking meter timer. They have also put some Apollo 13 props in this area. I proceed down three more escalators and arrive at the lower level. The layout of the lower level is pretty simple its basically a large I, you arrive at one end of the I which has Revenge of the Mummy on one side, and Jurassic Park on the other, then the center of the I has gift shops, food stands, a video arcade and a "I love Lucy" tribute museum. At the other end of the I sits Backdraft and the Special Effects Stages.
I noted the posted wait for Revenge of the Mummy to be 30 minutes, so I grabbed a soft drink from a conveniently placed kiosk ($3) and head towards Mummy. I admit I am not a skinny person, and I have had trouble fitting on some rides because of my girth, so I took a seat on the test seat outside the ride. The test seat signage indicated the pointer on the lap bar must go into the green area, however I could never find where the green/red markings were, so as a test seat it is pretty useless. I then placed my loose articles into the courtesy locker provided at the ride entrance/exit. One of the things Universal does is to provide electronic courtesy lockers that allow you to leave your loose items secure, while the timer makes sure no one abuses the courtesy (and collects fines from those that do). It's an interesting system here, as the lockers don't use keys or combinations, instead the computer takes a finger scan when you rent the locker, so in effect your fingerprint becomes your key. Pretty nifty idea!
I entered the queue and was disappointed that the "Single Rider Line" was closed. Why is it that when I am at a park alone, the single rider option isn't available? I make my way into the large outdoor queue maze, and I must not have been in the line for over 5 minutes after I met up with the back of the line when they announced they were going "seeking volunteers for the single rider program, just present yourself to an attraction host" I wasted no time in bailing out of the line and presenting myself to the attraction host. I was directed back into the regular queue, but when I came to the first bend I saw another attraction host who was manning the single rider entrance. I indicated I wanted to ride single rider, so I was given a ride ticket and admitted to the single rider entrance. My wait just got expressed from 25 minutes or more, to third person in my line.
I noted the ticket I was handed explained the rules of the single rider program, namely that it is designed for single riders, not for groups, you will be seated on the ride as empty seats become available. (The rows on this ride seat 4, so if they have a party of 3 come through the regular line, they can take one person from the singles line to fill in the empty seat.) Again those arriving in groups will not be able to ride together. They stress that point two or three times in two different languages. We were then admitted through a special gate where we walked down a separate lane along the length of the indoor tomb like queue area. It seemed as though there were seats waiting to be filled as I think I only had to wait about a minute after I reached the boarding platform. My ticket was collected and I was shown to the rear left seat in the car.
Instead of trains, Mummy uses individual cars, with 4 person rows, several rows per car. I took a seat and pulled down the lap bar, I felt an odd feeling as I lowered the bar when I noticed a mesh bag has been tied to the bar to hold loose articles. Apparently, any loose items that can't fit in the mesh bag can't be taken on the ride. We were soon loaded into the car and started on our way. This is billed as a roller coaster ride themed to "Revenge of The Mummy". Your car resembled a giant mine car and you start out at a slow speed almost as if you are riding a dark ride through the mummy's tomb. You travel through the cavernous tomb as you make a broad sweeping turnaround. After the turnaround you find out you have angered an Egyptian god or something like that as your car is catapulted to 40 mph and you traverse the roller coaster like portion. The coaster portion is mainly in the dark except for some static decorations that are lit by black light. The ride itself features no steep or sudden drops, and instead relies on a very twisted layout with lots of curves and gentle dips. That said, there is some slight floater airtime in the back seat. The signature element of the coaster appears after you travel up a tall spike in the track as if you were headed to the top of the pyramid. There the walls are actually video screens and you can see snakes creeping out of the 'walls' headed for you as little brushes come in contact with your ankles to give the hint that there are snakes in the car. Neat special effect, then the brakes release and you travel backwards, but you don't go back the same way you came, instead a track switch has been activated and you go backwards via a different but similar route. At the end of the backwards section you travel into a room that is designed like you are in a part of the tomb that has a top opening where you can see the sun. This conveniently explains why this room is nicely lit, so that you can appreciate the fact your car is sitting on a giant turntable, which then rotates so that you pull back into the station facing forwards. The ride has two loading areas, one in back of the other, so that they can load two vehicles at once, and in this case you return to the opposite loading area than the one you boarded. I exited the ride, headed up the stairs to cross over the tracks. As soon as you make the turn at the top of the exit stairs the Egyptian tomb theme ends and its just plain walls as you exit the building, cross a bridge over part of the queue then come down stairs just in the right spot to stop at the on ride photo booth then you have access to the locker room along the exit path.
My overall reaction to the ride was that it seemed to be a bit too short. While I liked the special effects, and the novelty items like going backwards down a different track, and the turntable at the end, I think I would have preferred a slightly longer ride. Don't get me wrong the ride tracks real smooth, offers some gentle airtime, and is a solid performer, it could just be a bit longer.
At this point I got greedy and decided I wanted to take another ride on Mummy. I used the single rider queue again, but by this time single rider line was starting to get backed up, and it look me about 15-20 minutes to board (but the regular line was posting 1 hour). As fate would have it I was assigned the exact same seat when it was my turn in the station. There was a slight delay in the station ahead of me when a group who had entered through the single rider line, got upset that they could not ride together. I don't get that, every park single rider line I have seen specifically warns that "Groups will be split up" and that it is meant for single riders, yet groups get to the front of the line and then complain when they can't ride together. Its not just at this park, it seems to be common wherever I have seen single rider lines. I had another fun ride, I really do like this ride, just wish it were a bit longer. But I checked my watch and I hope I hadn't just made a real bad decision. I was relieved that I hadn't overstayed my welcome at the courtesy locker and was able to retrieve my items with no cost. Revenge of the Mummy is a ride that has a wonderful Egyptian tomb theme on the inside, but outside it looks like a soundstage building with the only signs of Egyptian theme being the ride hosts costumes and two sarcophagus that flank the ride entrance,
I headed down the walkway and got into line as I saw them filling the Backdraft Theater. Unfortunately there were more people than room in the theater, so my impatience was starting to get to me as I had bigger things to ride, so I skipped out on Backdraft.
I also skipped the special effects stages and headed to Jurassic Park. Jurassic Park was posting a 10-minute wait so I decided to go for it. I entered the line and knowing it's a water ride I asked the host about a locker, and he replied that there are lockers available, even pointed them out to me, but then added that they cost $2. That doesn't make any sense as I could just walk back across the midway and use one of Mummy's free lockers. He assured me the ride wasn't that wet and my camera would be fine, in the same breath he offers to sell me a rain poncho. Why am I getting mixed messages here? I headed down a walkway where the tropical foliage has started to overtake the pathway, but I think that's part of the theme. I pass through the iconic Jurassic Park front gate, and why is that whenever I want to take a photo of a Jurassic Park gate at a Universal park the sun always appears to be in the wrong place. Jurassic Park the Ride is themed to a movie that is themed to an amusement park, so in a sense the ride is an amusement park ride themed to an amusement park ride. As most folks know, Jurassic Park is a fictional educational amusement park with real dinosaurs as the focus of its rides and exhibits.
At the end of the first walkway you come to some signs directing you around Jurassic Park, it appears the route to the safari tour (in the land rovers) is blocked off, so only the path to the River Adventure is open. Ironically, the book version of Jurassic Park details the River Adventure, but it is not shown in the movie, except possibly as Hammond details some of the future attractions. I enter the queue house for the Jurassic Park River Adventure", I note the single rider line is blocked off and that Hammond himself is featured in the looping video that plays in the queue house. The video has the safety warnings along with a basic description of the ride as Hammond shows off the boat (you can almost hear him say "I spared no expense" in your mind). The boat seems to come equipped with some rather unusual safety equipment for an amusement park ride, but of course Hammond says that its just there because it is required, as nothing can possibly go wrong. Towards the end of the queue maze, the line divides into two lanes, clearly marked as Lane A and Lane B. That would not earn a mention in most parks, but most parks don't label their virtual queue entrances as Gate A. I picked lane B as it was shorter when it was my turn to pick.
Just then I got a phone call from Mom telling me how wonderful the Studio Tram Tour was, so I made a note to head there as soon as I finished up Jurassic Park. I know the tram tour takes about an hour, it was nearing 5pm and the park closes at 7pm. I hope I didn't push it too long. I proceeded through the turnstile and the loader sent me to an empty spot in the front row of the boat. I noted an unusual queue gate arrangement, as after the queue gates opened, we stepped forward into yet another set of queue lanes, complete with a second set of gates. Then we boarded the boat, the ride has large lap bars that are shared by everybody in the row, and don't really come down that far. It made some of the smaller riders in my row feel just a bit uneasy.
The ride starts with a short lift hill, and then you start to float past some dinosaur exhibits. At first everything seems to be going nice and tranquil as you explore Jurassic Park. Of course, you know that's not going to last, as you come to a fork in the path and your boat takes the one that is clearly marked as off limits. A cool effect is that the speakers placed alongside the waterway continue to narrate the dinosaur exhibit you should be seeing, and since each speaker is controlled separate, that narration comes from the path you should have taken, and adds to the going the wrong way feeling. You then enter the side of Jurassic Park where everything has gone wrong, the power has gone out on the electric fences, and the dinosaurs have taken over. Quite animal exhibits no more, now they start attacking your boat. A real cool effect is when you pass under where you can see a turn in the safari tour above you, and a dinosaur pushed a land rover off the edge and it appears to be falling and stops just above and to the side of your boat. You then enter the show building, and go up the main tall lift while passing by some angry dinosaurs, all culminating in the signature moment when the T-Rex is about t have you and your boat for dinner when just as he is about to attack, you drop safely out of range as you head down the tall steep drop. At the bottom of the drop you emerge from the show building, generating a nice wave. I am glad I didn't get too wet, just a few drops. You then float back around to the unload area and exit into a gift shop. I dashed through the gift shop at high speed and came to one of those digital park guides. The digital park guide in formed me that it would be a 15-minute wait for the tram tour. I took off for the tram tour, which required riding back up the Starway (which had been reversed so two lanes were now going up) then through the confusing congested layout of the upper lot.
I reached the entrance for the Studio Tram Tour where the electronic signs were telling me the tram tour was closed for the day. "Please visit us another day". NO! I don't have another day! I also noted there was no gate, chain or other obstruction blocking the queue entrance, so I went into belligerent mode and entered the attraction anyway. I went across a walkway that looked down upon the studio below me, and then started down an escalator. I was relieved when I started down the escalator and an attraction host at the bottom welcomed me to the tram tour. At the bottom of the escalator, I entered the tram station and took an empty seat in the back car of the tram that was being loaded. Moral of the story: don't always believe the signs.
We waited a bit for the tram to fill up. Knowing it would be an hour long tour I was glad the tram had cushioned seats, and looking around I noted the tram was outfitted with video monitors and along the tops were advertisements for their new and upcoming movies. Shortly before the tour started the gull wing doors on the tramcars were closed, and our host introduced herself, and it appears she is on camera so that even those of us in the back car can see her. We soon departed the tram station and headed down the hill to the lower lot.
As we started the tram tour, it was revealed that we would have a second co-host, Whoopi Goldberg who would fill in other information via the video monitors. As we rode down the hill we got a basic introduction to Universal Studios and clips from some of their movies. We also basically made a lap around the lower lot of the park where I noted a Jurassic Park boat in a service area, and then we got to wave at the guests in line for Backdraft. We then started driving between big warehouses looking buildings that were identified as sound stages. We were told that most of them were closed sets, which means that only authorized visitors are allowed to go inside, and that we would not be able to visit any of the soundstages during the tram tour, but the park does offer other VIP tour packages that would include the chance to see a production in progress. Seems most filming gets done on these soundstages.
We left the lower lot area and drove past a row of identical looking bungalows where visiting directors, actors and other movie personnel can stay during filming. I note the bungalows all look the same from the outside with no signs of personalization. From the bungalow area we headed into the back lot. The back lot is where the interesting stuff to see is. I'm not going to give a play by play because as I said it's an hour-long tour, but there were some highlights.
We toured various parts of the back lot that had different types of buildings. We went into an area that looks like the classic town square. We were informed that this town square is most famous as Hill Valley from Back to the Future, but by changing the fronts of the buildings it has been used in various films, and while we looked at the town on the back lot the video screens in the tram showed clips from films that showed this set in various incarnations. We then passed a New York City area, with some city areas and a row of brownstone houses. At the end of the New York segment we were told we had a chance to meet one of Hollywood's biggest stars, we then went inside a building and found ourselves on the set of King Kong. We saw King Kong swatting at the police helicopters, and then reach down and start to shake tram. As we exited the show building our host said, "I did promise you would meet one of our BIGGEST stars"
We proceeded to tour other areas of the back lot including an old west town. While we looked at the western town our host explained about perspective. Forced perspective is when you fool around with the reference points to make something appear larger or smaller than it really is. The example she gave was to notice how they have buildings with large and small doors and windows. When you film the damsel in distress you film her against the large building so she appears even more helpless, on the flip side, you film the hero against the small building so that he appears to be bigger and therefore stronger than in real life. We drove through a Spanish town with accents that look like they might have been used in Pirates of the Caribbean, at this point we stopped and watched a weather forecast on the video panels, which said the weather would be nice in all parts of the back lot except the part we were in where a flash flood was predicted, moments later torrents of water were rushing down the hillsides at the tram to simulate a flash flood.
Some time later we bypassed the collapsing bridge, but our host did point it out to us. A bit later we went past a row of picture cars, a picture car was defined as any vehicle seen in the movie, so we saw some of the more easily recognizable movie cars, finishing up with some cars from Fast and Furious. We then went into an open air round chamber where the tram curled around the outside edge of the space. The area had an urban Japanese theme with Japanese style vending machines along the walls, and in the center of the room were two cars from the movie. Moments after the tram stopped an explosion took place and it looked like the cars were going to be hurled up and into the tramcars, but they stopped just in the nick of time. By that time the artificial fog cleared and we could see the robot arms. Our host asked the cars if they could do anything else, then some ballroom music came on and the cars moved in a way that made it look like they were dancing. She said, who needs "Dancing with the Stars"; you've now seen "Dancing with the Cars"
Leaving that area we passed some props and things from Jurassic Park and headed towards Little Europe. Little Europe is so named because it can resemble any quaint European town, just by changing the language on the signs. Oh, and yes I know I probably got some of the elements out of order, but you can get an idea of how packed the tram tour is. We were told we would have the chance to visit a hot set. A hot set is a set where there is a production going on, so they want to restrict who goes onto the set in order to minimize the risk of continuity errors. The simple act of bumping or moving something on a hot set can cause a problem between takes of a movie were suddenly a prop disappears, reappears or moves around the set apparently on its own, or the time on the clock or calendar changes. We have special permission to visit this hot set because its after hours and they have stopped filming for the day. We enter a soundstage and find ourselves on the set for Earthquake. Specifically we are in s subway tunnel where the roof caves in, water starts flowing down the stairs in torrents, and a gas truck falls from the road through the roof and catches on fire. It's a very impressive piece of movie special effects demonstration. The only negative is that you leave the building before you get to watch the scene reset. A bit later we drove down a dip almost driving through a pond so that we may get a camera eye view of a boat from another movie. We also rode past some more famous movie places, like Whooville, or the street from Desperate Housewives, the Bates Motel, and the house from "Best Little Whorehouse in Texas"
We drove through the town of Amityville and the town is celebrating because they think they have captured Jaws and they have him in display. They don't have the only shark though as a shark pulls a man standing in the water down under the water level, then the shark reappears just a few feet from the tram. They even manage to work some impressive fire effects into this one as well. We also passed though an area meant to resemble War of the Worlds; we see commercial airliners in ruins, and a town in ruins and debris just littering everything. The tram even stopped for a photo stop.
We drove past more of the back lot and then things started to run together, there was a house built on stilts that is used in scenes where they need a house sitting over a lakeside, but you can see the house actually sits over a bowl of grass. Our host indicated the bowl area could be filled with water. And my, just like that it appears that an hour has flown past and we are pulling into the unload station. They thank us for taking the tour, and tell us to please refer any questions we may have to the attraction hosts as we exit.
It appears that they need to close the back lot early tonight as we saw them setting up for a party of some kind, and I get the feeling I was on the last tram of the day. The people at the exit didn't really rush us, but you could tell they were eager to get us out of there. At the escalators they had all the escalators out of the tram tour area going up, and as soon as we had exited the area the barricades went up. I also mentioned earlier the difference in approach between this park and Orlando. Here, you ride the tram tour and feel you have gotten a whole days enjoyment out of one ride, in Orlando, they took the various special effects segments, like King Kong, Jaws, and Earthquake and they made separate stand alone attractions out of them.
I exited the tram tour area and walked through a children's playground themed on Nickelodeon. Not much to report about it. I took stock in my options and realized I really only had two options, I could see Back to the Future the Ride, which I had ridden in Orlando, or Shrek 4D which I had not seen before. I opted to see Shrek, I entered the line for Shrek and the show must have filled for the group in front of me right when I got there because they cut the line for that show just as I had reached the turnstile. We waited at the turnstile for the next group to be admitted, while waiting the host went over the park guide for us and pretty much confirmed that I was right with my choices of where I could go. If I was lucky I may be able to squeeze in a ride on Back to the Future after this but that's about it. Some time later we were admitted through the castle gates around a passageway and into the preshow room.
We were in some kind of castle anteroom. Of special note above our heads we could see the three little pigs locked in cages (one straw, one wood, one brick) with little video screens to show the eyes. Next to them is a metal cage holding an upside down Pinocchio, with an opening for a mechanical nose, and above the cage you can see his feet sticking up and waving back and forth. Next to him you had a video screen of the torture chamber showing the ginger bread man on a torture table. On either far side were the magic mirrors. The magic mirror fills you in on the story. Basically the evil master of the castle wants the girl, but Shrek rescues the girl and takes her far away, and now the evil master is torturing anybody he thinks may know the whereabouts of the girl. The evil master cuts off the magic mirrors narration, threatens his torture victims, well except for ginger bread man who managed to escape. The last plea you here from the torture victims is to not enter the auditorium. You, of course, then enter the auditorium. The main movie is a 3D movie with certain theater stunts like vibrating seats on motion bases, or water jets that spray water on you or other things. The main movie continues the story from the preshow, where the evil master does in fact find the girl and captures her, you then travel along with Shrek and Donkey to rescue the girl and then everything ends all nice and happy. I noticed they sprinkled in a few jabs at Disney, and all in all it was a neat show, with maybe a bit too much gratuitous chair shaking,
The show ended, and I stepped out onto the midway and checked my watch, exactly 7PM. I'm not even going to try to find Back to the Future. I did look in some gift shops, and noted the cleverly themed Bedrock area with its Rock Vegas Casino games area, and an eatery that looks like the drive in from the cartoon. On my way out I spotted a photo opportunity area that had a sign "Visit Shrek Tomorrow", I laughed and took a photo, I wonder if that works like the saying on the side of Joe's Crab Shack "Free Crab Tomorrow" They do have some good theming, with a coffee cart named Brews Bros. placed across from the Blues Bros. show, or the Frank and Stein eatery next to Van Helsing. I took some photos of the main entryway and headed to Citywalk.
I went and met up with Mom and Rhonda at the PEZ store in Citywalk, and then we went to the Daily Grill. The Daily Grill was highly recommended to us by others on our tour, and I was just happy that there was no waiting. We had been told about the chicken potpie. We ordered some, and they were the largest chicken potpies I have ever seen. We followed that up with the largest Apple Peach Cobbler I have ever seen. Not only were the portions large they were also very good. Yes, I would have to agree with the group that the Daily Grill was an excellent dinner choice.
The Daily Grill also happens to be located right by the stop for the courtesy shuttle back to the hotel, so we caught the bus to the hotel. On my way into the hotel, I settled up with the hotel on my Internet charge and then we headed up to the room. We had an early wake up call tomorrow, and we have to be all packed up with suitcases ready for the bell staff. Tomorrow, the last full day of the tour, we head to San Diego.
Today we woke up and got packed up ready to leave. Mom was willing to just munch on some snacks in the room, but I encouraged her to partake in the hotel's fabulous breakfast buffet. The buffet was just as good as the day before, and really sets a new quality standard for breakfast buffets. After breakfast we gathered in the lobby while the luggage was brought down and the bus arrived.
Today, we drive to San Diego, we left the hotel and traveled by the path we have been taking the last couple days, so there was one last chance for people to try to see the Hollywood sign. Then we settled in for the drive to San Diego.
On the way to San Diego we did stop at La Jolla where there is a seal rookery. It's another of these natural unplanned animal viewing areas that seem to dot the California coast. This one is interesting in that it has a breakwater, almost like a long curved pier that allows you to walk out over the ocean, and get all the benefits of hearing the waves all around you, without getting wet. According to it's website, it was designed to be a children's area, protected from the main ocean, but then the seals moved in. Now the area is primarily a rookery and there are signs posted not to enter the beach at that point for fear of scaring the seals away. We stopped and took several photos and enjoyed seeing the seals, some even active and playful in a natural setting. There is also a lifeguard station at this point, and so I go to see the lifeguard equipment that happens to include a surfboard.
From La Jolla, we drove along the coastline. There had been a request to stop at a beach area for those (especially the children) who wanted to take a dip in the Pacific Ocean could have the chance. Mike indicated that we would be able to do that; I kept it in the back of my mind as we headed for the next destination.
We were driving through an Oceanside village, and while stopped at a light, I saw an unmistakable wooden structure ahead of me. It was a white wooden structure with green and pink trim; we were driving past Belmont Park. Or are we? I could not have asked for more when the bus came to a stop alongside Belmont Park, and it was announced that here at Mission Beach, CA would be a 45 minute stop for those who wanted to take a dip in the ocean. Sorry ocean, I am much more interested in the Giant Dipper roller coaster that is mere feet from me.
Mom and Rhonda would join the group headed towards the beach, so that leaves me alone to head to Belmont Park. Mike commented that it looked like the Giant Dipper was down for repairs as there were stacks of pre painted wood and other work equipment sitting under one of the turns of the coaster. I didn't have to wait long before I heard and saw the reassuring sign of a trainload of happy riders come zooming around the track. It's off to the Belmont Park for me.
I walked through the parking lot and headed through the park entrance located about in the middle of the roller coaster structure. I then turned away from the coaster and headed to the gift shop, as that is where tickets are sold. I looked over my options, it looked to be either $5 a ride or $20 for the ride all day wristband. Hmm, what a dilemma, I knew I had time for more than one ride, but could I make good on the $20 wristband? Is the coaster worth $20 to me? I didn't deliberate long before I was purchasing a $20 wristband.
Belmont Park has an interesting story; it started out as one of many oceanfront amusement parks. As is common with oceanfront amusement parks, this one fell out of fad in the 1970's and a developer bought the park and closed it to make way for a touristy shopping area. So Belmont Park closed at the end of 1976, but the new owner made a couple important decisions, one was to keep the park's indoor pool, the Plunge, open as a membership pool, The other decision was, even though he didn't want to operate the rides, he kept the Giant Dipper standing as a tribute to the park that once was. So the roller coaster sat dormant for about 15 years, and fell into disrepair. Then in the late 1980's, early 1990's a group got together to restore the Giant Dipper to service, a group that would become known as the San Diego Coaster Company. The group acquired the ride, restored it, purchased new trains for it, and in 1991 returned the ride to service. The ride has been a regular attraction at Belmont Park since, and now the coaster is lined with other amusement rides. You might say Belmont Park came back to life.
I headed out of the gift shop and over to the Giant Dipper. The ride has a classic station with a highly polished hardwood floor. I waited in the short line behind the turnstile for the train to return to the station and unload. Then I was admitted and took a seat in the back car. Giant Dipper uses Morgan wood coaster trains, sometimes referred to as "California Style Trains" because there was a time, not too long ago when most if not all the wood coasters in California used these new style trains. Coaster enthusiasts in general dislike this brand of coaster train. Reasons for disliking them include the cars having a fiberglass instead of a wood or metal body, and the hard molded plastic seats with little or no cushioning. Those things don't bother me as much, and I really don't see why these trains get the dislike they do.
I sit down, and the attendant comes around and lowers the lap bars, yep that's a bit tight. We soon take off on our ride, we take a left hand turn out of the station to pass by the park entrance, and then we go into the tunnel. The Giant Dipper still has a long lift approach tunnel, a feature that is not seen much these days. The official stated reason for these tunnels is to disorient the riders, but I have to wonder if they also afforded young couples the chance at a kiss. In this case the tunnel makes an elongated S so that you are now on the side of the coaster that runs along the street, but heading the same direction you were when you left the station, The tunnel exits out directly onto the lift hill. You notice the trim is done in what the park has called emerald green and cotton candy pink, on a white structure. The train is mostly white with teal/green trim. We reach the top of the lift hill, and there is not big steep first drop, instead the first drop is a swooping first drop that also incorporates a turnaround, you start the first pass of the coaster over several hills that make a crossover so when its time to make the next curve, you are again curing from the street side, around to the park side. For the second trip you travel alongside the perimeter of the coaster. The ride has a classic series of hills and valleys all the way around. You then pull into the final brakes, then one more turn into the station. The Giant Dipper might be referred to as a Gentle Giant, because there isn't any strong airtime or laterals, yet it has the classic looks of a vintage wood coaster and a ride experience that is pure fun and a joy to ride.
So ride I did, a total of 6 times. Most of my rides were in the back car, and many of those in the back seat, but I did get a ride or two up front. I was careful to watch my time, since I had went off alone away from the group. He said 45 minutes, so I made it 35 in my mind to make sure I got back to the bus on time. I did take another look in the museum to look at the scale model of the Giant Dipper and an original Giant Dipper car, I also spotted some t-shirts that were left over from the rides 80th anniversary (2005) that were on sale, so I bought one of those. I then headed out to where the bus dropped us off, and just stepped out of the Belmont Park parking lot just as Mom and Rhonda were returning from the beach. We crossed the street and boarded the bus. The beach crew let
me in on what I had missed down at the beach. It seemed that just as the children were sticking their leg in the water a huge wave crashed ashore and managed to soak them pretty good. So, there was a little stop for changing of clothes before we headed to San Diego.
Leaving Mission Beach, we drove past but did not stop at Sea World. I did catch a quick glance at the park, and then we headed to San Diego proper. Our next destination was Coronado Village, which is an exclusive island village. We crossed over a tall bridge that runs from the center of the port of San Diego out to Coronado. We were told the bridge was designed special so that if attacked and destroyed the bridge was made to come apart so as not to block the port. You see, San Diego's port is also a significant military port and various military ships could be seen while crossing over the bridge.
We arrived on the island, going past a golf course, and then took a drive around the community. The highlight of the visit to Coronado was seeing the Hotel Coronado that is a turn of the century wooden beachfront resort hotel. In many ways it looks like it may have been the inspiration for the Grand Floridian at Disney World. We drove for a bit around Coronado before heading back to the main land. Back on the main land we passed the stadium where the San Diego Padres play, then the San Diego convention center, and Kansas City BBQ, which was made famous in the movie Top Gun. Kansas City BBQ looks real out of place these days, set next to modern skyscrapers. We also saw the red trolley system San Diego has for public transportation,
After a brief glimpse of the city, we headed to Seaport Village for a lunch stop. Seaport Village is a touristy shopping village. We had some hamburgers there at a hamburger stand, and then looked around the shops. Set in the center of the village is a vintage carousel. The carousel pavilion building was easily recognized, and when I looked inside the doors, I saw a magnificent Loof carousel. Hand carved wood horses that had what looked like real horsehair tails. Several white horses, and the ride had a patriotic theme to it. I liked the use of hitching posts along the outer perimeter of the ride, and the downspouts that looked like horse heads. Signs around the carousel tell the story of Loof carousels, and another details where the entire ride has been since it was built in 1895. I originally wasn't going to ride it, but then the children of the choir wanted to ride, as well as a few adults, so I joined them for the ride. The ride was a good value, with a 5-minute ride costing $2.
Next on our touring agenda, we were to see Balboa Park, home to the San Diego Zoo, however the time was getting late, and we wanted to get checked into our hotel before the major performance tonight. The decision was made to skip Balboa Park and instead go directly to the hotel, which turned out to be right next door to Seaport Village. We did not know at the time what a wise decision this was.
We arrived at our hotel, the Grand Hyatt Manchester, and things there didn't go quite to plan. Usually when you stay at a hotel as a group, the hotel already has the rooms assigned as a block before you arrive, then when your bus arrives they can hand the tour director the key envelopes and any other materials, and the director can hand the keys out while the bell staff have been handed a printout of the room assignments and can start lugging luggage. Well, it turns out this advance planning didn't take place, so we would have to all get in the registration line at the front desk and check in individually. No big deal, jut took a bit longer than we expected, and we had to provide a credit card scan that we didn't have to do at the other hotels. We received our keys and headed up to our room clear up in the 22nd floor,
We let ourselves into our room and while we waited for luggage to arrive, we took in the view out the window. Looking left we could see the marina at Seaport Village and San Diego Bay, look right and we can see downtown San Diego, look down and we can see the extravagant looking pool deck for the hotel, as well as the front driveway. The room itself was also very nice. One nifty thing the hotel does is with its key envelopes. Instead of just being a key envelope, it's also a pull out map with a city map on one side, and a hotel visitors guide on the other. I thought that was a neat idea.
It took longer than expected for the luggage to arrive as it arrived at the room right at about the same time we were supposed to head to the lobby. We did a quick freshen up then hurried back down to the lobby to catch the bus. The bus was soon loaded and we were headed for the San Diego Mission.
Ok, so it took us longer to get out of the hotel, and now we are sitting in rush hour traffic. We spot and head for what looks like the San Diego Mission. We arrive at a building with mission style architecture, flying the flags of the United States, Mexico and Spain out front. However, for those that had been to the mission before, something just didn't look right, We sent Mike up the stairs to go and find out what the deal was, and he returned and informed us we weren't at the mission, we were at the San Diego Presidio, another one of those original Spanish military bases. However, they are commonly mistaken for the mission, so commonly mistaken that they have a paper they hand out with directions to the mission. We follow the directions we were given and we arrive at the mission.
We arrive at the mission and their music director is waiting on the front steps of the mission eager to greet us. We are allowed to enter the mission church and have a few brief moments to look around, but not too long because we have some activities to take care of. We were led out of the church and through a meditation garden then through a gateway that headed to the "escuela" which I believe is the mission school. The various labels on the doors in the courtyard were in Spanish, We were shown to a room where we could leave our things, and change into robes. This time, they would not be our usual red robes, but special cream white robes furnished by the mission with blue stoles. So we changed into the robes (we had sent measurements in advance), then we gathered back inside the church.
They wanted to get photos of us in their robes, so they had a professional photographer take numerous pictures of us standing on the altar in different positions, and then standing on the front steps in front of the mission. It was a long but interesting photo shoot, and we learned that the robes would be hot in the heat.
We then returned to the room we had been shown to find out that some kind of youth group was meeting in there that night, so we moved everything into another room that looked like an auditorium. It had a stage on one end, and tables and chairs set up in a classroom configuration. We took off the robes for now, and locked all the stuff up in this room, then went for a brief tour. We saw a very modern art style Stations of the Cross made out of small square tiles along one exterior corridor, and then we headed over to see a small chapel in a separate building. It was a very small chapel, but still had wood choir stalls along the walls. The particular mission is important because this was the first of Father Serra's missions, and for its historic importance has gained the rank of minor basilica. Like the other missions the mission church itself is small and thin, and accentuates the use of natural light.
The church itself has white walls inside and out, and is of a more simple style. A relatively simple altarpiece sits in the front of the church, and the walls are lined with niches for statues, and paintings for the Stations of the Cross. The floor is not entirely smooth or level, which I think, adds to the old fashioned charm of it.
After out brief tour, we were taken to the California Room to relax a bit before the evening's concert. The California room is in a more modern building down the hill from the mission and serves as a parish hall. Its main feature is a mural that runs floor to ceiling along one wall that detail the history of California. We were told the room has been used for important meetings between the presidents of the United States and Mexico.
We mingled with members of the mission over light refreshments and drinks, including beer and wine. Fruits, cheeses, crackers, breads, and some melted chocolate to dip the fruit into. It was a wonderfully relaxing reception while we mingled. After the reception we returned to the auditorium looking room for a rehearsal. We rolled the piano out from the wings of the stage to center stage. Our rehearsal also included some time to rework our choreography. In previous concerts we have taken to using the main aisle and the two side aisles to have the choir sing the first song in the rear of church, and then separate into groups by section, perform a song in the middle aisle, and then advance to the altar steps for the concert. This particular mission has no side aisles, so we had to come up with a backup plan. After rehearsal, we mingled around the meditation garden until it was time for the concert. I got some nice photos in the meditation gardens, and the mission's photographer gave me some tips that allowed me to get some neat shots of the bell tower.
We then headed to the mission church for the concert, as it would turn out the audience was mostly the choir and music department for the mission, but that did mean we had a very appreciative group. I must say our final concert of the tour did seem to go off quite well.
After the concert, we returned to the auditorium like room to change out of robes and gather belongings before heading back to the California Room. We did have a brief time in the church itself to get some pictures.
After the concert, we returned to the California Room. We partook of some of the reception refreshments that were still available out on the porch. We then went inside the California Room and took our places at tables.
After everybody was settled in, the mission served a buffet dinner for our group and the group from the mission that came to hear us sing. Dinner was very nice, and the deserts fancy. During dinner one of the mission musicians played the piano. After dinner there were several presentations. The mission gave each one of us a souvenir folder that commemorated our visit and concert to the mission, as well as a little ceramic mission bell. Their director thanked our director and his wife. Then the children of he choir were recognized, and Jason and Carol won the "Most patient parents award". The evenings activities concluded with their choir singing a song for us. All in all it was a fun dinner reception. Afterwards we made our way back through the courtyard and out past the admission booth where they normally charge admission. It was dark out, and they have soft yellow lights casting a glow on the building, which allowed me to get an attractive photo of the bell tower at night. I also noted the mission bells alongside the driveway, you might recall earlier in this report I mentioned a lot of them don't have clappers in them, well I know the ones along the driveway don't because they have been converted to lamps.
We left the mission and headed back to the hotel. Ron was nice enough to drive us through the Gaslight District, which is a popular nighttime entertainment district in town. We also received instructions that we would not be eating breakfast at our hotel; instead we would be taken to a restaurant. Lastly, before we were dropped off at our hotel he mentioned to have the bags ready for the bell staff by 7am. After we returned to our room, we learned the bell staff was doing their best to get out of work by insisting the bags be ready by 6am. We agreed that we could lug our own luggage and sleep in a bit later.
The day started by us getting all packed up for the plane ride home, and lugging our bags down to the lobby. I got some photos of the really fancy lobby; I mean you could tell this was a very nice hotel. We then all met out in front of the hotel for the bus. I got a lot of photos of people milling about. Mike pointed out that the pedestal clock they have in front of the hotel is marked "Made in Cincinnati, Ohio" how neat! The bus arrived and was loaded and then we headed towards the restaurant for breakfast. We did pass a bayside area where we saw a retired navy ship that is open for tours, as well as a three masted sailboat complete with all its sails and flags. What a pretty scene. Mike pointed out that we are actually quite close to the airport and yes, the planes do come in for a very low landing, practically buzzing the tops of the downtown buildings.
We had breakfast at Hob Nob Hill, which is supposed to be a San Diego institution. We were given free reign to order off the menu, except for a few of the higher priced items. It was a nice breakfast indeed, and the restaurant did have some unusual features, like putting the jelly into hollowed out orange halves, and having wine bottles on display on the table. I think everybody enjoyed breakfast, and then it was time to head to the airport, as I mentioned it was a short drive, and soon we had arrived at the airport.
I give the San Diego airport low marks for planning and layout. The bus pulled up to the door and we unloaded and took our luggage. We entered the building and followed the signs to check in, which led us right to stairs and escalators to the second floor. Huh? With all this luggage, I don't think so. I looked around and spotted a bank of elevators. It seems catching an elevator in this airport is an Olympic sport. They have three large elevators, and the doors aren't exactly right next to each other. When a car arrives it has no patience and gives you just a few seconds to board. It took a few tries, but soon we had an elevator.
Having successfully caught an elevator we held the doors open as people from our group started loading up the elevator with luggage. We headed to the upper level, the doors opened, and we literally could not get out of the elevator because of the congested hallway in front of us. They had people crammed in their so tight that we had to wait for some people to move.
It isn't that they didn't have enough check in kiosks open, its that they were funneling the line for all of them through one line, and then they didn't have any kind of queue maze setup so instead of a nice orderly line you just had a crowd of people all trying to funnel into a short line area. We waited in the line, and after a long time we got to the front. The attendant asked how many in my party, then she made a strange request. You know that one thing you aren't supposed to do with your luggage, leave it unattended? She said to relieve congestion up at the kiosks to leave our luggage in this roped off area. Sounded reasonable, if a bit unnerving. I went up to the kiosk, retrieved our boarding passes, and then the attendant asked for our luggage. I told him the person working the line said to leave it back there with her, and he said he needed it with him now. So now I am causing more congestion by working backwards through the line to get my bags, then drag my bags past people who are waiting in line, to get them back up to the counter. Can we have this just a little bit organized, please?
Then we stepped over and waited in another long line for security, mainly owing to the fact they have entirely too few lanes. I mean it isn't they had lanes closed; they don't have enough lanes to begin with. After clearing security the rest of the airport was laid out pretty straightforward. Of course, as luck would have it we would have the furthest gate from the entrance. While waiting we signed some group gifts we were taking back as a group. Soon it was time to board the flight for the trip back home. It seemed Rhonda, Mom and I got the same row, so we played musical airline seats so that Rhonda and Mom could sit together. The in flight movie on the way back was Firewall, and then I watched Hidalgo on the laptop. Other than that it was an uneventful flight, the best kind really. Yes, we got the same snack packs we got on the way out.
When we retuned to Cincinnati, we went to claim our bags and then met up with my aunt and uncle who drove us back home. We did stop at Max and Erma's for dinner on the way home, and then we spent some time at home showing off souvenirs and telling stories. Mom then decided to go ahead and just relax at home, and I went with aunt and uncle to a local riverboat casino for the evening. All I will say is after the casino, I had about the same amount of pocket cash in my wallet as I had at the start of the trip, and I didn't use ATM or credit cards on the trip.
And so ends, a wonderful trip to California, thanks for reading!