Hello again!
Hope the plethora of pictures I'll be posting will be worth the wait! Ha!
My sister and I are from Oregon, so we headed off for PDX mid morning on Monday the 10th.
Luggage loaded into the back of the car! We are off to the airport! Look at that hideous suitcase though with the jungle animals on it. I'll tell you what though, you never get confused at baggage claim about which bag is yours.
Now, I have never been to gate A in the Portland airport, which must be where the smaller planes take off, because this gate was so tiny and compact, and there was nothing down there but a starbucks! Oh the humanity!
We actually borded the plane outside! Only time I've done that before was flying in a 4 seater Cessna aircraft!
Well! We made it to Long Beach, and I was hot, tired, and just wanted to get to the room, and so I didn't take any pictures until we were checked into the hotel and in our hallway...
Our magical, magical hallway!
We stayed at the Paradise Pier, and I really enjoyed it. Clean rooms, easy walking distance, and the perks are worth the extra money, in my opinion.
We were on the 10th floor, room 38
Had to take my own photo of the room. Standard PPH room, but with park view
The view from the room! We could hear people on California Screamin' even with the windows closed.
Once we had settled in and had a little break, we called my friend Lee, who lives in LA and had driven up to Downtown Disney to get dinner with us. Lee and I have been friends for 6 years, but we had actually never met before.... I know, I know. I'm an internet geek. Hopefully I didn't lose you with that revalation
Anyway, Lee and I met playing World of Warcraft, and have been good buddies ever since! So when he found out Steph and I were going to Disney, he took a day off work to come see us!
Anyway, I gave him a call, and he informed me that he had just bought an annual pass and was moving his car around, so he told us to meet him in the lobby of the Grand California.
A quick crossing of the street, and we were in the GCA lobby! I love that place. I'm from the Pacific Northwest, born and raised, so that place really feels homey to me.
Lee showed up after a few minutes, and we were on our way to find dinner. We settled rather quickly on Jazz Kitchen.
Feta, Chicken, and tomato flatbread. It was soooo good.
My sister, Stephanie, got a salad with grilled chicken on it.
Lee got shrimps!
After dinner we wandered DTD a bit more, stopping in shops. When we found ourselves in the DL plaza, Lee decided he would buy his girlfriend, Tiffany, an annual pass. Tiffany would be joining us later for drinks, so this would be a surprise for her.
Disney Store!
Love this. I'm a huge Star Wars nerd.
Love this, too, because I love dragons. But! I cannot place this little fella. Can anyone tell me who this is?!
Not a huge fan of legos, but even I appreciated this. Totally amazing.
At this point, we were just waiting for Tiffany (Lee's girlfriend) to show up, so we stopped at Trader Sam's at the DLH to grab a drink and wait for her.
I don't drink, so I just got a water, but Stephanie on the other hand....
She got a Tiki drink with a GLOWING ICE CUBE! How cool is THAT?
Tiffany finally arrived, and Lee casually brought out the new, shiny AP he had bought for her.
She was thrilled! What a lucky girl!!
Tiffany needed to get some food, so we left Trader Sam's and headed down to Tortilla Joe's so she could get something to eat.
After dinner, it was nearly 10pm and we had been wandering around since at least 4, and we were ready to call it a night. We said goodbye to our friends and headed back to the room so we could be rested for our first day in the park!
Look at that view!! I found myself looking out the window every chance I got!
More trip report to come, stay tuned
I also still love my Disney movies, so Disney is always a great vacation spot in my mind!
Love your pics cant wait to read more!
