Lagoongirl
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Feb 21, 2005
Day Two
Characters:
Me- 41, Lucky Mom, Havent been to Disneyland in 12 years
Kylie, DD-5, 1st trip to Disneyland
Tuesday, September 13
Plan- San Diego Zoo, Beach
If you are only interested in a Disney trip report, please move ahead to day 5. The first part of our trip was spent in San Diego and I will report on our activities there.
Boy, am I glad I took notes. It has been an incredibly busy fall and I would have forgotten everything if not for my notes. Sorry for the long wait.
Today we were up at 7:00. Well, I got up. I let Kylie sleep while I got myself ready. I got her up at about 7:30 and gave her a bath. We had breakfast in the hotel at 8:00. By the way, the Hampton Inn breakfasts are just about the same all over the country scrambled eggs, biscuits & gravy, fruit, yogurt, cereal, and an assortment of breads, bagels and muffins. Its okay and its free, but I swear its the same all over the country!!! (The Hampton in Buena Park that we stayed at later on in our trip added a few more interesting things like ham and donuts).
We headed for the zoo at about 8:20. The freeway exit for the zoo came quicker than I thought and I was daydreaming so I missed it. I took the next exit and had to go into town a little bit to turn around. I turned around and came to a 4-way stop. A man started crossing the road in front of me. Suddenly he stopped right in front of my car, turned and just stared at me with an evil look in his eyes. He was standing about two feet in front of my car and he had on a jacket with his hands in his pockets. I tried to break eye contact by pretending that I was checking out something inside my car, but when I looked up again he was still there staring. I started worrying about what he had in his pockets (gun, knife?) and was starting to get really scared. I visualized him incapacitating me and realizing that would leave my little daughter vulnerable to some monster in a strange city. (I dont think the man could see her in the backseat.) I could just see him shooting me and then my sweet little girl would not only witness that violence, but have the potential to be all alone in a strange city with some madman who might hurt her. That was when the mother bear in me came out! We stared each other down and I thought to myself, If he doesnt move, Im running him over! I didnt care if they put me jail, at least I would know that my daughter wouldnt be with him. I quickly said a fast prayer asking for guidance if I should do that or not. Right when I ended my prayer the man turned around and walked across the street to a taxi cab that was at the stop sign opposite mine and did the exact same thing. I think I was in shock because I found myself sitting there watching. Suddenly I came to myself and I said, What are you sitting around here for? I took off as fast as I could! I dont know what happened (probably nothing), but all I could think about was getting my little girl out of there!!!
We got to the zoo at about 8:50 a.m. I was still shaken. My daughter could tell because she asked me what the matter was. I dont think she could see the man from the back seat so she was probably oblivious to the whole incident.
The zoo opened the gates 10 minutes late which was annoying. I bought my CityPass there ($312). We bought the upgrade so that we could take the ZooBus. The upgrade included a 40 minute bus tour so we headed over to the bus stop to do the tour first so we could orient ourselves to the layout of the park. The tour was great and I would highly recommend it. I would also recommend that you do it first thing in the morning when the animals are most active. It was really nice to be able to sit and see the animals. The bus is able to get pretty close to the exhibits.
We visited the Childrens Zoo and Kylie got to pet the goats and we rode the SkyFari. The pathways at the zoo are pretty steep and hilly so the bus and the SkyFari are great ways to get around if the lines arent too long. Next, we went to the Polar Bear Exhibit which was fabulous. Go here in the morning because the bears were very, very active and entertaining. We went again later in the afternoon and they were just sitting there. They even interacted somewhat with the people. I had Kylie approach the glass and turn around so I could get a picture and a bear came up and literally looked like he was going to grab her. Everyone in the exhibit started laughing. Kylie turned right as the bear was clawing at her and it terrified her. Then she realized why everyone was laughing and she was embarrassed on top of that. She started crying and ran to me. She didnt think the exhibit was that cool, but her mom did!!!
We got a snack. It was probably about 11 by now. I spent $12 on an ice cream and a drink. Kylie wanted the souvenir cup drink and without even looking at what it cost I got it and when they told me $12 I about had a heart attack. It was refillable not that that made me feel better.
We hopped on the express bus and got off at the Pandas. They were not extremely active but it was cool to see them. I bought Kylie an umbrella with Pandas on it at a gift shop. She has an umbrella fetish. She just loves them. We then went to the 12 oclock show at Hunte Theatre. It featured cats and birds. It was pretty entertaining and the umbrella came in handy as it is an open theatre with no shade.
We had to leave our stroller at the SkyFari ride so we took the escalator back up to the SkyFari and rode it down to pick up our stroller. By the way, instead of renting a stroller at each park I just check our $20 umbrella stroller on the plane. That stroller has been all over Orlando and now California too. Plus its easier to recognize it in the stroller parking areas.
We went to the monkey trails. It is a really confusing maze of pathways. It was really hard to tell where to go. I was trying to make my way up to the Treehouse Café and I wasnt sure we were ever going to get there. We saw lots of monkeys and gorillas along the way. We finally made it. It was probably about 1:30 or 2:00. Kylie had a turkey sandwich kids meal and I had a Southwest Chicken Salad ($14.22). We refilled our souvenir cup (had to get my moneys worth). The food wasnt great, but it wasnt horrible either. Kylie got a souvenir bucket with her lunch and the handle fit perfectly over the stroller handle so we used it to hold stuff.
After lunch we went to the hippo exhibit. The hippo was very active!!! He was playing with a ball and moving and jumping all over the exhibit. We spent a long while there because he was just so fascinating to watch. The hippo at Salt Lakes zoo just sits there. I told my husband about it and he joked that they must put something in the animals food at San Diego Zoo.
I tried to find my way out of the maze that they call the monkey trails and get to bus stop #2. For the life of me I could not find the bus stop so I had to trek it up a steep incline to #3. It was quite a work out!!! When I was trying to fold the stroller to get on the bus, that souvenir drink fell and broke. The bus driver told us we could get another one and I told her I was actually looking for an excuse to get rid of it. Most expensive rootbeer Ive ever had. We got off at stop #1 and walked to Wegeforth Theatre to see the 3 oclock Sea Lion show. We stopped and saw the kangaroos and the koalas on the way. Koalas are so cute!!! The sea lion show was cute, but it doesnt measure up to Sea World. Its not a waste of time though. After the show we went through the reptile area.
When we left the zoo at about 4:00 and I was putting the stroller in the trunk I noticed some damage to the car. Part of the rear bumpers paint was off and it was scuffed up. I didnt remember if that had been there when I got the car or not. Oh great, I thought, now Ive got damage to the car that I cant account for.
Our plan was to go to Mission Beach again after a short stop at our hotel and I looked at the map and it looked like you could get onto Harbor Drive before crossing the bay to Coronado. When I got there, though, you could not turn off of the road and it went directly to the Coronado Bay Bridge. Oh well, I guess were going to Coronado. Kylie fell asleep in the back seat and I drove past Hotel del Coronado and followed the road south for about 5 miles and ended up at Silver Strand Beach. Kylie was still asleep and I decided to let her sleep and I got out and just watched the waves for about 10 minutes. I love just watching the ocean!
I found my way back and got off the freeway at the airport exit in hopes of finding Seaport Village. It is really hard to navigate when all you have for help is a 5 year old. I would look at a map when I was stopped and try to memorize how to get there, but most of the time it was luck. I did manage to find Seaport Village, but before I did, we drove by the pier and watched a cruise ship leaving. Ive never been on a cruise and never seen a cruise ship up close. It was huge!!!
We did some shopping and ate dinner at Seaport Village. I bought Kylie a mermaid doll and a t-shirt ($30.11) and myself a t-shirt and a sweatshirt ($64.65). I had clam chowder in a bread bowl and Kylie wasnt hungry so she just had a cookie ($5.33).
We went back to the hotel and none of our keys worked. We had three now. It turns out when I asked for new keys the night before it canceled out the old ones and for some reason the new one stopped working. So we went back to the front desk to get yet another key. We made a quick call home to tell about my harrowing experience with glare man and hit the sheets at about 9:00.
Highlights: The Polar Bears, the hippo, the Zoo Bus
Downers: Scary glare man, trying to navigate and drive at the same time
Characters:
Me- 41, Lucky Mom, Havent been to Disneyland in 12 years
Kylie, DD-5, 1st trip to Disneyland
Tuesday, September 13
Plan- San Diego Zoo, Beach
If you are only interested in a Disney trip report, please move ahead to day 5. The first part of our trip was spent in San Diego and I will report on our activities there.
Boy, am I glad I took notes. It has been an incredibly busy fall and I would have forgotten everything if not for my notes. Sorry for the long wait.
Today we were up at 7:00. Well, I got up. I let Kylie sleep while I got myself ready. I got her up at about 7:30 and gave her a bath. We had breakfast in the hotel at 8:00. By the way, the Hampton Inn breakfasts are just about the same all over the country scrambled eggs, biscuits & gravy, fruit, yogurt, cereal, and an assortment of breads, bagels and muffins. Its okay and its free, but I swear its the same all over the country!!! (The Hampton in Buena Park that we stayed at later on in our trip added a few more interesting things like ham and donuts).
We headed for the zoo at about 8:20. The freeway exit for the zoo came quicker than I thought and I was daydreaming so I missed it. I took the next exit and had to go into town a little bit to turn around. I turned around and came to a 4-way stop. A man started crossing the road in front of me. Suddenly he stopped right in front of my car, turned and just stared at me with an evil look in his eyes. He was standing about two feet in front of my car and he had on a jacket with his hands in his pockets. I tried to break eye contact by pretending that I was checking out something inside my car, but when I looked up again he was still there staring. I started worrying about what he had in his pockets (gun, knife?) and was starting to get really scared. I visualized him incapacitating me and realizing that would leave my little daughter vulnerable to some monster in a strange city. (I dont think the man could see her in the backseat.) I could just see him shooting me and then my sweet little girl would not only witness that violence, but have the potential to be all alone in a strange city with some madman who might hurt her. That was when the mother bear in me came out! We stared each other down and I thought to myself, If he doesnt move, Im running him over! I didnt care if they put me jail, at least I would know that my daughter wouldnt be with him. I quickly said a fast prayer asking for guidance if I should do that or not. Right when I ended my prayer the man turned around and walked across the street to a taxi cab that was at the stop sign opposite mine and did the exact same thing. I think I was in shock because I found myself sitting there watching. Suddenly I came to myself and I said, What are you sitting around here for? I took off as fast as I could! I dont know what happened (probably nothing), but all I could think about was getting my little girl out of there!!!
We got to the zoo at about 8:50 a.m. I was still shaken. My daughter could tell because she asked me what the matter was. I dont think she could see the man from the back seat so she was probably oblivious to the whole incident.
The zoo opened the gates 10 minutes late which was annoying. I bought my CityPass there ($312). We bought the upgrade so that we could take the ZooBus. The upgrade included a 40 minute bus tour so we headed over to the bus stop to do the tour first so we could orient ourselves to the layout of the park. The tour was great and I would highly recommend it. I would also recommend that you do it first thing in the morning when the animals are most active. It was really nice to be able to sit and see the animals. The bus is able to get pretty close to the exhibits.
We visited the Childrens Zoo and Kylie got to pet the goats and we rode the SkyFari. The pathways at the zoo are pretty steep and hilly so the bus and the SkyFari are great ways to get around if the lines arent too long. Next, we went to the Polar Bear Exhibit which was fabulous. Go here in the morning because the bears were very, very active and entertaining. We went again later in the afternoon and they were just sitting there. They even interacted somewhat with the people. I had Kylie approach the glass and turn around so I could get a picture and a bear came up and literally looked like he was going to grab her. Everyone in the exhibit started laughing. Kylie turned right as the bear was clawing at her and it terrified her. Then she realized why everyone was laughing and she was embarrassed on top of that. She started crying and ran to me. She didnt think the exhibit was that cool, but her mom did!!!
We got a snack. It was probably about 11 by now. I spent $12 on an ice cream and a drink. Kylie wanted the souvenir cup drink and without even looking at what it cost I got it and when they told me $12 I about had a heart attack. It was refillable not that that made me feel better.
We hopped on the express bus and got off at the Pandas. They were not extremely active but it was cool to see them. I bought Kylie an umbrella with Pandas on it at a gift shop. She has an umbrella fetish. She just loves them. We then went to the 12 oclock show at Hunte Theatre. It featured cats and birds. It was pretty entertaining and the umbrella came in handy as it is an open theatre with no shade.
We had to leave our stroller at the SkyFari ride so we took the escalator back up to the SkyFari and rode it down to pick up our stroller. By the way, instead of renting a stroller at each park I just check our $20 umbrella stroller on the plane. That stroller has been all over Orlando and now California too. Plus its easier to recognize it in the stroller parking areas.
We went to the monkey trails. It is a really confusing maze of pathways. It was really hard to tell where to go. I was trying to make my way up to the Treehouse Café and I wasnt sure we were ever going to get there. We saw lots of monkeys and gorillas along the way. We finally made it. It was probably about 1:30 or 2:00. Kylie had a turkey sandwich kids meal and I had a Southwest Chicken Salad ($14.22). We refilled our souvenir cup (had to get my moneys worth). The food wasnt great, but it wasnt horrible either. Kylie got a souvenir bucket with her lunch and the handle fit perfectly over the stroller handle so we used it to hold stuff.
After lunch we went to the hippo exhibit. The hippo was very active!!! He was playing with a ball and moving and jumping all over the exhibit. We spent a long while there because he was just so fascinating to watch. The hippo at Salt Lakes zoo just sits there. I told my husband about it and he joked that they must put something in the animals food at San Diego Zoo.
I tried to find my way out of the maze that they call the monkey trails and get to bus stop #2. For the life of me I could not find the bus stop so I had to trek it up a steep incline to #3. It was quite a work out!!! When I was trying to fold the stroller to get on the bus, that souvenir drink fell and broke. The bus driver told us we could get another one and I told her I was actually looking for an excuse to get rid of it. Most expensive rootbeer Ive ever had. We got off at stop #1 and walked to Wegeforth Theatre to see the 3 oclock Sea Lion show. We stopped and saw the kangaroos and the koalas on the way. Koalas are so cute!!! The sea lion show was cute, but it doesnt measure up to Sea World. Its not a waste of time though. After the show we went through the reptile area.
When we left the zoo at about 4:00 and I was putting the stroller in the trunk I noticed some damage to the car. Part of the rear bumpers paint was off and it was scuffed up. I didnt remember if that had been there when I got the car or not. Oh great, I thought, now Ive got damage to the car that I cant account for.
Our plan was to go to Mission Beach again after a short stop at our hotel and I looked at the map and it looked like you could get onto Harbor Drive before crossing the bay to Coronado. When I got there, though, you could not turn off of the road and it went directly to the Coronado Bay Bridge. Oh well, I guess were going to Coronado. Kylie fell asleep in the back seat and I drove past Hotel del Coronado and followed the road south for about 5 miles and ended up at Silver Strand Beach. Kylie was still asleep and I decided to let her sleep and I got out and just watched the waves for about 10 minutes. I love just watching the ocean!
I found my way back and got off the freeway at the airport exit in hopes of finding Seaport Village. It is really hard to navigate when all you have for help is a 5 year old. I would look at a map when I was stopped and try to memorize how to get there, but most of the time it was luck. I did manage to find Seaport Village, but before I did, we drove by the pier and watched a cruise ship leaving. Ive never been on a cruise and never seen a cruise ship up close. It was huge!!!
We did some shopping and ate dinner at Seaport Village. I bought Kylie a mermaid doll and a t-shirt ($30.11) and myself a t-shirt and a sweatshirt ($64.65). I had clam chowder in a bread bowl and Kylie wasnt hungry so she just had a cookie ($5.33).
We went back to the hotel and none of our keys worked. We had three now. It turns out when I asked for new keys the night before it canceled out the old ones and for some reason the new one stopped working. So we went back to the front desk to get yet another key. We made a quick call home to tell about my harrowing experience with glare man and hit the sheets at about 9:00.
Highlights: The Polar Bears, the hippo, the Zoo Bus
Downers: Scary glare man, trying to navigate and drive at the same time
