The Widow, the Spinster, and the Missus take on Disneyland - A little OT Interlude in Napa 4/14

[jedijill]

Some folks just love their veggies

Yup, I think she's read a lot

Me neither, I just knew we had to see it aka a great excuse for a trip

it absolutely did! I loved the sets, dancing, and of course great singing

So great!

Ahh so Jill is ketchup and you are mustard?


Was it any good? Or just too sweet?

#TeamKetchup

It was very good but much larger than I expected and sweet. The hotel had also given me 3 normal sized orange macarons so we were in sugar overload!

Jill in CO

 

[franandaj]

Some folks just love their veggies

Yes she does!

Yup, I think she's read a lot

Seems like it.

Me neither, I just knew we had to see it aka a great excuse for a trip

A new flavor of Dole Whip is a good excuse for a trip too! Heck any excuse is a good one!

it absolutely did! I loved the sets, dancing, and of course great singing

It was a great show. I wish they would have extended it.

Ahh so Jill is ketchup and you are mustard?

Was it any good? Or just too sweet?

It was good! I just could not have eaten a wholeone!

 

[franandaj]

Wow! Your big trip is coming up fast. That’s so exciting.

I know! It's a month from today!

I love your possible name “drinks like fishes”.

Thanks!

We had a basement full of old computers, printers and game systems until we needed to have work done to the foundation. DH had kept everything since computers began. It was his museum. We are now down to his first one, first game system and a couple of printers.

Yeah, and I just found a whole bunch more dead printers in a storage garage, plus I know where a bunch more are in actual storage, but they're buried so deep, I can't get to them without serious unpacking.

 

[franandaj]

That's about where I am with most of the shows/parades.

Some are better than others.....

Try these untested drugs! What could go wrong?

Is he in like 2 minutes of it?

Actually he had a fair amount of time on stage. And a speaking role. Unlike the other Avengers who just danced.

Would you have told us if you had?

 

[justafigment27]

I’d have the same scary thoughts if I accidentally drove into Mexico! I have zero experience crossing the border and watch too much TV.

How did you like the Westin? My DH has a conference at the Anaheim convention center and I’m tagging along … we’re coming in a day early and spending the first night at the GCH and then heading to the Westin.

I got all excited about Rogers: The Musical before I realized it was a limited run production and is already gone. LOL. I have some SERIOUS brushing up to do … our last trip to DLR was in July 2017 and I never thought I’d be back, so I haven’t really paid attention to DLR happenings.

 

[franandaj]

I love ham, so I'd be quite happy to eat it often.

Of course, if I did that, then I'd probably get sick of it and not want to eat it.

I've actually had that happen, just not with ham.

I've made quite a few hams in the past however many months, two since the end of July and I'm sure I made one for Fran in the past year if not two. I'm borderline on had enough.

Ah well, still haven't seen them. I did see the latest Indy movie though, so there's that.

Jill and I saw that one opening day. They are worth seeing. I was glad I understood all the Ken jokes that were going on.

I understand. I get that way after 10-12 hours.

It only takes 4-5 for me.

Well, I posted 4 separate pictures of him, so... technically... I posted Rogers.

Ah. Like that kind of interaction.

Free is good.

If it's free it's for me! To quote @Captain_Oblivious

 

[franandaj]

#TeamKetchup

Love this!

It was very good but much larger than I expected and sweet. The hotel had also given me 3 normal sized orange macarons so we were in sugar overload!

Yeah, can only handle so much sugar.

 

[franandaj]

I’d have the same scary thoughts if I accidentally drove into Mexico! I have zero experience crossing the border and watch too much TV.

Exactly!

How did you like the Westin? My DH has a conference at the Anaheim convention center and I’m tagging along … we’re coming in a day early and spending the first night at the GCH and then heading to the Westin.

The Westin was rather luxurious. I enjoyed it a bit, especially the Breakfast buffet if it is included in your rate.

When are you heading to So Cal?

I got all excited about Rogers: The Musical before I realized it was a limited run production and is already gone. LOL. I have some SERIOUS brushing up to do … our last trip to DLR was in July 2017 and I never thought I’d be back, so I haven’t really paid attention to DLR happenings.

I'm sad that it didn't run longer. I wanted to see it a second time, but it went down that day, and I never made it back before it closed.

A lot has changed since 2017

Galaxy's Edge
Avengers Campus
Redo of Toon Town
Tiana's Palace....

 

[franandaj]

While Jill and I were chilling in the room, I got a text from my friend Bob, the Club 33 member. He had seen my post on Instagram about having driven over 450 miles in the last day or two, and asked if we would like to join him at the Club. I said we were with some other folks, and he said go ahead and bring them too!

Heck ya! Jill texted Anita and Marc and they said that they would meet us there within about half an hour. Pretty soon we were sipping on some tasty cocktails.

And perusing the menus.

Now we were in the Members-only private lounge. The menu above is only available in the lounge. This is the menu for the main dining room, and when in the lounge you are able to order single courses off the menu from the main dining room, as long as it is open. The dining room closes from 2-5PM between lunch and dinner. It is also closed Mondays and Tuesdays.

I don’t know what everyone else ordered, but I took advantage of the dining room menu. This was the Heirloom Tomato Burrata, Basil Pesto, Pine Nuts.

Here’s a better picture.

I also ordered from the first course menu The Catch of the Day, Leek, Potatoes in a Light Broth. I could have ordered the Sustainable fish from the Entree Menu, but this sized portion was just perfect with the tomato salad.

Because then I had room to split this with Jill….Lemon Olive Oil Cake, Cream Cheese Chantilly, Citrus Marinated Berries.

Afterwards I had this refreshing drink called Elysian Fields.

And then capped off the evening with a Club 33 coffee. There is a delightful blend of liqueurs in this, don’t ask me what they are!

While we were enjoying dinner with Bob, he invited us to join him for the fireworks in a VIP viewing location. The friends he had invited to join him flaked out so he had some extra space! We were happy to join in. He told us where and when to meet him and we took off to ride the Haunted Mansion. I’m so glad that we did because in two weeks it was closed down for the switch to Haunted Mansion Holiday which I am so over by now.

I think this is so far the best I’ve been able to do on the Hatbox ghost. He is a tough one to get.

After that we headed over the to castle to wait for the fireworks.

And then the evening was over. Well not quite. There was still about $25 left on that food and beverage credit. I got a Martini to go and took it back to the room, where Jill and I got ready for a good night’s sleep.

Both of us woke up a little earlier on Saturday morning, especially me since the day before was a lot more relaxing than the one where I drove nearly 400 miles! We went down to breakfast in the hotel again. Believe it or not, they were out of Bacon!

I dawdled over my last plate and coffee, and they did finally get some bacon, so I grabbed two pieces one for me and one for Jill, but I didn’t get a picture.

Then it was time to do some “business”. We grabbed my bags and went to my car, it was time for me to go home. We dropped off my bags at the house, and switched cars, instead of driving the Escapé, we needed the van for the next task. We headed up to the local Lowe’s and discovered that they did not have the desired item.

I needed a security door for my property on 1st street. This is the nicest one, the 3 bedroom, 2 bath, a block from the ocean. There’s a little room in the backyard that has glass doors on two sides, and solid walls on the other two. The entrance is through a screened security door. The one that was on there, was missing the bottom part and the screen was all mangled at the bottom. Not something great for an expensive property.

Luckily we have two Lowe’s in Long Beach, and the other one had plenty of doors in stock. Why did Jill and I have to do this? Because she gets a 10% military discount and offered that if I had any “large ticket” purchases, she’d come along and save me some $’s. Anything helps! She used one of the gift cards my mom had called in the balances, from the many Fran left laying around the house. And soon we were on our way.

A few more stops. We had to pick up the Escapé, and Jill was going to drive it. We drove to the vacant property, and she helped me put the door in the little room in the backyard. My gardener has been doing handyman tasks for me when he can (cause he’s a super nice guy). And he was going to install it the next weekend.

Then it was to the end of the parade route. The next day was the Long Beach Pride Parade and for many years, I’ve always parked one car at the end of the route so it’s easy to get home. In the past Fran would have been in the second car, but when I explained my dilemma, Jill volunteered. Yay!

We found a good spot, and I left the van for the following day, and we headed back to the other side of town. By this time it had been about 6 hours since breakfast, and we were feeling a bit peckish. Hole Mole is a great deal for a midday snack, this spread cost us right about $8-9.

Then it was back to my house to chill until it was time for our movie. We had talked about putting up some hooks in my pantry, but first we had to book flights for our trip to Orlando in April. We ended up with some fairly reasonable flights, I leave Long Beach at 9AM, arrive in Denver around noon. I’ll meet up with Jill then, and we have about an hour and a half before we board our flight to MCO. We arrive just before 8PM. Our plan is to rent a car, and stay off site the first night. In the morning we will get up, go grocery shopping and check into our Copper Creek Cabin!

Once we had the flights secured, we just chilled until it was time to take off for our movie, The Haunted Mansion. It had opened the week before, and we decided that it’s more fun to watch a movie with someone else, so we both waited to see it. We totally loved it, but I can see why some people might not have enjoyed it. If you’re not a Haunted Mansion geek, you missed so many of the jokes and other nods to the ride, on both coasts.

They worked in both Mansion exteriors into the movie and so many of the little features about the ride. It made sense plot wise as well. I would recommend it if you haven’t seen it yet.

After dinner, Jill wanted to try Shabu Shabu. She had visited a couple weeks earlier and because my normal Shabu Shabu place doesn’t know how to do business, we ended up at Korean Barbeque instead of Shabu Shabu, so this time we were determined to do it!

This place was new to me, it was in Anaheim, sort of near her hotel, and was pretty good.

It even came with a serving of ice cream after dinner. I got the green tea ice cream.

After dinner, I dropped Jill off at her hotel and I headed back home. Until our next adventure (which wasn't Disney).

I'll be back in a few with another installment and different characters.

 

[jedijill]

Bob is an awesome dude! Loved hanging with Anita and Marc too and the fireworks viewing was amazing!

The Westin is super nice! I get a deal through my Amex card that gets the food and beverage credit and free breakfast. Its a pretty good deal for as nice a property as it is and as close as it is.

I was glad to help out with the errands!

I ordered way too much food at Hole Mole but it was delicious! The movie was great! Shabu Shabu was good too. We ended up with a trend of cook your own dinner (foreshadowing!).

Jill in CO

 

[pkondz]

I've made quite a few hams in the past however many months, two since the end of July and I'm sure I made one for Fran in the past year if not two. I'm borderline on had enough.

Yeah, I can see that. Too much of a good thing.

While Jill and I were chilling in the room,

If you moved into a walk-in freezer, you could say you were rooming in the chill.



I think I'm over-tired.

I know which one is yours.

And perusing the menus.

I see quite a few items on those that look really good.

I don’t know what everyone else ordered, but I took advantage of the dining room menu. This was the Heirloom Tomato Burrata, Basil Pesto, Pine Nuts.

Exactly what I'd have ordered.

I also ordered from the first course menu The Catch of the Day

Ah! Didn't know you could order two items. In that case, that was my second choice too.

Because then I had room to split this with Jill….Lemon Olive Oil Cake,

mmmm... Although that plum tart sounded good.

There is a delightful blend of liqueurs in this, don’t ask me what they are!

So it had a lot of liqueurs in it.

in two weeks it was closed down for the switch to Haunted Mansion Holiday which I am so over by now.

Funny... Because that's one I'd love to see.

Nice shot.

I think this is so far the best I’ve been able to do on the Hatbox ghost. He is a tough one to get.

Another good shot!

When I dressed up as him last year, no one really knew who I was... until I went to the HM and the cast knew right away.

Uh, oh... think you picked up a hitch-hiker.

Both of us woke up a little earlier on Saturday morning, especially me since the day before was a lot more relaxing than the one where I drove nearly 400 miles

Yeah... driving takes it out of you, even though you're just "sitting", so to speak.

We went down to breakfast in the hotel again. Believe it or not, they were out of Bacon!

How is this possible?!?!?!

Then it was time to do some “business”.

I shall refrain from the toilet humour.


This time.

The one that was on there, was missing the bottom part and the screen was all mangled at the bottom.

How did that happen? Someone try to break in?

Why did Jill and I have to do this? Because she gets a 10% military discount and offered that if I had any “large ticket” purchases, she’d come along and save me some $’s. Anything helps!

Jill sounds like a good person to have around!

My gardener has been doing handyman tasks for me when he can (cause he’s a super nice guy).

Nice of him.

Then it was to the end of the parade route. The next day was the Long Beach Pride Parade and for many years, I’ve always parked one car at the end of the route so it’s easy to get home. In the past Fran would have been in the second car, but when I explained my dilemma, Jill volunteered. Yay!

Ohhhh... smart! And nice of Jill to help out.

She's really been a good friend for you!

Hole Mole is a great deal for a midday snack, this spread cost us right about $8-9.

What was that? Looked good.

Once we had the flights secured, we just chilled until it was time to take off for our movie, The Haunted Mansion. It had opened the week before, and we decided that it’s more fun to watch a movie with someone else, so we both waited to see it. We totally loved it, but I can see why some people might not have enjoyed it. If you’re not a Haunted Mansion geek, you missed so many of the jokes and other nods to the ride, on both coasts.

I missed it... and I really wanted to see it. I'm hoping to find it on Disney+ in the near future.

my normal Shabu Shabu place doesn’t know how to do business,

As in... they went out of business?

 

[DnA2010]

I got a text from my friend Bob, the Club 33 member. He had seen my post on Instagram about having driven over 450 miles in the last day or two, and asked if we would like to join him at the Club. I said we were with some other folks, and he said go ahead and bring them too!

Woohoo!!

This looks so delish!!

No souffle?!

Yummy yum yum!!

The friends he had invited to join him flaked out so he had some extra space!

Major score!!

There was still about $25 left on that food and beverage credit. I got a Martini to go and took it back to the room,

Atta girl!

Believe it or not, they were out of Bacon!

Such a great spread, glad they were able to complete the meal for you

Because she gets a 10% military discount and offered that if I had any “large ticket” purchases, she’d come along and save me some $’s.

Every dollar helps these days!!

I’ve always parked one car at the end of the route so it’s easy to get home

Well isn't that clever!

yum that looks sooo good! How reasonable too!

We totally loved it

We did too, we so wanted to go to it again in the theatre, but we barely made it the first time so knew that wouldn't actually happen

this looks like fun and yummy!

 

[rentayenta]

Looks like a FUN day was had by all at Club 33!

Love Hole Mole too! So so good.

 

[tiggrbaby]

You always get the best HM pics! And your firework pics were nice as well!

 

[mvf-m11c]

I would have liked to see the show a second time. I think we were both planning to see it the same day when it was canceled.

It was nice to see you again even if it was not Disney.

That is correct.

Same here.

That is great that you got to join up with Bob at Club 33 and the VIP spot for Wondrous Journeys fireworks. As always the food looks great.

That is great that Jill helped you out on your errands.

 

[franandaj]

Bob is an awesome dude! Loved hanging with Anita and Marc too and the fireworks viewing was amazing!

It was great hanging out with them all. Totally fun Disney day!

The Westin is super nice! I get a deal through my Amex card that gets the food and beverage credit and free breakfast. Its a pretty good deal for as nice a property as it is and as close as it is.

I really liked that hotel. The beds were comfy and the room was super spacious!

I was glad to help out with the errands!

Thanks! It helped out a bunch!

I ordered way too much food at Hole Mole but it was delicious! The movie was great! Shabu Shabu was good too. We ended up with a trend of cook your own dinner (foreshadowing!).

Yes, I believe our next meal together involved somewhat of a bit of cooking as well.

 

[franandaj]

If you moved into a walk-in freezer, you could say you were rooming in the chill.



I think I'm over-tired.

Yes you are.

I know which one is yours.

I see quite a few items on those that look really good.

Yes there were quite a few good things!

Exactly what I'd have ordered.

Ah! Didn't know you could order two items. In that case, that was my second choice too.

You could actually order from the entire menu and have the whole meal in the lounge if you wanted.

mmmm... Although that plum tart sounded good.

I think there was something on it I didn't like, but I'd have to go back and look and I'm too tired.

So it had a lot of liqueurs in it.

only two. But I only remember one. It's called 43.

Funny... Because that's one I'd love to see.

Yeah, well being a "classic mansion fan" I'm sad that half the year it's devoted to the HMH. I have to remember to go on it from February to August.

When I dressed up as him last year, no one really knew who I was... until I went to the HM and the cast knew right away.

As well they should!

Uh, oh... think you picked up a hitch-hiker.

That's kind of the point!

Yeah... driving takes it out of you, even though you're just "sitting", so to speak.

And holding the wheel when winds are trying to blow you off the road!

How is this possible?!?!?!

Evidently they underestimated their demand for bacon!

I shall refrain from the toilet humour.


This time.

Business is rarely related to the toilet!

How did that happen? Someone try to break in?

Oh no, just living near the ocean, things rust due to the humid air and such. The door probably had not been replaced since her parents lived there. They bought the place in 1985 and died in 2009. Who knows when it was last replaced. But it's done now.

Jill sounds like a good person to have around!

She is quite handy! Much more than me! I have to pay people to do things she can do!

Nice of him.

He is quite well rewarded and wants to keep his rewards!

Ohhhh... smart! And nice of Jill to help out.

She's really been a good friend for you!

Yes she has, and we are going on lots of fun trips, so I'm excited about all that!

What was that? Looked good.

That was Hole Mole tacos and pepitas (fries). I had a traditional Baja taco (fried whitefish with cabbage and a mayo based sauce, hold the cilantro), she has a beef taco, not the street version, but some other kind that was huge. In retrospect she decided that she should have ordered the street taco which is much smaller, and with the fries (that we split) would have been plenty.

I missed it... and I really wanted to see it. I'm hoping to find it on Disney+ in the near future.

I'm sure it will be there, it was really good!

As in... they went out of business?

No, at least not yet as I can tell. They just can't seem to have enough staff to serve their customers. I've been there twice now when they haven't been able to seat us because they don't have enough servers. The first time they couldn't even tell us how long we would have to wait, so Jim and I went to another place. Unfortunately the other place went out of business about 10 months after Jim and I found it.

Jill and I had gone there with Leonard after the garage sale only to find it closed, so we went back to the place where they couldn't give us a wait time, only to be told that we would have a 15 minute wait. When 20 minutes went by and the hostess still ignored us, Jill went to the Korean BBQ next door only to find that there was no wait, so we bailed on the Shabu Shabu for the Korean BBQ.

I have found another place to try before I go to Eqypt because I've given up on that other place. Besides it would be nice to find a place that doesn't have memories with Fran.

 

[pkondz]

You could actually order from the entire menu and have the whole meal in the lounge if you wanted.

Ohh... Understand, now.

only two. But I only remember one. It's called 43.

Interesting that you have all the numbers from 1-4 there. Just a thought.

Yeah, well being a "classic mansion fan" I'm sad that half the year it's devoted to the HMH. I have to remember to go on it from February to August.

Half the year??

Okay, yeah, that's too much of a good thing.

That's kind of the point!

And holding the wheel when winds are trying to blow you off the road!

try it in snow or ice.

Evidently they underestimated their demand for bacon!

One must never underestimate people's need for bacon.

Business is rarely related to the toilet!

I always do my business on the toilet.

Unless I'm somewhere where there aren't any then a bush will have to do I suppose.

Oh no, just living near the ocean, things rust due to the humid air and such. The door probably had not been replaced since her parents lived there. They bought the place in 1985 and died in 2009. Who knows when it was last replaced. But it's done now.

Ah. Get that.

Yes she has, and we are going on lots of fun trips, so I'm excited about all that!

Jill and I had gone there with Leonard after the garage sale only to find it closed, so we went back to the place where they couldn't give us a wait time, only to be told that we would have a 15 minute wait. When 20 minutes went by and the hostess still ignored us, Jill went to the Korean BBQ next door only to find that there was no wait, so we bailed on the Shabu Shabu for the Korean BBQ.

Good call on skipping it. I mean if they're ignoring you, then they don't need your business.

I have found another place to try before I go to Eqypt because I've given up on that other place. Besides it would be nice to find a place that doesn't have memories with Fran.

 

[cruisehopeful]

I can't believe I just found this! Only read the first 2 pages and will catch up later. Very excited for you. I definitely want to meet up with you at Disneyland sometime.

 

[franandaj]

Half the year??

Okay, yeah, that's too much of a good thing.

Yeah, it goes down in August and doesn't come back until the end of January, that's far too long for my taste.

try it in snow or ice.

No thank you!

One must never underestimate people's need for bacon.

I always do my business on the toilet.

Unless I'm somewhere where there aren't any then a bush will have to do I suppose.

That might be how you do yours. Business for me does not involve....well I wanted to insert a certain emoji, but they don't seem to have it here on the DIS!

Good call on skipping it. I mean if they're ignoring you, then they don't need your business.

Exactly. I'm going to be trying out a new Shabu Shabu place on Wednesday.