VoluntEARs Event!

So part of the college program, you are highly recommended to be a Disney VoluntEAR. They have a website where you sign up and pick events that you do on your own time. So Katie, Enjoli, and I decided to do the Heros with Hears dinner. It was a special dinner event that recognizes police, sheriffs, officers, firefighters and hospital personnel who went above the call of duty in 2010 to provide compassionate support to citizens in crisis. There was also a silent auction/fundraising dinner for TIP (Trauma Interventions Program).

We basically set up the 146 roses that you buy for $20 and you get the matching envelope or a gift basket that is on the rose. The envelopes contained random gift cards, and the baskets contained random gifts. Our first job was to cut and tie golden ribbons around each individual rose. Then Katie wrote numbers on tiny label strips and then stuck them around the roses; all 146 of them!

After that, Enjoli arranged the gift baskets and I began to take all of the guests name cards and stamp “Your table number is” on each nametag, and then Katie wrote the table numbers on the cards. There was an estimated 6 guests a table, 25 tables…

The nametags

Finally the guests began to arrive and Katie helped with handing out the nametags (which later I joined and it turned out to be rather stressful and annoying) and Enjoli handed out the roses after they had been bought.

The Heros recognized

Then we headed into the silent auction to tally up who won what and totaled out their winnings and finally went home. We ended up voluntEARing for 9.5 hours! It was fulfilling!

Sunset at Huntington Beach to close this chapter..

After the amazing tour of the Scorpion, we stopped by In-n-Out so Mack could enjoy his first time there-officially!



Mack getting ready to
enjoy In-n-Out



 Then we drove to Huntington beach to watch the sunset, and to find me that hoodie! We finally found a decent priced store and alas! I found an awesome hoodie with the Huntington Beach on it! And good timing of finding it too because when the sun goes down, the weather gets chilly! So after getting my hoodie, we headed towards the Huntington Beach pier (which has the Ruby’s Diner at the end).

Adam overlooking the beach
from the pier.

Look closely, and you can see the
baby sting rays.

It was amazing to see the waves come to the shore, and the surfers who ride them I would think they would be cold (they must be used to it though.) The seagulls were trying to get the fish towards the end of the pier (fisherman were fishing there) too. Adam and I took our time walking along the pier just to enjoy every last few moments together. My favorite thing to do is to look over the pier down at the ocean. So we did and guess what we saw?! Baby sting rays! They were so cute! It’s one thing to see them in the aquarium, but it’s another thing to see them in the wild! At first there was 3, then 6, then 9, and before we knew it we counted around 20 or so! It was so neat! 

We waited at the end of the pier to watch the sunset, and it was just amazing! Then we headed back down to walk under the pier (which is always fun), and then to take one final stroll along the beach.

 It was all so neat to experience and I never wanted it to end.

Thank you Adam, Ann and Mack for this uplifting experience that we all needed!

Tour of the Russian Scorpian

So Monday was their last official day here so we decided that we would tour the Russian Scorpion submarine.

Adam standing in front on the submarine

We got to see the lethal torpedo tubes (22 torpedoes maximum) and look through her actual attack periscope. It was the once top secret places and spaces of this formerly classified "terror of the deep". We were all marveled at the miles of wire and piping and the complex array of valves that make up the veins and arteries of a combat submarine. Seeing how life was on board this “Podvodnaya Lodka”(Russian for Submarine) was lived as she "drilled holes in the ocean" performing her assigned duties and top secret missions. It once held 12 officers, 10 midshipmen, 56 seamen and as one of the quietest submarines in the Soviet fleet. It is known that Foxtrot's (class of the submarine) were extensively used for surveillance of United States Navy Battle Groups as well as electronic surveillance of all types.

Us exploring the scorpion!

Actual Diving Suit

It was a self-guided tour and we learned so much along the way; too much for me to remember but you can access more information on:

http://www.russiansublongbeach.com/Scorpionhistory.html

To Long Beach and Beyond!

Long Beach

So after the AMAZING time we had at Goofy’s Kitchen, we decided to briefly check out Downtown Disney. The shops were neat and Adam posed with the big lego outside the Lego store. After looking around, we decided to head up towards Long beach (It’s the name) because the Naval ships are there and Adam loves the Navy. Of course it was cloudy that day too.

We first drove by the Queen Mary. The tour was too pricey for us, but next to the Queen Mary, was the Russian Scorpion submarine! It was one of the submarines used during the Cold War. We didn’t have time to tour it that day, but we decided we could tomorrow (Monday the 18^th).

 

Looking through the

glass front door



The view in the front
yard of the church



We kept driving around the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) and passed a glass church (really small). We stopped by it to take some photos. It was kind of up on a cliff and the landscape scenery around it was just amazing; especially to overlook the ocean.

Later that night, as were driving around, we could overlook the Long beach nightlife. Another great opportunity for photos it was! On our way back to the motel, we saw a raccoon (I’ve never seen one in the wild before)! Adam quickly jumped out and took some pictures of it for me, and then we headed to a great dinner at Bubba Gump’s; which was literally walking distance from our motel (that was my first time to Bubba Gump’s)!

Goofy's Kitchen for Breakfast!

After 3 days of a simple “breakfast” and the fact that Mack didn’t get to meet Goofy yet, we decided to surprise him by visiting Goofy at his Kitchen for breakfast at the Disneyland Hotel! When we first got there, Mack was completely surprised and excited too. We took a quick picture with Baloo (from Jungle Book), and then we got seated, got our drinks ordered, and headed for the all-you-can-eat buffet! There was so much to choose from Mickey-shaped waffles, fresh-to-order omelets, fruit, cereal (for the little ones), chicken sausage (yummy!) and the famous, “Goofy’s Peanut Butter and Jelly Pizza”! It was pure genius and simply delicious! And the food was always fresh, and it smelled so good!

After we all got our first plates, we headed back to the table and dug in! Then, (the best part of Character dining) some random characters came around the tables to visit and take pictures with us. Fist Baloo came back around and gave both Mack and Ann big bear hugs! Then Mulan came to visit me, and Goofy finally came over and Mack gave him a big hug and we told Goofy’s “that he’s been waiting all his life to meet you!” Goofy was excited to hear that and shook Mack’s hand. (You gotta love Goofy!)

By then, Mack was on his 3^rd? plate and Snow White came over to say hello too. Then Chip and Dale were walking around separately, but by the time they got to our table they were together just in time for pictures! I love Dale so of course I gave him a big hug!

We pretended that today was Mack’s birthday, and the waitress brought over a cupcake (and Button) and announced that it was his 21^st birthday! After Mack made a wish and blew out the candle, Goofy announced that we was going to make something special in the middle of the restaurant; so naturally, we all got up to see. Mack of course was most excited so he tried to get involved. After doing some mixing up of the ingredients, and dancing around, Goofy created a “Celebrate” cake!

Afterwards, we all went back to our table to finish eating (but Mack went to get another plate). Then, Pluto showed up for a quick picture and last but not least, Belle visited in her blue town dress for some quick pictures and we realized that we were full of goodness food and headed off to Downtown Disney to walk some food off.

Life's a Beach!

We got up semi-early on Friday to visit the beaches and yes it was cold out! We drove along the Pacific Coast Highway past Huntington Beach and stopped at Newport Beach. The Pacific Ocean was an amazing sight! Ann and I said we could sit here for hours watching the waves sway back and forth (she used to when she lived out here).

Adam and I tempted to play in the water for a bit, but it was just way too cold. We did see some helicopters and some rigs out on the ocean (grr!) and some surfers too.

Then we drove along some more briefly stopped to view the Laguna Beach area where they have these amazing cliffs; therefore the area is not intended for swimming. Shortly after this, I decided I wanted a “beach-themed” hoodie and the hunt was on! We tried all over the place looking and numerous shops (and I wanted one at a decent price too) and unfortunately was unsuccessful. So we decided to eat at Antonio’s Burgers. They were really good and the Onion Rings were AMAZING! Then we drove back to the hotel, exhausted to sleep for Saturday’s events at the Park (in previous post).

Two BUSY days at the park!

So Thursday and Saturday we have very fun filled days in the parks. Our first mission was to get fast pass tickets for the night viewing of World of Color in Disney California Adventure! It turned out to be a long line wait but it was SO exciting to see! We were all very impressed (Adam’s favorite scene was the Pirate’s fire of course!) After that we got some fast pass tickets for Soarin’ and walked around Hollywood backlots and Sunshine Plaza (which is currently being re-designed to how Walt and Roy saw California when they first moved here.) After we went on Soarin’ we ate lunch at Taste Pilot’s Grill.

Then we spent some time in the Animation Academy so they could get a closer look of how animation is created. And we also saw Muppet Vision 3D show (Ann loves Kermit). Then we headed back out towards Disneyland (snapped some quick photos on the way)!

So we begin our adventures in Disneyland! Adam and Mack wear their 1^st visit button, Ann wears her honorary citizen of Disneyland one and I wear my Minnie ears and my “I’m celebrating” button! We started off quick and randomly by “O this is town square!” and then we ended up being in Pirate’s Lair (Tom Sawyer island), which was really fun exploring!

 So how we got there was started off in Adventureland and did go on Pirate’s of the Caribbean ride on the way. We also walked through New Orleans’s square to show them “Club 33” door with a brief explanation of that. After that we ventured towards Pirate’s Lair, and then Mack wanted to see a band play at the Golden Horseshoe. Ann stayed with him and Adam and I went on the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad ride! We loved it! So we all 4 went on it again after the band finished.

Big Thunder Mtn Railroad

 

 Then we walked through Fantasyland to see it (which was busy) and we also walked through Tomorrowland. I had Ann try to identify all the herbs and plants they grew there and she pretty much got them all! Then before we knew it, it was getting dark and we took some quick pictures in front of the castle and we made our way to our standing view of World of Color! That was our first fun-filled day! (Oh after the show we went to Denny’s to have breakfast for dinner!)

 

On Saturday we spent another fun-filled day in the park! The weather was still cloudy, but luckily, it didn’t rain. Our first main goal was to get fast passes for Ghost Galaxy, but when we got there, the ride was down. So, we decided to head towards Haunted Mansion Holiday. We went on that ride, and headed over towards Adventure land again, and went on Indiana Jones and the Traditional Jungle Cruise. Then, I had a cast member call and see if Space Mountain was up (it was!), so week booked it to get those fast passes! We just made it!

Adam & Mack playing games
at Innoventions



 And then to take a breather, Adam and Mack headed for Innoventions-a futuristic look on life, while Ann and I headed to Captain EO tribute; a short film starring Michael Jackson!



Hangin out in the backseat of the Monorail!



Knowing the Monorail was nearby; we headed on it, and got the back seat to ourselves! It was fun to go on that! Afterwards, we quickly headed over to Disney California Adventure to see the Aladdin: musical spectacular! It was phenomenal! After the musical, we tempted to go on Tower of Terror and California Screamin’ but we just didn’t have the time unfortunately. So we headed back to Disneyland and went on Ghost Galaxy! It’s now Adam’s favorite ride!

Right about that time, it was time for the fireworks show, so of course Main Street was packed! Luckily, we found a great spot in front of the castle!

After the colorful show, we snapped some quick pictures in front of the castle (because no one was behind it), grabbed some hand-dipped corn dogs for dinner, and headed over to see Fantasmic!

After that fantastic show, we headed back to hotel for a great night’s sleep after a “run-around-day!”