San Francisco Bay Area, Revisiting Our Wedding

Posted on by

This weekend was all about revisiting our Orthodox church history and wedding. Rich converted in 1995, I converted in 1996, and we were married in the church soon after that.

First, we drove by the Greek Orthodox Church in San Jose where we got our crowns for our wedding. There was a wedding taking place so we just drove by and then moved on to Cupertino, which is where our church was located when we were married. We were disappointed at the news that the church had moved because we held our wedding location in such high esteem. We needed to see what it looked like now.

After getting a look at it, we realized the grounds and church buildings were just grounds and buildings and the real joy of it all was the church itself – the people that make up the church. We will always cherish our memories of our beautiful wedding there.

The property is now a Buddhist Temple.

StStephenCupertinoConversion and Wedding Memories at Old Church

Then we drove by the new location of the church in Campbell and were far more impressed than we were when we’d driven by it the first time.

By this time, we were hungry and ready to sit down, order lunch, have a drink and talk about everything we’d seen. Much to our delight, there’s an Elephant Bar in Campbell, a place we’d frequented in Henderson when we lived in Las Vegas. There are many locations now.

The dark bar beckoned us – like we were in a Vegas casino – and so we asked to be seated there. The cocktail menu looked delicious and Rich ordered a Mai Tai and I ordered a Habanero Margarita (last seen at Disneyland). This one may be ever more delicious than at Disney – had more of a kick. But my theory is – “the taller the glass, the bigger the kick.”

EBcocktails

For lunch, Rich ordered the Korean pork ribs and I ordered the Korean tacos. Both were quite yummy.

EBribs

koreantacos

Excited by our adventures, we drove back to church for Vespers that evening. And we were greeted with such warmth and love. We chatted with Father Patrick, the priest who married us (we were his first wedding), hugged us both and looked so excited to see us (he wasn’t totally surprised to see us because we had called him a few weeks ago). It was awesome!

The next day we drove back to church for Liturgy where we received more hugs and welcomes from old friends. Some we barely remembered but when they started talking about all that they remembered, it all came back to us. It was truly good to touch home again. But it was also a bit odd, as it always is when you go back home. And most of our closest friends are no longer in the area.

Tourist or Local: Visiting Our Happy Place

Posted on by

IF

The next best thing to actually visiting the “Happy Place” – whether Disneyland Resort or Walt Disney World – is rereading or browsing our trip reports. I was just organizing them in reverse chronological order and I felt such joy while doing it.

The other favorite thing to do is to read favorite blogs. And when I popped into “The Relocated Tourist” I found this post – “Does Living Near WDW Ruin the Magic?” As somebody who has lived there, I found the post to be especially interesting.

As a recap:

  • I grew up living near Disneyland (first 8 miles and then 5 miles from Disneyland)
  • We lived 2 miles from Cinderella Castle at Disney World
  • We visited Disneyland and WDW as tourists while living in the San Francisco Bay Area
  • We visited Disneyland and WDW as tourists while living in Las Vegas -
    4 hours by car/4 hours by plane

Our opinion is that, no, living near WDW doesn’t ruin the magic – it changes what’s magical about it. We got to do things that an average tourist doesn’t get to do. What started to ruin it for me was working for Team Disney. Once I realized that, I chose not to work there. But the experience of living there varies, depending on you who are and where you’re from.

For example, there are far more Midwesterners than West Coasters who move to Orlando. But their challenges are different. A Midwesterner may miss the small town feeling or family or traditional holidays or football teams even. And while those from the north enjoy not shoveling snow, this outdoor living thing may be too foreign for them.

disney_pencilsA Californian, on the other hand, usually has no problem with the outdoor lifestyle in Florida – they’re used to that. But they may find the humidity, bugs, t-storms, and hurricanes more of a challenge. They miss the diversity of mountains, desert, wine country, and cool ocean breezes. Or they may find it’s just too far from home. One HR person said, “West Coasters don’t stay.”

I also need to mention that a NorCal’s experience of Disneyland differs from that of a SoCal’s. But we all feel very free to praise it and critique it at the same time. There are entire web sites devoted to just that. :)

I’ve also noticed that WDW regulars (not from the west coast) tend to treat WDW with kid gloves and only want to focus on the happy things at the Happy Place. Yes, it’s a big financial investment and you want it to be the best it can be, but my friends and I will sit around, sip some wine, and talk about what we liked and what we didn’t like about it. This is just another cultural difference I have found having moved from coast to coast – north, east, south, and west – more than once.

So what’s our favorite way to do Disney? Actually, the best overall experience for us was when we lived in Las Vegas and visited both Disneyland and Disney World. It was a great strategic location. As we would say, “Disneyland is 4 hours by car and WDW 4 hours by plane.” We had the Premier Annual Pass that gave us access to both parks.

goofyhatAs an adult, I prefer being a tourist over living locally. Both Disney World and Disneyland today are designed for that experience. As a kid, well, those were truly magical memories, visiting Disneyland often, feeling like I was the most special kid in the world when I brought my big, multi-colored Disney pencil with the big Goofy eraser head to school, and hearing the fireworks go off every night at 9 p.m. while playing baseball on our cul-de-sac with the neighbor kids and dads.

Desperate Housewife

Posted on by

I saw this on the Disney Food Blog and I couldn’t resist posting.

Diva Pot Holders

This new kitchen series features a potholder/dishtowel combination. The Tink version says “Domestic Diva,” the Cinderella version says, “I don’t do dishes,” and the Minnie version says, “Desperate Housewife.” Hmmmmm.

diva_potholders

Minnie’s my girl and I’m feeling a bit like a “desperate housewife” these days – lol!

After living in our own home with rambunctious Burmese kitties who have enjoyed and needed all of that space for the past 13 years, we’re all having a hard time living in a 2-bedroom apartment.

The funny thing is, coming in from our spacious Vegas house, we used to find the Grand Californian a bit claustrophobic. Something about that Craftsman-style – we didn’t have the problem at the DL Hotel with its large panoramic windows – but at the GC, I always woke up during the night, feeling confined. But now, after living in this apartment, I had no problem at the GC this last time. So there’s some good news! :)

Souvenirs from Cars Land

Posted on by

While the sweatshirt didn’t quite work out for us, there are other Cars Land souvenirs to be had. For example, the Cars Land CD. Music is a big part of the new Cars Land – who knew checking into the Cozy Cone Motel meant Spinout?? Find out more about the Cars Land CD on Disney Musings. I think we must have this.

carscd1

The Cozy Cone Motel really hit home for us – it was done so well. We are now calling our “California Corporate Apartment” the “Cozy Cone.” Gotta make apartment living more fun, somehow.

First we looked for some kind of Cozy Cone Motel neon sign to hang in our bedroom, but no such luck. But we did find Cars Land coasters, which we ordered on the Disney Store web site and they are speeding their way to us. Not quite as good as the Cozy Cone, but they will do.

coasters

But we’ll continue the hunt for something Cozy Cone Motel specific – something other than the “cone hat.” lol! We did find a few things on Ebay while searching, but we are not fans of Ebay. Will this change our mind?

cozyconecar

First Trip Back to the GC: Final, Final Thoughts

Posted on by

One of the biggest disappointments for us was Carthay Circle. Maybe “disappointment” is too strong of a word. I really hope that nothing we write here is taken too seriously. :)

But, as big Andrew Sutton fans, we were looking forward to tasting the menu and soaking up the atmosphere. From what we’d read about it online, we were quite enticed. We imagined the experience might be similar to Yak & Yeti at Animal Kingdom at WDW with separate floors for the lounge and restaurant. You can read about that experience here.

As others have pointed out, placing a restaurant inside the park is a big risk – a person must have a ticket to eat there. It didn’t work for Wolfgang Puck so will it work for Carthay Circle? As Rich pointed out, how would most people even know it’s a restaurant? It looks like a theater – not a restaurant and it doesn’t say restaurant anywhere.

And, as we mentioned earlier, the lounge had absolutely zero atmosphere, as it was on the ground floor just inside the door from the hub of DCA where really loud parades and shows occur. The upstairs may have better atmosphere, but, still, it’s located in a very noisy space. We would much rather eat at Napa Rose in the Grand Californian away from the hubbub, where we can relax and enjoy the food, atmosphere, and each other’s company.

We may try it on a future trip, but it didn’t work for us on this one.

CCMickey and friends outside Carthay Circle

So this brings us to our conclusion:

Disney’s goal seems seem to be to make Disneyland (Resort) more like Disney World and that means a loss of the local flavor throughout. The changes we saw affected all of the resort – from Downtown Disney to the hotels to ticketing for both parks. Unfortunately, DL doesn’t have the space and the resorts and the dining scale that WDW does. Therefore, the best experience for us, then, may be to embrace both DL and WDW for what they have to offer.

Even though there were some bumps along the way (who doesn’t have those?), it was a great trip overall and we’re looking forward to the Epic Birthday at the Disneyland Hotel trip.

First Trip Back to the GC: Final Thoughts

Posted on by

I almost forgot to post our “final thoughts” on our trip after returning home for about a week now. I shared a lot of our “in the moment” thoughts, but once we returned home, wrote the trip report, and thought about it some more, we might have a different perspective.

I really don’t want to overstate this but I do believe in telling it “like it is” as we experienced it – both the positive and the negative. And if you’re a longtime local, you probably know what I’m taking about.

The Negative

1. Crowds

We try to avoid Disney in the summer both at DL and WDW because the CM experience isn’t as good – they’re often overworked and overtired. But with the opening of Cars Land, DL feels like summer most of the year. From watching the status over the past year, I realize there are some down times but those are probably not when we go.

The best way (to us) to ride RS Racers (if you’re staying onsite) is to get a FP and return later in the day. But if you’re a day tripper, this really isn’t convenient and you’re kinda stuck waiting in a long line or riding the Single Rider line.

2. New Ticket Process for AP holders and regular ticket holders

It seemed like far more thought was given about how to get the photos on the regular tickets and not the AP tickets, although the solution is rather lame. Why not set up a photo line right where you purchase the ticket – not at the gate.

3. Local vs. Tourist

The addition of Cars Land to DCA seemed to have grabbed the attention of Disney lovers far and wide. This has changed the local experience not just because out-of-towners have arrived but because Disney seems to be catering to the out-of-towner and, therefore, sacrificing the local.

The cost of an AP soared and it seemed common knowledge that Disney wants to discourage locals. Carnation Plaza Gardens where locals danced to Big Bands going back to the Walt Disney himself was turned into a Princess Meet n Greet (there is supposed to be some accommodation for the dancers but it will not be the same).

Even World of Color appeals far more to tourists than to locals. The Food & Wine Festival, which was heavily attended by locals (from Las Vegas, we were considered quite the distant traveler – lol) and seems to have disappeared for good.

The Positive

Cars Land

For us, it was very exciting, both in architecture, atmosphere, dining, and attractions (actually, for us, this only applied to Radiator Springs Racers). This experience gave me such a WOW, I’m still flying high. I’m not sure that Epcot or Indy quite did this to me. :) And the locals I chatted with love it, too, and their answer is to jump in the Single Rider line when they want to ride RS Racers.

Our Conclusion

A lot of the above could be ironed out over time. We’re already planning a birthday trip back in July. I’m sure we’ll continue to go just because of the proximity. But we could also be persuaded to choose WDW over DL in the future.

First Trip Back to the GC: Day 4

Posted on by

Day 4, May, Breakfast at the Beach

So sad to see this report come to an and. But moving forward, I can then reflect on things I didn’t mention in this trip report – like some of our ice cream snacks. :)

We thought about our options this last morning – did we want to run over to Disneyland for breakfast just to touch it on this trip or keep it fresh for the birthday trip? We chose to save it. We had done everything we’d set out to do and it was a major relief because navigating Disneyland/DCA is becoming trickier and trickier. Besides, we were still on a high from Cars Land.

So we had coffee in our room, packed up, called the bell desk and valet and were soon on the road.

But instead of heading straight through L.A. (which we especially dislike on I-5), we chose to go back on 101 and, therefore, decided there was time to squeeze in a quick trip to the beach and while we’re at it, why not have breakfast at Norm’s, a local SoCal coffee shop chain as seen on Men of a Certain Age.

norms

We drove down Beach Blvd. and besides Harbor Blvd., this is probably the most nostalgic street for me. Highway 39 is the official name and I so recall fond memories at the Highway 39 Drive-in with my family. Beach Blvd. will take you straight to the beach and Norm’s is in Huntington Beach on the left side of the road.

Besides the truly local vibe – I swear I saw people in there who could have gone to school with me – they looked so Brian Wilson-like. lol! So I’m feeling my comfort zone right off-the-bat. And then there’s the food! Delicious and cheap! We’re still talking about the pancakes, made from a 1940s recipe. In fact, my mouth is watering right now.

3-best-pancakes-in-los-angeles-norms-restaurants

In fact, because it’s Mother’s Day, I’ll tell a little story about my Mother and SDad. They used to get up early and drive to the beach as the sun was coming up and have breakfast while we were home sleeping. I was probably babysitting age so I suppose it was okay but they never told us when they did this. I’m not sure that was cool! In fact, when we found out about it (don’t remember how – perhaps when we woke up and they weren’t there), we weren’t very happy about it. But, now that I’m an adult, the image of having breakfast at the beach at sunrise is quite appealing. :)

Anyway, after our scrumptious breakfast, we drove up and down PCH along Huntington Beach for a brief time, pulled into one of the parking areas, and watched the ocean. Ahhhhhh…. Here’s a picture of Rich at Huntington Beach with the pier and Ruby’s – another fun dining spot – on the pier.

RichHB

We pulled ourselves away and headed for 405 to connect with 101, which would take us all the way home. Ironically, 101 used  take longer than I-5 but we were home in exactly 6 hours, the same amount of time it took us on I-5. It helped that 405 has a car pool lane and driving through this part of the L.A. area is easier (to us) than on I-5. We’ll stick to this route in the future.