Where the streets have Big Names!

Universal Studios is basically an amusement park with a movie theme.  One of the things I liked was how the streets are named after people like W. C. Fields, Kirk Douglas and Donald O'Connor (even though I don't think Donald O'Connor's street is nearly as nice as he was.  The best part of the day was the studio tour where we got to see all those bungalows where the Hollywood movers and shakers come up with their genius ideas to make movies like "Waterworld" and "Heaven's Gate".  One of the bungalows was Alfred Hitchcock's but of course, now it houses Dino De Laurentis and his ilk.

We paid a fortune for "Front of the Line" passes and I think it was worth it, because we did get to go to the front of every line and didn't have to stand and wait in the blazing sun and the intense heat.  We were lucky to have cooler weather and clouds at Disneyland because it was much more pleasant there than it was today at Universal Studios.  The best part was the studio tour where we got to see the soundstages that have been used in lots of movies -- the New York street, the "European" street (which they just dress up differently depending on the country), the Western street, and the city square from movies like "To Kill a Mockingbird" and "Back to the Future" (the same square!)  We were toodling along as they started to talk about "King Kong" and we went into the set for Skull Island and suddenly we were in the middle of a jungle with dinosaurs all over the place and then King Kong burst out of the trees and jumped on our trolley and fought off the dinosaurs.  It was really spectacular.  We also went by the Bates Motel and there was a dusty car parked out front and a man came out of one of the rooms carrying a heavy load which he put in the trunk.  He spotted the studio trolley and started to walk towards it as we speeded away -- a little bit of drama for the tourists.   It was also neat to walk through those iconic gates of Universal Studios and see the globe and the statue of Carl Laemmle who thought of selling tickets so rubes like us could go and see how movies were made.

Strangely, there are rides at Universal Studios, based on tv shows and movies, like "The Simpsons" and "Transformers".  They were great, but I think we are "rided" out.  We're glad that the amusement park section of our trip is over, even though we have enjoyed everything we've done.  The special effects show was Anthony's favourite -- they show you how they achieve all sorts of amazing effects in movies from long ago or from very recently.  The most shocking was when they cut into a volunteer's arm.  The blood seemed to be just spurting out and he kept sawing away and we were cringing in our seats, but it was a prop knife and he showed us how it worked.  It looked horribly realistic.

There was a "Waterworld" show which was reminiscent of those Restoration plays in England at Sadler's Wells (I'm not old enough to have seen them, mind you; I've just read about them.  Really.)  It recreated the rather lame plot of Kevin Costner's "Waterworld" with a huge set and boats and jet skis and explosions and fire and finally a plane crashing into the set.  All right before our eyes!

The place was jammed with people and it was fiercely hot and sunny, so we lost our staying power and decided to wend our way back to the hotel.  The boys had their portraits done by some talented artists on the street (very impressive) and we saw a bit of Hollywood on our way home, but were glad to get back to our hotel to have a swim after our hot touristy day.

Mike wanted me to report that he discovered that the GPS had been programmed to avoid freeways and that might be why Jill's directions were so lame.  She did much better today without the freeway avoiding setting.  Perhaps we'll give her another chance tomorrow.  We're going to see Mike's dad and then go on to San Diego.

Goodbye, Mickey!

We experienced our last day at Disneyland, and I must say it exceeded my expectations (and the boys' -- Mike's expectations were fulfilled because he loves Disneyland!)  We didn't have to line up really at all, which made the experience that much better.  We arrived when the gates opened and did the popular things first and then used that Fastpass system for whatever other rides we thought we wanted to try and we saw all the iconic Disney events -- the parade, the characters, Mickey and Minnie's houses in Toontown (which is really eye-popping -- you feel like you've walked into a cartoon)! 

I was able to suck up the courage to join the family on the Matterhorn and Space Mountain and Star Tours (great fun), and the Astro Blasters.  The menfolk were very impressed because they know how afraid I am of these things.  We also went on the Nemo submarine, and the Teacups (just Anthony and me, because Mike and William don't like to spin), Roger Rabbit's Cab Trip through the bowels of New York City, Peter Pan's soar over London, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride and probably others because it's starting to get to be a blur.  We went into the Innoventions building, where the boys got to see what they'd look like as Iron Man and play the most recent video games.  William wanted to see the Jedi Training School and so we had lunch there and watched kids learning to be Jedis and fighting Darth Vader.  Neither of my brave lads wanted to get on the stage and participate!

We saw the end of the "Fantasmic" show.  I'm not big on these huge spectacles, and it certainly was that -- explosions and colourful water shooting out of the Rivers of America, and multiple Mickey Mouses fighting evil (not much of a story -- the basic premise seems to be that your imagination can do anything), but it was great if you like that sort of thing.  I just can't picture myself camping out somewhere for two hours to see it.

The parade was what really knocked my socks off (and I'm not a huge parade fan, either).  There were all these brilliantly costumed dancers and floats portraying all the Disney favourites and it's amazing how many of the songs you know and can sing along to.  And the energy!  It's like living in the middle of a musical!  I couldn't take it for long, but it was certainly worth experiencing!

When we got back to the hotel, there was a cop standing in front of the driveway -- apparently, there was a protest at City Hall about the George Zimmerman verdict and they were concerned that the protest might erupt into violence.  The tv news is in one of those feeding frenzies about it with every analyst trying to make sense of it and wondering what Obama will do or won't do.  I don't know what to think about it -- I look at my little "interracial" boys and wonder if the world has really changed as much as I think it has when I think of William's gang at school -- Muzzamil, Magid, Kaoru and William -- all kids from all sorts of backgrounds who don't see any real differences, except that Kaoru plays hockey and William plays soccer and things like that.

Anyway, nothing we can do about it, at least at this point.  We're off to Universal Studios today.

Good morning from Southern California!

Here's an interesting bit of Americana!  Our breakfast includes doughnuts!  I thought that was a Canadian food, but apparently Americans like them, too, and for BREAKFAST!

We're off for our second day of Disneyland.  We are going to Fantasyland and Tomorrowland today.  Strangely enough, it has been cloudy both days and actually rained yesterday which rarely happens here, I understand.  Last night at the fireworks, we met people from all over the USA and all remarked about how unexpected the weather is.  All results of climate change, I'm afraid.

Both boys made their own light sabres yesterday and are now sitting in bed watching a cartoon, eating their breakfast (no doughnuts, though) and holding their light sabres, just in case a sith attack occurs.

Here We Are!

Yesterday, I posted a blog, but somehow the internet didn't work, and so I tried to post it from Word, but it didn't work either.  There wasn't much to say, because all we did yesterday was DRIVE.  GPS Jill got us miserably lost in Alameda and then tried to send us into the Pacific Ocean in Los Angeles, and I agree with Esther that she needs to be scuttled.  All she does is make me doubt myself when I figure out where we're going on the good old paper map.  Suffice it to say, Los Angeles is huge and I can't imagine how people here cope with the traffic!  I thought my commute was bad.

We arrived at our hotel in Anaheim at about 9 p.m. yesterday and it is right across from Disneyland which is great.  Right now, William and Anthony are frolicking in the pool as we take a break from the park.  After we arrived and checked in we took a walk along "Hotel Row" and watched the fireworks.  William was wild with excitement and couldn't wait for this morning.  He suggested we get up at 6 so we could be at the gates of Disneyland at 7:30 for its eventual opening at 8.  We all blearily agreed, since we were in a weakened condition after all that driving.

Six o'clock came pretty early, but we did get up and had breakfast and headed over to Disneyland as William suggested.  It was a good idea, because for the first couple of hours it wasn't that crowded and we got to go on all the rides we had decided were "must do's" back in Port Moody when we were studying the guide books:  Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, Splash Mountain (with a five story drop which absolutely terrified me, but thrilled the lads who chose to have a second ride), the Jungle Cruise, the Haunted Mansion, the raft to Tom Sawyer's Island, Davy Crockett's Canoes and lots of other stuff.  I liked Tom Sawyer's Island the best, William liked Splash Mountain, Anthony Indiana Jones and Mike said he just liked all of us being there.  I am not a big Disney fan, but it is beautifully organized and I'm so impressed by the attention to detail in all the rides.  The Indiana Jones ride (and I've never seen the movies, believe it or not!) really does make you feel like you're an archeologist trekking into a strange and fascinating new world with all sorts of artifacts to look at and glimpses of strange things that make you think, "what was that?"  We've talked about what rides we would add if we could.  Right now, we're reading Inkheart together and we thought that would make a cool experience, when you read a book and everything comes alive!  I don't know how you'd accomplish it though.  I guess that's what Walt Disney himself envisioned when he thought of Disneyland -- what stories he liked when he was a kid and how you could experience them in a kind of virtual reality.  I can never think of Walt Disney without thinking of him "naming names" to the House UnAmerican Activities Committee, but I do understand the desire to recreate these stories like Tom Sawyer that he loved so that you could almost feel like you were part of the story.

 We had reserved a table at the Blue Bayou Restaurant in the New Orleans part of the park for lunch and it was delicious (and expensive!) -- we all had a nice spicy gumbo to start and then the men ate huge plates of meat and I had the vegetarian coucous.  The Pirates of the Caribbean ride goes right past the restaurant and it felt like we were part of the atmosphere of the ride.  I really like the New Orleans recreation -- of course, they have a Dixieland Jazz band playing and it's very evocative of what I imagine New Orleans to be, but not as cool as the real thing, of course.  I like a little grit in my atmosphere!

We saw a fun play at the Golden Horseshoe -- the actors were great.  Of course, I always think of them having to say "oh, I'm playing Cletus in Disneyland's Golden Horseshoe this summer" after they've spent years studying Shakespeare and Brecht and Checkov, but at least they're working.

We will return tonight to have more rides and explore more of the park.  This morning we focused on Adventureland and Frontierland, so this evening we plan to visit Tomorrowland and Fantasyland!  What "Land" would you like if you could add one to Disneyland?

Addendum

I forgot to mention why I used that quote.  Of course, if you were sent to Alcatraz, you would have to abandon hope, because what a horrible place.  One of the prisoners wrote, on the wall of his cell, "nothing is worth this".

Then over the door at City Lights as you enter there is a handwritten sign that reads "abandon all despair, ye who enter here".

So there you go.

Abandon hope/despair, all ye who enter here!

This was our day to explore San Francisco.  Not very long to experience a great city, but this is the hand we were dealt.  We got up bright and early (well, not so bright for morning allergic Anthony) and got our Muni-passes and off we went on our cable car ride to Pier 33 to catch the boat to Alcatraz.  We were lucky that Mike's friends advised us to book our trip well in advance because right now, you can't get tickets until mid-August.  The cable car ride was great fun and the operator was very lively and explained how the cable car worked and we saw lots of those cool San Francisco special houses and some fancy hotels, where we'll stay next time we come (maybe in another lifetime)!  We got to Pier 33 just in time and boarded the boat to the island.

"Alcatraz" means "seabird" and there are so many western gulls on the island that their calls almost drown out any conversations you might try to have.  There are lots of gull chicks, too, and they are very pushy with their parents and funny to watch as they try to get airborne.  There are lots of cormorants, too, and they're nesting and fledging, too, and it is amazing to see the awkward youths flapping their wings and looking off over the cliffs and thinking about taking the plunge, but not feeling quite ready yet.

Alcatraz was originally a fortified island which the USA bought from Mexico and then developed as a fortress against a possible Confederate attack, which, of course, never occured.  It was actually built by military prisoners who were then housed in the cells they'd constructed. 

Most people are interested in Alcatraz as a high security prison and that was the main focus of the audio tour we took.  It is narrated by actual inmates and guards who were at the prison over the course of its tenure as a jail.  The background sound was quite chilling because it recreated the atmosphere of the stories told by the narrators.  I wish I could post pictures because words cannot describe what the cells looked like and what the place felt like.  Especially chilling were the isolation cells.  There is a regulation that the lights should always be on in these cells, but they did not follow the regulation and the cells were left in darkness.  One narrator told how he would pull off a button from his prison garb and throw it on the floor and then spend the time searching for it to keep himself from going crazy.  One of the inmates I was interested in was Robert Stroud, the Birdman of Alcatraz, who was not actually allowed to keep birds in Alcatraz.  His studies of birds took place in Leavenworth Penitentiary.  The guard who described him said he was highly intelligent but otherwise, a vicious manipulative psychopath.  I loved Burt Lancaster's performance in the movie "The Birdman of Alcatraz" and of course, he didn't play him that way at all.  Both versions could be true, I think.  I hadn't thought I would be that interested in Alcatraz, but it was fascinating and the rest of the family agreed.  I'm really glad we were able to see it.

We sailed back to San Francisco and had a great seafood lunch at Fisherman's Wharf and we watched the buskers and looked at Alcatraz across the bay.   William said it was great to be in a place where so much was happening and it's true.  There was this great band on the corner with a man playing the piano and a woman on the saxophone and a guy on the drums and it was like a great concert there on the street.  We lined up for a long time for our cable car back to the downtown, but while we waited there was a guy named "Socks" doing comic patter and songs to keep our spirits up.  The cable car was jammed with people and Anthony and I lost contact with Mike and William but managed to hop off and make the dream trip to City Lights Books where all the beat poets used to hang out and where Lawrence Ferlinghetti published Alan Ginsberg's "Howl" and got into trouble with the censors.  It is one ot the classic bookstores and it was great to browse and pick out a few obscure books that I wouldn't be able to find anywhere else.  We hopped on another cable car and arrived back at the hotel and are now recuperating from the busy day and watching the fog roll in over the city.

Our plan is to go to Golden Gate Park later (in the fog?), and then tomorrow off we go to Los Angeles and Disneyland!

Big Trees and Big Foot

As I said yesterday, we were a bit disappointed in Crescent City.  It reminded me of the movies "Mystic Pizza" or "The Last Picture Show".  A dead end town where there is one young person who longs to get out and all his or her friends are apparently content with their go nowhere jobs and their narrow perspectives.  But when we drove south on our way to San Francisco, we came upon a spectacularly beautiful beach with windsurfers and actual surfers and birds and vast stretches of pristine sand to play in.  It was hard to tear ourselves away once we found such an amazing spot.  We did, only to find a "vista" pull out a 1/2 mile away and then another and another.  It was so hard to get going when we wanted to stop every 5 minutes.  The scenery as you travel down the west coast of Oregon and California is really magnificent and we didn't regret any of our stops.

We did pull in to the "Trees of Mystery" spot, but didn't bother to pay our admission once the huge statue of Paul Bunyan started speaking.  We decided that we would rather see the redwoods without the narration of the "great lumberjack" and his ox.  We drove further south and found the National Park Visitor Centre, where a nice lady  advised us to drive along the Avenue of the Giants and she was very wise.  It was quiet and peaceful and the trees were magnificent.  They are enormous and huge and old and the most amazing thing -- they're alive!  There they are just growing away and living and not rushing around like all of us.  Anthony and William ran from tree to tree stretching out their arms to measure their circumference and looking up trying to see the tops (virtually impossible).  They ran along a fallen giant and disappeared into the forest.  As we watched them, Mike said, "I probably ran along this same tree when I was here".  And then both boys emerged from the "green, dark forest" with big smiles and stories to tell.  Again, we had to tear ourselves away and we decided not to drive through the "drive through" tree (California is the "drive through" capital of the United States).  We were seeing the day passing quickly and we needed to get to San Francisco sometime today.

William HAD to stop at the Bigfoot Emporium further down the road since he is convinced that Bigfoot is out there.  It was a glorious chance for him to revel in the mystery of the saskquatch and choose something memorable as a souvenir of the Big Trees.  Anthony bought a pocket knife and it came in handy later in the day to open Mike's beer and my bottle of wine.  Thanks, Anthony!

There are elk throughout the Redwood National Parks system and we saw two herds!  Yes, herds!  We stopped and photographed them grazing in a marsh right next to the pounding surf of the Pacific Ocean.  This is also the hawk capital of the West Coast.  They're soaring over every hill and every creek and every road. 

We rolled over the Golden Gate Bridge at about 7 into the fog and dragged our weary tourist selves up to our room at the Holiday Inn, right in the heart of downtown San Francisco.  It is COLD and windy here and we are pooped, but we must get up and at 'em well before 9 because our Alcatraz tour is on bright and early .  After Alcatraz, we're going to go to Fishermen's Wharf for lunch, and Mike has promised we'll work in City Lights Books (the home of the Beat generation and still owned and operated by Lawrence Ferlinghetti) since we missed it the last time we were here.  I think we'll spend the afternoon in Golden Gate Park.