Lighting Up and Zipping Through Puerto Rico

Somehow, we went from Colombia/Brazil to Puerto Rico, but it was a fun trip, so we are happy with the way it played out. We left on a Wednesday and got in bright and early on Thursday morning. With the kitchen and bathroom remodel going on, work, extra classes, and probably just a little laziness on our part—we had nothing planned. So, after sleeping in we took off and made our way to Old San Juan.

Old San Juan reminded us of Havana a bit with the brightly colored buildings and general buzz in the air. Tip for anyone—do not drive in Old San Juan. Take a taxi, uber, or just walk it. Parking is a zoo with people parking on top of each other and its virtually a one way out type of place. We parked next to a police station and walked about a mile back. It was a fun time and I, of course, got the most important item of the trip, which is my mask. We have a little collection started now, and I hope for it to grow even bigger.

That night we stopped at the beach and splashed around for a bit. There were several hotels in the area that were abandoned and/or still being renovated from Hurricane Maria. It was an eerie feeling as it felt like half the city was missing or closed. It felt as if Thanos snapped his finger in Puerto Rico and we were living post-defeat. Once back at the hotel we came up with a gameplan for tours and sorted out the rest of the trip.

Friday morning, we started early and were off to do a jet ski tour of Old San Juan. The tour directions were wrong, but we eventually made our way to where we needed to go. We met our tour guide who clearly was not a big fan of mainlanders. He said as much on the actual tour. This was great because it was just two mainlanders (Grant and I) on the tour. He briefly showed us how to operate the jet ski and then he was off. Our mission was to catch up to him as best we could. The water was choppy and unless we were going 50 mph we thought we were going to fly off. We made our way around Old San Juan, snapped some cool photos, ate the local dish (Mofongo) and then headed to El Yunque National Park.

The park was in the “rainforest,” which is a must do for Grant and me on any trip that has this type of topography. Again, a lot was closed due to the hurricane. We did climb a bit and there was a pretty waterfall right at the beginning. We hiked a tower that had awesome views of the area and then headed back down for our final event of the evening the bioluminescent tour.

This tour was a mess. The idea was that we would kayak the bay to the Laguna Grande lagoon. There we would kayak a lagoon that lit up every time we paddled. It lights up because of these single-celled microorganisms called dinoflagellates. These microorganisms glow briefly, usually in a blue-green color, whenever they are disturbed. The problem with the tour was that there were about 30 kayaks and it was pitch black. People went with wrong tours, people didn’t expect it to be so physical, and then the tour guides did not speak English well. It was an experience that we will remember as there are only 5 lagoons in the world like this and 3 are in Puerto Rico.

The final day found us tackling the world’s longest zip line “El Mostruo” at ToroVerde. We got there and met up with some of Grant’s co-workers that just so happened to have been honeymooning in the area. The first part of the adventure was tackling 8 fairly long zip lines for about 2 hours. Then came the Monster.

This zip line was a bit different because we had to lay in a harness and do our best Superman impression, which is not something we have done before. In total, the zip line was 1.5 miles long and reached speeds of 95 mph. The whole experience was a blur, but it was an incredible feeling while it was happening. We took a few pictures to commemorate our experience and then headed back to San Juan.

For whatever reason, I may have booked our hotel next to a Fogo De Chao, which may be one of my favorite restaurants. It just so happened that it was also the only restaurant that was open, and walkable, and I had a coupon…and I definitely planned this.

We definitely needed to get out of the house and let off some steam and we did just that in Puerto Rico. On to the next adventure! 😊

Day 1 and 2 in Bali

Day One in Bali

Monkey Temple Closed for Dancing

It’s great to have a plan. The problem is when you’re the only one following the plan. Upon landing, we contacted Erica as she was joining us for the trip. She mentioned that we needed to ask for an “express pass” at customs. Evidentially, if you pay $20 US Dollars to a customs attendant you get to skip the line. We paid, got our stamp and made it through in 10 minutes.

This must have messed up the driver because there was no driver waiting for us. We found a taxi driver and headed to the villa. Fast forward an hour and we are there...or so we thought. The driver told us it was right down a path, but due to the terrain, it would not be possible to drive down there. So we grabbed our bags and were off. The only problem was that it was not the correct spot. We entered some random property and called the hotel. They were confused and not helpful. We decided to take the other path and we got to what we thought was our hotel. So at the front desk, the lights were on, but no one in site. All of a sudden a man jumps up from behind the desk who does not speak any English. Thinking this was the person we just spoke with we attempted to request our keys. The only problem was they didn’t have our reservation. Not a shocker since it was the wrong hotel. Fortunately, I had printed a receipt and they showed us the correct area to go. Mind you this is about 3 am Bali time and we are running on minimal food and sleep. So the fact that we found our hotel and were not sleeping in rice patties is a miracle.

The villa we stayed in was just wonderful. The views from our bed/deck were picturesque and the infinity pool was exquisite. The decoration surrounding the area created a peaceful and tranquil environment ripe from our Western culture to exploit. Here are some photos.

We woke from what I would consider a nap since we got minimal sleep and began our tour for that day. We were a bit late because Erica could not figure out how to unlock the bathroom. Turning the handle was the key. I walked over turned the handle and magically it unlocked.

Our first stop was the Ubud Monkey Forest. This area is known for their wild monkey population who are revered and protected. Everywhere you looked was a monkey and they were a bit curious about us. If you ever visit think twice before bringing food In here as they will attack you. We politely gave one monkey a bottle of water to drink. When I tried picking up the bottle to recycle it glared and showed its teeth at me. The monkey could litter.

Traffic is horrible in Bali. There is always a celebration where they just walk the street and block it for cars. Add that and the fastest our driver would max go 60 Kmh (which in miles is like 30 mph) and it felt like an eternity. Finally, we crawled to a temple and took lots of pictures. It was beautiful to see and you could see the level of dedication these individuals put into their religion, which was inspiring.

Our last stop was another temple on the water. It was very pretty but not as impressive as the landlocked temple we visited. This temple just so happened to have a Fire Dance, which we stayed back to attend. Having been to a few fire shows, we had an idea of what to expect. But, nope we’re we wrong. Random flying monkeys, lighting a fire from brush and chanting from 70 men. That one was a new one for me.

Our tour guide then took us out for our dinner. The only problem was that the restaurant closed. Not sure where the miscommunication happened, but we doubled back and ate at an Indian restaurant. It was not stellar, but I guess food in the stomach is better than none at all.

The night ended with a 2-hour car ride home and a fine fair-well to the first night in Bali.

Day Two

Muddy Mess at the Beach

Exhausted from day one activities we toned it down. All we had planned was ATVs, parasailing, fly fishing, glass bottom boat, and Turtle Island. Basically, two half-day tours combined to create a really epic day.

The day started out right. The hotel had free yoga so Erica and I attempted this after breakfast. Not knowing my rights and lefts proved to be my demise as it was obvious that

I was clearly out of my element. It was fun though stretching and at least I can say that I attempted yoga in Bali.

Grant woke from his hibernation and the three of us were driven to our first stop of the day— ATVs. We had to wait a few minutes due to multiple tours going on, but eventually, we were off. The ATV tour was through rice fields, jungle and mud...lots and lots of mud. We got to really be as rough on these machines as we wanted and were really even encouraged to do so. I mean they literally had a mud circle where they let all 6 ATVs go in at once and proceed to cut each other off and splash as much mud on the surrounding people. This would have never been even fathomed in America, but here anything goes.

Leaving a muddy mess, but with a smile, on our faces, we headed to do our water sports. This is when it turned south. You hear of tourist traps and we found ourselves faced with one of the worst. Upon entering we had everything mapped out and planned, but the boat guides had a different idea.

The first thing we were told was that the parasailing was canceled due to the wind. However, the parasailing adventure was not. Confused? Yes so were we. The winds were too strong to do parasailing, but you could do a parasailing adventure for $20 each. Huh? It was obvious we were not from Kansas and were unwilling to let this go. Our hired tour guide stepped in and stated it was now $10. We grudgingly paid as we were not going to miss this opportunity over $30.

So we started with parasailing. It was cool. We had done it once before, but this was Erica’s first time. I went with her and we talked the entire time. It was really awesome being up that high and seeing everything that was around us.

The next adventure was fly fishing. This term does not mean the same thing as it does in the US. It means that you crawl into a tube with wings and are dragged so fast from the attached boat that the tube catches air. So you are literally flying in the air like a fly fish. The closest comparison I could think of is Aladdin’s carpet, but with water and a high-speed boat.

What was extremely fascinating or terrifying was that there was a Balinese man that was on the same tube with us. His sole purpose was to balance the weight when the wind caught the tube so that we would not flip around or fly off. Grant loved it so much that he paid to do it twice.

The final activity was a doozy in all the worst way. A glass bottom boat that took us to turtle island. First, the boat captain spoke no English, which was the only individual that did not at this establishment. Worst of all there was absolutely nothing to look at in the boat. It was confusing if we were to see fish on the way there or back or both. The water was extremely murky and Erica got excited to see a leaf. Dud!

The glass bottom boat was just an extra attraction they could hawk as it really was just a ferry ride to turtle island. The island itself was disgusting. No free range turtles just captive turtles. It was quite sad to see the state of some of these animals. We tipped our guide who showed us the beach who does this as a volunteer. A volunteer who is employed by the turtle beach tour company and works for tips. It was just strange all around and we all got bad vibes. We escaped as quickly as possible to return back to our villa for a nice dip in the pool and room service.

Diana, I Love Palm Springs...Baloney!

As retribution for making him go to Ensenada-- Grant decided as punishment to take me to a place that I loathe Palm Springs. For those that do not know, we use to live there when we first moved to California. It was a brief pit stop before we moved to San Diego, but a memorable one. So our weekend revolved around getting there, but first, we had to get through our Friday commitments.

Friday started with Grant and I having separate holiday parties. Grant’s was held at the DoubleTree in Mission Valley and mine was held at the SDSU bowling alley. I can’t speak for Grant, but mine was not that memorable besides an embarrassing attempt at comedy I submitted for the annual video. Neither party was the party we were looking forward too— that was Diana’s birthday party.

Upon entering Diana’s party we were welcomed with a nice glass of rosé. We said our hellos to everyone we knew and began noshing on all the yummy appetizers going around. Somehow we migrated to the tequila station where Grant and Lara began pounding a few tequila shots back like it was Kool-Aide. This liquid courage was all they needed when the karaoke station was announced as being opened. As evidenced by the videos, Grant and I both seem to have been sufficiently encouraged to belt our heart out. The party was wonderful and after pigging out on tacos and dessert, we were off to the next party.

This liquid courage was all they needed when the karaoke station was announced as being opened. As evidenced by the videos, Grant and I both seem to have been sufficiently encouraged to belt our heart out. The party was wonderful and after pigging out on tacos and dessert, we were off to the next party.

Our friend Kelsey was having a Christmas/Haunakahh/Whatever party to celebrate the season. The most important thing to me was that we made it in time to score the last potato latke. I get those once a year and did not want to miss it. “Fun” Grant was out in full effect and it didn’t take long to realize we needed to just make an appearance and then leave.

The next morning we got up and started the pilgrimage to Pammmm Springs (Thanks Mark for making sure this city will always be called that). Our first stop was in Temecula to eat with Holly. It would be an unusual occurrence to go more than 7 days without going to California Pizza Kitchen so we corrected that by eating there for lunch. After eating way too many desserts, which only Holly has an excuse to eat, we continued our journey to the city in the desert that LA forgot.

After what seemed like forever (1.5 hours) we arrived and checked in to our hotel. We stayed at the Hilton Palm Springs, which didn’t have a great view, but did have a great pool and was right next to a casino. After piddling around the room for a while we met up with our friends Louis, Casey, and Nick. In creating this blog I realized I have no evidence of this meet up except a picture of Nick and Casey with the proprietor of the restaurant. Nick had some extended relationship with her so we ended up getting free drinks so there was a reason we put up with him.

I love beef stroganoff for some reason and this place had it! So I was happy!

Our friend Kelsey was having a Christmas/Haunakahh/Whatever party to celebrate the season. The most important thing to me was that we made it in time to score the last potato latke. I get those once a year and did not want to miss it. “Fun” Grant was out in full effect and it didn’t take long to realize we needed to just make an appearance and then leave.

We unsuccessfully convinced Casey and Nick to come to the Baloney show that Grant used as the justification for coming to Palm Springs. Baloney is an all-male comedy troop from San Francisco that tries to push the envelope using sex. I have now seen it at least twice and I can honestly say there are acts that are funny and others that bomb. Louis was a great sport and came with us (i.e. saved me from being alone) and even got to participate in the show. He will have that “smell” saved in his memory for a long time I am sure. After the show, we went to the casino where we all quickly lost our money and I turned in. Grant and Louis went out for drinks and came in later that evening.

The next morning was my mom’s birthday and I wished her a happy birthday in the bathroom, while Grant slept. He came in and I went into the bedroom. When he was finished I attempted to go back into the bathroom and decided that I would just bid my mom adieu instead of dealing with that aftermath. Yikes. We both slowly got up and met Louis at the pool for a quick dip before we headed back to home—San Diego.

While I refuse to say to Grant that I Love Palm Springs…I will say that my utter disdain and hatred for this city is dwindling. So that’s an improvement!

Due to Technical Difficulties We Ask That You Leave...

We returned to our normal tradition of going up to San Francisco for Thanksgiving. Last year, we took the year off and went to Salt Lake, which we decided was a mistake. Salt Lake is a very family oriented place and that isn’t what Grant and I are about right now. We more “city-folk.”

This was the first time in a long time we flew United Economy, which meant that we would be living out of a backpack for the next few days. For $125 round trip per person on Thanksgiving we were fine to do so. However, this did limit what we could bring back with us from our Black Friday haul. Upon landing, Grant’s aunt, Kate, picked us up and we were off to start our long break in SF.

Our first stop was at a nearby Thai place. This owner was running the restaurant because most of her staff were off. We had a fascinating discussion with her about restaurant staffing. Evidently, it is extremely difficult to staff restaurants in SF due to a limited workforce. We ate some amazing wings and Tom Kha and went back to change for actual Thanksgiving dinner.

Russ, Kate’s significant other, came to pick us up and we hauled it to Marin for Thanksgiving dinner. Upon arrival, we were greeted by a myriad of familiar faces from previous visits and of course some amazing champagne. This year, the host family asked Grant and I to each cut a turkey, which was fun to do. Somehow Grant got out of doing it in favor of Russ, but he felt that he contributed by supervising. We ate…ate some more…and then ate some more ice cream to top us off. Everything was as stellar as it usually is and really cemented that we made the right choice to come back.

After dinner, Grant and I usually head to union square, but the rain put a damper on that so we stayed in. We had done some online shopping throughout the day so we felt like we got enough. The next morning we got up and actually continued to shop online. I am not sure if I was discouraged to shop in the store because of the limit amount of bag space or if it was because the sales were not as great. Either way, Grant was thrilled as he bought more “flannel” scent from Bath & Body Work and didn’t have to worry about getting the liquids on the plane.

Our big event was at 4:30pn on Friday and that was the Cirque Du Soleil Volta show. Tickets were ridiculously expensive for this tent show, but we decided to buy them anyway. Probably three acts in the house lights come on and an announcement is made that due to technical difficulties the show has been temporarily delayed. After a few minutes, the announcer comes on again and asks us to wait in the concession stand area. This was highly unusual as most shows do not stop mid-performance, but this one did. We found out later that the catwalk had malfunctioned and they could not get it to rise after the acrobats left.

Eventually, they asked us to go back in, but the show did not start. The audience was restless at this point and so we did the wave, flashed our phones, and started chanting random phrases. Finally, the show started up again, but it was a shortened version. The good news though was that they refunded the show tickets 100% so we got to see something for nothing!

The next day we got up and ate Spanish Tapas. The food was so-so, but the portions were huge. We ended up getting a meat platter, which had meat hidden throughout it so you never knew what you were going to find. After much negotiation, Boy Erased was chosen as the movie to follow after lunch. Everyone seemed to like it so it was well fought for by me.

The final event of the trip was AsiaSF, which is, of course, a drag show dinner. It would not be a trip to SF without seeing some form of queer art and Grant does love his drag shows. At AsiaSF, the performers are the wait staff so we were excited to tell them that Russ was celebrating his birthday. As the show went on they gave him a “shot” for him to take.

I think the video will speak for itself.

We had another great time in San Francisco for the holidays and plan to keep this tradition up for the foreseeable future!

Never Ending Halloween

Just as Jamie Lee Curtis could not escape Michael Meyers for 40 years in the new version of Halloween; Grant and I felt that we could not escape Halloween this year. We started mid-September with a trip to a haunted house and continued the festivities all the way until this past weekend. Considering Halloween is just one day a year— the fact we stretched it over 40 days was a bit of overkill.

This year we decided not to go all out and have a huge party, which was definitely the right call. Instead this year, we went to Holly and Chris’s house in Temecula and then on Sunday we kept it simple for us by hosting a Murder Mystery Dinner Party.

I woke up on Saturday sick as a dog. Holly and Chris are always really great about coming to our parties so I did not want to flake. This meant that since I was out of commission that Grant was required to pick up the slack when it came to choosing costumes. He decided that we should be a couples costume of wine and cheese. It was pretty ridiculous, but definitely fun.

I thought my part was a bit boring so I wanted to spice it up. What costume could I wear that would not require pants? Risky business. Thus, risky cheese business or cheesy business was created. No one got it. Literally no one. Totally okay with that. I am going to chalk this one up to the fever and move on. The party was fun, it was great seeing everyone, and we created some really awesome carved pumpkins. I definitely hope they do this again next year.

The next day was our turn for our small party and so we began setting up for the murder mystery dinner party. The tables went up and I had gotten a few things from the dollar store to use as decorations. The food was catered by Luna Grill and that was a godsend as I definitely was not up to cooking for the party. Everyone came in character and dressed up. The script was funny, but the company made it hysterical. Lara the racist was the murderer and I was the only one to guess it correct.

Another year of Halloween in the books. Looking forward to tweaking next year a bit, but continuing the good times.

Front of the Line...(Excuse Me)...Move Please....Now! HHN Hollywood 2018

Another weekend in October, which means that of course, we are going to do another Halloween activity. This weekend was our first event in Southern California oddly enough but is definitely my favorite. Universal Studios Hollywood Horror Nights have houses that are longer, scarier, and are much more manageable to navigate as compared to other theme parks.

We took the convertible and drove from the 8, to the 805, to the 5, to the 405, to the 105, to the 110, and back to the 101. Our GPS had us basically going on any and all highways possible in LA to avoid the horrendous traffic. It kept adding extra miles but shortened the time. I think it was a success, but Grant kept grumbling like an old curmudgeon that we should have just stayed on the 5 the whole time.

During the way, we were notified by Grant’s brother Clint that he is getting married to his long-term girlfriend Jillian. We are thrilled for both of them as they make a great couple. Their date, unfortunately, falls on the same date as our really great friends Rachel and Joseph’s wedding….so Grant and I are going to divide and conquer going to each. We are still trying to find a way to go to both so it will be interesting to see what we can pull off logistically there.

We finally arrived and this year, like last, we stayed at the Hilton at Universal. This is the optimal hotel in my opinion because it was right next to the theme park so we can easily walk back to bed. The front desk attendant was particularly chatty and told us all about her amazing time at the Queen Mary, which was random. She let us check in early so listening to the story was well worth it.

Lara arrived shortly after we checked in with In-&-Out. For some reason, this fast-food dud actually tastes edible this time of year. I secretly think it may because we are starving at this point, or Lara slipped some drugs in the food. Either way delicious. After devouring our food, we left to start our second tradition, which was to go to a movie. This year we had the pleasure of seeing Hell Fest, which was about several college kids going to a theme park where the murders were not staged, but real. It was mildly enjoyable and hardly the worst film we have seen.

Due to the fact none of us like theme park food we decided to eat our big meal after the movie rather than wait. We attempted to go to the Wolfgang Puck restaurant that we normally go to, but it had been changed to Vivo Italian. Not a huge deal. We put our name and phone number down and were told 20-30 minutes. We left and I got a message that stated our table would be ready in 1 hour and 50 minutes. Umm….that is a lot later than initially promised. Reversing course, we went back to the hostess who assured us it would only be 20 minutes. We left again only to have my phone ring 2 minutes later that our table was ready. Come on! Dinner was fine and we left for the park.

Our idea this year was to start at the lower and back lot and work our way forward to the upper lot. This year that had 8 houses and each one was better than the next. We started with Strangers Things to get that out of the way. The three of us seemed to be the only people on the planet that had not seen the show, but the maze definitely made me consider watching the show.

The next two houses, The First Purge, and Poltergeist were my favorites. Having a projector play a “staticy” TV screen and a huge killer monster hand lunging from the screen definitely got me every time. We rounded out the houses with Trick r Treat and headed back to the upper lot. There we did the Terror Tram, which is always a dud. Followed by Walking Dead, Universal Monsters, and Halloween 4. There is always something about Michael Myers jumping out in the most random places that gets me. Well done Universal.

The night wrapped up a bit sooner than usual, which was great for all of our feet. On our way back we attempted to go to Saddle Ranch, this very awkward cowboy restaurant right outside the park, which has fire pits for s’mores. Unfortunately, they bulldozed it, which was a shock to all of us. Instead, we walked back to the hotel, changed into our swim trunks, and went to the hot tub that was open until midnight. At the room, we noticed that the AC was not blowing very cold and called maintenance.

Grant had made a chocolate Sangria…honestly…I do not know what that was. It was nasty. Lara and Grant drank it, but I am surprised they are alive. We started getting text messages from the hotel about the air conditioner and it was clear they did not want to send someone to the room. As soon as we got back to the hotel room, the maintenance team showed up to fix the AC. It was a quick fix, but we wanted to go to bed so it was annoying it hadn’t been done.

The next morning, I called the front desk to talk to a manager and put on my best mid-Western charm. “My family and I were so upset about the events that took place. I just wanted to let you know what happened so that this did not happen to any other family.” Yes, I was making a big deal about receiving text messages and a delayed maintenance response, which was not a huge deal. However, the manager did decide for the inconvenience to waive the rollaway bed fee and the parking fees, which totaled about $100. I guess the life lesson here is that if you do not want to pay for something— complain and it may be taken off your bill. Probably not a lesson you want to teach your kid, but as an adult one to live by.

Next year, our only goal is to get Lara to see the Jabbawockeez as she hates them.

San Francisco 2018 - Folsom Street Festival

San Francisco feels like our second home when it comes to California. I feel that we are up there more often then we are in Los Angeles even though that city is way closer. This trip was a blast as we got to see Grant’s Aunt Kate, and our friend Levent (+ his new girlfriend Casey). The trip started out arriving in town and eating at a really good Italian restaurant. The food was tip-top even though it did take a while for it to come out. Then off to a male-burlesque show, which was rather funny and entertaining. We hung out at the rooftop bar after the show for quite a while and then it was time for bed.

The next morning I woke up Grant (10:00am) so please do not feel sorry for him. He was of course cranky like a bear woken up during hibernation. We had a nice brunch with Kate and next door was a massage parlor that we decided to try out. It was really nice except for a homeless guy mad at his girlfriend (i.e. the garbage can) for stealing all his money and ruining his life. That garbage can really did look like garbage so I can see why he was perturbed. To kill sometime before our night events Grant and I stopped at the San Francisco Dungeon and the Arcade Museum at Fishermans’s Warf. Fun times and really awesome seeing some really retro games.

We finished up there and hiked uphill back to the car. Did I mention uphill? The hole darn city seemed to be nothing, but uphill. Just once I wanted to go downhill, but that never seemed to be the side of the street we needed to go down. We made it to the car and drove out to Great America with Levent and Casey for 8 haunted houses. Some were better than others, but they did have a nice twist on two mazes. One was all mirrors which was very “chaotic” and the other was completely in the dark. Nice twist and definitely something we had not seen before. The night ended on the 8th house, which put us right at the midnight closing time.

The next morning we got up and went to Tony’s pizza where I completely over-ordered. It was a bit ridiculous how much I ordered especially considering it was really just pizza. The bill came for $120 and I quickly paid before Grant could see the damage. Of course, he saw and I got a firm lecture on my poor food spending habits. After that we went to the Folsom Street Fair. It was creepy and gross. The shock factor wore off after a little while and I requested latex gloves to walk around. Oddly enough, I think the gloves made me fit in better so that should tell you the type of fair this was. :)

Levent had a friend who was hosting a concert at his place so he quickly came to the rescue and we ubbered over to the concert. Definitely, fun to have a concert in someones living room. It ended to quickly and we rushed to the airport. The trip was a quick one, but definitely something to remember.

Theme Parks, Cici's and Rental Cars

For a last minute trip, we really crammed a lot in a very very short period of time. Upon landing we had the distinct pleasure of going to pick up our car from Action Nu Car Rental. Grant was proud of himself for only spending $4 a day on the reservation. The old adage, “you get what you pay for” could never have been more true in this case. We waited an hour and half only to be told that they were out of cars. We had a reservation so they literally rented a car from a different dealership for us to be able to have a car. We missed hanging out with friends, but at least we got a working car, which is more than what can be said for most as we learned when we returned the car. Some people were stranded at the airport when the bus mysteriously stopped working.

Our first stop after the car rental was food. Orlando is jammed pack with chains and so we stopped at one of my favorites— Cici’s Pizza. Grant refused and so we split up. He went to Golden Corral, which was a big mistake and one that I know will haunt him for the rest of his life. :) Mine was outstanding; his was a dud.

The next morning, we got up slowly after a late night and went to Volcano Bay. This is Universal’s new waterpark in Orlando and one of the only parks we have not been too in the area. It started out great with minimal waits and we got to ride a fun tube ride right away. Next was one of their premier rides, which was a water tube down from the top of the mountain. I hate enclosed waterslides because of the heat and humidity (it just creeps me out). But, I went through with it. At the bottom I was waiting for Grant only to find out that the park was shutting down to thunder and lightning. It was a huge disappointment because we had only been there for less than hour.

We went to customer service to demand a refund. When it was our turn to speak to a customer service agent and she let us know that everything was back up and running. For our troubles, she was going to award us 4 “Ride Now” passes to any ride we wanted. So we of course choose the ones that had 100 minute waits and skipped everyone who had been waiting. That’s more our style. Grant finally went on the slide I went on earlier. I chickened out because I hated it the first time. We cleaned up and headed to the other side of Universal— to Halloween Horror Nights.

Halloween Horror Nights consisted of 10 haunted houses this year, which was a record. I wanted to get through all of them as we did not get to finish last year. Each one had a different theme and story, but all of them were extremely well done. They also had a really awesome dance show by Academy of Villans to go along with the haunted houses. By 1am the park was closing and we had just completed our final maze. It was a blast, but we were exhausted. This was definitely a common theme for this trip.

Sunday morning, we got up. Returned the car to the awful car rental place and got on a place to Houston. We had a really nice visit with my family and I got to eat my chips/salsa that I love from La Hacienda. The night ended with us playing some JackBoxTV and Grant finally convinced someone to play Fakin’It with him.

Food, Car, Hike

This post is a little late, but the first time that I have a free moment.

Our Friday kicked off with San Diego Magazine's Best of San Diego Party that hosts the best restaurants in all of San Diego. This event is all-you-can-eat and drinks party celebrating the award recipients. This has become an annual tradition for Emily, Rachel, Joseph, Grant and me, and is something that we starve ourselves for a week to enjoy. This year I broke with my Keto diet and pigged out on tacos, paella, pizza, and my favorite California Burrito. Not having carbs in weeks-- that tortilla was heaven.

Saturday was a fun and exciting day because we planned on trading in our Jeep Wrangler for a Mini Cooper Convertible. So essentially, we were trading one impractical car for another. I can make some strong arguments such as gas prices, resale value, etc. as to why this is a legitimate decision, but I think the strongest is that I just want one. We drove to LA for SD and completed the transaction without any issue. Grant and my parents decided to name the car TaHoe because she is always going to have her top down. I secretly like the name Watson, which I have been calling it that in private....when I am alone with the car.

Sunday was a spontaneous hike day. I guess Grant had it planned but did not really relay that information to me. He wanted to take the new car, which I vehemently objected. We got into an argument and ultimately took our other car. This was a wise move because we were all a little hot and sweety at the end. Later we got a massage, visited Tarina's new place, and then went to Kelsey and Chris's for a late-night Sunday game night.

Not too shabby for a random weekend at home...ish...

California's Capital, Reno, Scott & Aditi's Wedding, and Truckee

This trip found us going up to Graeagle, CA for Scott and Aditi's wedding. The wedding itself went off without a hitch and the after-party was a lot of fun! This was the first wedding in a while that I was not completely hammered and so the next day was actually pleasant, which is a new feeling.

For the start of the trip, we flew into Sacramento, which was 2 1/2 hours from the wedding venue. We somehow convinced the rental car agent to upgrade us for free so we scored a mini-cooper convertible. Now we want one.

Since we were in Sacramento we thought we would tour it a bit. There really isn't much to Sacramento besides the capital so we stopped by there. We "accidentally" joined a random tour in progress and were able to go inside the different chambers. It didn't take long until our eyes glazed over and we left to start our road trip.

We stopped at a few of the cities in between Sacramento and Graeagle and came upon this really interesting mining town called Old Town Auburn. I am fascinated with small towns and thought this one was particularly charming. We decided to stop and walk around a bit. It was definitely worth the stop if nothing more than to use the bathroom, which Grant of course did.

From there we took the scenic route through Tahoe Park and ended at the Chalet View Lodge in Greagle. We just missed dinner, but were able to eat some of the leftovers. We saw the happy couple and friends and socialized before we called it an early night.

The next morning we got up and headed to Reno, while everyone slept off the festivities the night before. Reno is just like Freemont Street in Las Vegas, which screams 1970/1980's. We ended up playing slots at Circus Circus and came out ahead $50. Any money earned is better than money lost so we were both really pleased with the outcome.

We drove back and got ourselves prepared for the wedding. The wedding was very subdued and relaxed, which fit both Scott and Aditi perfectly. The wedding was in this beautiful part of the resort with lots of trees and water in the background. Very picturesque! Afterwards, the party really started were we began to eat and drink and be merry. The alcohol was definitely flowing and some of us got more intoxicated than others. Ultimately, everyone had an amazing time and created some really lasting memories.

Finally, it was time to leave, which is not something we really wanted to do. Our friend Allison joined us and we hopped in the car and headed out. Since our flight was not to late we stopped on the way back in Truckee to do some river rafting. The currents were not strong, but we definitely got a work-out paddling the river. Our coordination was not professional just yet and so we hit the brush and a few trees, while trying to take selfies. Next time, we got this! :)

Comic-Con 2018 Recap

This year's Comic-Con was another great year. Wednesday night was all about touring the floor and visiting Conan. We were able to see the 10 year anniversary of Break Bad cast, which was pretty great as that show still holds up well. We did receive a "Pop" figure, which we promptly sold for $70 upon exiting. Emily and I also got to do all of the exhibits without spending hours in line.

Thursday was neat because Jake and I jumped around quite a bit. We started with watching a panel for the new predator in Hall H, then I went to Conan again, and finished with seeing some interesting panels in Ballroom 20. Again, sold the Conan pop figure, but this time for $80. We got in line at 7 pm to get passes to Hall H on Friday, which was really not necessary.

Friday was all about Hall H. Jake and I saw the cast of the Walking Dead, the cast of Glass (Bruce Willis, Sarah Paulson, M. Night Shyamalan, and Samuel L. Jackson), and followed that up with the cast of Halloween. Great evening.

Saturday was a bit abysmal. We got up early for the Indigo Ballroom and waited for 3 hours in line, but made it in for the Good Place. Terrible seats, but at least we were in and got to see the panel. I went home early only to return that evening for the spectacular performance by Rachel Bloom and the company of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. Heavy Boob is just hilarious.

Sunday was a bit of a slow day. Tarina and I toured the floor and watched (i.e. laughed at the Masquerade recap).

Observations:

-Hall H was not that bad this year without Marvel

-Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday are the best days to go to Comic-Con. Saturday has to many people and Sunday it is dead.

Grant's First Garage Sale

A garage sale was something Grant and I talked about doing for a while, but never really wanted to do it. So of course we choose the weekend where we are having 100 degree weather! Thankfully it was cool in the morning of and it all worked out.

We put up signs around our neighborhood and listed it on a few websites. We both agreed (me begrudgingly) that it should start at 9 am. So I got up at 8 am with the intent of getting everything outside to start the sale at 9 am. Lo and behold, there is already people waiting outside our front door waiting for the garage sale to start.

I quickly start laying stuff out and a mass horde of people start grabbing it and putting it into piles. Grant must have heard the commotion, wakes up and begins bringing stuff outside. He told me he felt like an auctioneer. As soon as he would bring something out, a person would want to buy it before it made it all the way out the door.

We planned on being out there from 9 to 12, but in reality it was 8 to 10:30. We sold out of nearly everything and the few things leftover we put outside with a free sign. Our total haul was $1,209.00. Not bad for about 5 hours of total work!

Plus we have more free space for me to buy more stuff. Win-win!

Del Mar Fair 2018

The theme was sweets, but the drive was more of a cavity.

This years Del Mar Fair was all about the sweets, which means that all of the food either had to have sugar, bacon, or be fried. So standard food fair.

This trip Tarina tagged along and we headed out to the fair around 2ish. What should have been a 30 minute drive turned into a 2 and a half hour exercise in patience. It took forever to get into the fair, but once there we had an amazing time.

We walked through the exhibits, ate some really nasty food and rode rides that made us feel even worse then the food. It was a tortious experience that we all thoroughly enjoyed and look forward to going back too!

Schlitterbahn Year 4 or 5

The trip started out with a three hour delay, which kind of changed the itenerary, but we definitely made it work out. We got to the airport and there was only one flight attendant. Due to the delay, the plane after ours was being flashed on the monitors as ready to board when we were still getting on. This confused everyone and made the delay even worse. The positive news is that we ended up with a $50 credit so we are fine with the delay!

Once in Austin, we could tell right away. 95 and humid is way different than 74 and dry. Wendy picked us up and hand-delivered some amazing kolaches from the Czech Bakery. We then drove from Austin to New Brunfeals to get ready for the water park the next day.

For dinner, we ate at our normal joint-- Los Cucos and had some good green salsa until they ran out! The resturant closes at 10pm and we got there at 9:30pm so it’s not completely unreasonable. I ended up “borrowing” some from other tables and even had other tables donating it to me by the end. I am obsessed with their green salsa.

The next day we woke up early (10am) and made our way to Schlitterbahn. We met our friends Mike and Catey and the five of us (including Wendy) started riding. We got front of the line passes, which let us cut in front of everyone so we were pretty pleased with ourselves and our VIP status. Since it was an odd number I voluntered to go by myself and got some great video as seen above.

The highlight of the trip was the Congo ride. We went through like normal, but the ride’s extension was finally open and we got to float along the Comal River. So neat floating next to the lily pads and frogs!

Great trip as always looking forward to next year!

Reminders for next year:

1. Go on Sunday (it’s Texas and people are at church)

2. The normal fast pass and not the super fast pass is sufficient as we could spend the extra wait time in the wave or lazy river.

Waiting is Not an Option at Disneyland

Yesterday, we went to Disneyland for the first time in about five years. As soon as we walked in we were swarmed with people. The adventure did not start well with our first ride, Guardians of the Galaxy, having a 70 minutes wait and no FASTPASS. So we left to ride Indian Jones, which had the shortest wait.

To our initial dismay, as we were in line the ride broke down. However, as a result they gave us a free FASTPASS that let us ride any ride whenever we wanted! We went over to Space Mountain and got on right away as compared to the standby 95 minute wait.

We conveniently forgot to give the ride attendants our fast passes, which lead us to ride Big Thunder Mountain and Matterhorn with a FASTPASS.

The final hurdle was to get back to Guardians and avoid the 70 minute line. Confidence is key and so we just went up to the ride attendant and pretended like we had a FASTPASS. Immediately after I scanned my pass, Grant scanned his. This completely messed up their system as there was no way to go back and review the error. The attendant was so frazzled they let us both in!

We left the park to eat and came back and rode the reopened Indiana Jones, Haunted Mansion and Splash Mountain. Each of those rides had about a 15 minute wait so we begrudginly waited in those lines. We may not have gone to Disney in a while, but we still know how to work the system!

Lihue, Hawaii

We had been to Waikiki before and hated it. This time we thought that we would try our luck in Kauai and we definitely had a much better time! We started out ziplining, which was kind of a bust, but it put us right next to Secret Beach, which was one of the prettiest places we have ever been. Of course being the smart child that I am -- I thought my selfie-stick was as indestructible as I am. Unfortunately, both of us were clobbered by a huge wave. We did tubing and then a helicopter ride going past the Jurassic Park falls. It was pretty incredible!

One thing that did happen that I instantly regret was introducing Grant to shaved ice. He would not stop eating Hawaiian shaved ice. Everytime, I asked him what he wanted to eat he would say, "shaved ice." He was a monster!

Much better trip than the first!