Happiest Place on Earth
Last Saturday my good friend Erik Hiller got married to his fiancee Kim (you'll remember them from such albums as "Arcadia Beach Roadie 2007"). The wedding took place in sunny Los Angeles, California so Debbie and I used it as an excuse to see the sights in SoCal. We did Disneyland the first day, then made a circle around LA County by hitting the Griffith Observatory, Hollywood Blvd, Santa Monica, and as much of the PCH as we could stand in rush hour. Finally Saturday was the wedding itself. If you're interested in pictures, go ahead and take a look.
Disneyland was great fun as usual and especially fun since it was Debbie's first trip there. We were a little disappointed at first to see the park was only open from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm (about 3 hours shorter than most days) but when we got to the park and saw the 20 minute lines were were more than happy to have picked that day! Seriously, the longest line we waited in was the Finding Nemo submarine (which was better than expected but doesn't crack my Top 5 rides or anything) and that was no more than 25 minutes. The downside was that we did not get to see the fireworks or Fantasia but getting to ride every ride we wanted to in about 10 hours was worth it! In the future we will continue to aim for the after-Spring Break/before-Summer Break window. We even had time to visit California Adventure and were glad we did. The Hollywood Tower of Terror was a little bit hyped but was nicely polished and offered a great view of the parks (for about 2 seconds while you're screaming for your life). Soarin' over California, on the other hand, was AMAZING. I did not think it would be that convincing but it may have been my favorite ride of the whole day. Just phenomenal.
The next day was nice to get out and see more of the city and a few landmarks, although Hollywood got a big thumbs-down from Debbie. Vendors getting in your face and crazy people dressed as funny characters...Debbie and I were both pretty uncomfortable. The Griffith Observatory is a nice place to spend a few hours, especially if you're a science geek. It's got a great view of the city and the Hollywood sign as well. Another great view is from the top of the Ferris Wheel on the Santa Monica pier! It was a little freaky but I'm glad we did it.
Finally the wedding was Saturday and was another amazing view of the city. Probably the best venue I could possibly think of for a wedding. It was great to be able to be at Tiny's wedding and to finally get our crew back together for a day. And if that wasn't enough, we spotted an amazing look-alike at the wedding. We were all pretty certain this was the guy from Season 2 of 24 and Lost's Christian Sheppard, but it turned out to just be a friend of the bride. You can't disagree, though, the resemblance is uncanny.
It was a great trip. Debbie and I got to see a lot of the city we had never seen before and had a really fun time. We also walked away with a few key travel tips that I will share with you now. First, when given the option, fly JetBlue. 36 channels of DirectTV, live Sirius XM radio, extra leg room, no fees for one checked bag, and the cheapest tickets I can find. I was blown away by this airline. Second, when given an option, I'll rent through Enterprise. Again, the cheapest I could find and they upgraded us to a Focus for free! Third, if you are hungry at Disneyland and don't like seafood, go to the Carnation Cafe on Main Street. Good food, reasonable prices, short wait-times, and a very friendly staff. And lastly, Embassy Suites offers UNLIMITED BACON EVERY MORNING. Yeah, they have other stuff too (pancakes, eggs, cereal, toast, etc) but the bacon overshadowed all.
Congratulations to Erik and Kim, we're very happy for you. And thanks for giving us a reason to visit LA! We hope to be back soon.
