ntly working in San Diego, California. I will end up being at th
is hotel for a little over a month, and because of that I actually get time off on this site. I was here last summer and made a new friend, Melissa, who graciously rescued me from my hotel my first weekend here. We went to dinner one night at a place called Phil's that's known for its B-B-Q. When I was here previously, we tried to go eat there, but the lines were always just too long. After that, we went to see Avatar in 3-D. Not sure what it is about Melissa and 3-D movies, b
ut last time I was here we saw Up! in 3-D. She's officially my 3-D movie buddy ;) On Saturday, I visited the local farmer's market and then she and her friend B
ree joined me in my area (my hotel is in Little Italy) for the Carnevale. It ended up being a bust, where basically the waiting times for all of the restaurants were twice their normal times, but it was still fun to get out with the girls. After finally getting to eat dinner, we then left Little Italy and met up with Bree's friends Aimee and Tony for a little bowling. I did not win, but it sure was nice to do "normal" stuff for a change. On Single's Awareness Day Melissa picked me up for a late lunch then we headed to her house to watch a movie. I really like having her here; I hadn't realized how much I miss having friends around.I was able t
o use some of my airline miles to fly Mom out to California for a long weekend. This was the first time she has been to any of my sites and to say I was thrilled would be a huge understatement! Melissa and I picked her up from the airport and took her to dinner while we had dessert. Later, Mom a
nd I went for a walk around Little Italy before the rain sent us heading for the hotel. On Saturday morning Melissa picked us up and the 3 of us WENT TO DISNEYLAND!!! The drive 
took us about an hour and a half and I think I enjoyed watching Mom take in the views more than the drive! We got to Disneyland right at 10 and met up with a friend of Melissa's who used his pass to let us in for FREE. Awesome, right? Turns out our passes also happened to be good for the California Adventure Park. It just kept getting better!We immediately tried on "ear" hats for a picture and then we were off! Melissa has bee
n to the park many times and has a vast amount of knowledge on all things Disney. It w
as so perfect to have her with us! We saw several characters throughout the park and managed to take pictures with a few (I got autographs too!). I think about the only ride we missed was the Tea Cups, and that was based on a mutual agreement. I loved the Finding 
Nemo ride; Mom loved the movie, and as soon as she saw Dory, she yelled, "It's Dory!" Half the people in the submarine turned to look at us, and we all just giggled. I love my mom's ability to be herself and not worry about what others think. When I grow up I want to be just like her.
I think my favorite part of the day was when we rode the Hollywood Tower of Terror. Melissa isn't a fan of the ride, so she sat out enjoying the day while we rode. If you've never riden it, the ride simulates an elevator and goes up and down the elevator shaft (it's tons of fun, but I don't want to ruin it for anyone!). The 
whole time we were in motion, Mom kept screaming, "I hate this ride! I hate this ride!" sounded just like a little girl. When it was over she looked at me, totally serious, and said, "Wanna go again?!" Geez! That woman, I tell ya! =0)
We ended up staying until closing time, and try as I did, I couldn't keep my eyes open all the way home. Mom and Melissa had a good laugh at my expense when they tried to ask me questions, but I was so sleepy that I just kind of mumbled and then kept rambling. Overall, it was a fantastic day!
On Sund
ay, we slept in late and then headed to Balboa Park. We walked for hours, touring the park and exploring the various cultural museums. They have one area that contains several small cottages that each represent a diff
erent country. You can go into them and receive information about that country as well as sample some local fare. Most of the volunteers that work the cottages were very informative and natives of their represented countries. 
Balboa Park is also home to the San Diego Zoo. We were at the gate, ready to purchase tickets, when the rain came pouring down. We took that as a clue to not go to the zoo (I mean, all those smelly animals? Wet? Really? I think not!). We ended up leaving the park and going down to the bay just in time for sunset. We walked around downtown, did a little shopping, then grabbed some sushi for dinner and caught a movie. Another great day!
Mom left on Monday, and I had to work, but we managed to escape for lunch and another quick trip to the bay. I truly enjoyed Mom's visit, and hope to accummulate enough miles to bring Dad to one of my sites soon.
I wish I could have been there to hear Mom scream "It's Dory!" I bet that was worth every one of those frequent flyer miles. Did she also say "I speak whale"? I wish there was a way to "Like" some of the pics other than to say I like some of these pics.
ReplyDeleteIt was so funny to hear Mom yell like a child! Made me think of how Joshua would react to seeing his favorite character. She did profess the ability to speak a second language, but didn't prove it to us ;) I'm glad you like some of the pictures and that you comment on my blogs!
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