Jonathan taking snaps of Harris.
As the girls were growing up, Jonathan frequently expressed his wish to have each of them come visit us individually. As the Devlin and Harris turned 12, and Maddy 14, this year presented the first opportunity during the kids’ spring break. As the family usually goes skiing with friends, and because Harris doesn’t ski, we arranged to have her spend the week with us in southern California.
Jonathan arranged to fly with Harris both ways, and spent the week previous to the spring break in Rhode Island visiting friends and colleagues in the Brown Math Department. On Sunday February 20th he and Harris flew into LAX via Cleveland, and I picked them up at the airport.
Monday was the Presidents’ Day holiday, and we took the opportunity to drive up the coast. The initial thought was only as far as Ventura, but Jonathan’s friend of long standing from Cambridge MA, Robert Kent, was vacationing in Santa Barbara for the month. So after an email consultation, we agreed to meet for lunch at a seaside hamburger joint, after which we took a stroll along the beach and out of the wharf. On the way home, we stopped at a farm stand and picked up a box of oranges to squeeze for juice.
Jonathan taking snaps of Harris.
Looking out to the pier.
Harris taking in the view.
Always useful to get images of the local signage…
This one is for Cindy.
Jonathan's friend of long standing, Robert Kent.
Robert.
Chatting on the wharf.
Taking in the sights.
An obligatory portrait - I wasn't having much luck with my attempts at candid photography.
Examining one of the mosaics in the sidewalk.
Closer view.
Jonathan and Robert catching up and catching up.
Jonathan was busy on Tuesday, putting together posters documenting the history of the Pasadena League of Women Voters on the occasion of their 75th anniversary. He got dragooned into this history project to be displayed at the dinner held on March 6th. So Harris and I took off for lunch at Green Street (the restaurant that caters our August Party), and then to Vroman’s, a large, independent bookstore. Harris browsed the young adult section selecting a couple of books while I went through the science fiction. That evening we went to a restaurant that we think has the best ribs in Pasadena - Houstons.
I worked Wednesday and Thursday – Jonathan took Harris to the La Brea Tar Pits on Wednesday. In the meantime, I made reservations and got tickets for our adventures on Friday (Disneyland) and Saturday (Aquarium of the Pacific, and a matinee of the musical, Cats).
We got up on Friday morning, had breakfast at Green Street, and headed down to Anaheim to the Kingdom of the Mouse. We got there about 8:30, parked in the garage, and took the tram to the park entrances. Getting passes to for both parks, we headed into Disneyland first as the California Adventure didn’t open until 10. After a dutiful pit stop, we went into Adventureland and the Indiana Jones ride. Because of the prediction of rain, the park only had moderate crowds all day, and we moved fairly quickly through the line to board the ride. Afterwards, the Thunder Mountain roller coaster was next, but Harris deemed the lines too long, and we got FastPasses for the ride, and headed onto other attractions. The Matterhorn Bobsleds seemed to have a reasonable line, so we hopped into that queue as the skies opened up and began to rain. We had planned for the eventuality, so Harris and I donned rain jackets, while Jonathan took refuge under the umbrella. So we rode the Matterhorn in the rain (exhilarating!). By the time we got off our Fast Passes were good to go for Thunder Mountain, so we returned to that rollercoaster. To complete our sweep of the rollercoasters in the main park, we queued up for Space Mountain. After braving that ride (Jonathan’s stomach didn’t enjoy the experience), we crossed the plaza into the California Adventure and lunch.
We kept to the California Adventure for the entire afternoon. After lunch, we went immediately to Soarin’ over California, a ride that had captured the girls’ imagination when the entire family was here a few years ago. The ride, which mimics a hang glider experience, appears to be a hemispherical movie screen, while the three rows of seats are raised into the opening so that the edges of the screen are not visible (unless you turn your head right or left). The result is an immersion in the video that combined with tilting of the seats gives the effect of acceleration and banking. Other features include a scented breeze at appropriate times, e.g. pine scent while diving down over a river surrounded by redwoods. The whole effect gave my vertigo some twinges, although once I looked right or left, and could see the edge of the screen (and my fellow riders) I could relax and enjoy the experience.
We wandered by the Grizzly River Run, and figured why not? Unlike the usual log flume rides, this ride’s cars resembled giant inner tubes. Both Harris and I had our rain jackets on and pulled the hoods up. The ride was rather wet – the car had drains in the bottom, but what was unexpected was that an especially vigorous “splash-down” would turn those drains into geysers and soak the unsuspecting rider!
We rode several of the typical carnival rides – Silly Symphony Swings, Golden Zephyr, and Jumpin’ Jellyfish – although Mr. Lubin opted to watch as his belly was still feeling the effects of Space Mountain.
And then there was the California Screamin’ roller coaster. Harris and I ended up going on this one four times. We were aiming for a fifth visit after supper. After we would get off, we’d grab Fast Passes, and venture to other rides, like the Ferris wheel, then zip through the Fast Pass line to board the coaster, and once off, grab another Fast Pass, and repeat. We purchased one of the photos (from the second time through) to record our adventure for posterity.
For dinner, I had made reservations at the Naples Ristorante e Pizzeria in the Downtown Disney district just outside both parks. We got there on time, but it took 45 minutes to get seated. The meal was pleasant, and a balloon artist came by and crafted a monkey in a banana tree for Harris. The tree looked more like a palm with bananas thrown on for decoration – banana trees don’t really look like that (i.e. like a palm) – but it’s balloons and it was whimsical and appreciated. As we headed out I asked Harris about going back into the park, and she replied that she was ready to call it a day once she purchased something for her sisters. So we went into the adjacent Disney store where there was a sore lack of anything cow for Maddy, so a stuffed Eyore was selected, along with a stuffed Chip’n’Dale for Devlin. The Daddies spotted some mouse ear antenna balls in rainbow stripes that were added for the Mommies. So we hopped onto the tram back to the garage, and while I drove home both Harris and Daddy Jon snoozed.
The first attraction in Disneyland.
Harris doesn't seem too impressed with Daddy Jon's mugging in the line of the Indiana Jones ride.
She's abit happier in line at Space Mountain.
A family portrait in transit.
And she seems genuinely excited in line to Soarin' over California.
Poppies (although the purple one may not be a true poppy).
This shot was from the second of four turns on the California Screamin' roller coaster.
At the restaurant, a balloon artist crafted a monkey in a banana tree.
A slightly wider view showing the whole assemblage.
On Saturday, we drove down to Long Beach to explore the Aquarium of the Pacific. I’m going to make a blanket apology here for the quality of the images in the table below. I was using the small waterproof camera, and it does not do that well in the low light situations. Jonathan had is big camera with more adaptable setting that should produce some sharper and more interesting images. We wandered among two of the many exhibits – Tropical Pacific and Northern Pacific – until the time to meet for the behind the scenes tour. Our guide, a volunteer named Diane, took us through a classroom, veterinary clinic, utility yard, and on the “wet side” of some of the exhibits. In a number of places there was a shallow pan of bleach that we needed to step into to maintain sanitary conditions for the aquarium occupants.
Fish.
Shark (leopard?).
I liked the colors.
Fish, colorful.
Fish.
Lotsa fish.
Anemone.
Rockfish - it's venomous (and hard to see).
Frog.
Inside of an shark egg sac.
Diver in the pool.
Fish.
Shark.
Sea dragons.
Jellyfish.
Jellyfish.
Puffins.
Harris on the behind the scenes tour.
Top side of one of the display tanks.
Harris.
Afterwards we crossed the street to a restaurant to have lunch before heading off the Carpenter Center (named for Karen and Richard) on the campus of Cal State Long Beach and the matinee production of Cats. We got there just in time (after a quick visit to the necessary) getting seated just before the lights dimmed. Harris commented that there wasn’t much of a plot to the show, but enjoyed the singing and dancing. We came home, and then went out to dinner where we ended up waiting another 45 minutes for a table. I gave Harris my iPhone to occupy her time while we waited.