Book Convention

On Friday and Saturday, Jenn and Susan attended a book convention at the Gaylord Nation Harbor outside of Washington DC. They signed and sold books, and when not meeting readers, Jenn visited with other authors. They drove back on Sunday.

Monday after work I went with them to Disney Springs to do some shopping and grab dinner. Because it was the week before Easter, a lot of other people were doing the same.

We had dinner at D-Luxe Burger. We’ve eaten there before and the burgers are pretty good, although a bit pricy, even with a cast discount. 

Last night Jennifer went to Tampa with a couple of friends for the Lightning's last home game of the season. The match was against the Florida Cougars, and the Lightning won, 5 to 1.

Epcot and Magic Kingdom

Last week, Jennifer released her 11th novel. She also spent time at Animal Kingdom and Epcot with Bryan and a friend from college. Tuesday she and Susan drove to Washington DC for a book convention.

Yesterday morning I headed to Magic Kingdom. It had been about 5 years since I watched the Welcome Show, so I made sure to get into the park in time to see it. I had planned to ride a few things, but they were down, had long lines, or didn't open for a while, so I headed out. 

I took a boat over to the Grand Floridian to check out the Easter egg display. There were about a dozen, all pretty cool. 

I then made my way to the Wilderness Lodge to have bison burger at Geyser Point. I'd been wanting to do this for awhile. Geyser Point is a nice bar & grill, with views of Bay Lake.

Finally I took a boat to the new Island Tower at the Polynesian Resort. I'd been wanting to check it out for awhile as well.

This morning I went to Epcot to visit the Friendship Boats and check out the Flower & Garden Festival. The Encanto topiaries that were in the front of the park last year had been moved to Showcase Plaza. 

Late March

On Monday Bryan and I continued north through the middle of Nevada. My plan was to stop for the night in Winnemucca, but the only Marriott between Las Vegas and Bend had no rooms available, so we drove late into the night and arrived in Bend after midnight, completing my 22nd drive across the country. 

 

Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning we took care of a few things in Bend, then took an Uber to the Redmond airport for our flight home. We flew United down to LA, where we caught a redeye to Orlando.

Thursday night Susan, Jenn, and I drove to Tampa to watch the Lightning play the Utah Hockey Club. Jenn got us seats pretty close to the ice. The Lightning won, 8 to 0. This weekend Susan and Jennifer flew to Dallas Texas for a book signing event.

Across the South

Earlier in the month, Bryan accepted a job in Bend. We debated renting a U-Haul truck and hauling all his stuff out before deciding to just drive his car out for now. Thursday morning we headed north and turned west on I-10. We stopped at the Buc-ee’s in Gulf Shores Alabama then turned northwest. We stayed in Hattiesburg Mississippi that night.

Friday morning we continued west across Louisiana and entered Texas. East of Dallas, we stopped at a Buc-ee’s where Buc-ee Beaver was making an appearance. We continued on to Fort Worth, where we stayed the night.

Yesterday morning, while Bryan and I drove northwest out of Texas, Jenn and Susan attended a book convention in Orlando. Jenn’s table was next to one of her favorite authors.

Last night Bryan and I stopped in Albuquerque New Mexico. We stayed at the Marriott. We don’t have as much status as we did last year, but we still got a room on the top floor, with a nice view of the city. 

Today we continued west into Arizona. I made Bryan get off the interstate in Winslow so I could stand on the corner. We drove another few hours west on I-40, then turned northwest and reached Las Vegas, where we stopped for the night.

Islands of Adventure

Yesterday afternoon Jenn, Susan, and I went to Universal’s Islands of Adventure. We made a lap around the park, having some snacks and riding some rides. I rode Spider-Man and Jenn and I rode VelociCoaster. This was only the second time I have ridden VelociCoaster. 

After browsing the shops in the Harry Potter area, Jenn and I rode Hagrid’s Magical Motorbike. While I have been on Hagrid’s a few times, in the past I’ve always sat on the bike and Jenn in the sidecar; this time we switched. 

Both VelociCoaster and Hagrid's are fun coasters, fast and with nice theming. As the sun went down, we wandered out of the park and through CitiWalk, then headed home.

Early March

For the first two weeks of March, I spent my days off working on the yards or doing projects at the houses. We also went to IKEA and bought some cabinets so Jenn could store the books she sells at conventions and book signings.

On the second Saturday of the month, Jennifer did a book signing at her Barnes & Noble, and Susan got Bryan and a friend into Epcot so they could check out the Flower & Garden Festival and ride the Guardians of the Galaxy coaster. This year the topiaries at the front of the park were characters from Moana.

This week I took a cruiser from Magic Kingdom to the campgrounds. Work continues to progress on the future Lakeshore Lodge.

California Adventure

In California Adventure, we rode several rides, including a couple on the new Spider-Man attraction. Grizzly River Run was being refurbished. We also checked out the new DVC area in the old Blue Sky Cellar. 

Since our last visit they had completed retheming the Pacific Wharf area to San Fransokyo. We went into DCA this morning and Jenn and I rode Incredicoaster, then we wandered through Downtown Disney.

There were several buildings being revamped, especially on the west end. The monorail was also closed for refurbishment. A couple of new buildings have gone up where the AMC theaters used to be, including a Din Tai Fung restaurant, where we ate lunch. 

It would have been nice to spend a few hours at the pool in the afternoon, but half the pool area was closed for refurbishment. We rested in our room a bit, then went back into DCA in the evening. Tomorrow morning we fly home.

Disneyland

This morning we went into Disneyland Park right after opening and rode a few rides. The train was being refurbished so all the stations were walled off. Small World was also down. 

Since we visited last they had changed Tarzan’s Treehouse into the Adventureland Treehouse inspired by Walt Disney’s Swiss Family Robinson. They also changed French Market into Tiana’s Palace, and added a gift shop near Haunted Mansion.

With the change of Splash Mountain into Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, Critter Country has now become Bayou Country. Tiana’s works a bit better here than in Magic Kingdom, although Pooh fits even less well into Bayou Country than he did in Critter Country. 

We spent the afternoon and evening hopping back and forth between parks. We also spent time at the DVC lounge above the Star Wars Launch Bay in the old Innovention building. Like the one at Epcot, there are free sodas and snacks.

USS Iowa

 

Yesterday while Jenn and Susan signed and sold books at the convention in downtown Los Angeles, I drove down to San Pedro to see the USS Iowa. The Iowa is one of four battleships that were built during WWII and is bigger than the USS Alabama, the other battleship I have toured. It’s also more modern, as it was updated for use in the Cold War. 

I spent about two hours going through the ship, so it wasn’t as good of value as the Reagan museum, since they both cost $30. It did have several videos the told about different aspects of the ship, although I believe more of the Alabama was available to tour and had better descriptions about the areas of the ship. 

After lunch at the hot dog stand on the ship, I walked down to the Los Angeles Maritime Museum. This building used to be where ferries to Terminal Island loaded. Now it kind of tells the history of the Port of Los Angeles. It’s a fairly small museum, but admission is only $5. It’s not well organized, and there are lots of models of ships.

This morning we checked out of the Biltmore and drove down to the Grand Californian for a couple of days at the Disneyland resort. Since we started staying here twenty years ago, the trees in front have gotten so big they block out the hotel. We had a one-bedroom villa on the first floor.

We met Bryan and his friends and spent a couple of hours in the parks. It was fairly busy so we didn’t ride much, mostly looked around and snacked.  For dinner we all went to a BBQ place in downtown Anaheim. It was pretty good.

Los Angeles

Yesterday morning we got up very early and caught a 6 am Delta flight to LAX so Jennifer could attend a book convention. Upon our arrival we picked up a minivan and drove to downtown, where we checked into the historic Biltmore Hotel. While Susan and Jenn set up for the convention, I drove Bryan down to Anaheim so he could stay with friends. 

When I got back, Susan and I walked to The Last Bookstore, about 5 minutes away. It has a fair amount of new and used books, but nowhere near what Powell’s Books in Portland has, and the area around it was pretty run down, with lots of boarded up stores and people loitering about.

This morning, while Jenn and Susan signed and sold books and visited with convention attendees, I drove up to Simi Valley to visit the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum. While I knew most of what happened during his presidency, I enjoyed learning more about his early life. 

I also enjoyed walking through his Air Force One. I spent about four hours there looking at all the exhibits. I could have spent longer but I got hungry and the Irish Pub onsite is only open on weekends in the off season.

When I got back to the Biltmore, Susan and Jenn were done selling for the day, so we walked down Grand Avenue to get some dinner. This area was in much better shape than what we walked through yesterday.

Magic Kingdom and Epcot

This week some friends from Wisconsin were in town so Susan and I took them to the parks. Thursday morning we went to Magic Kingdom. We did a few rides in Fantasyland and Tomorrowland, then had lunch at Pinocchio Village Haus. Susan and I then headed out while they stayed to enjoy the park. 

Friday morning we got them into Epcot. We rode Spaceship Earth, then while they explored World Nature Susan and I headed back to the Showcase to look at the art booths again.

Even though the Festival of the Arts was still going on, some of the topiaries for Flower and Garden had already been installed. We had lunch at Regal Eagle, then headed home. 

This afternoon while I worked, Jenn and Susan did an author signing at a brewpub in Apopka.

Universal Mardi Gras

Tonight Susan, Jenn, and I went to Universal Studios to check out its Mardi Gras Celebration. Every year the Celebration lasts about two months and features food and drink booths, entertainment, and a parade. When we’ve gone in February and March in the past, we’ve never stayed late enough for the Mardi Gras stuff. 

We got to the park around 3:30, got some snacks at one of the booths, and activated our unlimited drink cups, then Jenn and I used the after 4 express pass on our AP’s to ride the Mummy. We walked around the park and got more food and drink refills; there weren’t any other rides we cared about doing. Islands of Adventure has better rides which is probably why the special events are held at the Studios. 

The Tribute store had been changed into “Legends of the Bayou” and had Mardi Gras merchandise. It’s fun that they change the decorations and stuff in this store several times a year. We also walked through the Wicked store since Jenn hadn’t seen it yet. 

We then watched the parade. There were about 10 floats pulled by pickup trucks, each with guests riding on it and tossing beads to the parade viewers. The entertainers that were out earlier walked between them, lots on stilts. Both parks closed at 7 tonight so we headed home after the parade.