Last time I was at Muir Woods was over 10 years ago. I wasn’t married yet, my son wasn’t born yet and my niece was still a baby or not even born yet. So yes, it has been that long!
Jewel at the entrance
Me and Jewel
Nathan jumping as high as he can to try to reach the tree branch
Nelson and his little critter
A bed of clover plants
Stream pictures
Tall redwood trees
Redwood tree trunks
Me fooling around
Phantom of the Opera’s grand finale at the Venetian in Las Vegas is Sept 2, 2012. To see the show one last time, I decided to go to Las Vegas and booked a room at the Venetian. At first it was only me who was going to Las Vegas but Nelson decided to join me so that we can celebrate our belated 10 year anniversary and his birthday there.
We took an early flight to Las Vegas. Best part about going to Vegas is the distance. It is only a little over an 1hr flight from SFO to Las Vegas. So going to Vegas is a nice quick getaway.
Our room at the Venetian.
Fourth of July decoration at the Palazzo
We went to Margaritaville which is one of our usual places to eat for lunch in Las Vegas. Of course Nelson had to get his favorite margarita on the rocks
I usually get a different item from the menu but this time I decided to get the same cheeseburger that Nelson ordered
After lunch, we went back to Venetian and hit the pool.
For dinner, we ate at the Wynn buffet
After dinner, it was time to watch Phantom of Opera. I watched Phantom of Opera in San Francisco twice years ago. But the theater in Venetian Las Vegas is nicely built just for the show which is why I prefer to watch it in Las Vegas.
After the show, we hung out at the Carnavale in front of the Venetian
I wish I was wearing this costume. It actually looks nice.
Next day, we ate at Earl’s Sandwich for early lunch.
Since our flight wasn’t until past 6:30pm, we had enough time to have early dinner at Serendipity
Venetian is my favorite hotel on the Las Vegas strip. But I also like staying at the City Center.
I am at the highest boiling point with my next door neighbor. Every Thurs, I put out the garbage bins (trash and recycle bins) on the curb in front of our house as you see in pic. The curb on other side of our house is shorter. That curb only has enough room for our neighbor’s 3 big ass garbage bins. If I try to fit my bins and their bins together on that small curb, the garbage truck will end up placing our bins in front of our driveway when the truck places our bins back on the ground which has happened several times already. So I have been placing our bins on other side.
Next morning, I noticed that our garbage bins have been moved. Our neighbor moved it to the other side. Not sure why he thought he needed to move our garbage bins. Our garbage bins were good enough where I put them out yesterday. Is it because he is afraid that the garbage truck will hit his SUV if the truck picks up our garbage?… and his solution is to move our garbage bins? What gave him the right to move other people’s stuff?
If our neighbor is afraid of getting his SUV hit by garbage truck, he should MOVE HIS DAMN CAR OUT OF THE WAY! There is so much space in front of his SUV! How come he couldn’t just move his SUV forward or park his SUV in front of his OWN HOUSE or INSIDE HIS GARAGE!
So what I did, I moved our garbage bins back to where I originally placed them!
I just had it with our next door neighbor. What this family does is enough to drive me crazy.
1. We had issue with them blocking our driveway.
2. They decided to cut and remove one of our plants that was in our front yard without asking us.
3. They stole a chair that was for donation and I recently found out it was in their backyard.
4. Now they think they can make a decision on where we should be placing our garbage bins?!
5. What’s next? They will start to have a pinata party in front of my house?
QUIT TOUCHING MY STUFF YOU DAMN MORON! Do they think they own the street? Do they think they have the right to go into people’s front yard and cut their plant that wasn’t in the way of their own front yard?
Are they that cheap to buy their own chair? Instead of buying their own chair, they steal! Donation truck was supposed to pick up the chair I wanted to donate last year Sept 2011. But when I looked outside, the other donation stuff I wanted to donate were still outside but the chair was gone! This meant that the donation truck hadn’t come through our street yet to pick up donation stuff and someone stole the chair! The chair didn’t have a sign that said ‘I’m FREE please take me!’ That chair was for donation!
Nine months later, I found out where the chair was ‘donated’ to! A few days ago, I saw the chair in my neighbor’s backyard after opening a window upstairs of my house.
Nelson wanted to go cherry picking in Suisun for Father’s Day. I just never realized that there are cherry picking farms so close to home. Normally, we go to Brentwood.
Out of all the days, today happened to be the hottest day! It was close to 100 degrees at the farm. Good thing the cherry trees were tall enough to provide some shade!
After going to Cars Land at Disney CA Adventure park and riding the Mater tractor ride, Nathan’s favorite vehicle is now the tractor. He wanted to play with a real tractor but of course I didn’t let him. I just took a pic of him next to the tractor.
We found this wooden owl next to the cherry trees
At first, Nathan was happy to run around the cherry trees but once the heat got to him, all he wanted to do was leave. So after Nelson got enough cherries, we started walking back to the car. But while walking back, Nelson and I took turns carrying Nathan because he was too tired to walk. It was really that hot. I was sweating! Once we got to the car, Nathan drank 3 sippy cups full of nice cold water I had in the cooler.
For dinner, we ate at Texas Roadhouse.
For dessert, we had chocolate cake back home
Now that Cars Land is officially open at Disney California Adventure, we are able to get our photos taken by Disney employees during the preview on June 3.
My inlaws and two of my nieces were able to see movie Brave. There was an extra ticket so I got to watch the movie again. There were two types of screenings: 2D and 3D. Our screening was just 2D although I would have wanted to see it on 3D since I already saw movie in 2D during the Pixar Brave Wrap Party on June 9.
My nieces at Pixar
Before the movie, we decided to eat at Los Cantaros on San Pablo. Joy’s dinner.
Since Brave is based on medieval times, having the wrap party at a castle was perfect. By far, this was the best wrap party I have ever been to.
Usually, we get a wristband for the wrap party. The wristband for Brave is more like a jewelry than those usual rubber wristbands.
I had no special plans for my hair. I didn’t want to spend too much money for an updo. So instead of wearing the wristband around my wrist, I decided to just use it as hair accessory. 🙂
On our way to the castle
Most guests parked their cars at the Napa Fairgrounds. Then buses drove guests to the castle.
At the castle entrance, there were cops on patrol
Walking up to the castle
On the way to the castle, these people were entertaining guests with some drum beats
At first, I didn’t know why these fabrics were dangling outside the castle wall but I finally got it after I watched Brave.
At the castle
Because of Brave movie, there were a lot of men wearing kilts for the party… like Nelson and his coworker Neftali 🙂
Some employees actually wore costumes like the characters in the movie
Since the party was in Napa wine country, the castle served all sorts of wines such as Gioia and Sangovese
Outdoor theater for the Brave movie. This outdoor theater was just setup for the movie. This theater is not permanent for the castle.
On way to the outdoor theater, these people played some music with bagpipes and drums
Neftali, Maria, Mary and Edgar
It was a great night for an outdoor movie. While watching La Luna (Pixar short) and Brave, once in a while I would look up and stare at the stars. But blankets were given to us just in case it got cold for some people. I did see a shooting star. Not sure if others saw that too.
After watching La Luna and Brave, the party resumed at the castle
The dance floor was at the Cellar below the castle
Pixar employees and guests were given passes to preview Cars Land at Disney California Adventure Park. Cars Land opens to the public on June 15.
Nelson, Nathan and I each got a badge lanyard souvenir.
Ticket to Cars Land
June 1st
On our way to Disneyland, Nathan was playing ‘boo’
Nathan eating banana
We got to Disneyland late at night. Since California Adventure Park closes at 10pm, we decided to go there for a while before heading to Sheraton Hotel. Electronica has been replaced with Mad ‘T’ Party at California Adventure Park. I still prefer Electronica.
After a long drive and since it was getting close to 10pm, we didn’t stay at the park long. We headed to Sheraton for our first night.
June 2nd
In the next morning, we checked into Disneyland Hotel. While waiting for Nelson to check-in, Nathan played around on the teacup chair.
Disneyland Hotel has three towers: Adventure, Fantasy and Frontier. Since we stayed at the Adventure tower last time, we decided to stay at the Frontier tower. The difference between the Adventure tower and Frontier tower is that we had a balcony at the Frontier tower.
My favorite thing in the room is the headboard where it lights up and plays a Disney music
We had lunch at the new place near our hotel called Tangaroa Terrace
Their food was actually good
The new pool at Disneyland Hotel is complete. So after lunch, we decided to go for a swim
Later in the day, we went inside California Adventure Park. At the park, we took Nathan at Redwood Creek. For some reason he was scared to go through the netted bridge
But he was brave to go through this small bridge
He liked going down the slide
We rode Toy Story Mania. His score is the one on the left.
Ghirardelli recently opened at California Adventure Park.
Our sundae sure doesn’t look the same as in the picture above.
June 3rd
In the early morning, Nelson got up before 6am to meet with two of his coworkers, Neftali and Edgar, to get a backstage tour of a few of rides such as the Pirates and Haunted Mansion before the park opens to the public. Nelson got to see how the rides work and learn about the history behind the rides. The person who gave them backstage tour works in the Imagineering dept for Disney.
Once Nelson came back to our hotel room, we went to the ticket exchange section to get our wristlets for Cars Land.
Afterwards, we went inside Disneyland Park to meet with another Pixar family for a character dining breakfast at Disneyland’s Plaza Inn. Nathan got to meet some Disney characters
Nathan playing with Kaya
Nathan dancing to the music. Funny how his accidentally dropped his milk on the floor. 🙂
Since the Cars Land preview wasn’t until 3pm, we hung out at Dsneyland for a while. Near It’s A Small World, we saw Merida who is the main character in the new Pixar movie Brave.
Around noon, we met with another Pixar family and got a special pass to ride Star Tours. We didn’t have to stand in line. A Disney employee guided us into the Star Tours ride and allowed us to ride it twice. When riding Star Tours, the riders experience different adventures. Since I was able to ride it twice in a row, I got to see two different adventures that I never seen before.
Before heading to the Cars Land Preview, we decided to go back to the Disneyland Hotel so Nathan can take a nap.
Since Cars Land isn’t open to the public yet, it took us a while to find the entrance. The entrance didn’t have a big sign like ‘Cars Land, enter here!’ So we kept walking around and around and saw these Disney employees standing next to a big door. Since we saw some people going in, we thought that perhaps that is the entrance to Cars Land. When we approached the Disney park employees, they asked us for our wristlet. Once we showed our wristlet, they opened the door for us and we walked into Cars Land!
Unfortunately, we couldn’t take pictures and videos in Cars Land since it isn’t officially open to the public yet. But we got to ride all the three rides in Cars Land: Luigis Flying Tires, Radiator Springs Racers and the Mater tracter ride. The Radiator Springs Racers ride was the most popular ride. The regular line for Racers was too long so Nelson and I took turns looking after Nathan and went through the single rider line. The single rider line was really quick. Nathan isn’t tall enough yet to ride the Racers. Nelson, Nathan and I enjoyed riding Mater’s tractor. We rode it like about 3 times.
When nighttime came, the neon lights in Cars Land turned on. I like Cars Land at night more because of the neon lights. It really felt like I was in the movie. Here is a video clip of the neon lights. I didn’t feel like leaving Cars Land. It was supposed to close at 9pm, but since there were still some other Disney/Pixar families in the park, we didn’t leave the park until 9:30pm.
Even though pictures were not allowed at Cars Land yet, there were Disney photographers taking pictures for guests. But we can’t download the pictures online yet until June 15 which is the day when Cars Land opens. Pixar’s own photographer was there too. We had her take a picture of us.
For lunch, we ate at Flo’s V8 Cafe in Cars Land. I had sirloin with mash potatoes. It was pretty good.
June 4th
We checked out of Disneyland Hotel and hung out at Downtown Disney for a bit. At the World of Disney store, we bought Nathan a Dumbo pillow.
Before driving back home, we went to Company D and I bought little toys for Nathan.
While driving home, we encountered a dust storm on I-5. We have been on I-5 many times but never experienced a dust storm. On way home, we also encountered rain and strong winds!
Since we have a 2012 Season pass for Discovery Kingdom, we decided to take Nathan there for a little while.
His favorite ride there is the merry-go-ground
We went to see a walrus. Wow, this walrus is huge!
I had a great Mother’s Day weekend. Last Friday, my husband took me out for dinner at Roy’s in San Francisco. Our little critter stayed with my inlaws. Roy’s just doesn’t seem to be kid friendly. I chose Roy’s because the restaurant gave out $20 dining gift card if you dine in at Roy’s from May 11 – 13.
Of course I had to order the Roy’s melting hot chocolate souffle
On May 12, my husband stayed home with our critter while I went to the mall to get my haircut. Afterwards, I visited my mom’s place and stayed there for a while. At my mom’s place, my 13 year old niece showed me some of her miniature sculptures she did herself. She is getting better at it.
Here are some miniatures she did:
Bird symbol from Hunger Games
The arrows from Hunger Games:
Drinks and Food:
Afterwards, I went back home to change for our dinner with my mother-in-law and the rest of my husband’s family. We were going to eat at a Chinese restaurant called Daimo but only dinner time available they had was past 7pm. So we decided to eat at Romano’s Macaroni Grill in El Cerrito. At Macaroni Grill, I ate the Pasta Di Mare (seafood pasta). I think it was just OK. The pasta wasn’t cooked enough. But the mussels tasted good. I think my husband’s pizza tasted better (sausage pizza). Our little critter ate spaghetti. Not sure why we got this coupon but our waiter gave us a $7 coupon for our next visit at Macaroni Grill. I didn’t see our waiter give this coupon to the other guests. I assume that we got the coupon because the cook had to make another pizza for my husband because the first pizza order gotten too cold by the time the waiter served it to my husband.
On May 13, I took my mom out at the movies to watch Dark Shadows. Dark Shadows was just OK. It’s been a long time since I watched a movie in a public movie theater. Normally I watch movies at Pixar. One thing I missed about watching a movie in a public theater is eating popcorn and hot dog with soda! I think eating inside Pixar’s theater is not permitted but once in a while I sit next to a person who grabs their wrapped burrito from their bag and eat it quietly.
For dinner, my husband, little critter and I went to Asia Wok and Grill near our home. Last time we ate at this restaurant was back in 2007! The food is good but just small portion. Even their large portion is only good enough for 2 people. We ordered Wor Won Ton Soup (pork, shrimp, won tons, chicken and veggies), fried rice, Hong Kong pan fried noodle and the thai basil chicken with greens.
Hong Kong pan fried noodle
Even though I was full, I had to get some ice cream. There is this Creamery near the Asian Wok and Grill restaurant. One scoop cost only $1. Instead of having my scoop of ice cream in a cup, I asked for a sugar cone since getting a sugar cone doesn’t cost anything extra. I had Rocky Road ice cream.
Took some pics on Mother’s Day
Nathan is Thor 🙂
