We were fortunate enough to meet a nice family our first day in Disney who had some tips for the best Universal experience: get express passes by staying at a Universal hotel. I looked into it on Monday and decided after all the lines we had experienced the last week—parking, tickets, rides, food & bathrooms—that at any price, it would be worth it. Glenn & I checked into the hotel Wednesday night along with three imaginary guests (so that Dad, Mom & Makena could get express passes too). Thursday morning we were off to squeeze two parks into one day. The [View Full Entry]

---

---

Today was the day we had been waiting for: Magic Kingdom & matching shirts day!! Yay! Earlier in our Disney experience I decided it would be fun to buy & wear matching Disney shirts around one of the parks. After getting dressed in my shirt I walked into the kitchen, and what did I see?! Glenn was not wearing his shirt! Heaven to Betsy!! I informed him of his mistake and he hung his head. He began the change willingly, but once the Disney shirt was over his head his cooperation waned. He needed some help. I assisted by pulling [View Full Entry]

---

---

I was dead set on letting my family take a taxi to our rental house in Orlando when they arrived at 6am this morning. Glenn, however, volunteered us to pick them up. (He must still be working on some brownie points, but he didn't need to drag me into it :P) So began day one of Disney World, up before 6am to pick up my family. Makena was very excited, hadn’t slept on the plane and argued that she didn’t need a nap—she was ready for Disney now! As we were getting ready for the parks I went into her [View Full Entry]

---

---

Another piece of advice from a number of friends warned us not to leave New Orleans’ French Quarter. Or, as they put it, “don’t go anywhere there aren’t white people.” We took their advice to heart; we walked up and down Bourbon Street so many times we could’ve dug a rut. Glenn and I were impressed, and happy, to find that the party in New Orleans is not limited to Mardi Gras. Beads, Jello shots, flashing women (and men) and 24oz drinks were everywhere. Bourbon Street is lined with a number of different bars, a few restaurants, but also quite a [View Full Entry]

---

---

March 18-26: Las Vegas, Phoenix & El Paso Another blur of the trip was Las Vegas, the city of lights, the city of sin. I can say this much of our stay there: we didn’t lose any money although we spent almost all of our time gambling, we didn’t go clubbing or to any shows and we ate mostly at the food court within our hotel. Glenn wasn’t prepared for the size of the casinos. He was embarrassed to admit that he got lost in our own hotel. The first day we were about to go out on the strip when [View Full Entry]

---

---

I enjoyed San Antonio—Glenn, not so much. Friends had warned us of Texas’ unique qualities (read different from the rest of the continental US) Women have big hair, lots of jewelry, long red nails and men wear big hats, big belt buckles and cowboy boots. To illustrate, walking through the Rivercenter Mall I was approached by a woman who wanted to help me make my hair a bit more Texan—I resisted the temptation. Glenn & I visited the historic Alamo. As an egotistical American I was surprised to learn that Glenn knows very little about the American War of Independence, o [View Full Entry]

---

---

March 15: Drive to LA This morning we got dressed to be “discovered” in Hollywood. Surprisingly, we ran into a bit of traffic as we entered the city. And, as I learned at the beginning of the trip, Glenn does not cope well with traffic. But, we survived. Our hotel was blocks from the famous Grauman’s Chinese Theatre and Hollywood Walk of Fame. Many locals take advantage of the star-struck tourists by dressing up on their days off as characters from our favorite movies. Since we arrived on a Saturday, there were a fair few there. Some were more convincing th [View Full Entry]

---

---

March 14: The Rock Today we went to the “inescapable” fortress of Alcatraz Island. After our twenty minute ferry ride we were greeted by a park ranger who, in his intro, asked us to keep an eye open for the five convicts who have escaped and never been heard of since. It was interesting to learn that the island was not always used as a prison. During the Gold Rush the American Army built up a fortress to protect the bay. Whoever controlled the bay controlled the west coast. Later it became a civil war penitentiary for soldiers. And, finally, a [View Full Entry]

---

---

We began today’s activities with a cable car ride from the Wharf to Union Square. Early in San Francisco’s development, the steep and hilly streets required an alternative means of transportation—the inventor had the idea when he watched a team of horses being pulled down one such hill by the weight of the cart. There used to be over 114 different cable car tracks, but now the only three remaining in the country are in San Francisco. Safe to say Glenn was glad we took the Cable Car rather than walking. I had done some research about San Francisco and heard [View Full Entry]

---

---

I had a bit of a sleep in today. Glenn got up and made a run for breakfast. I woke up and looked outside but couldn’t find the car. I had a moment of doubt as to whether or not we had locked the car last night (my fishbowl didn’t help either) before I noticed that Glenn was gone and must have taken the car. Whew…that wouldn’t have been a good start to the trip. Side note: keeping up with the blogs has been harder than I thought it would be. It’s not that difficult to sit in the car and [View Full Entry]

---

---