Under Da Sea...

I have a real passion for water… not just any water, but more specifically – sea water.

I live beside it, I photograph it at every opportunity and I hear it when I fall asleep. 

I honestly believe it fixes a myriad of ills just by merely standing with your toes in it.

So when the day dawned for our tour to San Diego Sea World, I was keen as mustard.   I LOVE sea creatures, but I also have this philosophical issue with having them housed away from their natural habitat.  It is always an issue for me visiting a zoo or marine park.  I desperately want to see these beautiful creatures, but something inside tells me I should be letting them all go. 

So I content myself with the knowledge that my entrance fee is helping us all learn more about them in order to protect them in the wild.   That’s the only way I can reconcile it.

That aside, on arrival, I leapt from the bus, snapped up a map and was ready to discover stuff. 

I’ve visited my own country’s Seaworld on multiple occasions, but I knew that this was going to be so so different – if only by the sheer size of the place, and I will admit it – I was pumped to see it all, and much much more importantly – photograph it all.

I always have the same quandary in a new place… shall I go left or right? But invariably I end up going anti-clockwise around the park, and so it was today, I made note of the important stuff on the map, like the closest loos and oddly, closest defibrillators and headed for my first port of call to the right,  the animal connections pavilion.

Now this is the one that if I were at home, I’d give a big miss – you know, the local stuff. At home I’d expect to see kangaroos, emu’s, goanna’s and farm animals.  But I’m so glad I stopped in here.

I can’t stress enough how much I love frogs… and the first thing I saw here were poison dart frogs from South America… way cool folks ( they’re on my bucket list to see in the wild).  Followed by capybaras ( hmm… bit smelly, but then most rodents are) huge exotic bugs  and then outside was the most beautiful Macaw. 

I wandered past the impressive Atlantis ride, but decided it was too early in the day to be soaked to the skin, so I continued my quest to the right, where the Wild Arctic Ride was a walk-on, and without knowing a single thing about it, in I went.

In hindsight, this could have been a grave mistake on my part, and when I’m in the back row buckling into the seatbelt, the same thought crossed my mind.  But it turned out to be a flight simulator ride with beautiful arctic scenery and a story I took little/no notice of. 

The exit of the ride feeds you into the viewing area for first the upstairs then downstairs view of the Beluga whale, then the most massive walrus that for some reason just wanted to view you upside down through the glass( real character this big boy had), then the beautiful Polar Bear that we tend to forget is an apex predator.

I loved all three, but I could have stood and watched the Beluga whales all day.  Standing there for what must have been an age, you could totally imagine they were trying to tell you something through that glass.  Beautiful gentle giants. 

Right I turned again, and voila, another of my BIG loves – penguins.  This exhibit was one of the best I’ve seen and given the extreme high temperature outside, this was doubly wonderful travelling on a travelator past what essentially is a big freezer filled with the most magnificent penguins.  In fact, I was so taken with watching them, I forgot to take photos on the first pass, so walked back to the start of the travelator not once, but 3 times, to observe and photograph these not so little beauties. 

Sigh… penguin love. 

Dragging myself away, with only a cursory look at the cute little puffins in the same exhibit, I decided it was time a quick snack before making my way to the Shamu stadium for the show.

And this show is the one that I have the most issues with.  While I really don’t agree with such massive mammals being housed in captivity, I just couldn’t wait to see them so close.

Despite that particular war raging in my head, I found myself a prime position with excellent photographic opportunities just outside the splash zone  ( see… for someone who opposes these shows, I had given the best ‘use’ of it much thought) and I can honestly say I was all but salivating imagining the shots I was going to get… seriously… I was giddy with the thought of what was going to be housed in my camera within the next 30 minutes.  These were going to be the shots I would have blown up and made into a canvas.

I was like a little kid, almost unable to sit still in my seat.  The show began and I was thrilled to the back teeth… really.  Thrilled.  This had the potential to be the most amazing part of the day.  Camera firmly set to 10 consecutive shots when I press the shutter, I was ready for anything.

And then it happened.

Flat battery.

(Don’t panic Lisa, muddle around in your too-full back pack and fish out the expensive spare tucked in the zipper pocket for just such an occasion and all will be well.  You won’t miss much.  )

New battery in.

Oh. Dear. Lord.

Flat Battery #2.

This could not be happening.  Oh no… the audience was getting pummelled with water and I was not getting it on film. 

Right!

A deep calming breath, putting the devastation on hold, I pulled myself together and tried to commit the rest of the amazing show to memory.

And it was truly an awesome display of what these magnificent animals are capable of.  The power it must take to launch bodies that size out of the water with such force is beyond my imagination.

And they do it, because we ask them to.

 I thanked them for their efforts in my head.

As the most colossal crowds I think I’ve ever seen dispersed back into the park, I did something I never do.  I deviated.

Without my calculated photographic assault plan in play, I was a loose cannon wandering in a zig zag pattern for the rest of our time in the park.  I wandered clear across the park to the turtle encounter and shark tubes… and they were magnificent… And I pondered the angles I’d have been taking the shots on – until I got out of my own head and just enjoyed it.

Then it was on to the sea lion feeding area, where I watched cheeky sea lions work the crowds without the unsuspecting fish-givers even knowing it.  Very very clever animals.

I zigged and zagged through the many rides, not riding any of them for some reason, and came across the Bat Ray feeding enclosure. 

Oh…. Now, here is where Lisa got her groove back.  In this massive, and I mean, massive pond, no deeper than knee height, were varying sized bat rays.  

LOTS of Bat Rays.

I’ve swum with rays in Tahiti, but this time, I was going to feed them.  So with tiny little fishies in hand, I kneeled along side toddlers and leaned over the edge of the pond and offered up the gourmet ray delights.  I was so taken with them I lost track of time and sat there for a long while feeling their rough skin when them came over to the edges, and they seemed to enjoy the encounter as much as we all did.   They certainly had zero fear of those hundreds of hands all under the edges of the water.   Possibly due to the fact that they often held lunch.

The lateness of the day finally dawned on me, and I scooted back to the Dolphin stadium to watch the final show, where I met up with the rest of the group. 

Despite the hiccup of the show stopping for some time due to ‘technical difficulties’ it was our last hurrah for our day in the park and cheered heartily when the people in the splash zone got soaked once again.  Before we knew it, it was time to all wearily wander back to the shops near the exit to stock up on yet more magnets, t-shirts and mugs before boarding the bus back to Anaheim.

Tony Roma’s was the lucky dinner recipient of our increasingly rowdy group of Aussies, where a fun, but late night ensued prior to yet again collapsing into bed into either sleep or a coma – at this point, it could have been either.  

Beautiful but deadly.... Poison Dart Frogs 

The lovely Beluga Whale saying hello :)

This cheeky walrus was HUGE and so graceful in the water it was mesmerising to watch

Beluga love.  

frosty penguin.  

lots of frosty penguins.  

Grace in motion... the Shamu show 

So so beautiful, and so so deadly.  

Trick or Treat, smell my feet.....

Well, today was the day for one of the most anticipated parts of the tour – the Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party in Disneyland Park – well, for me anyway.

Even back when it wasn’t ‘popular’ to celebrate Halloween in Australia, I was celebrating it  - with gusto.  So getting to do REAL trick or treating ( or better,  the Disney version) was going to be a hoot of the highest magnitude.

So at the risk of this turning into the cyber version of Nanna's slide night, I’m going to tell you all about it. J

I started the day in DCA park just to do a little shopping in Carsland and take a few more photos, but in what seemed like 30 seconds, it was time to head back over to Disneyland for our pre-lunch meet up. 

Of course, this wouldn’t be a Disney park if I didn’t have a few exciting detours along the way.  On returning to DL it was immediately obvious that the whole Halloween thing was ramping up.  There were more and different decorations around now that signaled a great night was currently in the making.

On my way down Main Street, I moved out of the way of a fire engine full to overflowing with characters, and then a few moments later, down the street marches Mickey in his Bandleader gear with the quintessential marching band moving in unison behind him.  I stopped, I grinned, I photographed…  Love a good photo opp.

 Outside of the Pirates ride we gathered, and then filed into the Blue Bayou restaurant ( another bucket list restaurant I can tick)  and into the dimly lit, wonderful atmosphere of a Disneyfied Southern Experience.  Paper lanterns provided just enough light to identify what was on the menu but not enough to ruin the fun of all the glowing drinks on offer.  With long strings of purple flowers dripping their way down the two storied ‘ Gone with the Wind’ style manor we now sat ‘outside’ of, it would be easy to imagine a gator at your feet and fireflies around your head.

Cajun food is a favourite of mine so after a wonderfully hot and spicy gumbo style ‘soup’ thick with rice and a myriad of other ingredients we could neither see or identify anyway, the majority of us ordered the Monte Cristo Sandwich that this eatery is famous for, although, it turned out to be a bit overly ‘bready’ for my tastes.  But a must-try just the same. 

But it was the Desserts that really had our heads turning.  Only a couple of the group ordered, but when the rest of us saw the absolutely gorgeous collectable Donald Duck cup that the Chocolate/Pumpkin mousse was served in, it was ordered unanimously around the table.  And given that my arch enemy of the vegetable world is Pumpkin, this was no small sacrifice for the love of a Disney Souvenir on my part. 

We split up to while away a few hours in the parks before the party was to begin, so I headed back to the Haunted Mansion first, knowing that the lines would extend into the next week later on at night.  If only I could have bottled the smell of the fresh gingerbread tower in that ride specifically for the holidays, I’d be a happy girl.  I’m of German heritage and therefore have a life-long love affair with gingerbread.

 Then it was onto the train around to Toontown.  I love this part of the park – its like stepping into a comic book – the colours and shapes are simple and bold and it instantly transports me back to being 7 or 8 with those comic books in hand.  So I climbed Donald's Boat, and shopped in all the shops, and rode the Roger Rabbit ride, and wandered and photographed, and then miracle of miracles, there was almost no line to meet and greet with Mickey so without hesitation, in I went, snapping photos at almost every step, and before I knew it, I was getting hugs from the Mouse himself.  

If nothing else wonderful happened today, that would suffice.

But lucky for me, the day held so many more surprises. 

On my way out of the park, I did the Castle walk-through for the very first time.  Those of you that know me well, know I’m not a huge fan of the Princess juggernaut but this was fun and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this simple attraction.

As I exited the gates it was with no small amount of excitement I pondered that I was going to be one of the lucky (ticketed) ones allowed back in after dark and the amount of people already pouring through the turnstiles in amazing costumes gave the excitement level an extra kick.  We were going to be part of something great fun – I could feel it in my bones.

With much giggling and laughing we assembled out the front of the resort for photos… 6 nuns of the Disney Diocese, a witch, a cat woman, a saloon girl, a devil, Zelda and I believe a mad hatter and side kick. 

I will never forget walking back to the park in costume, surrounded by hundreds ( if not thousands) of other costumed Halloween enthusiasts, being stamped, and handed a candy bag with Wreck-it-Ralph on the side and let loose into this wonderland of candy.  And frankly, I want to do it all again.

The degree of ingenuity of costuming was mind blowing. I saw so few people in regular clothing that they actually stood out amongst the partiers.  And with specially produced candy hunting maps in our eager little hands, we wandered as a group for a while – literally not knowing where to head first, like the kids we felt like. 

There were giant ghostly Mickey Mouses with varying degrees of frightful expressions at every turn.  There were spider webs and Halloween messages projected onto buildings, wall and massive sections of floor in unexpected places.  But the thing that I will remember the most is the trick or treating.

The lines were, and I don’t say this lightly, PHENOMENAL.  But if anyone knows how to move crowds around its Disney, and it really took very little time to reach the next candy station and get the next handful of bounty… or raisins… or carrot sticks… but honestly, I just got to the point of shaking my head if they so much as reached for the carrots or apples… that’s not what I’m here for and I think its best not to pretend otherwise.

And no one wanted to upset a nun.

The evening just disappeared before our candy-seeking eyes, and somehow I managed to watch both showings of the exclusive Halloween parade, which granted, is short and sweet and very difficult to photograph given that everything moved, all the time, in the dark. 

Somehow we managed to squeeze in a quick burger for dinner, but in doing so, ended up at the WAY WAY back of the fireworks viewing areas, and honestly, I needed to be another 3 feet taller to get any kind of view.  So note to self, next time, get a spot a bit closer, a bit earlier.

I did however, get some beautiful shots of the castle later on so I was happy with that.

In our park wide quest for more candy, we managed to do a hilarious turn on the tea cups, costumes and all, and let me tell you, holding on a habit and holding on for dear life do not necessarily work well together…

Many candy distribution points later, Myself and the cat woman, called it a night and lugged our bulging candy bags back to the resort to revel in the knowledge we’d conquered the whole ‘candy-thing’ and I collapsed happily into a sugar filled sleep in preparation of our last few days.

Fire Engine full of Character.

Toon Town from on top of Donald's Boat.

let the parade begin...

The Halloween overlay on Its a Small World.

Spooky Sleeping Beauty's Castle. 

Ghosts, pumpkin lights, projections and candy  ...bags of Halloween fun

Thank You :)

Voting for the Expedia Blogger Search is now closed, and I just want to say a big thank you to those who took the time to vote for me.

I love sharing my memories of my trip to the USA I was fortunate enough to take this year.  Traveling for me, is not just about seeing and doing, but absorbing the feeling of the place, and then preserving that memory the best way I can.  Thanks for being part of that experience.  :)

Lisa xx

A Ghost of a chance...

Today was a day where we were either going on a ghost tour or to a ghost town… given that I am a bit sensitive to actually bumping into the real thing, I chose to go Wild Wild West at Knotts Berry Farm.

Having already eaten the famous chicken dinner that started the growth of this park, other than it being a ghost town theme and there were roller coasters, I didn’t really have much idea of what this park was about.  (Despite Sandie having given us all reams of info to study up on before we left… but me being one of those ‘discover it as you go’ kinds of people, I chose to just glance through the pages and takes my chances on the ground. )

Although, I was soon to learn, being on the ground is the LAST thing that you are meant to be doing in this particular park.  Actually, apart from a tiny handful of rides, ALL of them are coasters of varying degree of skidmark possibilities.

One of them in fact, is classified amongst the scariest in the world – and you guessed it, nope, that one wasn’t for me.

Walking into the park, the immersion into the wild wild west is actually pretty good – if you disregard their fake spider webs all over the place for Halloween.  We 4 hapless adrenalin junkies soon felt a little like we’d been in that DeLorean back to the future and were just a few spur jingles away from a gunfight at dawn.

I’m thinking though, that by the time we hit this park, I was well on my way to being roller coaster-ed out because I only went on half a dozen of them, and only one of the truly terrifying ones.   Which I was hoarse by the end of.

None the less, the other girls picked up my slack, with both Sandie and Jacq going on the freaky ‘straight up and straight down’ one that took all day for them to muster up the stuff to go on ( I will admit right here, I never even considered it). 

By brunch we’d ridden the pony express – both the lurchy roller coaster version that almost crushed your vertebrae when it stopped on a dime and the one with real ponies that was hot and squishy ( and we thank you lord for the invention of the motor vehicle and air con) , and were sitting in a diner with all its shiny chrome chairs and seats with puffy red vinyl upholstery ordering a 60’s style burgers and malts and all of us lusting after the chips with cheese and bacon melted on top that only one of us had the foresight to order.

Putting a quarter into the little push button juke box right there on our table was a treat, until we realised that we weren’t doing it right and nothing ever played.  I remember almost identical ones in the little takeaway shops in Melbourne back in the 80’s – but those ones worked, and I DID order the chips back then.

Then it was on to the Galloping Goose, a train/bus thingy that is a darn-tootin’ authentic ve-hicle once used in the outback a bit like a train.  Again, felt a lot like a scene in Back to the Future, but was a fun bit of nostalgia with a token outlaw holding up the train briefly for the hell of it.   We did see another ‘gun fight’ down the main street later on too. 

After a bit of shopping in the blissful air conditioning, and a drink in the saloon – as you do – it was back into the coasters for another round. 

As we left the park mid afternoon we got our first glimpse of Snoopy, who is the mascot for this park, and after photos and hugs it was back to the hotel for a break before dinner with another dressed up doag – Goofy.

So our gathering of travellers headed over to the Disneyland Hotel where we had tickets to dine at Goofy’s kitchen and what a hoot that was. 

As a group, we all crammed into the photo-op spot and got a few shots with the Goofster himself, which oddly, was the only time we saw him, so one can only assume he was busy in the kitchen .

The food was buffet style with a heavy leaning towards ‘family foods’ but was delish just the same, given that I have the palate of a 10 year old ( I’ve been told) and we spent the evening going backwards and forwards trying a gazillion taste sensations with intermittent visits from the likes of Alice in Wonderland, Minnie Mouse, Pluto, Chip and possibly more that I’m forgetting. 

Our server was a hoot and made the night a great fun experience, but I’m sure he was wondering what he struck with 14 Aussies and one lone American to handle. 

We rolled out of Goofy’s Kitchen lamenting the fact that we simply could NOT fit in every single dessert offering and scattered into the wonderland of shops that is Downtown Disney. 

Most of us shopped fairly late and then it was back to the hotel for some much needed shut eye before another HUGE day on the morrow.  

One of the many modes of transport scattered around the park

You just KNOW you're not in Disneyland when there is a gun and knife shop with REAL guns and knives for sale. 

for just a fiver you can stand in this contraption and be blown dry after the 'get you soaked' ride it is positioned conveniently beside

The Galloping Goose um... train? pulling into the station

on board the Galloping Goose - with one missing taking the photo

the dodgy diner juke box... looked good though :)

Another vehicle that took my attention

This folks, is what this park is all about, with 3 of the wildest right there in the shot

Arribah !!!

So, prior to this trip, my only contact with anything Spanish or Mexican was Speedy Gonzales courtesy of  Loony Tunes on the telly and burritos on a regular basis.

But today that was all going to change.

It was a very early morning and because of how late I’d stayed up chatting to my baby girl on the internet on the other side of the world, I was too sleepy to get up for the scheduled breakfast to farewell our only American traveller Jeannette.  So that was the first order of the day, to say goodbye to a new friend who we’d all enjoyed meeting and sharing the magic with.

From here, the group split again and the ‘Mexico trippers’ waited at the spot for what seemed like an eternity.

Eventually the bus arrived, only to find out that there was confusion with our booking and the bus left without us.

I know, right?… breathe….

 Luckily there was a bus not far behind and this one took us to the depot where Sandie sorted out the kerfuffle and the gringos were boarding the bus with the shady driver on our way to Ol’ Mexico. 

Yes, our driver got us offside from as early as San Diego and it went downhill from there.

Arriving in San Diego I was struck by the very modern architecture mixed with some totally gorgeous vintage areas – in particular the original Gas Lamp district.  On our drive around town there were these glass tiles that were popping up all along the streets of the older districts that fascinated me.  In the shape of what I assume is a Hispanic mans head with a big smile, and after many attempts I managed to get a great close up of one.  But despite my best efforts since I’m home, I’m yet to find out what they were in honour of so if any of my readers can tell me that’d be amazing.

Then it was down to the harbour where we saw lots of old skool tall ships which I’d like to research a bit more to see what ladies were moored there. 

 The Midway aircraft carrier, also moored at the dock, was MASSIVE and will also go onto my 'next time I'm in San Diego' list  as its now a museum and would take some time to wander around. 

The driver launched into a long and very patriotic description of how the Midway ship that we were currently parked out front of single handedly saved Australia by just turning up when Darwin was bombed.
Not all that sure her rendition was remotely historically accurate but anyhoo,  on to Tijuana we go.   And with little more than a cursory ‘don’t take photos at the check point’ as our guide, we were across the border with not so much as a passport check.

(Getting out was not going to be as easy as that, we were later to discover. )

So south of the border, with necks craning and all eyes looking left then right then ahead trying to see everything at the same time.  This was after all, our first foray into Mexico and not one of us wanted to miss a moment.

The first thing that struck me was the colour… lots and lots of colour… the buses were apple green, walls everywhere were painted in a riot of colour, every shop  ( more like garages) had colour pouring out of it and hanging from the roof of it.  And not to mention the brilliant hues that decorated the Zonkeys along the streets. 

So what’s a Zonkey you say?  Well, it a donkey painted like a zebra and dressed up like a turkey dinner with backdrops that conveniently tell you at a glance where and when you visited and for a few bucks you too could be standing next to that odd animal for a holiday snap.  

One wondered how much of a life this was for the Donkey but I was quickly assured that they were the best cared for animals in Tijuana because they brought in money.  And they certainly looked to be in good condition.

So, before disembarking the bus, we were given a stern warning to only shop in designated shops because they were ‘the only reliable operators who wouldn’t rip us off’.   So we dutifully shopped in the designated store, and again dutifully ignored the plaintive encouragements by neighbouring shopkeepers to take a quick look at their wares. And within 2 minutes of being in a store, I’d been offered and downed several very tasty tequila shots.  Clearly a great way to get you to be less likely to bargain, but seeing as tequila is my poison of choice, they barely hit the sides and I tried the apple flavoured and the peach flavour to boot!  Without feeling any ill effects.

So were the goods cheap and cheerful like we’d expected? Nope… quite the opposite… exorbitant would be closer.   And did we get back onto the bus having been ripped off?  Most certainly!!! On almost all counts…

Having bargained in many countries before, and it being a game I particularly enjoy,  I think I fared much better than most, getting my delicious turquoise and silver bracelet down from a lofty $300+ to a much more palatable amount with the matching earring thrown in for less than 3 figures.

And tucked under my arm as I reboarded the bus, was a very large bottle of that fabulous peach tequila that I will have to return to Mexico to replace when its gone. 

 So it was only when the same dictates spouted forth from our shady driver at the next stop, that we cottoned on to how very ‘steered’ we’d been last time around and made a determined effort to shop around in the next place.

So as a group, we decided to head to our ‘only safe place to eat’ which turned out to be just the most quintessential Mexico dining experience I can imagine.

On a rooftop, with mariachi band playing ( that another table had paid for), with a menu that was half written in Spanish and English on the flip side, with roving artisans plying their wares to a captive audience.   The warm breeze just enough to take the edge off the temperature and make the strings of red, white and green flags flutter around us, we sat under enormous umbrellas and ordered freshly blended margaritas in both the lemon and then the strawberry and then the lemon versions all served in miss matched but beautiful Mexican glassware.

I ordered my first authentic Mexican Fajita which, apart from being one of only 3 things I recognised on the menu, was delicious, with all the components being placed on a big plate for me to assemble as I wished.   With a steaming basket of fresh tortillas in the middle of the table, that was refilled as it emptied, we all eagerly tucked into our spicy delights with gusto.   It was here that a very skilled artisan twisted from a roll of copper wire, bracelets and brooches in front of our eyes.  Soon the whole table was awaiting their name or names for gifts being made to order.

After most of our group experienced our first ‘no paper down the loo’ type of toilet, and funny photos by the ‘doesn’t translate well’ photo-op board, we headed back to street level to start some serious shopping.

Now this was fun…

Here I bought ( at probably too much cost)2 divine  Mexican blankets, a wildly coloured ceramic gecko, magnets, a little bottle of gift tequila and shot glasses to drink it in and other nick nacs…

The shops were filled to the brim with the most amazing stuff and I’d have loved to have brought home much more beautiful plates/platters/jewellery, but alas, the cash stash was dwindling. 

So we wandered along, noting all the pharmaceutical shops that will make up your prescription drugs as long as you know what they’re called and in very large quantities… seriously.

The lolly shop we went into was just a plethora of options, but given that most of the goodies in there must have been sweetened with honey, the shop was also filled with bees trying to keep you away from said goodies, buzzing between all the piñatas hanging from the ceiling and the floor with frightening irregularity so I backed out pretty quickly and watched from out front, given that I don’t react well to their stings.

With no way to know what you were buying, a few sampled the wares and I bought a coke buddy for a huge 95 cents and we wandered back towards our meeting point at the bus.  On the way, buying bracelets from a little girl purely because she looked like she needed a good feed and Sandie and I  doing some superior last minute bargaining to purchase tops for both of us with literally the last notes in my wallet.

So back at the bus, with the entire bus load ready and waiting ( probably because we’d been parted with every American Dollar on us) and waiting and waiting for nearly an hour before the driver emerged clearly just having woken up  - coincidentally from the back room of the same place we were urged was the only safe place to make our purchases…. Hmmmmm.

No one was overly happy with her clearly beneficial ‘arrangements’.

So, finally on the bus,  it was with extra chagrin that we then endured the really bad mariachi singing from her ‘son’ who also coincidentally was the very same person that waved us through the US/Mexican border without so much as a howsya father. 

And predictably, he then walked along the bus aisle with his hat out expecting to be tipped by his captive audience who were tired and getting grumpier by the minute. 

Making our way back to the border was a more sombre feeling as we passed the long razor wire topped fence that divides the two countries and the many many crosses nailed to the fence in memory of those who had tried to make a run for a better life and didn’t make it.  Driving through the slums was also a sobering sight as we in the west can’t imagine living in these conditions.

At the border, the bus driver put the fear of God into us in the last second before we had to get off the bus and walk through X-rays, finger prints and border security with exactly the same level of fear as when you go through LAX, juggling our purchases in our arms.   Praying they let you through, more so here than anywhere I’ve ever been.  Not a place for a gringo to be left behind with night falling.

But, luck was with us, and we walked several blocks back to the bus that was now on the other side of the border, and headed to San Diego for our dinner stop… that none of us knew we were going to be having.  Which was an issue for some… like myself, who was down to the last dimes in my pocket at that stage.  The worst part being, that almost every item we’d purchased earlier in the day, was here in the shops, but for at least half the price.   And not having brought any cards with me, I was left to drool at goodies I’d dearly loved to have added to my stash.

Annoying much?

Back on the bus, an accident on the freeway stretched our trip out by almost 3 hours longer, and with our other travel buddies back at the hotel all but having coronaries, worried why we hadn’t returned yet.

I fell into bed without dinner, totally exhausted and keen to go back and explore much more of Mexico another day.

I loved it!!!

(Oh… and don’t tell my sisters, but yes, I did venture out into one back room to check out the handbags and sunnies they had on offer… and I survived.  )

The 'mystery tiles' in San Diego... any ideas what they're about?

The last remaining gas lamp from the Gas Lamp District of San Diego

Colourful Tijuana shopping

A Zonkey ready for your photo op

a couple of shoppers that have clearly taken a long time to decide

The lolly shop where there was as many bees as there were goodies.

Take me out to the ball game....

 Plaaaaaaay Ball  !!!

An odd mix of stuff on our agenda today … each of which being a stand out on its own, so I’ll try and keep it corralled so it doesn’t go off on a tangent.

Not as early, but still early we met up at the foyer of the hotel as we did each morning, but this time, there was something different. 

This morning was going to be the one that taste forgot. 

Its WALMART day….

So into the bus we piled, in varying degrees of bad taste, with shimmery fabrics and furry leggings and fishnets with holes and I think a corset or two. 

And so as not to look like a group of weirdo’s (???) we filed into the store separately and dispersed.

It wasn’t long before we forgot we were dressed like ‘walmart folk’ and were filling up arms, baskets and even trollies of cut priced wonders that had our eyes popping and our wallets open. 

And funnily, it wasn’t until you heard people debating if we always looked like that or if it was a costume in less than hushed tones behind us, that we even remembered that we were dressed so oddly.

I do believe that the odd husband also got a swift dig in the ribs for staring too long in some instances.

I also remember doing a LOT of hitching up of those psychedelic rainbow coloured  shag pile fur leggings which became a pain in the butt in a very short space of time… in the end, doing so was hampering my shopping experience and I left them sit right where they preferred, about two inches lower than the leggings I had on leaving a wonderful patch of whiter than white skin between the two… oh well, all in the name of bad taste of course.

So what did I buy… actually, what DIDN’T I buy is probably more accurate.

Makeup but the score; massive bags of Halloween candy; fairy floss flavoured frosting sachets; US measuring cups ( for all my pinterest recipes); sooooo many different lollies; Halloween decos; pumpkin pie spice, scrapbooking nic nacs, and my favourite – sugar cookies and pumpkin sugar cookies…

It was seriously all about the food in this store.

It was a wonderful haul.  

Oh... and No photos of this morning  will every see the light of day... other than in a scrapbook or two.

Piling back into the bus, and heading for Knotts Berry Farm  - but not to go into the park but rather to sample the very offering that made the worlds first theme park possible in the first place – the famous ‘Mrs. Knotts Chicken Dinner.’

In a beautiful ‘home dining’ atmosphere, we 15 plus the driver, sat around a big ol’ table and tucked into the most amazingly filling and tasty meal I think I had on the whole trip.  The photos did not do it justice – half a chicken fried in the most amazing coating that I’m not even going to attempt to describe, sweet corn side dish with biscuits ( akin to our scones, but still a little different – more buttery I think) with the equally famous boysenberry jam ( hmm.. could have had several of these from memory), a huge pile of the smoothest and tastiest mashed potatoes I’ve ever  had and quite seriously the BEST chicken gravy pooled in the middle of said mound was seriously mouth watering.  You couldn’t wait till the next bite.  All washed down with Boysenberry cordial concoction.

And then came the boysenberry pie….

Yep, you had to roll more than a few of us out of there, and I think all but one took their pie to go because there simply was not enough room in our stomachs to do it justice.

It was with exceptionally full tummies we then headed back to dump our walmart spoils in the room and onto another shopping centre in the OC.

And while it had great shops, wasn’t nearly as many bargains to be had here, so yes, we shopped, and yes, there were plenty of bags in the bus on the way home, but  not nearly as much propping up of the US economy occurred.   Probably hampered by the centre calling for full evacuation due to some ‘security scare’ which I think only the Aussies took any notice of, because only a handful of people bothered to leave.

Evening came way too soon, and then after filling 2 maxi taxi’s – only one of which knew where we were going, and ours took great offence to the fact that Australians ate kangaroo and boy… did we hear about it)  - it was off to the ball game - to see the LA Angels play the Seattle Mariners. 

I had every intention of barracking for the Mariners until I arrived at the stadium and quickly surmised that I would be the one hanging from the second tier by my toenails should I shout anything other than 'Lets go Angels, lets go' in that sea of red.  

Angel Stadium is everything you would imagine a ball park to be… massive, noisy, and a mad crush to get to your seats in time for the national anthem and the first ball of the game.

On entering the park, we made a b-line for the Angel shop where quite a few of our group kitted out for the game with jumpers, balls, and the necessary big hand to wave around at the opportune moment.

And when we finally took our seats as the National Anthem was ending – right over 3^rd base – we were so excited to see what all the fuss was about in all those sitcoms we’d seen on our TV’s for our whole lives.

Oh. My. Lord. 

What a circus a ball game is.  A fun circus, but a moving, seething, massed cacophony of fans who all talk through the game and only seem to take notice of it at irregular intervals.

So far removed from my live game experiences at home.   Everyone walked around all the time, there was definite ‘buying food from your seat etiquette’ that we clearly didn’t know, and how many grown men had their own catchers mitts with them? 

Naturally, the reason for the last bit became starkly obvious once the first of probably 20 balls made its rocket-fueled way into the stands and knocked out a lady in the 3^rd row.

And believe me, eyes would have been taken out in the melee to be the one with the ball in the hand thrust into the air with a definite ‘ possession is 9/10’s ‘ feel about it.

We did come very close to being in the running, but it went over our heads to the rows behind us.

So as you would expect, hotdogs were  consumed, along with pizza, churro’s, nacho’s and beer ( which without a passport or local drivers license could not be sold to us – cos we of course LOOK under 21??????) but being Aussies, those who desperately needed a beer, were able to acquire one.

And the singing of ‘take me out to the ball game’ was a definite highlight… the whole crowd got up and sang with gusto and quite honestly, you couldn’t wipe the smile off my face.

Despite all the fanfare and razzamatazz the game reminded me very much of cricket with all the maneuvering of players on the field and so slow between every pitch because of strategy decisions and base ‘advisers’.  Of course, that gave the flashing lights of the advertisers all around the many levels to sink into your psyche before the next play.

I think the fireworks at each home run were probably the biggest surprise… wasn’t expecting that.

Half time was a hoot, none of this ‘mini minors’ stuff like we have at home… its all about the kiss cam and the dance cam and the karaoke cam and various other ‘cams’ that put a spotlight firmly on the crowd and did they ever love it.    Naturally we vied for the chance to shine but alas, we were not some of the chosen few this time. 

The game went quite late, but we were sorry to see it end, and line up for a taxi to head back to our hotel.  The spectacle that is a ball game is definitely something I’d love to repeat one day. 

Mrs Knotts famous Chicken Dinner

mmmmm.... Boysenberry pie

Home plate entrance

Dugouts of both teams... Angels at the bottom and Mariners at the top

Spent a lot of time giggling over the pronunciation of this players name...

Bases are loaded - Trout at the bottom of the photo picked up 'player of the year' the week after we returned home

Heeeeers the wind up....