Our Swan Song

Well, this is it...after a delightful, too-good-to-be-true time, we're home and back to reality. A few final reflections to close the chapter on this wonderful journey (and my first experiment in blogging).

We didn't take a single pic on driving day or flying day, so all we have to entertain are a few pics of our smiling faces.

Driving day featured nothin but interstate cruisin. Oh, expect for that one heart-palpatating moment when a jerk tried to squeeze between the 18-wheeler in front of him and the car in front of us, causing Darrell to swerve and honk and me to almost eat the front end of an SUV for lunch. Minor glitch. The rest of the day consisted of Darrell doing most of the driving, me trying really hard to keep my eyes open for my two-hour stint, a delish Oreo milkshake from the Jack in the Box, giant under-cooked, fruit topped waffles for supper, and a restless night in a runway-side motel.

Smiling faces again...

Flying day was equally uneventful and predictable. But I suppose, when traveling from one coast to the other, that's not such a bad thing. We arrived in one piece, without killing each other or anyone else, without sinus pain, tears or vomit; really, without any negative experiences to speak of. Unless you count having to restrain myself from an embarassing public bawlfest - I was crazy enough to think My Sister's Keeper wouldn't make me cry - and someone getting piss on the (airplane) bathroom floor before I really needed to go.

And again...

We spent the weekend in a zombie-like state and if it wasn't for our Zoe meowing, chirping and making all kinds of racket, I might not have gotten up at all. Although "up" might be overstating it a bit - I only migrated to the couch, where I cuddle bugged with Bunny all afternoon.

Having digested the adventure a little bit, we've concluded our favourite thing was...all of it!! We loved it all, we loved each other, we loved the break from work, we loved being on a do-it-yourself adventure - weeee! My biggest complaint is that I didn't see a celeb, damn it!, and Darrell's is that San Fran streets are too steep, damn it again!

Not too shabby, so we'll sign off once and for all, with - you guessed it! - a smile!

Good Riddance

Day 11

We started today by saying Good Riddance! to our no good little rental apartment. It was very conveniently located, we'll give it that, but we decided to head off to La Jolla instead of spend another night in that cheap ass place. There was no curtain on the bathroom window (never cool), I haven't dried my hair in three days, and we had like 3 squares of TP left. We packed up, left the key in the mailbox with a small note, and stuck out our tongues as we drove away.

On to bigger and better things, as they say. We headed downtown to wander the Embarcadero (e.g. waterfront, they just don't use the straightforward name around here for some reason). It was be-au-ti-ful! San Diego officially gets five stars, two thumbs up, and a "like" in my book!! There is modern art all along the boardwalk, it's so easy to find stuff (including parking!), the people are friendly, the sun shines and the streets are clean. The only bump in the road was we stopped in a little bayside cafe for coffee and a pastry, both of which were nasty. I had a few obligatory sips and bites, but left the majority on the table and we jetted.

We had lots of fun with the parkland and statues we encountered next.

I climbed a tree...

...we had a big smooch...

...and Darrell joined his fellow marines in giving Bob Hope a round of applause .


We found our La Jolla hotel pretty easily, except for a detour down an alley-like side street that our GPS took us for absolutely no reason at all. She's a little stunned and randomly gives bad directions every now and then, just to keep us on our toes.

We're at the Best Western Inn by the Sea and what a winning choice! We have a balcony with a partial ocean view, complimentary bottled water, a hair dryer and a big comfy bed. It's so great it warranted a few jumps on the bed - yippee!

And to top it all off, there's a Cold Stone Creamery right across the street! After dropping our bags in our room, we made a pit stop there en route to Seal Beach. Darrell sucked back his fudge milshake in about five minutes and I had to stop for a seat on a bench to be able to polish off my apple pie a-la mode in a waffle cup properly.

We sat on the rocks, soaked up up some rays, and watched the dramatic surf. The seals were all stretched out in the sand, the majority of them sleeping or dead, we couldn't quite tell. But regardless, they were still so cute!

I snapped a ton of pics and got a few more beauties for the scrapbook.

It was a quiet and relaxing way to spend an hour or two, and just right for what is technically our last day here since tomorrow will be spent driving back to San Fran.

Off to the Zoo!

Day 10

We're only a mile from one of the best zoos in the world so when we awoke to find the temperature was delightful in the high teens, we knew it would be the perfect activity for today.

We were a little uneasy when we arrived at the same time as lots and lots of Mexican school children. Weekday visits are great for avoiding the masses, not so great for the busloads of munchkins that are running around. We must've went one way while they went another - they were out of our sight in no time. Yes!

Within two minutes I knew this zoo was going to be something special. First, because we happened across two antelopes doing it. Eww...they're ugly, ugly creatures and I did not want to see that. But second, because unlike the Toronto Zoo, there are only a few steps between various cages and exhibits. We headed straight to Panda Canyon, but encountered rhinos, giraffes, flamingos, meerkats and plenty other creatures along the way.

There was no panda line-up at all and although the two of them were sleeping in trees the whole time, we arrived in time for a 15 minute talk about the bears.

There were monkeys, other bears (all but one were sleeping) lots and lots of birds I was delighted by a male bird of paradise doing a mating dance - for those of you who've seen Earth, he's the one who hops around, claps his big feathers together, and puffs up this big ring around his neck so you can only see two little eyes and the tip of his beak! I squealed and clapped, not expecting to ever see with my own eyes this secret ritual from deep in the forests of New Guinea!

We were then completely mezmerized and entertained by orangutans. This big chewbacca look alike munched on lettuce and leeks and after much protest, eventually shared some with a female companion who was adament that she should get some too.

She was apparently delighted by her few bites of lettuce, because she then rolled and rolled across the length of the viewing glass. A minute of her shananigans can be seen here. Hilarious!


As much as I was delighted so far, the koalas took the cake. They're have the largest group of koalas outside of Australia, which helped increase our odds of actually seeing them awake.




They sleep for 18-20 hours a day, but out of the 12 or so they had, four or five of them were wide awake muhcing on their eucalyptus.

I loved, loved, loved these bears!

We still had plenty to see so had to keep going; I could've watched them all day!

We made it to the elephants and watched one toss dirt on himself and the other soaking their feet in some soapy water for the keeper. There were hippos, more birds, turtles, a very cross jaguar, various antelope type animals and ugly hogs.

There had been a sign at the entrance saying the polar bears were off their exhibit today, but we wandered over anyway and good thing we did.

We got to watch one huge one dig around in the dirt for a while, even saw him stand straight up and tower about 10 feet in the air.

We the Skyfari buckets back down to the other side of the park. It's was kind of fun and kind of scary; I guess we don't love heights. Or dangling at bird's eye heights in a small bucket.


We capped off our visit with a walk through the reptile house and the Zoo store. Unfortuantely, they had koala slippers that were a bit too small for me and although we scowered the store looking for a bigger pair, I had to leave with a pout and cold feet.

We met other friendly Canadians in the parking lots and took turns taking pictures of each other. This is the only one we got together that day, but it's a keeper!

Back at the apartment, we celebrated the success of the Bust a Move flash mob with a beer and spent a good hour or more checking all the videos, comments and coverage.

Then it was off the the Gaslamp Quarter; we hadn't yet seen much of San Diego itself. We enjoyed a mexican fiest at a packed place called Fred's and a visit to another beutiful gallery, where I fell in love with one of the artist's featured and treated myself to a signed book of his entire collection. An awesome keepsake of our adventure, I figured. And it makes up for the lost opportunity of koala slippers.

An American Institution

Day 9
ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL??

We managed to settle in and get some sleep in our (un)cozy little apartment and awoke ready for what was sure to be a memorable day. We had tickets to the Denver Broncos @ San Diego Chargers game and although kick off wasn't until 5:30 p.m., it was the only thing we had on tap. I've been pining to go to an NFL game for at least a few years now, so we planned on arriving early to soak it all in.

Our hosts were good for one thing (and still, for this one thing only): they gave us great advice on how to get to the game. We were only a 10 minute drive away from a shopping complex with ample parking and a trolly station. We only had to ride east for two stops to arrive at Qualcomm Stadium; it took all of three minutes.

In our excitement we (unfortunately) forgot our sweaters and (fortunately, we thought) built in lots of travel time, just to be safe, so when it only took 15 minutes we found ourselves there 3.5 hours before game time! Excessive, maybe, but when is the next time we'll have a Monday Night Football experience? It's an American Institution and in case I wasn't sure of that before, I am now.

We were clearly out of towners, being the only ones there without team gear on (don't worry, we rectify the problem later). There were way more Broncos fans than we were expecting, but everybody was branded with their support for one team of the other, right down to toe nail polish and hair dye. We appeared neutral and therefore, were losing respect by the minute. We spent some time at the tailgate party and I forked out $7 for a beer within an hour of finishing my morning coffee (you know it!)

Once the gates actually opened we eagerly made our way in, again excessively early, and swiped some plastic at the team store. I exited feeling like a Chargers fan with a new hat and tee, Darrell was ready for some football, literally, with an official team ball in hand. We went up, up, up (this seems to be a bit of a running theme) to our seats in the very top row of the stadium. But to our delight, the view was stellar, we had some extra personal space because we were seated at the end of a row, and the concrete wall behind us would prove to be a friendlier neighbour than beer drinking, chest pounding men.

There was hardly anyone else in the place at this point, so we munched on some snacks and observed carefully as the thousands of fans started pouring in; all 68,700 of them. The parachuters, team intros, anthem, fireworks, and F18 fly-by that followed was unlike anything we've experienced before. It goes without saying that goosebumps and a throat lump made an appearance.

The game itself was absolutely everything I had hoped for. You know the yelling, jumping, painted-face, jersey-wearing, fist-pumping fans you see on TV? Ya, in case you were wondering, they're all like that. See the two buggers wearing masks below? You get the idea...


We stood, danced, hollered and cheered; every time the Broncos were on third down, and every time the Chargers made a quick tackle or gained any yards to speak of. We even had a token close encounter with drunk assholes; two guys looking for trouble were seat-hopping, sat right in front of us, and instigated a near-fight with the guy next to them. Darrell's testosterone boiled and he was ready for talkin smack and throwing all 135 lbs. of his body weight around (that's why we call him Heavy D) if the need arose. It didn't. To make sure our experience was totally complete, we spent $25 on two hot dogs, a pop and a water. I don't eat hots dogs, that's insanely expensive, and I drew the line at refusing to pay $9.75 for draft so there was no more beer for me.

It was a close game for the first three quarters and although the home team lost in the end, we were thoroughly entertained. Security had their hands full and had to cuff and evict a few rowdys (including the two seat hopping assholes), there were insults being hurled, and some douche launched his full beer bottle into the air. Somewhere below, that probably hurt.

Once the game ended, we made it out of the stadium and into the epic trolley lineup unscathed; arriving back to our apartment within an hour and a half.

The verdict: Monday Night Football was a smashing success!

Rollercoaster

Day 8

Today was a self-inflected emotional rollercoaster.

Up: We found our way to The Grove and The Farmer's Market. If you aren't a TMZ watcher or an In Touch reader, then I should specify this is a shopping and dining area that celebs frequent.

Down: I kept my eyes peeled for paparazzi or celebs under cover, but didn't see any. Not a one!

Up: We had a lovely brunch on the balcony of the Cheesecake Factory, where we could people watch and enjoy the day's cooler temps.

Down: We didn't have room in our bellies for cheesecake.

Up: The Farmer's Market was bustling, I bought apples and nectarines to ensure our experience was authentic, and we encountered an amazing pumpkin carver.

Down: It took us about an hour to drive out of the area, as I didn't trust the GPS to take me the way I wanted to go and instead took us on a round-about route that involved stopping for gas and witnessing a blatently obvious crack rock purchase.

Up: We eventually made it past Venice to Marina Del Ray, which was pretty to glance at through the window.

Down: I had to give in and we jumped on the boring Interstate en route to Huntington Beach.

Up/Down: We made a pit stop of Darrell's choosing. In the spirit of trying to experience 30 new things this year - a pact I've made with a few friends - I partook in an activity that got our adrenaline pumping and required me to choke back some fear. Details will be revealed at the end of the ride.

Up: We took 20 minutes to walk along Huntington Beach and, although it was cloudy and cool, my heart was sunny and warm.

Down: It's been over a year since I visited Surf City for the first time and to my dismay or delight, I'm not sure which, I still really, really want to live here.

Up: The rest of the drive was lovely and we arrived in San Diego before too long.

Down: After dropping our suitcases in our little rented apartment, we ventured our for food only to not find anything easily and having to settle for some nasty "island style" teriyaki food.

Up: We stocked up on some snacks at the Pharmacy, ate supper on the couch and didn't get food poisioning.

Down: I was overcome by a bout of homesickness and disappointment that our little apartment was not what I had hoped. I was tired and, although it's in a nice residential neighbourhood, it wasn't feeling cozy in the least...there wasn't even Kleenex to dry my tears, there's no hairdryer, and the tap water is poor tasting.

Up: Darrell comforted and soothed me, told me we can find somewhere else to stay if tomorrow I still don't like it, and brought in the Kleenex from the car.

The end: We agreed to look forward to the NFL game tomorrow (holy crap, I'm going to an NFL game!) and concluded that the most amusing way to share what we did at our pit stop earlier, would be to provide a self-explanatory video. Click here and enjoy!

Lions and Tigers and Ligers, oh my!

Day 7


We covered lot of territory today - from the Soledad Canyon to Hollywood Blvd! The main event was our tour of the Shambala Preserve. It's this amazing, unique place founded and managed by actress Tippi Hedren - she even lives there! - and they have tours for a small number of the public one weekend every month. It was about an hour inland in the middle of a canyon. The only way in and out was via a long, winding road that Darrell couldn't help but take a little faster than my stomach liked. He likes to pretend he's driving a motorcycle, you know, even if he's actually driving a car. We arrived safely, but with my breakfast feeling a little unsettled.


We had to sign our life away - literally, if a tiger ate us it was our own fault - wait around for a while, then trek around in the heat. But it was worth it! The rules were simple: don't crouch down and look small and stay 4 ft. back from the cage. We got up close and personal with 20-30 big cats, including tigers, lions, a leopard and a hybrid called a Liger (Father was a lion, mother was a tiger. This doesn't happen in nature, ever, they're man-made).

We watched the cranky, cranky leopard prowl around her cage just itching to get her paws on us...



..and we learned all their horror stories, like the one of the big lion below playfully rolling around on his back looking for a belly rub. He was a drug dealer's "guard dog", charged with watching over and protecting the stash.


We took a ton of pics and videos and capped it all off with the purchase of a beautiful photo of two of the cats who slept through our visit: Thriller and Sabu, formerly part of Michael Jackson's Neverland zoo. The volunteer who sold it to us asked where we were from, then noted she had never been there and knew nothing about it. We thought for sure the "Do you live in an igloo?" question was coming, but it didn't. Instead, she asked one we haven't heard before: "Are you permanent?" Yes, we said kindly, and left it at that. What we wanted to say was, "Yes lady, we're Canadian. We were born somewhere other than the United States."
That night, it was off to Hollywood! We took it all in: the Kodak Theatre, the Chinese Mann theatre, the street performers, and the Disney Soda Shoppe.

Darrell even found his star on the Walk of Fame, how delightful!

We passed on taking our photo with the Michael Jackson look-a-like, buying a cheap-looking Academy Award replica, and no thank you, I do not want to know my body fat percentage, especially while on vacation, even if it's free.

Rather than spend the entire night with the ghouls and fools of Hollywood Blvd, we spent an hour or two enjoying some comforts of home: Ruffles, beer, hockey and Jenga. We even set a new personal best: 34 stories. Legend has it that experts can reach 36 stories, but we have yet to accomplish such a feat.

Crazy Town

Day 6

Editor's Note: The Internet was sketchy in Hollywood too, so we're way behind with the updates!

Friday began with walking outside into a wall of heat. We decided it was way too scorching to be beatin' the street; it was off to the beach!

We took Santa Monica Blvd and went through Beverly Hills - we saw the sign featured in the 90210 opening and everything - but our first real stop of the day was the Santa Monica pier. Right off the bat, we couldn't resist some playtime in the arcade. I was a superstar at the shooting cannons at ugly stuffed animals game, we played Skee-ball (again! Weeee!), Darrell enjoyed some 360-degree Beachhead, and I worked up a sweat whacking some moles, but only got 5 points in tickets.

Speaking of sweat, we watched a skinny, lightning-fast guy play the hardest round of Dance Dance Revolution. It was impressive, very sweaty, and puzzling; how many hours do you need to spend playing the game to get that good, exactly?

We accumulated 99 points but to our dismay, that was pretty much like going to the dollar store with 99 cents. It was slim pickins! Darrell said it was my choice, so I opted for what I figured was the only logical choice: something we could share. I proudly put my half of our new shiny purple best friends necklace around my wrist....I think he stuffed his half in his pocket.

We paid too much for a personal pizza and frozen yogurt and had to keep stamping our feet to keep from being swarmed by pigeons, but our lunch hit the spot nonetheless. I soaked in the sights of the famous pier and we exercised good restraint and didn't spend money on any of the trinkets and novelties that I would inevitably toss in six months.

From there, the day only got more interesting. We played on the gynmastic equipment -well, Darrell did...I had a dress on and he gently reminded me that if I tried to hang upside down on the rings, everyone would see my unders. I also creeped up on a flock of sand pipers (love those birds!), took a video of a 90-year-old man speed walking in his unders while vigorously pumping his 3 lb. hand weights, and we made it to Venice.

Venice Beach, aka, crazy town, USA. Glad we made it, but holy jiggers, I think I'll be fine with never visiting that place again. We tried not to make eye contact with anyone, almost got inked (ha, kidding!), bought a bong (kidding again!), and watched a muttering crazy lady drag her cat around on a leash.

The skate park was pretty cool and I rationed that most of the folk are probably harmless, but you better believe we were outta there before dusk. The sunset was gorgeous, we hit up the 3rd Street Promenade and settled in for supper at a noisy place called Bearley's Beanery where you could trade your license plate for chilli. But we paid for ours.