#2940 three things: SoCal edition

 

Lizzie, Mom, and me 
photo by Lizzie

I am back from an excellent little vacation in southern California. I got there on Wednesday night, and I came home on Monday night. As far as mini-vacations go, it was pretty great. There was a good balance between doing stuff and hanging out at home, plus the weather was superb! Here are three of my favorite things we did, in no particular order.

1. Knott's Berry Farm. I haven't been to Knott's in decades. I don't think I've been there since T has been alive, and that's going on 27 years. I don't actually remember the last time I was there - maybe when I was in college? Anyway, Mom expressed an interest in going, so we bought some tickets for Thursday Feb 20. The park opened at 11:00, and we got there around 1:00 or so. It was glorious. The weather was awesome, there weren't any crowds, and it was just really pleasant to stroll around. We went on a few rides. I rode one wee roller coaster that damaged my shins and my ribs. Lizzie rode a particular roller coaster a couple of times and totally loved it. Most of the roller coasters there are too roller coastery for me. I was dang happy to walk around, though. A few photos:

We stayed until closing time, at 6:00, then went over to The Cauldron for a light dinner. It was a fantastic day.

2. Sunset in Long Beach. Mom knew of a brewery called Ballast Point that has a nice outdoor patio with wonderful sunset views. She wasn't wrong. The patios (one upstairs, the other on the main level) were great. We sat on the main level and watched a spectacular sunset. There's something about sipping a beer on a nice evening, watching the sunset over the ocean that rejuvenates my spirit. It was truly a highlight of my trip.

photo by Lizzie

3. Shopping for stickers. Lizzie told me about a local business where she bought most of the gifts she gave at Christmas, and it sounded cute so I asked her to take me. The place is called Local Fixture, and it is in Whittier. So. Cute. They had lots of cool stuff, and I think I looked at every last thing. I ended up with a couple of things, one of which was a sticker book by Ban.do that is, well, super fun. We went to another little shop about a block over called Pour le Bain. Not only did they have soaps and lotions, but they also had stickers, so I bought some there, too. Those were just loose stickers, not in a booklet. That wasn't the end of the sticker buying. On Saturday morning, I bought a couple of stickers at the La Mirada Farmer's Market. There is an artist who is always there, and I always buy some of his stickers. You can check him out on Instagram @ninoskaarte. PLUS, when we were in Long Beach, before we went to Ballast Point, we went to 2nd & PCH, a mall at the marina. We actually went there for lunch at Teleferic Barcelona (a Spanish restaurant!), and after lunch, we walked around a little. There is a groovy little store called Paper Source where Lizzie and I found some really great little stickers. Oh yeah, and I bought a couple stickers on the Queen Mary, too. Yes, I do love stickers and yes, I have a jillion of them. (No photos available of the sticker haul.)

Honorable mention

A morning walk at Creek Park. I am not much of a hiker, but I do like to get out and walk around. Lizzie took me to a pretty park in La Mirada and we had a nice walk of about two and a half miles. The area has horse properties, a creek running through it, eucalyptus trees, pine trees, flowers, grass, people walking their dogs - I really like walking there! 

Did not meet expectations

Paranormal tour on the Queen Mary. Lizzie and I have been talking about taking a ghost tour on the Queen Mary for years, and we decided that this was the time to do it. The Queen Mary is said to be one of the most haunted places in the U.S., and that is probably true, but the tour was a disappointment. I say that for a few reasons. First, the group was big - 30 people. It's just too many. Second, our guide was earnest but not a natural storyteller. The guide makes a big difference on tours like this, and she just wasn't quite ready for prime time. I don't think she had been on the job very long. Third, we spent extra for the two-hour tour, and it was not executed. For some reason, there was a break back in the main lobby after an hour, so we backtracked a few times, and that's irritating to me. Oh yeah, and the tour was quite expensive AND we had to pay for parking. I thought parking should have been included in the admission. There were some good things, of course. The ship is amazing, for one thing. The art deco styling is beautiful. The City of Long Beach takes good care of its investment in the ship because it is clean and nice. There was some kind of big band party going on, and there were people dressed in costumes from the 1920s and 1930s, which was really fun to see. Overall, though, the outing wasn't all I'd hoped.