Cali & Cosplay | SF 2016

Thursday, 8 September 2016Thursday, 8 September 2016 StarrLeave a comment

Surprise! I went to San Francisco over Labor Day weekend so that Ben could see his college friends and so that I could see Christine! Shout-out to my fave who stayed behind in the city when she heard that I was going to be in town, even with many attractive offers to travel out-of-state tempting her!

We flew out Friday evening after work and arrived about half an hour earlier than we had planned. (Thank you, tailwind!) Checking into the hotel, I had the most magical realization:

img_2045-01 — SPOTTED: Eric & Ariel (in the same corset I wear for Ariel!) while rolling up to the hotel

San Francisco Comic Con was happening at our hotel! We have never seen a hotel lobby as crowded as this one was, but most of all, I have never been in the throes of a convention like this before and I was pumped beyond belief. While Ben’s friends were staring in awe at these nerds whose costumes they didn’t recognize, I had a singular thought in my mind the entire weekend:

These are my people.
I need to be among them.

It was a nice treat to see so many cosplayers and nerds celebrating the things they love every time I walked in and out of the hotel.

img_2046-01 — How great are these hand-made costumes?

Long story short, I resolved to get my nerdy self to a convention next year! We’ll see how that resolution goes!

We had a quick catch-up meal at Delarosa behind the hotel, and had to go all the way around rather than through the back of the hotel because an intimidating security man said so. (My guess: Talent coming in/out of those doors? I saw a poster that indicated Jenna Coleman was there!)

Most things closed by 11PM, so we headed up to one of the hotel rooms and just caught up and chatted for a while. It was nice to have the group all together again and free to just chill. The last time I saw most of these folks was at a wedding, and naturally, the then-newlyweds weren’t as free to hang out with us. This time, all of us were there for Labor Day weekend, to relax and spend time with friends.

Pacific Standard Time really started taking a toll on us this evening, as we stayed up until 1:30AM talking… but that was really 4:30AM Eastern Time! The time difference was always a blessing in the morning and such a curse in the evening.

What are your favorite things to do in San Francisco?
Have you been to a convention before? I’ve gone to conferences, but not conventions, and I am just dying to go. Would you dress up if you went?

Spring Break 2016 Link Roundup

Tuesday, 26 July 2016Sunday, 31 July 2016 StarrLeave a comment

Phew, we made it everybody! A (relatively) timely completion of vacation recaps. ~~(If any of you mentions those Europe posts…….)~~

Here’s all of the links in one spot for reading convenience:

Thanks for sticking by me with all these updates! Here’s a short photo series that I forgot to include in one of them:

Yep, that’s me trying to conquer the Sword in the Stone. Oh well, maybe next time.

See ya next time, West Coast!

Goodbye West Coast | Spring Break 2016

Tuesday, 19 July 2016Monday, 18 July 2016 StarrLeave a comment

Last time on Spring Break 2016, we wrapped up a magical day at Disneyland with a fancy dinner, the World of Color light show, and some tiki fun at Trader Sam’s. The parks finally closed, and we were finally able to rest our noggins before our last few hours in California. It was time to go back home…

I was dreading waking up a bit, because it meant leaving Disney, leaving California, leaving vacation… and going back to a world where I had to work without hidden Mickeys.

Looking out over DCA… wishing I didn’t have to leave…

The previous day had really taken a toll on me. I could baaaaarely drag myself out of bed, and I was simply, thoroughly POOPED. We washed up and checked out of the hotel before spending our morning wandering around Downtown Disney a bit, with the intention of maybe buying some souvenirs, since we hadn’t purchased any non-food items in the park.

For breakfast, more beignets! I forced my feet to go one before the other to Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen (Express), where I got myself another order of beignets. (Non-Mickey-shaped but still very delicious.)

Tip: The Jazz Kitchen is a sit-down New Orleans-style restaurant, but you can pick up mint juleps, beignets, and more little treats at the Express Stop.

Disneyland: Before Bed | Spring Break 2016

Tuesday, 12 July 2016Thursday, 7 July 2016 Starr1 Comment

Last time on Spring Break 2016, we had an emotional character lunch (well, at least I did) with some princesses before enjoying Disneyland for the bulk of the afternoon. The weather was finally cooperating and our golden afternoon melted into evening as we headed off to dinner to meet back up with Megan and Don.

Don and Megan, splashing out for their mini-honeymoon, not only made reservations for lunch but for dinner as well, at the swanky Napa Rose restaurant at the Grand Californian. Napa Rose is known for their farm-to-table menu brought by Chef Andrew Sutton. If you want the opposite of nomming on a giant turkey leg in the parks (and you’re not a Club 33 member), this is the fine dining spot for you. We were all feeling pretty full from our big, late lunch, so the four of us ordered a bunch of starters to nibble on. It was nice to have a little taste of the high life before throwing ourselves back into the parks. (And although it was a little sad, it was nice to set down my Minnie Mouse ears for a little bit.)

… can’t remember what this is, maybe a seasonal special…

Tip: If I had a second day at Disney, I think I would have skipped meal reservations because there is a lot of great food available in the parks and I was constantly worried about ruining my appetite. (Like we did at Disney World last year.) Napa Rose is a fine dining experience, so it’s not easy on kids or wallets but the food is very yummy.

After thoroughly stuffing ourselves, we split up: MegaDon to see the fireworks at Disneyland and Ben and I rushing to access the viewing area that we grabbed FastPasses for to see World of Color.

Disneyland: Before Dinner | Spring Break 2016

Friday, 8 July 2016Thursday, 7 July 2016 Starr1 Comment

A lot of crazy and terrible things have been happening, and while I want these posts to mark good memories for me, I am not blind to the injustices and cruelties that are happening to other people this week and in weeks past. Do not take all of this sitting down. I want to let you know that you can do more than just hashtag and repost things on social media. It requires a bit more work to find out what legislators are doing to help you change the world, but I think it’s worth it. Black lives matter.

Last time on Spring Break 2016, Ben and I arrived in Anaheim for one magical day at Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure (DCA). After running around trying to see as much of DCA with minimal line-waiting time as possible, we finally had to answer the call of our rumbling tumblies. So, off to Disneyland’s New Orleans Square it was!

DISNEYLAND! Celebrating their Diamond Anniversary with 60 years of magic.

I reviewed a handful of roundups of best food to eat at Disneyland, as it seems that a lot of my vacationing revolves around eating, even at the happiest place on earth. (One that I looked to for reference often was this one at Local Adventurer, which is a compilation based on their own personal experiences and other people’s lists.) We still had a fair amount of time before our lunch reservation, so I thought we’d be able to split one of the much-touted Monte Cristos, as it’d be a nice between breakfast and lunch type of sandwiches. Unfortunately for us, the line into Cafe Orleans was just too long and we hadn’t planned on visiting Blue Bayou at all. Off to Mint Julep Bar for Mickey beignets it was!

I had actually been craving beignets for weeks leading up to this trip, and I can’t remember when the last time I had one before our trip to Anaheim was. (Had I ever had a beignet before this???) These were pretty freaking great, though. And the mint julep (non-alcoholic!) was super refreshing as the sun started to get really hot. (It was our first sunny California day!)

Tip: Mickey-shaped beignets are sold at Mint Julep Bar and Cafe Orleans, but if you aren’t able to stop by New Orleans Square, the lines are too long, or some other obstacle keeps you from this goodness, you can get traditional-shaped (aka square) (aka not Mickey Mouse) beignets from Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen in Downtown Disney. Some folks say those taste better, despite not being Mickey-shaped!

The man behind me is just not having it with my selfie nonsense and, frankly, I can’t blame him

While we were letting the beignets settle into our tummies, we checked the Disneyland app to see if there were any rides in Disneyland that had shorter wait times before our lunch. On our way to Mint Julep Bar, we saw that Pirates of the Caribbean was unexpectedly closed for repairs, but they had reopened and the wait was 5 minutes! We got up REAL fast and power-walked over to PotC, which I honestly did not think I would get to experience on this trip. I didn’t feel too strongly about experiencing rides that had replicas over at Disney World, in light of having ridden them in Florida and wanting to experience completely new things in California, but this is THE original Pirates ride and it was a lot of fun to experience. It’s slightly different from the Orlando one, and it’s fun knowing that there are still real human bones in the attraction! Also, to wave at the Blue Bayou diners at the beginning of the ride. I love this ride a lot, and I’m so so glad that I was able to ride it.

Tip: This isn’t exactly a tip, but I was a little startled by the small drop that happens after you finish ~~harassing~~ greeting Blue Bayou diners. I remembered hearing some yelps as I was waiting in line, but be advised that your little boat will drop and splash a teensy bit! Don’t say I didn’t warn ya! Also, despite what Youtube may tell you, I’d recommend not shouting “Throw me a roll!” at the diners.

After Pirates, we grabbed FastPasses for Indiana Jones, since that wait was very long otherwise and we had a FastPass opening! And then, before we knew it, it was time to head back to DCA for lunch at Ariel’s Grotto with Megan and Don. (Muahahaha they thought they could escape us!)Read More »