Carolwood Foundation: Riding the rails!

Me, in the Combine


Passengers on the Combine


Jeff in the baggage section of the Combine - that's where we took our first ride!


This train carries some dangerous freight!


Train pulling in.


Train leaving the station! All aboard!


All together now! The cars from the original train hooked up (minus the 'Belle).


Taking a curve on the train!*
*This was a special treat! We hadn't thought we'd be allowed to ride the trains once they were hooked up but, the engineers assured us we could! Everyone filled the last three cars and we took a single spin 'round the property. Such a great way to end the day!


Fill 'er up!


Roger Colton conducts us to our seats.



To see the entire photo album, peep them on my Flickr page.

CHOCOLATE!!!

So, every year (for the last three), there has been a chocolate fair at Jeff's work. I have not missed one. How could I?! Some of the same folks and some excellent new ones were there!




Au Coeur des Chocolats - the most heavenly little hearts with a creamy center and a burst of refreshing fruit flavor (lychee I believe). Amazing. These were very quickly gone. I tried for seconds later and no dice.


Go To Chocolate - this table was a MAD HOUSE! I barely snagged a teensy piece of almond bark and then I had to flee for my life.


Barlovento Chocolates - I love these. They have such interesting flavors! Really fun and creative. Favorite? The very spicy chocolate and chile truffle.


Toffee Talk - not a HUGE toffee fan but, the red walnut? AMAZING! I totally stalked the gal passing out samples.


Coco Delice - Such great truffles. I'm still bummed I didn't buy the Cognac truffle. Instead, I took home two boxes of Peanut Butter Bunnies - just in time for Easter!


Chocolatier Blue - Oh, how I love them! Peanut Butter truffles, Honey Sage truffles, heavenly caramels. What's not to love about these guys? I visit the shop on 4th street for my chocolate fix so, I didn't buy anything from this table. I just kept dragging my friends over "Eat this!"


My haul of goods - A very decadent box from Vice Chocolates (they had this amazing butterfly with white chocolate ganache, lime and coconut milk. I couldn't walk away from that!!), Claire Square (WHERE have these been all my life?! Shortbread, caramel, and chocolate? Be still my barely beating heart) and a bag of Barbary Brix "The Distinguished Gentleman" caramels (They had the BEST names for their products! And the caramel was divine! Espresso and creamy caramel goodness. Distinguished, indeed!)



Of course, now I cannot even THINK about eating chocolate for a nice long while.

The OTHER Wedding of the Century:

My bestie got married last month. He found a beautiful, remarkable woman to share his life with and I couldn't be happier. They, of COURSE had a fantastic photographer but, here are a few snaps I managed to take.



Greatest seat markers or GREATEST seat markers?!



I did not do this fantastic centerpiece ANY kind of justice. They were beautiful and really helped fill the space. It was a enchanted wedding forest that lead to good food and CUPCAKES (no pics, please. I was cramming them into my mouth.

Mazel Tov to the happy couple!

Hi-ho! It's off to Disneyland I go!

Oh, how I love going to Disneyland! My first usual stop is the Tiki Room. It just takes me to the happiest place! Luckily, the day we went was sunny and very bright. It was still chilly but, not enough to stop me from getting one of these:


Ambrosia! The nectar of the Gods! Mock me if you like - I just can't consider it a proper trip to Disneyland without one. The line was very long - not summer long - just long enough that if you. It didn't matter, I was happy to wait in line for my liquid gold!




New Orleans square was decked out for Mardi Gras!







While in New Orleans Square, we opted to wait for "Pirates" - a favorite ride. It was moving pretty quickly but, not quick enough for a wee chap behind us in line. I engaged the youngster in conversation. His being "What are you doing?" with my reply being variations of "Waiting in line with you!". He liked my Kermit bag - he said he was a 'moofet' fan. Adorable. By the time we got into the show building, we were fast friends. In fact, he wanted me to ride the ride with him! We opted to ride in the same boat but, didn't want to force ourselves onto his Mom. He griped my hand as we waited in adjoining lines and checked to make sure I was, in fact, right behind him. I cracked him up as we pulled away by whispering "Gee, I hope there aren't any pirates on this ride!" He turned to look me in the eyes and say "There are a LOT of pirates on this rde!" We shouted to Captain Jack to hide from the pirates looking for him and just generally enjoyed ourselves. After we finished and exited, he took me by the hand again, just assuming that we'd be following him to his next adventure. Aw! His Mom told him they were going in another direction and refused to let me go! I told him we'd be in the Pirate shop for a little bit and maybe we'd see him there.



I did, actually, wait in the pirate shop (Pieces of Eight) for a bit. We browsed it thoroughly! They didn't come back. We went off to "Haunted Mansion" and then dinner with our good pals Brian and Tricia at the Napa Rose. Very tasty! Once we waved them off, we headed back to the park for another two hours of rides. We concentrated on Fantastyland - my favorite time to hit that section of the park is after the fireworks!



Guess who I spotted climbing into a car on "Snow White"?! Of course, by the time we got off the ride, they were gone! Still, funny to see them again, right?! Well, we saw them again on "Peter Pan"! This time we walked right past them. I couldn't help myself, I tapped my little friend on the shoulder and waved as we walked past. His face lit up like a perfectly decorated Christmas tree! It was all that I could have asked for, His pushing his way back through the line to grab my hand was a surprise and his Mom graciously asking us to join them was a unexpected delight! He insisted he'd tried to find me (his mom told us they'd found Mickey and Minnie and delayed the trip back to the Pirate shop. He was very upset with Mickey for 'taking a nap' before his turn for photos. Especially since the wait meant he lost me! AW!) The two of us rode "Peter Pan" together followed by "Pinocchio". Dumbo was the follow up. As we we headed for "Mister Toad", his Mom laughingly told him he had to share me with my husband. His response? "But, I like her!" The kid was irresistible! After that ride, him Mom said it was time to go. We hugged and smooched all around and his little shoulders slumped as they walked away. I thanked Jeff for sharing our time with him and Jeff said "How could I not? You two were having such a wonderful time together!! He loved you instantly!" Such a sweetie.

I hope my little pal had as much fun in Fantasyland as I did!



The next day we were supposed to catch a early flight. Luckily the airline notified us that it had been cancelled before we left the hotel! We checked our bags and ran back to the park for a little bit more fun!


First stop - lunch!



We saw a ton of character out and about - Alice and the Mad Hatter, The Fairy Godmother, Snow White, Cinderella were all out - not to mention Goofy, Mickey, & Minnie! We saw the princesses all head out with the Fairy Godmother at the same time but, I was too slow to snap a picture. Instead, not two minutes later, I snapped Ariel heading out to join the others. Prime Princess viewing at the Plaza Inn, people - that's all I'm gonna' say!


The Happiest Face at the Happiest Place!

Down on the Farm

Went to visit my Mum a few weeks ago. It wasn't a social visit but, we did manage to run out for a quick jaunt to a wonderful farm for veggies and other sundries.






North Carolina is so beautiful, I will have to get back out there for a real visit!

Costume Fun Time @ 'Con!

One of the highlights of any 'Con experience is the costume viewing! There were spectacular offerings to behold but, alas, I could not capture them all. Here are a few that I spied and snagged. Enjoy.

The Venture Bros. Villains:


Pacman Fever!


Domo:


Jesse!


Ken & Barbie ("Toy Story 3")


PUPPETS!

Jaunt to LA: The foodie fun continues!

The beauty of a Sunday spent eating good food. My friends and I piled into a shared car and trundled off to Dodger's Stadium to take a glance at some goods for sale but, primarily, to stuff our faces full of tasty food.



There were roughly 20 trucks parked in the designated eating zone and we took a quick glance at all of them in the melting heat before starting. Our first stop was the India Jones truck.



One of our party had sampled a delectable device known as a Frankie (I had mine with CHICKEN!). This little roll of awesome set the very high benchmark for the day. The chicken was perfectly seasoned, the bread rich and light, the onions and sweet chutney in perfect balance with the rest of the dish. A light dusting of fresh herbs to brighten the whole - Oh! Sweet Frankie, I wish I lived nearer to you!


(Remember, click on the pics for a full view)

We next hit the Slice Truck:



This was, by far, my favorite piece of pizza since I ate a heavenly pie at Dopo, in Oakland. It hit all the flavor profiles you want in a pizza - it was everything you didn't even know you needed in a slice of pizza; crisp but chewy crust, tart and tangy sauce, perfect oozing slightly caramelized cheese, and a sprinkling of basil to make your mouth sing.




Next on MY agenda was the Border Grill Truck. I'd read about this one before and was itching to try it out - especially since I've eaten at The Border Grill in Santa Monica (& LOVED it).



The line was very long and very hot but, I persevered - thanks to a very kind patron with a misting backpack that was willing to share. Sweet lady, wherever you are, I love you. I was eager to have the iced Mexican Coffee (cream, coffee, cinnamon, anise..heaven!) but, they had sadly sold out before I got there (and we were EARLY! It was just REALLY hot). Instead, I satisfied myself with the tamal cone.



Chiles, creamy corn, crema, and mild fresh salsa all play together in perfect harmony. It was rich and decadent and not at all what I wanted on a very, very hot day. I quickly moved on to meet my friends at the truck I had been waiting ALL day to try:



That right boys and girls, the Cool Haus truck! ICE CREAM TIME!! The line for this truck was a monster! A slow moving beast that I, thankfully, got to skip, as my friends had stood in this line while I was waiting at The Border Grill truck. The selections were ever changing as the long line had it's way with the truck. By the time we arrived the flavors had undergone a change (they would alter again before the day was out).



The relentless sun forced us to find shade ANYWHERE. My eagle-eyed companion found us a shady patch behind the Great Balls On Tires truck. The one truck I didn't get to try out but, was very tempted by. I sat in the cool shade and slurped down my cinnamon and snickerdoodle ice cream sandwich as fast as I could. By this point in the day, I really just wanted the cool ice cream and found the cookie too thick for my stomach (have I mentioned how hot it was?).



The trucks were selling out of water and my bottle was long emptied. We made one last foray into the truck frenzy to find ONE that still had water for sale. We came away victorious and made our way to the goods for sale in the swap meet part of the show. The sun was truly heinous and we hit just a few aisles. Thankfully, I found the Popshop Popsicle Cart in one of the aisles. He was out of most of his ware but, I managed to snag the very last mint mojito popsicle. It REALLY hit the spot! So cool and refreshing, I didn't even stop to take a picture of it!

We called it a day and headed our separate ways; me to lie by my hotel pool for one more day before venturing to San Diego and my pals back to work!

Thanks, LA (and my LA pals)! I needed that little respite.



Coming Up; COMIC-Con! The madness begins...