Home!

We made it home safe and sound! We had a great time vacation along the Pacific coast.  What a beautiful place!  I only wish we had more time to spend more time driving along the coast - you would need a whole month to do that.

• Comic Con was interesting - glad I did that once in my life.  
• Los Angeles has tons of people, but is easy to drive in.
• Seattle is a beautiful city. Very green and granola.
• San Francisco has the best architecture - great butt exercise as well! You would have cheeks from hell if you lived there!
• San Diego - another beautiful city.  Couldn't get my directions right though - I'm usually very good at directions.  Believe it or not - L.A. is easier to drive in - it's a grid. Left, right, that's it!
• Oregon has the prettiest coast line of all three states - beaches, beaches, beaches - the best part is they are all public- therefor free.
• If I go see whales again I will take Gravol first.
• Red eye flights are not good when it's on a cheap airline - seats hard as rock make it difficult to sleep.  Plus, you had to pay to watch a movie!  Really??
• If you fly with United, make sure your luggage doesn't weigh more than 50lbs or you will be charged an extra 100$.  Who the hell are they kidding?  I thought Air Canada was bad.
• You must cross the Golden Gate Bridge by foot.  Spectacular view of the city.
• Running in every major city was a great idea.

I'm already looking forward to my next traveling adventure!  Where will I be going next?  Only time will tell!

I'm leaving you with a few family selfies! 

Last day of our Trip

We are spending the day with my dear cousin Esther.  First thing this morning is Living Coast Reserve.  We have a surprise for Sophie here.  She will get VIP treatment and get real close to a burrowing owl - which she would LOVE to see.

We get there, get on the shuttle bus (you can't drive all the way there due to endangered species of birds) and start our visit.  There are a couple of touch tanks, some aquariums, cages of raptors and other birds.  Pretty cool place.  It was then time for our VIP tour.  A guide brought us to all the raptor cages and told us their story and about them (which we pretty much knew all the info except for their story of course).   We then had the opportunity to visit the "bird house" where they prepare all the food for the birds and other animals.  Some birds eat mice while others eat chicks.  After this, we went into the "condos" where the guide got the burrowing out for our viewing.  I thought Sophie was going to cry - but nope - close though!  She didn't get to hold or touch it, but she was very close to it and got to take lots of photos.  

We then drove to Coronado Island where we went running on the beach.  Our last run of our trip - and we get to run with Esther.  Fun!   Before running we had "lunch" - Frozen yogurt - not the best thing to eat before running.  It was a difficult run due to the fact we just ate ice cream and we have not run in a week.  We should've gone out on Monday!  Oh well! We did 5km anyway.  

Afterwards we went for dinner and off to the airport.  It was great spending time with Esther!  It was really nice of her to come to San Diego to spend the day.  

We are now sitting in the airport, I have free wi-fi for 30 minutes so I'm trying to get as much in as possible.

Other things worth mentioning:

• Took 18 000 steps
• running in soft sand is hard
• there are too many freeways in San Diego
• it's hard to find Pepsi in California.  What's wrong with these people? Coke? Really?
• 
  

Day 6 - Blue whale watching

 What an exciting day!  We may get to see blue whales today!  We got up, had our regular breakfast - cereal and off we went to get on a boat.  We got on the Hornblower to see if we could find some blue whales.  It takes 45 minutes to get out of the port - we got to see the naval base - the second largest in the world (or so they say - they seem to think everything they have is either the largest or second largest in the world).  There were jet planes, helicopters and even boats that train dolphins to protect their base or something like that.  I think he said the dolphins would warn them if it saw a submarine… I’m not too sure.  It’s cool whatever it does.

The ride there was pretty rough.  I turned green pretty quickly.  They say “stay outside and look at the horizon”.  That’s fine and dandy but it’s fricken freezing out there!  There is no way I can stay outside.  I had a few close calls with a paper bag - but managed not to vomit.  Once we got where the whales were, It was a bit calmer and warmer so I managed to stay outside and view these magnificent animals.  OMG they are big!!  Their blowholes are humongous!  Did you know the heart of a blue whale is the size a VW beetle?  How crazy is that?! 

We saw we think about 10 different whales.  One of which decided to give us a show and raise her fluke (tail).  They say it’s a rare enough scene.  They just tend to come up for air a few times, then come take a large breath, and slowly go down showing most of their body - including this tiny little dorsal fin!  The people on the boat saw it’s fluke 3 times!  I got to see it once because I had to “run” to the bathroom.

On the way back, it was much calmer for some reason.  I sat in front of an open window for a long while and felt much better by the time we got to port.  Phew! 

I’m ecstatic!! I got to see the blue whale!! The largest mammal on earth!!  It’s an endangered species and if we are not careful, we will make it disappear forever.  That would be sad.

After our open sea adventure, we walked down to the Seaport Village.  San Diego is filled with art.  We saw the "kissing statue" and these humongous sort of people head - that can be found in about 10 countries in the world.  We also so an airplane carrier - turned into a museum.  That thing is BIG! 

The Seaport Village is a quaint little shopping area.  It looks like a little Mexican village.  They are all little shops that sell art, t-shirts, souvenirs… that kind of thing.  We had lunch in a Mexican place.  It was yummy! 

We also took photos with a humongous statue - Pearl Harbour kissing couple.  All this fresh air is tiring.  We headed back to our hotel to go for a swim.  Those of you who know me know I’m a bit of a wimp when it comes to cold water.  The pool is not heated - so I did not get it.  San Diego’s temperature is pretty much 22 degrees everyday all year round.  At night it goes down to 18/19 degrees.  To me, that just doesn't heat the water enough.  Sorry!  So instead I laid in the sun.  Ahhhh! That felt so nice!  Of course I had tons of sunscreen on.

After laying in the sun, we went to Balboa Park.  Beautiful place! It’s filled with very old buildings that were turned into all sorts of things like museums, dance studios, art studios, restaurants, theatre… There are beautiful lily ponds, fountains (that are not working right now in an effort to save water), rose garden, cacti garden, the San Diego Zoo is also there.  There’s a huge sports area - you name it it’s there.  It’s just beautiful.  Lots of weird looking trees, birds…

Neil Diamond rose for my sister.

 It was then time to go back to the room and pack our bags as tomorrow is our last day.  Wish I could stay here much longer! 

Other things worth mentioning:

• Did I already tell you that parking sucks in San Diego?  No one has parking spaces.  What’s up with that?  You can look for a parking for 15 minutes and find nothing.  Most of the street parking seems to be free though. 
• Took 15 000 steps today
• Saw a few more hummingbirds, phoebes, egrets, cormorants, pelicans, seals, sea lions(which I can’t tell apart - one has outside ears one doesn’t -their flippers are also different).
• The weather here is one of the most constant weather in the world - always around 22 degrees.
• There are lots of hills here.  Not like San Francisco - nothing is like San Fran - but lots of hills.
• Packing to go home is hard.
• Not everything fits in the suitcase - uh oh! 

San Diego Day 5

What an exciting day full of outdoor activities!   We went hiking, kayaking, snorkelling and paragliding!  Now I’m dead tired from all that fresh air - I’ll do my best to write something decent! 

Our first thing planned was paragliding - we were there a little early so while we were waiting, I hiked down the cliff - using the little path - to the beach.   It was quite beautiful!  Unfortunately, the winds were not strong enough and we couldn’t wait to see if they’d pick up so we left for the Torrey Pines Park to go for a hike before our appointment for kayaking.  

We got to the park in no time.  We did a 1h25min hike.  It was beautiful and SUNNY! Thank goodness for sunscreen!  We hiked up the mountain and down to the beach where we saw an osprey from pretty close.  beautiful sight! We made it back to the car on the beach seeing an egret on the way as well.  Did you know that the Torrey pine is the rarest pine tree?  It can only be found in two places - here and some island.  We got to the got and drove off to our next stop: kayaking and snorkelling! 

We get there, no parking anywhere - there is a major problem with parking everywhere here - L.A. and San Diego.  No one has parking lots - I guess there is no room for them! It’s a bit of a pain in the ass.  Anyway, back to the kayaking.  We fill out our form and off we go.  We are in a group of about 15 to 20 I guess.  I’m sharing a kayak with Sophie - Remi has his own kayak.We paddled our way to some “caves” and we get in the water to snorkel a little bit.  The water is freezing cold (at least I thought it was).  Good thing we are wearing wetsuits!  I didn’t stay in very long as I was shivering but I did manage to see some beautiful fish - bright orange and the young ones were a paler orange with blue dots.  We got back in our kayaks, went in a “cave” and then paddled back to the beach.  We could see the gliders in the sky so we decided to go back and try to our luck.  We also so Dr. Seuss’ house!  How neat is that?  The best part was when we got to the beach- we caught a wave that brought us in- it was fun! 

We got to the glider port, filled out the thousand forms and off we went.  Wow!! I can’t express how cool it was!  I thought it would be like in a hot air balloon - but it’s not quite the same thing.  You should’ve seen the houses on the cliffs!!!!! OMG!!! You can’t even imagine! All glass, one made me think of Ferris Bueller’s Day off house!  Incredible!  To think there are people that are this rich in the world while others starve to death… 

We were supposed to go to Crazee burger for dinner but again, parking problem!  This place is horrible when it comes to parking.  Instead, we went to the Cheesecake Factory - I should’ve just gone to the hotel… first the order was put in the computer wrong so my family was done eating before I got my plate.  Then, I made a mess with my tall glass of water, lastly, I almost had a heart attack when a lady, who was walking by our booth yelled to her dad - it started me so much I almost screamed!  That would not have been funny! 

I’m now sitting in bed, ready to go to sleep! 

Other things worth mentioning:

• took 20 000 steps
• the vegetation is pretty cool here - various cacti, palm trees, sage…
• saw an osprey, egret, hooded oriole, California towhee, black phoebe
• we saw a pet pig that could do tricks
• sea lions smell really really bad

Comic Con Day 4

We got up late - made our way down to the convention centre using the shuttle
walked outside a bit to see if you could get one of those cute super girl t-shirt.  No luck.

We did a little Fear the Walking Dead thing - that was neat.  They had arranged a room to look like what the show will be like.  Cool looking zombies!  You could also watch a trailer to give you an idea of what the show will be like.  Looks cool - it's before Rick and the gang - just when the apocalypse happens.


Walked inside the vendor booths while Remi went to get autograph on his comic.

Met Remi upstairs to see Murphy from Z Nation.  Got a photo with him.  He was a cool guy! Takes a few hours to get his makeup on- there is 11 layers of colour on his face! 

Made our way outside to find a place to have lunch.  Decided to go to Dick’s Last Resort.  Special place!!  The waiters are very rude and you are supposed to be rude back.  It’s hilarious!  They make hats with funny or crude or rude comments on them.  Sophie was the “lucky” one to get a hat that said stripper in progress. She also got a special balloon.  To drink, we each had asked for a glass of water.  The water showed up with a bucket of water with 3 straws!  We had a good laugh!  I would recommend it!
After lunch, we got free ice cream again.

As we were walking back to the Convention Center, I was scared twice by zombies on the sidewalk.  One just showed up behind me and made a noise - I screamed and screamed and told him that wasn't very nice.  I start walking again when a second zombie, hiding behind a big sign, jumped in front of me and there I was yelling and yelling again, telling him he wasn't nice either.  Phew!  My heart was pounding!  No pictures of videos - but there was at least 1000 witnesses to this event and probably 600 of them laughing! 

Sophie tried on this mask.

We spent a bit more time on the vendors floor and left at around 2.  Enough of crowds and lines.
Had a bit of a nap and headed to the AMC nearby to see Jurassic World.  It was an ok movie.  Very similar to the last ones.  What else can you expect would happen… bad acting this time though.
Off to bed- huge day tomorrow! 

Other things worth mentioning:

• Did you know in California motorcycles don’t follow the same rules as cars?  They can pass between cars and go on the shoulder.  Weird!  How do I know?  I stopped a police officer and asked him.
• Took 15 000 steps

Comic Con Day 3 - Good, Bad, Ugly - Again?

This morning we were determined to get bracelets for the signing line for the show person of interest.  We got up shortly before 6am to be there before 7 when the line supposedly starts.  Guess what!  We get there just before 7 and the line is already a mile long!!!  WHAT?  People camp out for these lines as well?  My God there are a lot of crazy people out here!   So, we trudged to the end of the line - where we figure we are just a little closer than yesterday.  It doesn’t look good but we keep our spirits up - you know positive thinking bullshit…So, we look  behind us and who do we see?  Our Asian line buddies from yesterday!  We spent an hour and half with them yesterday - and will spend 2 hours with them today!  What are the chances of that happening? They thought the exact same thing we did - get up earlier… Ha! We also made new “friends” in front of us, and behind… what else are lines for?! 

We slowly make our way to the first flight of stairs, then we go up just as slowly (being shouted at to stay in a single file, against the railing -about 1000 times), we make it up the second flight of stairs, around the bend, into the first snake line, around the other corner, into the actual hall, and finally into the last snake which we can now see the sign that has the completed/non completed shows.  YEAH!! We still have a chance at getting the show we want!!  We see a lot of bummed faces though - sucks to be them just like it sucked to be us yesterday.  Our new friends   are excited for us even though they are bummed for themselves.  We are so close now! There are 5 people in front of us- it’s out turn… come on…NOOOOOO!!!! Our dreams shattered - the completed sign goes up on the board!! It’s not possible! Two days in a row?  4 hours wasted in line?  Oh well, what can you do, there is 4 people in front, there are still 2 shows -Containment an Outcast (two shows I’ve never heard of that will be starting in September)- we will try our luck.  Remi pulls a ticket from the Outcast hat - yeah! he got a bracelet- he’s guaranteed a group signature of the cast.  My turn - I pull and… yeah! I get a bracelet as well!  yippee!  Sophie’s turn - she pulls and Hip Hip Hooray! She also gets a ticket! Looks like our luck is turning!  How about our new friends?  They all got bracelets as well!  I guess this basket hadn’t been picked a lot!  The signing is only at 5:45 so of we all go in our merry ways- not ecstatic because we got what we wanted, but at least we got something! 

It’s panel time! What will we go see?  Well, apparently nothing.  The room we want to go to is already full - they were showing the pilot of Outcast - the bracelet we just pulled - it would’ve been nice to have some sort of idea who the people we will be meeting this afternoon are!   Down we go to the vendors hall - we didn’t go through the whole place yet so we spent some time in there.  It’s very much like the Comic Con in Ottawa, except bigger.  I think it’s better organized as you have lots of room to walk about.

After spending some time in there, doing the Walking Dead booth where you started - you guessed it! in a line - which only took about 5 minutes - taking a picture in front of a revolving door with a fake zombie behind.  All of a sudden, a “real” zombie puts his hand through the door- OMG!! I just about died!  You move on to take a picture with zombie mannequins laying on the ground - this is in the Wolves yard - you know, the scene with the trucks and disco music…  After than, you walk through the truck - well! let me tell you! I didn’t see anything in that truck as I ran through like a crazy woman screaming and screaming!  Holy smokes that scared me! The noises the zombies made sounded so real and scary!  I would never survive the zombie apocalypse! 

It really does look like our luck as turned! 

We decided to go spend some time outside as it’s kind of chilly in the building - across the street there are tons of things  to do as well.  Off we go - stopping at the car to drop off our bags. We cross the street and went for lunch in an Italian restaurant.  Feels great to eat real food.  I had lasagna, Sophie had spaghetti and Remi had chicken caesar salad.  As we got out of the restaurant, there were these people on stilts dressed up as Uncle Sam being eaten by a shark - Elaine and Wally would’ve loved them =)  They were there to represent Sharknado 3!  It was like a political protest against sharks! Fun!  You downloaded their app - go shark yourself - and you got a fun foam hat.  Then, you took a selfie with a shark and you got a foam hand thing with a saw.  Took some photos, had some fun, got our hat and hand things and off we go to find a pharmacy.

Why a pharmacy?  Because my delicate lips are in so much pain.  My bottom lip is completely covered with cold sores - from the sun and wind.  It hurts to much I can’t even describe it.  Thank God we found one so I could get some Blistex to keep my lips hydrated - it doesn’t really help with the pain, but nothing does.  I’ve talked Advil and tylenol but nothing helps.

Off we go again, we decided to take a different street to go back and see what they had to offer - take a selfie and share you’ll get ice cream, download this app, you’ll spin the wheel and win a prize… fun, fun, fun!  It’s amazing how a whole city can get involved!  We also got free popsicles and Sophie sat in a red velvet chair where a man fed her her popsicle!  Ha! Ha! 

The lines here are just as ridiculous as on the other side. There is a line for a Game of Thrones thing - our Asian friends waited 5 hours to do it!  There is a line to get a super cute super girl t-shirt (they ran out of adult sizes), there is a line for Assassin’s Creed - was like American Ninja Warrior.  We didn’t any of these but watching a little while.  We needed to get back to the hall to try and get in to see the Grimm panel.  We get there and the room is full - join the line!  I hope you are not surprised by this new line… it wouldn’t be Comic Con without lines!  

Here we made new friends.  They are from here - two kids, one 16 and one 13.  We have lots in common - I guess so since we are both here!  We did get in to see Grimm!  It was a good panel.  All the cast was there except for Juliette and I didn’t like that character so I’m good with that! 

On to the next thing.  Going to the Warner Brother booth to see if we can find someone that will exchange their Person of Interest bracelet for an Outcast bracelet.  Sophie has tried a couple times today with no luck.  We find a couple that are willing to change.  Yeah!  but she can’t get it off her arm. Boo!  Remi has shaving cream in the bag will that help?  No.  Boo!  The girls apologizes profusely - we tell her not to worry, she was nice enough to try.  So she says, well, you can have my signed poster if you want, just give me your bracelet.  WHAT?!?  of course Sophie said yes!  We walked around while the girls went through the line - we got photos of the actors (this part is way better than Ottawa, Toronto or Montreal!- you can take all the pictures you want - if you can manage getting yelled at to keep on moving - In the aforementioned cities - no photo taking is allowed).  The girl shows up with her poster and just gave it to us.  Sophie was up on the moon happy!  Didn’t get to talk to the actors, but she did get to see them, and got the signatures!  How nice - there are still some decent human beings out there! 

Remi brought Sophie to the Person of Interest Panel - while I went to the car to drop off the golden poster.  Remi and I were to meet back at the WB booth for our signature time - 5:45.  I get there and guess who I meet?!  My Asian friends!!  I ask them to take a selfie of us so I can send it to Sophie and Remi saying “look who I found”!  They are happy to and think that’s hilarious.  You know, geeks find everything funny =).  We get in line (yes, again). This time though, you don’t mind because you are guaranteed something.  Find Remi - he’s in line a little before us.

The signature part is a little disappointing.  You have to time to say anything.  The security people just push you along.  They are on a tight schedule.  Even the actors seem a little in shock of how quick it goes.  We say hello, move on, hello, move on, hello, move on.  That was quick! much quicker than the waiting in line.  We have our poster - we say goodbye to our friends as we won’t be lining up tomorrow morning!  and we go and get Sophie from her room.

She’s all excited - and sad - she was in line to ask the panel a question and they ran out of time just before her.  I’m telling you!  We are cursed!  This happened to her before too!  It was a Walking Dead panel in Ottawa… 

It was time to go for dinner - we went to the car to drop off the bags, and to get our sweatshirts and tickets for the orchestra.  We get to the car, take out the sweats, where are the tickets?  At the hotel!!!!!!!!!!!  There are no in and out privileges for the parking lot.  Damn it!  We decided to take our chances and go to the ticket office.  Our luck runs in again!  They have will call and our tickets!  Phew! We had a quick dinner of hot dogs and chips, took our seats and watched Star Trek Into the Darkness - accompanied by the San Diego Symphony.  It’s quite interesting this concept!  It’s also interesting watching a Star Trek movie with Trekkies - they are W.E.I.R.D. They clap, and yell, and hoot - really?  You’ve seen the movie 1000 times and you are still hooting?  How annoying.  

After the show, we went to the hotel where I fell fast asleep! 

Other Things worth Mentioning:

• Took 25 000 steps
• Sunscreen is a must - so is sf lip balm - learned that the hard way
• Sophie figured out that actors don’t sound the same as they do on TV
• The God people on the street corner are annoying
• There are cool social bikes here - sits about 12 people - you pedal to make it go forward 

Comic Con day 2 -pictures to come when I get home

We got up early this morning to get in line to possibly get a chance to see the Game of Thrones cast.  The line started at 7am and went until 10.  We figured if we got there close to 9 we should be ok.  Well, think again! We got in line at 7:20… and were already close to 1 km away from the start of the line.  We waited probably 1:30 minutes in line… to a sold out show.  Damn!  Wasted all that time in line.  Oh well! It’s part of the experience I guess.  We could’ve been sleeping all that time…

We moved on to our next “want to” experience and got in no problem:  the Big Bang Theory Writers’ panel.  Well, we didn't really want to see that, but in order to see the next panel after and not wait in line, we went in.  Sure and glad we did! It was fantastic!   The person who plays Rajesh was the host!  A little bit later, the person who plays Amy showed up as well!  The writers were all very interesting and the stories they had to tell were great too!  They had written a fanfiction for Amy and Rajesh to read - it was hilarious!  Wish I'd taped it!  

After BBT was done it was time for Falling Skies - wasn't as good as I’d thought it would be because it was all about the last season and obviously we haven’t see it yet as it just started to air and we are not home!  It was cool to see most of the main actors there though.  I never realized that Kochi was a real person in a costume!  I just assumed it was CGI.  Doug Jones actually plays Kochi and Kochi’s father!  Huh! Who would’ve known! 

We then had lunch and just walked around the vendors building for a long while.  It’s not as crowded as expected - I guess too many people are in line somewhere else! haha!  There’s always that 3 mile long line outside for people who want a chance at getting into Hall H tomorrow… yes- you read correctly - I said tomorrow!  People were already lined up this morning!  C-R-A-Z-Y!!! I’m sorry - that is just ridiculous.  You pay all that money to wait 12 + hours in line and do nothing else… That makes no sense to me or to Sophie. 

We had frozen yogurt for dinner -we wanted a light dinner because we had a race a 6pm.  Well, it didn’t end up being much of a race.  It was less than a km long! It was lots of fun though!  It was The Walking Dead themed race.  We followed a “guide” along who would help keep us safe.  On the way, we evaded zombies and mean people - Yes Negan, that would be you!  There was a storyline and we had fun.  Just not very long - thank goodness -some people looked like they were going to die - or cry! LOL  

After the “race” we were supposed to get makeup on and participate as a walker.  Ends up we didn't get to do that because they were too slow at putting the make-up and we had another engagement at 8pm.  Good thing we left that line because what an adventure it was finding the door to go to the concert!  People, if you are going to organize big events, could you not be organized and know where things are?  We asked I don’t know how many people - every single one sent us to a different place - and none of them were correct!  We did find the correct door and did get there in time.  Get where you wonder?  A concert featuring Emily Kinney.  It was an intimate concert in the stadium.  I’d say there were 50 or so people.  We were so close we could've touched her =) .  She has a very pretty voice! She also talks to the crowd - which is always nice.  She seems very innocent.

After the concert - hotel it was.  Long day! 

Other things worth mentioning:

• took 17 000 steps
• Emily Kinney is a tiny little thing
• bad organization makes people unhappy
• saw an osprey while waiting in line-it was on a sailboat mast

San Diego - Comic Con Day 1

Comi-con! First day - nothing really special.  It is HUGE! There is the convention centre plus the Petco Park parking lot plus I don’t know how many hotels’ convention rooms.  It’s not possible to do all you want to do.  

One thing we won't be doing is going to panels that take place in Hall C - it’s just ridiculous!  Here’s how it works:  First you have to line up the night before the panel you want to see (we wanted to see Walking Dead tomorrow) to get a bracelet.  Secondly, you go wait in line for the panel.  So, there is two lines already.  You could be waiting for hours and hours to get your bracelet, then the crazy people who brought their sleeping bags will be going to the panel line right away and spend the night… You could be waiting 10 hours - literally!  

We walked for 2 km and weren’t even at the end of the line yet!  How crazy is that?! So, the people at the end of this first line aren’t even guaranteed a spot in the hall!  Can you imagine waiting 5 to 6 hours to get your bracelet and you can’t even get in?  I’d be totally pissed off!  

There was no way in hell we were waiting in that line - so unfortunately we won’t be seeing the Walking Dead or the Fear the Dead panels that we wanted to see.  I’m not that crazy!  There are other panels we wanted to see at the same time… so we will go do that instead.

We’ve received free comic books and a free t-shirt today.  Wonder if we will get anything tomorrow…Oh - we also got free sunglasses.  We could’ve gotten a free Charlie Brown hat but we were too late. Wasn’t that nice anyway =)

The line-ups are absolutely crazy - but that’s to be expected.  Rémi spent the afternoon in 2 lines to get two comic books signed.  Good thing those signatures are free! 

Sophie and I went to see a panel: Destination America: Ghost Asylum.  That’s where we got free t-shirts. 

I’m happy we won the opportunity to purchase cheap parking passes because we would be spending more time in lines to take the free shuttles! 

Other things worth mentioning:

• There is an insane amount of people attending Comic-Con
• I took 18 000 steps
• I ate at the Cheesecake Factory and had a very yummy piece of Cherry Cheesecake! 

Los Angeles Day 3

We got up early to go run on the beach.  We found parking, got out and went running on the Santa Monica Beach.  Beautiful spot to run! Wish I could do that more often!  Funny thing happened:  an older man - I’d say in his seventies was running, we went by him, smiling as we passed.  On our way back (we turned around at 1.5 km) we passed him.  He looked like he was about to die… but nope! When he saw a woman was passing him, he put into 5th gear and passed me to only slow down and look like he was dying again!  All three of us were laughing inside!   Just be thankful you are running!  Speed doesn’t matter! You are doing it! 

The real RV from the movie!!!

After our run we went for a tour of the Sony Pictures.  Not quite as cool as WB - the guide was better and more in depth, but not as much to see.

We went on the set of The Goldbergs, Masters of Sex and Jeopardy.

We then drove off to San Diego.  We made two stops: one to visit Esther, my cousin, and the other was a preservation area where we saw various birds. 

Other things worth mentioning:

• Took 16 000 steps
• Internet still sucks
• saw various types of terns, skimmer, long billed curlew, pelican, killdeer, whimbrel, marbled god-wit, willet, great blue heron, two types of egrets, pied-billed grebe, some kind of sparrow, osprey carrying dinner,