IT'S CHERRY TIME!

It's cherry time! That's right. Those wonderful little red balls bursting with flavor are back.

I just love when the summer time fruit starts to come out. It's hard for me to say which I love more...peaches, plumbs, apricots, watermelon or cherries.

But, when I had my first cherry of this season, I knew cherries were on my top five favorite list.

I don't know if all cherries are great yet but, these ones we got the other day sure are. You couldn't ask for a better cherry.

I even put them in a special dish that I don't use to often. You see, the dish they are in are antique cut crystal. I have five of them.

Not only are they special because they are antique but, because they are the only thing I have of my Dad's.

My Dad died when I was only 12 years old. I still think of him and miss him every day. I love my Dad more then words can ever say. I was his little girl.

As I hold these dishes in my hands I can almost feel him there with me. Yet, I'm scared one my break, so, I don't use them very often.

I don't even know if my Dad liked cherries. If I had to put money down I would bet he did. After all, who doesn't like cherries?

PART THREE AND THE END OF CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE

After all the fun we had and the heart pounding Tower of Terror we decided we needed a little break.

So we stopped and had some yummy Cotton Candy. There is something about having Cotton Candy that makes you feel like a kid again.

I just love the look of that spun sugar. It looks like a pretty pink cloud on a stick. It tastes good too.

Did you know you can have a wonderful dinner and wine at California Adventure? Well you can.

You can also go through the winery and do wine taste testing.

Yet, we passed up the wine and headed for Paradise Pier instead.

This isn't normally an area we go to. It's more geared towards the kids. Since we had Trinity with us we decided to go there.

Once there, I remembered, they do have several fun rides for adults too.

Like this one. It may look like a Ferris Wheel but it's not your everyday Ferris Wheel. The little cages you sit in also slide around. Which sort of gives you the feeling like your cage broke free and you are going to fall.

Or the big roller coaster.

You also have the balloon ride that shoots you up high and then you drop down fast. It gives you the feeling you are going to either shoot off the top of the ride into space or slam down on the ground because the breaks failed. Which of course you don't.

The rides were all very busy with lines that would have been over an hour wait. So we decided to skip them and we headed to the Boardwalk to play games.

Even though the park was crowded the games were pretty much empty.

They have your typical carnival games here.

You know the type. Where you can do things like dip your fishing pole into the water, catch a fish and win a prize.

Trinity gave it a shot and ended up winning a small stuffed animal and then one of the large ones on her second try.

Way to go Trinity!

She also played this one where you roll a ball into the holes and depending on which hole you get it the horse moves forward one to three spaces.

When she played, there were six people (the max) and again she WON!

Boy, she was on a roll.

When the other kids, and even some adults, saw her walking around with three stuffed animals, they all decided to start playing.

But it didn't matter if she was playing alone or with a packed row of people, she kept winning. It was unreal.

Here she is with two big bags full of her stuffed animals that she won. I think she ended up getting at least 10.

Because it seemed like she wasn't going to lose any time soon, we thought it would be nice to save the rest of the stuffed animals for the other players and we went home.

We were all very tired and very happy. We all agreed that we will be going back several more times in the coming months.

Once school is out we will stay late and watch the fireworks. Disneyland and California Adventure takes on a whole new look at night with all the lights. So we are excited to go back.

There is also one more area of California Adventure that we did not go to. We figured we should save it for another day as we were to tired and was ready to head home.

I hope you enjoyed your time with us as we spent the day at California Adventure.

CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE ~ TOWER OF TERROR

I was going to make my California Adventure story in two parts. However, I have now decided to make it in three parts so I can give you more information on the Tower of Terror.

If you have never been on this ride I hope you find this interesting. If you have been on the ride, maybe you didn't know about all the things I'm going to tell you in this post.

Come along with me, let's hurry, there are no lines so we can get right on!

The Tower of Terror is located in the back corner of the Hollywood Pictures Backlot.

Normally the lines are long but if you go there when you first get to the park you can get a Fast Pass Ticket. That will allow you to go back at the given time and get in a much shorter line.

This is one ride that I don't mind waiting in line for as there is more to see then you realize. Once you know the secrets I'm going to tell you.


The legend says this Hotel was first opened in 1928. It was a beautiful Hotel with the style of the Hollywood bygone era.

Then, the Hotel was hit by lighting, causing all sorts of strange things to happen. This made the people inside leave quickly, never to speak about what happened again.

The Hotel was forced to close on Oct. 31, 1939.

On that night, five unlucky souls were in the elevator and disappeared, never to be heard from again.

You are standing in line because you have agreed to take the same journey they did as you try to find out what happened to them. You are one brave person!


Walking through the lobby you can see it appears as if many people were in there years ago. Only they left in a hurry, leaving all their belongings behind and never returned to get them.

Here you can see there were people playing cards and enjoying a drink when they left.

The lobby is very dusty. After all it has been 70 years since anyone has been in here. Plants have died. The magazines and news papers are from 1939. It is exactly as everyone left it back then.

This is one of the bellmen showing you that the elevator for the public is broken. He tells you that you can use the Service elevators but you have to go through the Library and then through the back of the Hotel where the staff only was allowed.

This is another view of the Lobby. Even the little girl left her beloved doll behind.

Luggage is left by the front desk check in area.

What in the world happened that would make everyone run out and leave without even taking their items with them?

Well, the story goes, things started to happen so quickly. Strange things, that made you feel as if you were in a Twilight Zone story.

I say we go through the Library to the back and get on the Service Elevators to try to find out the whole story.

Good, you came with me. This is the Library.

In here, if you look closely, you will find some items that reference the TV show the Twilight Zone.

Miniature Space Men ~ "The Invaders" starring Agnes Moorhead as a woman beset by tiny creatures that turn out to be the crew of a spaceship from Earth.

The Mystic Seer ~ "Nick of Time" in a road side dinner a fortune telling machine torments Don (William Shatner) and Pat Carter (Patricia Breslin).

Before you entered the Library if you noticed there were two glass front display cases. In there you will find...

A gold thimble ~ "The After Hours" starring Anne Francis as a lady who forgot she was not Human but rather a store mannequin.

A broken stop watch ~ "A Kind of Stop Watch" about a watch that could actually stop time.

While you are in the Library, be sure to pay attention to the TV. As you will be shown a clip that will explain what happened that night in 1939.

You will then be guided out through a hidden door that will take you to the back parts of the Hotel. The place where guests were never allowed, only the staff.

As you walk in this area, you will find a Store Front Window of Modern Wonders. Here you will find a box camera from "A Most Unusual Camera" about a camera that takes pictures of the Future.

As you wind your way through the area keep an eye open for other Twilight Zone references.

Like, a white chalk marks on a wall in the boiler room. This is from "Little Girl Lost". These markings indicate the doorway into another dimension.

OK, it looks like we have finally found the Service Elevators. Notice it goes up to the 12Th floor.

The doors open and one of the bellmen let you in. Boy, those bellmen all look so pale. They could use a little sun.

Once everyone is in, the bellman welcomes you to the Hotel. Then advises you will be sent straight to your floor...the 13Th floor.

What! There is no 13Th floor!!!

With that, the doors close and you are off on your journey.

Now I will not spoil it for those of you who have never been on this adventure before. Those of you who have, well you know what waits ahead.

What I will tell you is, I love this ride! It's by far my favorite ride in California Adventure and makes it worth going to even if you only go on this ride.

CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE PART 1

Many of you have been to Disneyland here in CA. However, there are several of you who have never been to California Adventure. So I thought it may be fun for you to see what it's like there.

I went with Maureen and Trinity on Memorial Day. We had a lot of fun, even though it was pretty crowded.

But, come along with me and I'll show you around.




Like Disneyland, California Adventure has different areas in the park. Our first stop was to The Hollywood Pictures Backlot.

This is the main street you walk down to get to the rides and attractions. Often they have street performers out here but they didn't on Memorial Day. Guess they figured they would have to many people walking the streets.

Our first stop was at the Muppet's 3D Vision. This is a wild 3D movie with action that takes place, not only on the screen but also in front of you, the sides, on top of you and even the live orchestra joins in on the fun.

Here is Trinity all ready with her special 3D glasses on.

Before the show starts, you have to wait in this area. There are TV screens on showing different Muppet things.

We lucked out because we only had a 1 minute 22 second wait. Then the doors to the theater opened and we got to walk in and sit down.

This is a shot of the people in back of me. It reminds me of the pictures you see from back in the 50's when 3D movies first came out.

The 3D shows have gotten so much better since then. This one had to be one of the best ones I've ever seen. I was really impressed by this one.

After the show was over we went to the Monsters Inc. ride.

I had never been on this so I was looking forward to it.

There was a fairly long line for this ride. We were first outside and then the line went inside. Once you are inside it's not so bad as there are things to look at along the way.

Like this vending machine and the large items the "Monsters" eat and drink.

When you are finally ready to get on the ride you hop on a yellow taxi cab. This is Trinity waiting to go on her voyage.

The story is, a little girl, a "human" little girl, gets lost and the Monsters are trying to find her.

I never saw the movie so I can't say but it sounds like it may fit in with what the movie was about.

This is one of the many Monsters you see.

This is Trinity and me after the ride was over. You can tell by our smiles we enjoyed it.

This is the Hyperion Theater. Right now they have a live stage show of Aladdin.

We didn't go see this as the wait was to long. However, I have gone several times in the past and it's well worth the wait if you have never seen it before.

Lots of pretty costumes, fun songs and dance and several laughs.

Oh look! Pluto was there walking around. He must like to go there to go on the rides too. Normally you find him across the way at Disneyland. It was a nice surprise running into him over at California Adventures.

The next ride we went on was Tower of Terror! It's my favorite ride at California.

But, you will have to wait until tomorrow to see that and the other fun we had.

I didn't want this post to be to long so I'm breaking it up in two parts.

Hope you come back tomorrow to see the rest of the fun.

I SAVED 5 LIFE'S IN ONLY AN HOUR ~ SO CAN YOU

I got a call the other night from the Red Cross asking me if would come in and donate blood. By doing so, I would save 5 life's.

I have O negative blood. It's called the Universal blood because it can be given to any other blood type without causing problems. It's what they give to people in hospitals when they don't have time to type their blood.

I figured why not go and help out. I've donated before and I know it's quick, easy and painless.

Do you donate? If you have never donated because you are a bit scared at what happens I thought I would take you all along to show you how easy it is.

Warning though, if you can't stand the sight of blood then you may want to pass up this post.

I have deep and skinny veins. It's often hard for them to find my veins when I have to have blood taken.

I've learned that it's good to drink a lot of water before you go as it helps to pump up the veins and makes it easier to find them.

So this morning I drank a few glasses of water before I left my house.

I found the location without any problems. Went inside and started the process of donating.

They give you a little package to read which explains who should not donate and why.

Things like being in certain countries, taking certain medications, having certain illnesses and getting a resent tattoo can keep you from being able to donate.

After you read the package and find out you can donate (most people can) you then wait in the waiting room for a nurse to call your name.

Once your name is called the two of you go into a private office when the nurse will ask you a few questions, check your temperature, blood pressure and iron level in your blood.

Then you answer a few more questions on the computer and once everything is done you go into the main room to donate.

The have nice comfortable chairs to sit in.

They will clean your arm, put iodine on you and a blood pressure cuff. You are given a little ball to squeeze every five to ten seconds and then they stick you with a needle and tape it to you.

That's it. Now you just sit and wait until you are finished. You don't feel a thing.

It took me only 7 minutes 41 seconds to fill up my bag.

They finish the paperwork, pack it all up and then it's on it's way to be processed and given to sick or injured people.

You then go over to the table where there are cookies, crackers, juice and water and wait 15 minutes to make sure you don't have any problems.

It's a great excuse to "have" to eat cookies.

My nurse got a bit carried away with my bandage. She used red self stick tape and wrapped it in a large X for "Red Cross" and then she put a little bit of green self stick tape on that she folded into a bow. She said it's to remind me that I have just given the "Gift" of life to others by donating blood at the Red Cross.

So that was it. Easy and fast. I was in and out within an hour.

I hope that anyone who has been scared about giving blood will think about it again now that you know how easy it is.

Other then a little stick you don't feel a thing.

Oh, I also got a coupon for a free chicken dinner and a free T-Shirt as well as the free cookies and juice. Not bad huh?

You can donate blood every 6 weeks. Think about how many people you can help out in a year.