coastered Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 My California And Nevada holiday that started at september 1st came already to an end 3 weeks ago. But I did not have the time to write a proper report for it. So here is finally the report. First there is the short program list. 1 sep: - Flight from Amsterdam to LA + Checkin hotel 2 sep: - Visit Disneyland and DCA 3 sep: (First day tour) - Welcomemeeting + Sightseeing LA and drive to San Diego 4 sep: - Visit Seaworld and Belmont Park (mission Beach) 5 sep: - Drive through Joshua Tree National Park to Lake Havasu 6 sep: - Drive from Lake Havasu to Grand Canyon 7 sep: - Spend whole day at Grand Canyon 8 sep: - Drive along Route 66 to Las Vegas 9 sep: - Spend whole day in Las Vegas 10 sep: - Drive through Death Valley 11 Sep: - From Mono Lake across Tioga Pass to Yosemite National Park 12 sep: - Spend whole day in Yosemite National Park 13 sep: - Sightseeing in San Fransisco and drive to Santa Cruz 14 sep: - Along Highway 1 to Santa Monica 15 sep: - Visit Universal Studios 16 sep: - Tour ended at the LAX hotel. 17 sep: - Visit SFMM 18 sep: - Visit KBF 19 sep: - Check-out hotel and flight from LA to Amsterdam 20 sep: - Arrival in Amsterdam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastered Posted October 14, 2006 Author Share Posted October 14, 2006 1 sep: - Flight from Amsterdam to LA + Checkin hotel The departure of my flight was at 01:00PM (A'dam time), so I had to check in 3 hours before. During the flight we saw some great movies. Like Ice Age 3, Mission Impossible 3 and Nacho Libre. I arrived at the LAX airport at 03:00PM (Pacific Time) after a flight with no problems. Now i had to wait for the passport checks, but at 04:00pm I was ready to check-in at my hotel. My plane, A Boeing 747-200 My LAX hotel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastered Posted October 14, 2006 Author Share Posted October 14, 2006 2 sep: - Visit Disneyland and DCA Because the tour starts on Sunday, Saterday I went to the Disneyland Resort. It was my first ever visit to a Disney themepark. I had to wait for the shuttlebus at 09:00am, but because of waitingtime at their office we did not arrive at the Disneypark before 10:15am. First I went to DCA, which would be my greatest mistake of that day. The entrance gates to DCA After a second ride on California Screamin, I did the Maliboomer. But I don't like the glass you have in front of you. Next was the California Screamin. I really like the launch of this coaster. I started my day at DCA with the Tower Of Terror. I really liked the way it went up and down the tower. The lobby of this hotel was great too, it really looks like an old hotel. After the waveswinger I did my second coaster credit. Next was a waveswinger, but sadly not a great one My last ride at DCA was the really amazing Soarin' Over California I think this is the first rapid with a drop in it. I needed to cool down a bit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastered Posted October 14, 2006 Author Share Posted October 14, 2006 It was already past 01:00PM when I went from DCA to Disneyland. The park was really crowded. Some of the queue lines were at least 1 hour, and also the fastpass did not help. Because we had to leave the park at 06:30PM, Space Mountain was my last ride, because of the 1 hour queue line. And straight to my next credit. Next i walked along the best Halloween themed ride ever After Big Thunder Mountain I had a long wait for my second coaster credit. But Matterhorn was worth the wait. This minetrain coaster is my favorite. The great minetrain at Phantasialand dropped to the second spot. This made me go to Big Thunder Mountain. Pirates was crowded too, just like Splash Mountain. First I went to Adventureland to ride Indiana Jones, but because of a long wait I went to Haunted Mansion instead. Walt, Mickey and the castle The entrance to Disneyland Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbolaaf Posted October 14, 2006 Share Posted October 14, 2006 Still a nice report to see even when i've seen it before on a other site. I really would love to do california screaming once. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastered Posted October 14, 2006 Author Share Posted October 14, 2006 3 sep: (First day tour) - Welcomemeeting + Sightseeing LA and drive to San Diego Today the tour started with a meeting at the hotel at 08:00am. It was the first time that I saw our trekleader and the other people of the group. Our trekleader was a crazy guy from Italie called Matia. And I was really lucky because I was the only guy in a group with 7 pretty ladies. After some things we had to know about the tents, the camping and the tour it self. We went sightseeing in LA. After this we drove through Beverly Hills to the famous Rodeo Drive We also saw the famous Mann's Chineze Theatre. We started with the Hollywood Boulevard and the Walk Of Fame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastered Posted October 14, 2006 Author Share Posted October 14, 2006 After the sightseeing in LA we had a long drive to San Diego were the campground was for the next 2 nights. We also had to buy some food for diner, breakfast, lunch and something to drink. We also made a stop at the Hotel Del Coronado. But first we made a stop at the famous "Old Town District". This was the birthplace of San Diego. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastered Posted October 14, 2006 Author Share Posted October 14, 2006 4 sep: - Visit Seaworld and Belmont Park (mission Beach) Today was our second day in San Diego. 2 of the girls would like to visit the zoo, but everybody else went to Seaworld. We started our day at this park with the Believe show. After a 10 minute wait we ended the ride with a nice splash. The next boats were not that lucky and had to be evacuated from the first lift. But this ride broke down when our boat was at the top af the second lift. Because of the long waits at all the 3 shows, I went straight to Journey To Atlantis after the dolphin show ended. Next was the dolphin show But visiting the Cirque show Sadly skipping the rapids Next touching some dolfins in this pool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastered Posted October 14, 2006 Author Share Posted October 14, 2006 It was already past 03:00pm when we left the park. We went to Mission Beach for some nice tanning and coastering. We ended our day at a restaurant in "Old Town". After the beach we went to the "Gaslamp Quarters". But the shopping and restaurants were to expensive. So I went to the beach for some suntanning. The other rides were not that great. I went straight to Belmont Park to ride the Big Dipper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted April 28, 2007 Share Posted April 28, 2007 Aww, it's a bummer you didn't finish this Photo TR. It was really good! Seems like it might have gotten overlooked by a bunch of other things going on at the time, but if you get a chance to do your national park or Vegas photos, that would be awesome! (I'd add them to the TPR Photo TR's listing too!) --Robb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric_Smith Posted April 28, 2007 Share Posted April 28, 2007 Aww, it's a bummer you didn't finish this Photo TR. It was really good! Seems like it might have gotten overlooked by a bunch of other things going on at the time, but if you get a chance to do your national park or Vegas photos, that would be awesome! (I'd add them to the TPR Photo TR's listing too!) --Robb I was just thinking the same thing. This TR was sooo cool(and good) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hemmy Posted April 29, 2007 Share Posted April 29, 2007 My parents brought me on so many trips when I was young to Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom I practically grew to dislike Disney parks, but I almost have a renewed spirit to visit them again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastered Posted April 29, 2007 Author Share Posted April 29, 2007 Aww, it's a bummer you didn't finish this Photo TR. It was really good! Seems like it might have gotten overlooked by a bunch of other things going on at the time, but if you get a chance to do your national park or Vegas photos, that would be awesome! (I'd add them to the TPR Photo TR's listing too!) --Robb I did not know you guys liked my report, there was only one reply on the first part of my report. But if you like it, I will try to finish this report soon. The only reasons for me that I did not finish it allready was the problem with my computer, Some things going on at my work and the trip/holiday planning for this years holiday. But I also comletely forgot about this topic. ---------------------------------------------- The report: 5 sep: - Drive through Joshua Tree National Park to Lake Havasu Today it was a long drive from our campground in San Diego to the next campground at Lake Havasu. The only stop we made today was at the first National Park we were going to visit during this trip. It was the Joshua Tree National Park. The visitor center, where we had our lunch break. A giant joshua tree a walk into Hidden Valley The first Joshua Trees of the day. This is not a tree, bur a cactus. Matia, our crazy italian trekleader Skull Rock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastered Posted April 29, 2007 Author Share Posted April 29, 2007 6 sep: - Drive from Lake Havasu to Grand Canyon Because we arrived very late at our campground at Lake Havasu, we only had time to put up our tents and have dinner. There was no time to enjoy the view. But this morning we woke up early and had a beautiful view of the lake. But this is not a real lake, only a part of a river. After having breakfast we went to Lake Havasu City we we had some time to take a look at the famous London Bridge, which was an old bridge out of the city of London in Great Britain. Next was a drive to our campground near the Grand Canyon. Matia told us that he knew a great place to enjoy the sunset. But during this drive it became more and more cloudy in the sky and we saw rain and thunder in the distance. We all wanted the sun to shine again, but it stayed clowded the rest of the day. Some people doing scary things. The Grand Canyon around sunset. The London Bridge in Lake Havasu City. The beautiful view. Our tents near the lake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastered Posted April 29, 2007 Author Share Posted April 29, 2007 7 sep: - Spend whole day at Grand Canyon Luckily we also had the next day to enjoy the Grand Canyon, but today it was also very clowded and cold. So again we were not lucky to se the sunset at the Grand Canyon. First we all went to the visitor center, were we wanted to see the Imax movie about the history of the Grand Canyon. Than we had time to do some hiking or make a helicopter flight above the canyon. The girls and Matia were happy to survive the helicopter flight. A bit of sunshine. Can you see the Colorado River?? Me, livin' on the edge A monument for some guy who was the first to explore the river in a boat. The Grand Canyon A small display at the visitor center Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sticky Nicky Posted April 29, 2007 Share Posted April 29, 2007 I have enjoyed all of your different segments and it looks like you are having a lot of fun. Nice Work and keep them coming. BTW, I have been a member for a year this past week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastered Posted May 5, 2007 Author Share Posted May 5, 2007 8 sep: - Drive along Route 66 to Las Vegas Yes today would be my first day to visit Las Vegas But first we had to wake up early for a historic drive along the famous Route 66. We visited places like Seligman (Arizona), with the worldfamous "Delgadillo's Snowcap Drive-in". This snackbar is famous for the jokes of the owners, like the doorhandle on the wrong site and the worlds only real airconditioned toilet. The other town we have visited was the former mining town Oatman. After this we arrived in Las Vegas just before 5pm, so we had enough time to take a shower and put on our good clothes for the buffet at The Luxor casino. After the buffet we went to downtown Las Vegas to see the Fremont Street Experience. After we saw 3 shows we went back to the strip to see the famous Las Vegas sign and have a short walk along the strip before we went back to our hotel. The eifeltower at the Paris Las Vegas casino MGM Grand New York, New York The Excaliber casino The famous Las Vegas sign Vagas Vic, one of the famous old neon sign's The famous Fremont Street Experience and the Golden Nugget, with the worlds largest gold nugget The Fremont casino Some of the older casino's, like 4 Queens Downtown Las Vegas The aliens have landed in Vegas. No it's only the Luxor at night. And to the right, New York New York and the MGM Grand The view from my Vegas hotelroom. To the left Mandalay Bay and The Luxor. More American history But there are also other things to find in Oatman Oatman, an old mining town yet filled with tourists My old shack in the mountains The airconditioned toilet. We had lunch at the Snowcap The famous Delgadillo's Snowcap Drive-in My new car, a original Pontiac Firebird from the 70's Everything looks like it's coming straight from the 60's Seligman, birthplace of the historic Route 66 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastered Posted May 5, 2007 Author Share Posted May 5, 2007 9 sep: - Spend whole day in Las Vegas Today was our second day in Vegas. After breakfast the girls went straight to one of the many shoppingmalls/outletstore's you can find in Vegas. But I don't like it to look at clothes the whole day. So I went straight to the Stratosphere Tower, to do some hardcore thrillrides and have a beautifull view of the strip. I wanted to do all the trillrides you can find at the strip, so after the Strat I went to the Nascar Cafe, for what would be the best rollercoaster in Vegas. Also Canyon Blaster and Manhattan Express (or The Rollercoaster @ NYNY) came on my list. At night we all were back together and went to the Bellagio hotel for the biggest fountain show I have ever seen. Other things we saw this night were the Siren Of TI show and the vulcano at the Mirage. But we also saw many hotels/casino's from the inside, like the Bellagio, the Venetian and the Forum Shops. We all knew Vegas is 100% fake, but we had two great days in The City That Never Sleeps. Inside the Forum Shops The Bellagio fountain show at night Mandalay Bay and The Luxor New York, New York The MGM lion Next year this will be Rambo versus Terminator the hotel The first show of the day at the Bellagio Paris Las Vegas The Forum Shops @ Ceasar's Palace Ceasar's Palace The vulcano at the Mirage The Venetian The pirateship from the Sirens show at Treasure Island But Las Vegas has more to offer than only thrillrides. and a crappy launch/freefall tower, because Rim Runner, the waterride was nut running There was not much interesting stuff to do inside the dome. There was a swinging pirateship And much chaos Loopy goodness inside the Adventure Dome The sky is the limit Speed, the best coaster in town @ the Nascar Cafe There were still many parts left from High Roller The last tower ride to do was Big Shot I also tried Insanity My first ride of the day was with X-Scream A great view from the strip The Strat is waiting for me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hemmy Posted May 5, 2007 Share Posted May 5, 2007 Awesome pictures man! I was at Vegas back in late March and had a blast. I foolishly waited to ride that boat ride in the Venetian thinking it would be at least a little fun, but I would rather dig my eyes out than ride it again. Also, I am pretty sure at The Adventure Dome they are removing the Rim Runner, because it didn't even have water in it when I was there. I have ridden it many times before though, it was basically your average water ride I suppose. 2 other cool things to do at Vegas (granted im not 21 so I cant drink/gamble) is the Titanic museum and the Atomic Bomb museum, pretty interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phazan Posted May 5, 2007 Share Posted May 5, 2007 Wow, what an awesome trip that must have been! Cool TR!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Théo the little french Posted May 5, 2007 Share Posted May 5, 2007 Las Vegas is so amazing!! Lights everywhere, roller coasters in some boulevards or at the top of a tower, places you can see in movies..it's crazy!! But even if it's a very attractive town, I wouldn't like to go there (I don't think I'll bear the desert, and the madness of this town..) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hemmy Posted May 5, 2007 Share Posted May 5, 2007 Ahh Theo, ya it is a damn long way from France to Las Vegas, but I think if possible everyone should visit Vegas in their life at least once. Sure Vegas is in a desert, but when in town you would never know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastered Posted May 6, 2007 Author Share Posted May 6, 2007 10 sep: - Drive through Death Valley Today was not a very busy day. We we able to sleep a little more than the other days, because we only had to drive to Death Valley and our next campground near Bishop (California). After we all waved goodbye to The City That Never Sleeps, we had to make a lunch and refueling stop at the Terrible's Town Casino at Pahrump (Nevada). This was looking like a real Las Vegas casino with it's wil west theme. But we didn't have time to gamble, because Death Valley was waiting for us. Death Valley is one of the hottest place on earth, but a couple of days ago it had rained a bit so the temperature was not that high. We were not lucky because the rain had washed away some parts of the road to Dante's View. So we had to go to the Visitors Center and an old boraks works. We also saw some sand dunes. After this we had to drive to our campground near Bishop, where Matia had a surprice for us. This night we were going to some Hot Springs. The sand dunes The old borax works The visitor center Death Valley One of the girls from my tourgroup at the Death Valley sign Terrible's Town Casino in Pahrump Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastercrazed49 Posted May 6, 2007 Share Posted May 6, 2007 Great Trip Report! You are so lucky to be able to do road trips and stop at all sorts of amusement parks. My parents wouldnt go out of the way to stop at amusement parks. But w/e looks like you had a great time, cant wait to see more pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastered Posted May 6, 2007 Author Share Posted May 6, 2007 11 Sep: - From Mono Lake across Tioga Pass to Yosemite National Park Today we also had enough time too wake up late. Because we only had to drive to Yosemite National Park. On our way to Yosemite we needed some time to buy much food for our next to days at the campground near Yosemite. But first we made a short stop at Mono Lake. This is a very strange and salty lake where no fish lives. We were lucky to drive through Tioga Pass, because most of the time this pass is closed because of the snow. We had time for lunch at a small visitor center near Lembert Dome. This was the first moment we had time to enjoy this great wonder of nature. Next was a photo stop at Tenaya Lake. We ended our day at the campground, but before that there was time to visit Yosemite Village. We had to cross the Sentinal Bridge to enter this village. And from this bridge it was possible to take beautiful picture of Half Dome. The most beautiful rock in the park. Our BBQ meet just near the road. Half Dome seen from Sentinal Bridge Tenaya Lake Lembert Dome A beautiful lake near Tioga Pass The strange Mono Lake Last nights campground in Bishop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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