Photo TR: West Coast Bash ~ Disney ~ and Me! (o:

[Nrthwnd]

How long of layover (stop) did you have in San Luis Obispo? Was it enough to walk around a little?

 

No, unfortunately. The train only stopped at SLO for anyone getting off or on the train.

And the longer stops at a few other smaller stations, like Santa Barbara, were usually ten minutes or so.

 

For the smokers.

 

--------------------------------*

 

Heading Home by AMTRAK: Day 2 ~ My On-train Panic Attack... and My First Souvenir!

 

First of all, I want to say I hold nothing against AMTRAK for what happened. Nothing could be done.

That said, after I woke up the next morning, had a great breakfast, and then found out, that we were

actually 3 HOURS BEHIND SCHEDULE...

 

 

What happened was, after we got to Sacramento, which was around midnight, they found that a freight train

had mechanical problems (or something like that), BUT that train also happened to be on the tracks we

were on, and needed to continue on our way north. So, while I slept soundly (probably because we weren't

moving at all) the train stayed in the station for 3 hours, and then continued on.

 

I think the only person without a cell phone on the train was me, as I did panic about how to reach David

and let him know, I probably wasn't arriving on the bus until...say...3 am? But I did find a staff member

onboard who lent me his cellphone, I called David and let him know what was going on.

 

But - I have to thank AMTRAK and the great bus driver we had, from Seattle, through the border to home.

Somehow, they picked up speed, and apart from a somewhat lengthy stop at the border, they actually

made up two hours of the three we were out!

 

So I arrived home at 01:15 instead of just after midnight.

 

Sorry that the photos stop after Portland, but I was getting antsy about whether we would be making any

time up. And I just stopped taking them.

 

But here also, is the Very First Souvenir I picked up on the trip. A copper mug from the bar car with

"Coast Starlight" printed on it. It now goes with the CS coffee mug I got back in,....1996?

 

 

Coming up - The Group, Character & On Ride Photos and The Souvenirs Haul!

A good breakfast. And then, The News about The Schedule.

Mount Shasta.

I liked the name of the place.

I forget the name of this one. )o: Anybody know this one?

I am pretty sure it's for vineyards and not rice fields. (o;

TREES!

A small truck actually created this great photo, for me. (o:

Blurrrrry trrrrrreees.

Starting to go inland now, to...

Portland. The rain clouds hang, waiting.

Yes, I will take the train again!

Last daylight photo, on the train. Crossing the Columbia River, into Washington state.

My First Souvenir of the Trip ~ A cool looking copper cup! In which I enjoyed, my first "Moscow Mule."

Here it is, alongside the plastic coffee travel mug, I picked up in 1996 on the CS.

Where it hangs now. Obviously wanting to be 'unique', and for being able to read the damn thing,

it hangs in opposition to 'the others.' A pretty cup, though.

[Nrthwnd]

~ Retro Disneyland Photo ~

 

I recently found this overhead shot of Disneyland, back when I visited for the first time in 1963, at age 10.

 

You can see the construction site of the Pirates of The Caribbean, and the lonely Mansion, already

built, but no Haunts there. Not even the show building is there. Yet.

 

And the Flying Saucers, where Space Mountain sits today.

Lots and lots of parking, in 1963. Not many motels either.

[Nrthwnd]

And now, it's time for all those...

 

Souvenirs! Special Photos: Group ~ Character ~ On Ride

 

I'm starting the "show & tell" of my Souvenirs Haul, with the continuation of photos in the trip:

 

Group - This was the group photo taken of all of us, who attended the Knott's Berry Farm

Day of the West Coast Bash. (Sunday Sept.11) And I'm in the center of the photo, just below that

guy in the blue t-shirt? The white hair and beard give me away, I know. Thanks Knott's!

 

Character - I ran into three characters (Snoopy actually 3 times!) one in each park I visited,

so photos were taken with each.

 

On Ride - I think my favourite of the bunch is the Tower of Terror shot. So many different reactions

in the photo op. Including two (I believe) little girls who were NOT impressed with any of it, lol!

In the middle, under the standing blue shirt...there I am! (o;

Me with K-Nine at Magic Mountain, during our lunch break, there. (Sat.Sept.10)

Me and Snoop - taken at the lunch Knott's provided, during our WCB day, there.

Me and Snoopy...Again! In the Knott's Berry Farm Hotel lobby. I ran into him one more time, too.

Me and Mater. We look awesome together!

What all the Knott's photo folders look like.

Me and Bryan on Ghostrider. I mean, we're obviously enjoying it, right? Right???

On the Knott's Log Ride. It was really great with all the new renovations it had.

Me and other happy people on Silver Bullet.

Tower of Terror. Such an animated group.

Don't know if these parents realize they've probably gotten their kids TERRORized on it, for life.

Our side of the elevator. And except for Mr.'klein' there looking not-too-interested, our side rawked!

[Nrthwnd]

Will that be Plastic, or Paper Souvenirs, sir?

 

This is the bunch of stuff that most people probably throw away when they get home, or during their trip along the way.

Of course, I keep everything that is memorable for my trips. And this trip was no exception.

 

The Paper stuff was the usual collection of park maps; the train schedules & Guide; show schedules, etc. And the

Plastic things were few but just as important, including the WCB lanyards & passes we got, both at Magic Mountain and Knott's.

Train stuff, and what my hotel key came in.

Park Maps, and a schedule for the Knott's shows.

I actually ended up with two different cover Maps for both DL and DCA.

You had to buy the photos they took. But the cast member who used my camera

really did a nice job with it, taking photos of me and Mater in DCA.

My Disneyland Resort Park Hopper Ticket.

$5 gets you your very own Autopia Drivers License!

I wonder if I'll live that long, 'till it expires.

The lanyards and our day passes during the West Coast Bash weekend.

Flip Side. With the schedule for the day on each.

[Nrthwnd]

~ A few Souvenirs from Six Flags Magic Mountain ~

 

I wasn't expecting to find the Only Souvenirs Shop in Magic Mountain to be near the entry plaza of the park.

There may have been one or two others on "the other side of the Mountain ", but I didn't notice. There

were also a couple of stands around, selling light up souvenirs, of which I purchased one.

 

And I found the shop was a very popular spot when the heat increased during the day. People were congregating

within the door frames of the Souvenirs Shop as there was air conditioning being blown through pipes above the

frames. The whole Shop itself, was nice and comfy cool, as well. But the door frames were definitely one of

the more interesting ways to cool off, lol.

What I got from Magic Mountain. Not a lot. But I liked what I got.

Mini Pegasus!

The ONLY name pin I found available in the entire park. But...

....it also came attached to a postcard. Which I had to buy as well.

So how about it, Cedar Point? Is this true?

I always liked Taz, as well as Marvin the Martian.

Light up candy corn!

It had 6 settings to play.

[TBpony414]

The picture of those little kids on Tower of Terror is hilarious! Love that light up candy corn necklace too. Do you have any other upcoming trips planned?

[Nrthwnd]

^ The kids on ToT was a total surprise to me, as I had no idea they were on the ride! The way we were lined up, and then

seated in the vehicle, I couldn't see two little tots joining us. And surprise, they never cried out or screamed, probably

'cause they were too freaked out to make any noise, heh. But I was still surprised parents would take children that young

onto it.

 

I am only doing one trip a year, as my travel budget allows. But - next year, I am hitting a Bucket List park I've known of and

followed for well over a few decades - Cedar Point. Current plans (and it's mostly paid for, now) is being there when

Coastermania! is on, (Friday, June 2, if their "First Friday In June" is still right). Staying at the Breakers, and

having a 3-day pass to enjoy it all, without rushing.

 

And one of the Brew & BBQ nights too, yum!

From this year's past B&B at CP.

[bert425]

I *want* that candy corn necklace!

 

Love it.

 

 

and wOOt for the Coastermania/CP trip (even if I don't get a shout out ).. .. we're gonna have an amazing time!

[Nrthwnd]

^ Well, I didn't want to put you on the spot, especially if for some reason you had to c-a-n-c-e-l.

Edited November 14, 2016 by Nrthwnd

[bert425]

^ Well, I didn't want to put you on the spot, especially if for some reason you had to c-a-n-c-e-l.

 

Nope. . not gonna cancel.

 

it's ON!

 

TWO bucket list things for me: CP, and getting to meet Bill in person!

[Nrthwnd]

...and getting to meet Bill in person!

 

 

Okay, here. Some virtual Knott's cookies for ya!

Yum.

Edited November 14, 2016 by Nrthwnd

[Nrthwnd]

^

 

 

SPOILER ALERT: The cookies are dry; hardly any boysenberry jam in them, at - all;

the cookies are dry (did I just say that again?); not worth buying again.

Edited November 14, 2016 by Nrthwnd

[bert425]

good. . makes em easy to pass up !

 

gotta stick to my diet UNTIL vacations (we have that cruise in Feb coming up first too). . .so i can at least start off svelte enough to fit into a coaster easily!

 

 

and you're just like my Jewish Mother! "these taste terrible. . . try one!"

 

 

[Nrthwnd]

I can be a Mother, who is a real Mother.

Edited November 14, 2016 by Nrthwnd

[bert425]

I can be a Mother, who is a real Mother.

 

 

[youtu_be]

[/youtu_be]

[Nrthwnd]

^

I like my Vanilla in a Milkshake. Not on.... Ice.

[Nrthwnd]

More Souvenirs!

 

Souvenir T-shirts: 4 From the Trip + 1 Milestone Shirt

 

First, the Milestone Shirt. When David and I visited Amsterdam and Paris last year, I didn't get too many coaster

credits at the time, but it still brought me closer to a magic # I didn't expect to reach. At all. But with West Coast

Bash, I was guaranteed that number, before I even finished the weekend! So - I got the shirt over a year ago, and

didn't take it on the trip (or ever wear it at home - didn't want to jinx this), and wore it once, on the final season

day (Sept.18) of my home park, Playland (PNE). And Ghostrider in Knott's became #700 for me, woo hoo!

 

The other four were from Knott's and the Disney Resort. One was a freebie for West Coast Bash from Knott's (thanks!).

The other ones from Knott's were the 75th Anniversary t-shirt, and Ghostrider shirt. And the Disney one.... well, you

can't really miss it, lol.

...with the souvenir 'thing' wrapped up, in front.

One side printed shirts. Both from Knott's.

Two sided print shirts. WCB and my Milestone coaster shirt...

...Which happened to be Ghostrider!

Trippy.

Corporate Mouse, dude!

Proof I actually wore the shirt around the Resort. With my Main Machine... Mater!

Edited November 19, 2016 by Nrthwnd

[Nrthwnd]

"To Open Up....Eventually."

 

I picked up a FROZEN Vinylmation and what's called a "Hidden Mickey Mystery Pouch", which has supposedly

two pins in it. Bought them at the Disney Resort, in DCA.

 

Now, the question is: When should I open these things? The Vinylmation Marshmallow

is a tricky one, as "the one with the crown" is only one out of ten boxes. So, I may hold off on that.

 

But the little blue pouch, I'll probably open when I finish this trip report.

 

We shall see, eventually...

 

(By the way, the 'crown' that Marshmallow is wearing, is The Crown that Elsa threw out

the castle window, near the end of "Let It Go." And Marsh found it.)

Here they are, with my newest Mickey buy.

Mickey ends up with all of his clones. (o;

Hmmm.

I forget what "Yellow" meant, price wise.

As for this...

One shot out of ten to get that crown for Marshmallow.

Photos taken from eBay. Left: Crown. Right: No crown.

Left: Happy. Right: Not so much.

And here they both sit. For now.

Edited November 19, 2016 by Nrthwnd

[Nrthwnd]

And now....

 

(Mostly) Food Souvenirs from Knott's Berry Farm theme park...

 

What can I say? The place started out as a Boysenberry farm stand, Walter built a ghost town, and then Cordelia Knott

started cooking and serving up chicken dinners, and the rest is history.

 

And Knott's has a vast selection of foods and such, under it's own brand name. And under Berry Market, which came to be, when

they sold to Smuckers (jams & jellies?) and then Smuckers took the Knott's name off everything the contract covered, at that time.

 

So I did get some "Knott's Name" things, such as their spice kits for dips and meat. Not used yet, but they all look promising.

 

And I bought a few non-edible things as well. Just a few...

Everything on view, here.

The Spices kits, salt water taffy and a couple of glassware things. All with the actual Knott's logo on them.

Pink = Strawberry; Green = Coconut Key Lime; Purple = What else? The Berry of Boysen, lol.

Glassware: The left one is for milk and/or cream. The right one is for booze. 2 oz. worth. (o;

BBQ Sauce; Savory Meat Relish; Mustard; Honey. We loooove the Relish. And we want more of it.

But Knott's doesn't ship to Canada. So I will have to be patient, until my next visit.

Where most of everything sits, now.

Non-Food: A Knott's ducky; Two fridge magnets; A flattened penny; and a Knott's Tree Ornament.

A leaning Back Scratcher, leaning against a Snoopy With heart!

Beverage containers. A Super Sipper beside a good solid Large Coffee Mug.

And another Knott's Coffee Mug...

In a nice dark blue Cobalt Glass. I got it for David, as he loves cobalt blue glass stuff.

Cookies. Dry cookies. Very dry cookies. I won't be buying these again, any time soon.

[bert425]

you must travel with an extra bag, just to pack all the souvenirs!

[Nrthwnd]

you must travel with an extra bag, just to pack all the souvenirs!

 

Not exactly. But since I was taking the train, it was easy

to pack an extra bag to take back with me. And my carry on bag

had all the breakable stuff in it, like glassware, food in jars, etc.

 

I think though, the future Cedar Point trip will be a lighter souvenirs "haul," lol.

I've done this on return plane trips too, and along with my carry on bag,

I've been allowed on every flight home to do this. So far. (o;

[Nrthwnd]

Darn. It's the last salt water taffy of the trip...

The Coconut Key Lime taffy. Our fave and I brought back too few of them.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

We have those same shortbread cookies in the vending machine at my office, and yeah, they're not very good. They're actually not made by Knott's, either. A while back the park licensed the name to Smucker's, who produced their line of jams etc. I don't know if you have those in Canada, but it's a national brand in the States. Their jams are just okay (I hear people rave about it, but Missouri is to jam what California is to wine. Berry farms like what Knott's was originally are everywhere here, and once you've had house jam, nothing from a factory measures up).

 

Anyway, look for the Berry Market brand if you want the real Knott's stuff.

[Nrthwnd]

^ We do get Smucker's up here. Got a small jar of apricot jam in the fridge, right now.

But "what I heard" is after Knott's sold the name to Smucker's, then Smucker's

eliminated the Knott's name on everything it produced at that time. Knott's got

"po'd" at this and then set up a new brand name Berry Market.

 

That's what I heard. And sadly, they don't ship to Canada, so I will have to wait and

then buy a MOUNTAIN of Berry Market stuff on my next visit to Knott's.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

That sounds like a plan! We're still enjoying the Berry Market boysenberry jam. Cost me an extra $5 to get it home on the plane (thanks, TSA), but totally worth it. Knott's is one of the few theme parks I've been to that if I could, I would go back to right now.