Palm Desert – Day One

We have arrived in Palm Desert. The weather is amazing and after leaving the snowy flurries of southern Alberta I can safely say that we came here not a moment too soon. Hopefully in the next two weeks we will have bypassed the last remnants of winter in Lethbridge and can transition straight into full fledged summer when we return.
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One of the highlights was running into the lead singer of the roots, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, whom you may recognize from Jimmy Fallen’s Tonight Show band.
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We saw him walking around our gate at SFO and immediately felt he was in a band playing at Coachella this year—he appeared to have that celebrity/larger than life aura about him (not in a negative way, just something about him seemed familiar) but we couldn’t put our finger on where we might have seen him before. It was another passenger on our plane that reminded us who he is. I smiled and nodded as I walked by him when getting off the plane. He smiled back and asked how we were doing. He seems like a pretty nice guy and I saw him posing and getting photos with the pilots after the flight. It’s fun to talk to celebrities even though I like to pretend it doesn’t do much for me.

Now that we are in Palm Springs we wasted no time and headed out for some “authentic” Mexican food, followed by swimming in the pool and more eating and drinking. We didn’t exactly stay up late—I’m barely keeping my eyes open after having been up since 4:45am Alberta time and now it’s almost 17 hours later—but it’s been a great day and I think this is going to be one of my best vacations ever!

We’re off to See the Hutchinsons

4 boys jumping

Before flying out to sunny California tomorrow, Ange and I will make a couple of stops. The first is to see my sister, Jackie, and her boys. The trip to Okotoks looks like it might be a little snowy but ironically that makes it all the better — we can’t wait to get out of this frozen desert so that we can have fun in the sun and maybe enjoy a little frozen dessert.

One of the things I noticed studying up for our trip was the Captain EO Tribute show now playing at Disneyland. As a kid visiting Disneyland, I always wanted to go to the original show, however, either it wasn’t playing or the lines were too long and I never got a chance to see it. Looking at the show’s logo I had a flash of nostalgia and made a connection with my childhood that I had forgotten about years ago.

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I was always a bit of a daydreamer, doodler, type and the Captain EO logo was something that I took back from my trip and would draw over and over in elementary school, modifying and warping it as time passed. Eventually we were asked to create a personal logo in that class and what I came up with became a symbol that I have redrawn hundreds if not thousands of times since. Though I had forgotten its origin, I believe it was a direct response to the Captain EO logo. Here is a quick drawing I made of it just now:

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Do you see the resemblance? Maybe it’s just me but it makes me smile. I’m hoping to catch the Captain EO tribute while I’m down there. If you’re unfamiliar with the story, here’s a very quick summary.

“Michael Jackson is Captain EO, who with his rag tag band of alien creatures travels across the galaxy to find and alien queen and deliver a gift. This gift is in the form of a song that will change the world, from a dark, gloomy, evil world to one that sings and dances in a 80’s version Munchkinland.”

Sounds spectacular!

California Adventure

Disneyland Train Station

It’s been over ten years since the last time I set foot in Disneyland, and I’m so excited about my trip next week that I can barely contain myself.

Disneyland won’t be the only place we’ll visit but it’s certainly the one I’m most excited about. I’ve been researching which days will be the busiest (they will all be equally busy), which rides to rush in and get fast passes for (the new Radiator Springs ride tops my list), and even which route we’ll drive when we get up early next week (it’s still up in the air between the California 91 Express and the 60) I guess I will decide based on that morning’s traffic report.

Here’s an animated gif of fireworks from the last time I was there. Back then, the closest thing my camera had to video capabilities was burst fire mode.

Animated Disneyland Fireworks

Kananaskis Continued

It has been a wonderful weekend. We went hiking and swimming and ate the most delicious meals and had some really lovely wine.

We are going to drive out to Lake Louise and take some photos there. I’m looking forward to it.

We didn’t go to Lake Louise, it was much further from our hotel than we first thought. Instead we went to Troll Falls. It was nice—they were frozen!

Trans Canada Highway Shut Down

On Friday I took a little trip to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. When we noticed the sign warning us of a police barricade ahead, we thought we might have to wait for an accident to be cleared.

It turns out that due to all the rain, the highway was “washed out”. It ended up not really affecting our trip, we just turned north sooner than we had planned, but I understand the flood waters have been very terrible for the people in Maple Creek and Irvine (among other places).

Here’s some footage of the “wash out” on the highway. I had no idea.

(Thx, Kim)

Grand Canyon Skywalk is a Sham

Grand Canyon Skywalk

Some people don’t love the experience at the Grand Canyon Skywalk. The folks at travelonthedollar go so far as to call it a sham. They have a list of reasons why it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. Here are a couple:

2. Parking at The Skywalk is provided but access to the Skywalk is only permitted by supplied coach buses. The cost of the coach ride $30, which will take you the Skywalk and two other viewing areas. There is also an additional fee of $45 for being on Hualapai land making the total cost $75 per person.

3. No personal equipment is allowed on the Skywalk and lockers are provided. No photographs may be taken by visitors on the Skywalk! However, up to three photography stations are installed. Photographs taken may be purchased in the gift shop at $29 each.

No photos is a deal breaker for me.

(previously)

Punta Cana

I’m leaving for Calgary in about an hour and then tomorrow I’m off to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. There’s not likely to be much action around here in the meantime.

Update: I’ve got some photos from my trip up at Flickr.

Viva Las Vegas

I realize it has been a long time since I’ve posted anything here, but I’ve been busy!

New York, New York

Most recently I’ve found myself down in Mesquite, Nevada getting ready to watch my brother-in-law compete in the World Long Driving Competition.

Today my family and I drove to Las Vegas to take in the sights and sounds of the notorious city. I’d share everything that I did, but you know what they say about what happens in Vegas.

If you’re so inclined, you can check out and comment on some of my flickr photos from today’s travels.
Continue reading “Viva Las Vegas”