Out At Californi-A

My oh my, it's been a little while since I've been on here. I recently had the opportunity to go out to Los Angeles, California for my paid vacation time. Of course, my wife has kept most of you up to date on what we did day-by-day while we were out there. So, I think I'll elaborate on the more entertaining parts or entertainment-themed things we did.

I guess I'll start with the fun little world called Disneyland. I'll admit we didn't get to see everything at the park the day we spent there, but we made sure to hit all the best parts. Of course, many of those consisted of the rides. I'll work may way up to the best ride in the park. Down at the bottom of the list (not neccessarily a bad thing mind you) was the Haunted Mansion. Although this is one of the more classic rides, it gets radically changed to center around the story of "The Nightmare Before Christmas." I actually love this movie, and hoped the ride would do it justice. While it had some nice touches, you could blatantly see what belongs and what is probably more like the original ride. Kinda hard to enjoy then. Similar to that was "The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh." Although it's kind of surreal to ride through, and slightly uncomfortable, this ride hit a soft spot with me because of how it reminded me of some of my favorite childhood stories of Winnie's. A little more interesting was the "Jungle Cruise," which despite the silly jokes by the guide, was more enjoyable when you just pay attention to what's around you. The best of these story-based rides definitely goes to "Pirates of the Carribean." Although I heard the original ride was changed to include the movie trilogy based on it, not many were made, so it still has some of its originality. And it's enjoyable because there's a little more interactivity.

Let's move on to the more intense rides. The "Matterhorn Bobsleds" had the shortest line, so I figured it might not be the best. Although it was still fun, it is actually a little uncomfortable considering the seating arrangement. The "Big Thunder Mountain Railroad" was a step up, but seemed to be the shortest compared to the rest of the rides. "Star Tours" was different compared to these roller coaster rides, but it was more thrilling than the previous ones mentioned (I promise I'm not being biased because it's Star Wars themed either).

As for my favorite ride out all, I have to give this spot to 2 rides. The "Indiana Jones Adventure," while having a long wait, was worth it. It's intense and full of plenty surprises to keep you going. "Space Mountain" kepts your pulsa at the same beat, but stands out because of its "starlight" style and keeping you from predicting what's next. Both rides should be at the top of everyone's checklist if you're going there.

I guess this look at LA wouldn't be complete without the trip to Hollywood Blvd. It's defeinitely a place like no other. You walk down the street, and literally see how they've paid tribute to many celebrities. Harrison Ford, Christopher Reeves, Kiefer Sutherland.......many of my favorite stars were there. It takes quite a bit of time to see them all, but the best ones are easy to find. Also a good attraction is the Hollywood Wax Museum. Although some are a little silly and don't resemble their life-like counterparts, some are dead on, and get you a little creeped out thinking that it's really them.

Of course, there's only one place to go to see one of the greatest tributes to a celebrity: Grauman's Chinese Theatre. Probably the first thing you'll notice before you get there is the many costumed characters standing out front. For a small tip, you can get your picture taken with them. Interesting to do, and pretty fun (you can see me getting attacked by Jason Vorhees, who will be featured in an upcoming blog, in the pictures on our website). Once you get to the very front of the theatre, you see a great tribute to many actors: foot and hand prints in concrete. John Wayne, Marylin Monroe, Steven Spielberg.....they must've known that that moment meant to them that it was all worth it.

I guess this will be a good place to end this blog. Of course there's plenty coming up. A tribute to Jason Vorhees, a look at the Wii system in the Great Debate, and some upcoming reviews thanks to the insane amount of DVDs I received for Christmas. Now, I'm sure you were able to find entertainment for yourselves this past week, so now you're on your own again. As for me, I'm back to finding my own entertainment here at home........not as good as my vacation, but you know something, not bad either.