Los Angeles - September 1st - September 7th, 2015
Sea
World San Diego
Disneyland
Disney's California Adventure
Six Flags
Magic Mountain
Click each picture to make it bigger, then back to return here.
Preface - Visited SFMM, rode 2 coasters and
finished my bucket list, which is found here.
Top USA Steel Coaster List
My wife Laurie went with me on this trip, and our daughter Ashley flew in the
next day.
Day 1 - Tuesday September 1st. Here we are blasting off from FLL on American Airlines. In pictures 3 and 4, we're about to land at LAX. That field next to The Forum is where they want to build a new football stadium.
A couple pictures of the traffic, it was horrible. Lucky for us, we used the carpool lane since we had 2 or more people. We drove to the AAA office and picked up Disneyland tickets at a discount. We rented a compact car, but they were out, so we ended up getting a 7 passenger mini van for the same price.
We drove to VeggieGrill near Long Beach. In
picture 3 is Crispy Cauliflower, in picture 4 is a Papa's Portobello
burger, and in picture 5 is a Bombay Bowl.
http://veggiegrill.com/
We checked into the Best Western Westminister for 5 nights.
This hotel has a mini putt putt green, ping pong table, pool, free breakfast,
and a good location near the I-405 freeway.
Best Western Westminister
Day 2 - Wednesday September 2nd. We drove to San Diego to visit Sea World California. Along the way we stopped at a look out spot.
Here's a roller coaster called Manta. A Mack launched coaster 30 feet tall, 43 mph, 2800 feet of track.
A water coaster ride called Journey to Atlantis. A 60 foot drop with a speed of 42 mph. The queue line has an aquarium with mantas.
A few pictures of the whale show.
Pictures of the dolphin show.
We drove back to the Los Angelas area and visited Sage
Vegan Bistro near the airport. In picture 3 is a Falafel Bowl. In picture 4 is a
quesadilla. In picture 5 is a pineapple BBQ pizza we bought for our
daughter, who flew in that night. In the 6th picture is vegan cheescake
and ice cream. We picked up Ashley at the airport and drove
back to the hotel.
http://www.sageveganbistro.com/
Day 3 - Thursday September 3rd. Here we are at Disneyland, the happiest place on earth. We hit the most popular rides first.
PIctures of the Autopia and It's a Small World.
We finished at Disneyland early, and headed out to the Griffith Observatory. From this location, the smog of LA and the Hollywood sign can be seen.
Here we are at Real Food Daily in Santa Monica.
In picture 3 is Mexico City Tacos, in picture 4 is Caribbean Quesadilla, and in
picture 5 is a Kung Pao Bowl.
http://www.realfood.com/
Day 4 - Friday September 4th. Here we are at Disney's California Adventure going on the rides. In the 2nd picture, that's Tower of Terror. In pictures 3-5 is radiator springs racers.
In pictures 1-2, are pictures of grizzly river run. Picture 3 is taken from Mickey's fun wheel. Picture 4-5 is California Screamin'.
We finished at DCA early, went back to the hotel to rest, then headed out to Long Beach dipping our feet in the ocean.
Day 5 - Saturday September 5th. Traffic driving to Six Flags Magic Mountain but we finally made it. In picture 3 I'm standing in front of Twisted Colossus giving it a thumbs up. That's right, I'm wearing a CP Raptor shirt at SFMM, that's how I roll. This was the main reason for the trip, to check this coaster off my bucket list. I got my ride in the back seat, plus an exit re-ride going again when my seat was still available after the train loaded. 121 feet tall, 128 foot drop, 57 mph, 4990 feet in length.
More pictures of Twisted Colossus. What was the ride like? Amazing. Big first drop, twists, turns, upside down floating, a double down. In picture 5, the train on the green track is upside down over the blue track. This coaster is made by RMC, all of their coasters are a hit.
Here I am riding Full Throttle and completing my bucket
list, or making it current. I say this because there will be
more rides next year. Was there a cheering crowd greeting me?
No. Did I win an award? No. But it was nice
to finish something I had started a few years ago.
Full Throttle is a fun coaster, although kinda short. In picture 4-6, Ashley and myself are in the
6th row. Laurie didn't want to ride, she stayed behind taking
the pictures. I'm on the right side with a
green shirt with my hands up, Ashley is on the left wearing a blue shirt.
Top USA Steel Coaster Bucket
List
Day 6 - Sunday September 6th. We went to Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, where it all started for Calvary in 1965. Laurie attends Calvary Chapel at home, so it was interesting to see where it all began. After that, we checked out of the hotel and drove past Redondo beach near Torrance taking a few pictures.
Ashley and Laurie wanted to go on a trail ride, so we
went to Wagon Wheel Ranch. From the top of the mountain, Ashley saw
a horse show going on below, the Annual Portuguese Bend Horse Show.
After the trail ride was over, we went there to see the final class.
Ashley was in her element going on a horse ride and seeing a show.
The crowd was cheering for the home town favorite, who came in 2nd in the jump
off.
What a fitting end to the trip.
http://www.pcch.net/index.php/horseshow/
Here we are at the Veggie Grill in Torrance. This was our 2nd stop at this restaurant chain. In picture 2 is a power salad. In picture 3 is Hail to the Kale. In picture 4 is a veggie burger. In picture 5 is mac and cheese.
Filled the rental car up with gas, drove to Alamo, returned the rental car, took the
shuttle to the airport. Ashley's flight left on time around 10:40pm.
Ours was a little late leaving around 11:30pm. Ashley flew
back to Orlando arriving at 6am (nonstop), Robert and Laurie flew to Charlotte NC, then to FLL landing at
noon on Labor Day Monday September 7th.
Observations: Great trip checking off 2 coasters from my
bucket list and completing it. Great family trip
with some good food places along the way.
End of Report. Thanks for reading.
Email me at skiguy777@bellsouth.net.