We spent today at Sea World! We drove down from Anaheim in the morning and went straight to Sea World. We saw the dolphin show, the sea lion and otter show, the pets show, and the orca show. I was actually rather underwhelmed by the orca show…they make such a big deal out of it, and it’s cool that they fit four of them into one tank, but they didn’t even do very much. The dolphins, which we saw earlier in the day, were much more impressive. I couldn’t help feel a little unsettled during the marine mammal shows, though, because I know they are smart animals and keeping them in captivity isn’t the best thing for them. Neither is doing tricks over and over. But I really liked the pets show, which starred mostly dogs, several cats, two pigs, and a few ducks. Most of those animals - especially the dogs - are happy doing that kind of thing. They are domesticated anyway, and they live for the chance to play around. There was at least one cat who declined to do what it was supposed to, which was entertaining. They had the dogs come around at the end of the show, and because I asked for it, they brought out a cat as well! We wanted to go on the “Journey to Atlantis” roller coaster but it turned out to have a flume element, and it was too cool for that, so we ruled it out. We did end up on the “Wild Arctic” simulator, which was pretty lame and hokey, but it was still amusing for a few minutes.

Right now my network connection is not too good…again. It’s better than in Anaheim, where it didn’t work at all one night and then worked poorly the next night (and cost $10!), but it’s still really slow. I hope the HoJo in El Segundo will be better. I’m trying to upload pictures from today but I’m having a tough time of it…I may not get all of them up there tonight, we’ll see. Also, I am sunburned! Whoops…not enough shade at Sea World, and I forgot that it’s possibly to get a sunburn in January. Welcome to California, I guess! Tomorrow we are going to visit Old Town and take the trolley down to San Ysidro, then walk across the border into Mexico. I hope to have Mexican food for lunch…har har har!

Even though I paid $10 to use an adjacent hotel’s wifi, I am still going to give a short entry because I am sleepy. We got in under “Magic Morning” around 9:30 and went straight to Tomorrowland where we rode Buzz Lightyear, Star Tours, and Space Mountain. I am not kidding when I say that Space Mountain is the best ride I’ve ever been on. It was freaking amazing. I’m not sure the route we took after that, but we ended up on Honey I Shrunk the Audience, Matterhorn, Big Thunder Mountain, Peter Pan (long line but better than I expected), Finding Nemo (totally not worth the hype it gets or the 30 minute wait in line), and…um…other stuff? We had lunch at the Golden Horseshoe Saloon in Frontierland and watched a performance by Billy Hill and the Hillbillies; it was funnier than I expected. We ran around some more and I don’t even remember what else we did, I am just that tired!

We crossed over into Disney’s California Adventure around 4:00 and went on the Tower of Terror and Soarin’. There was a 30-minute wait for the latter, and that late in the day I knew I wouldn’t be able to do it. I approached the line guard and explained that I have arthritis, and asked if I could use the entrance for disabled guests. Well, it turns out you need a special pass for that, and you have to get it at Guest Relations. Fastpass for the ride had just closed, but she asked how many we were (two) and said, “Well, I have two Fastpasses for right now that I can give you.” Whew! The line was still long on the inside but we cut off probably 15-20 minutes by going in the Fastpass lane. That ride was pretty impressive, too.

We had dinner at Naples in Downtown Disney, and then we headed back to Disneyland. We wanted to go on Rockin’ Space Mountain, which is a different version they only show at night, but the line was 30 minutes and I didn’t think I could do it, plus we wanted to see Fantasmic, and we wouldn’t have had time. 15 minutes would have been bearable in both senses, but not 30. So we went over to the Rivers of America area and managed to actually find a table at the Stage Door Cafe. That was a spectacular show! Nothing can compare to the daytime Space Mountain, though.

I have managed to upload all of the Disneyland pictures for the past two days, and I have been tagging, describing, and titling them. Unfortunately I have only done some and I’m so tired! (I know I keep saying that. You’ll have to excuse me, I’m tired.) Oh, I also bought some Disney pins today. I already had #4671 because I bought it on eBay for $30, but today I bought #39935, #42975, and #59296. I don’t have a lanyard, I’m not sure if I’m really trading or anything, but I liked those so I bought them.

The reason we are house-sitting is because my in-laws are on the Grand Voyage cruise with Holland America. They are doing the “Grand South America and Antarctica” section, and they set sail from Fort Lauderdale about six hours ago. Yes, that’s a two-month cruise! They booked the least expensive room they could stand (not sure if it’s inside or oceanview, but definitely no balcony) and they packed as frugally as possible…which is not very frugally, if I know my mother-in-law. They are going to go to all kinds of places that are mythical to most people I know. They are not going to set foot on Antarctica, I think, but they are at least cruising by it. Even though I will be spending 11 days in southern California next week and 11 days on a cruise next month, I am still jealous. Who wouldn’t be?! Damn, two months off work…my father-in-law works for the government, I guess that’s how he can manage it. Unfortunately they started the trip by leaving their $2500 camera in a hotel in Georgia…I’m pretty sure my mother-in-law killed my father-in-law over that, but they arranged to have it shipped back to us before they set sail tonight, so I think their minds are at ease for now.

In other news, I lost a game of Scrabble tonight, damn!

The highlight so far has been giving my wife a quick peck on the lips outside a Japanese bakery, and having a passing preteen boy turn around and gape at us. Bet he wasn’t expecting lesbians on Fifth Avenue!

Our plans for Las Vegas are firming up, and getting better! We now have our flight information - we are flying nonstop from Dulles on United. We leave at 8:20am on Feb 14th, getting in at 10:35am, and we fly home at 1:00pm on Feb 24th, arriving at 8:40pm. My fare was $438 plus a $15 service charge for booking it through A’s employer’s travel agent. It’s expensive, and I don’t think we are in adjacent seats, but we can probably switch once we’re on board and at least we’ll get to travel together!

Our hotel details have changed. Previously we were staying at the America’s Best Value Inn at the south end of the strip. But now, we are staying at the Venetian. This is significant because it is way over the $114 per diem allotted by A’s work, but she got a waiver and so we’re staying there for the first seven nights! This is where the conference is being held, which is far more convenient, and it’s quite fancy - I think all the rooms are suites. We’ll be paying for the last few nights ourselves, so we’ll probably be moving to somewhere more affordable like the Sahara. (I’m hoping that the Las Vegas Hilton will extend their Nemesis package into February; if they do, we’ll do that.)

We already have our Zumanity tickets, and I am hoping to book Penn & Teller tickets too. I’m so excited, my head is going to explode with pink candies flying everywhere!

I made it uneventfully to Philadelphia - or rather Cherry Hill, NJ which is where they put me up for the night. I am going to leave in about an hour to head into the city and find the bar where tonight’s contest is being held.

I got my scuba pictures developed! Unfortunately only 15 came out though I thought for sure I took more than that…there were 27 on the roll and I only had to use up the last six at home. I put them in their own album on my travel photo site, but I also posted them at Flickr because I wanted to be able to use their little on-picture notes. One photo of me actually came out, but like a lot of the pictures it’s horribly framed because you can’t see through your mask AND through the little viewfinder, so a lot of the shots were only sort-of on target.

I would say more but this wireless connection in the hotel is very slow. I think it was free for the first day, though, and that’s all I’m here for (overnight), so I can’t complain. I did at least get my pictures uploaded!

So it’s Halloween. I went to a little party over the weekend dressed as a “naughty Republican” - gray skirt suit with a miniskirt, and a white buttondown under the jacket. I had a vintage “Let’s Back Ronald Reagan for Governor” button on and that was it. It went well.

I just bought tonight’s candy this morning, because otherwise it would have been gone by now! I got snack size Almond Joy, single-serving Reese’s peanut butter cups, and snack size regular Hershey’s chocolate for the kiddies who are either allergic or simply don’t like nuts or coconut. Although actually, we tend to get more older kids than we do little ones - middle and high school age, rather than preschool and elementary age. Some years we only get a handful of kids at all.

Oh crap, I just remembered that yesterday was the first anniversary of my biological father’s death. Huh.

I booked our hotel in Las Vegas today. It’s only for the part of the stay my wife’s company is paying for, as we will be booking our own extension separately. Yes, I booked for what my wife’s company is paying for…apparently I am a better travel agent than those the company uses. It was really tough to find somewhere that stayed under the $114 daily maximum on President’s Day weekend, but I ended up with the America’s Best Value Inn on East Tropicana Avenue. They have free wireless internet, hooray! Reviews seem to be pretty mixed, some people hated it and some people liked it. If something doesn’t work out with that motel, there is also the Motel 6 on the same block.

OMGWTFBBQVEGAS.

I get two vacations in 2007! In addition to the long-planned cruise to Alaska with my mom, we are going to Vegas! I’ve never been there before, and I’ve always wanted to go because I love spangles and glitz and shows and fancy things, and Vegas has all of those. A’s work is sending her to a conference that runs February 18-21, and she will also be attending either a pre-conference class or a post-conference class, so we’ll get to be there for a full week. Of course the travel request hasn’t actually been approved yet, but it certainly looks like we’re going to Vegas.

The conference is at the Venetian hotel and casino. We will have to pay for my flight, of course, and all other expenses, but I will get to stay free because A’s company will be paying for her room. (I don’t know if she gets an expense account or stipend for food, but I certainly don’t. We’re also not sure if we’ll get to stay at the Venetian, but we’ll take a gondola ride regardless!) And I will have to come up with lots of ways to keep myself busy (and out of trouble), because she’ll be in the conference for most of the day. I wonder how many times in one day a person can ride the Manhattan Express coaster? I also want to check out the dolphins at the Mirage, and the water ballet at the Bellagio, and I really hope we’ll get to see Zumanity, the naughty nude show by Cirque de Soleil at New York-New York.

Holy crap, Vegas!

My entire journal from Bermuda is now posted.

• 10/7/06 - Bad Bus Ride
• 10/8/06 - Day at Sea
• 10/9/06 - Hi from Bermuda
• 10/9/06 - Hamilton
• 10/10/06 - Scuba Diving Day
• 10/11/06 - My Ear
• 10/11/06 - Walking in St. George
• 10/12/06 - Happy Skippy
• 10/13/06 - Sailing Home

Wherever you see a camera icon in the entries, you can click it for a related picture. And don’t forget to look at the rest of the pictures here!

We’re back! I have about a bazillion feeds and friends to catch up on, and I have to unpack, etc. I got a bunch of stuff in the mail, including my purple corset from Meschantes (I need to re-lose the six pounds I gained on vacation before that will fit) and the original Japanese editions of Bust a Move (Groove) 1 and 2. It’s nice to have more than two TV channels, it’s nice to have my kitties back, it’s nice to have the Internet, it’s nice to be home.

I did stop off at the Green Lantern bar on the way home for the Atlantic Deaf Leather contest. I didn’t stay for the contest, but I did enjoy socializing with friends that I don’t see very often. I’ll be working on typing up my travel journal and posting my pictures online soon.