Downtown Ashland: Funky Fresh

           It appears that I did not post last week on the 23^rd. I did have 8 drafts to post.  I was distracted with other things. Richard and I had left the house on Saturday morning.  It had been raining off and on.  Mostly on. Jaime had wanted us to take a walk with her downtown Ashland, but it was too wet and cold and Richard wasn’t willing to leave the car.

        We brought Jaime home for weekend and I became more interested in meeting her needs than posting to my blog.  She spent the night at a friend's house and we got up early Sunday to retrieve her. Spending time with her and the family was pretty nice.  We played several games while she was here.  It was so great having her here – short as it was.

  We were able to park downtown before dropping her off at the dorms on Sunday evening.  Jaime excitedly took us on a tour pointing out her favorite haunts.

The bubbled Lithia water (here) seems inviting – appearing like Perrier water which some people consider “prime”

 

– even the thought of it make my face sour.  Do NOT appreciate Perrier though I would pick it over Lithia water.  It has a taste similar to Alka-Seltzer mixed with rust. Jaime will gag just bending over and taking a whiff. 

There is a fountain of real water to ease the nasty taste of those gutsy (or stupid) enough to experience the Lithia water.  But it is fun to watch.

 We walked down the opposite side that Jaime is used to walking and so had not seen coin press.  I think Richard spotted it first and caused great excitement.  She purchased them all.

Jaime told us the names of some of the characters in this Shakespearean themed sculpture

 

I had fun spending time with her and enjoying her enthusiasm - as always

 

The Heat Was the Villain

        Disneyland was not as decked out as I had expected.  I had asked Jaime if she had seen any Villains.  She had but was disappointed that there hadn’t been more.  But then again it was hot.  Cast members dressed up and photographers available to take pictures.  Lines formed for that.  Oh, no way.  Too hot.  Just wait until I get home and photoshop myself in.

       So from the train I took the back of the entrance that we personally did not use. We saw Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy in their Halloween attire.  I don’t know how long they had to be out there for.  Wearing those costumes would be its own challenge in cool weather.  I can’t imagine how much more hot they felt in 107 degree weather.

       Here are some photos taken from both my camera and Richard’s phone. 

this one found on Google images

Disneyland

         Disneyland did not offer the cooling stations that Universal had.  But I think Disneyland park was less crowded than Universal had been. We took the tram from downtown Disneyland to the park.  

        It seems like the very first ride we went on was Jungle Cruise.  Jai had pulled up phrazel so that we could play while we were in line.  There was no line.  Jaime and Sam rode ten rides in less than two hours.  How awesome is that? 

       Richard and I took it easy and rode tame rides such as the Mark Twain and the train.  I didn’t want to be in Fantasy Land or Tomorrow Land.  I think Toon Town was closed as it wasn’t highlighted on the map.  Toon Town is cute, but I have already seen it.  Thankfully it wasn’t a destination. 

       I hadn’t cared about New Orleans either.  I can no longer do the Pirates of Carrabin as squatting down just to sit in the boat is uncomfortable.  Nor did I have the desire for the haunted mansion – which is the only outside line that I had seen.  But we must have ended up there as Richard and I had ordered food.  He got jambalaya – which I was totally NOT in the mood for.  I ended up with a corn chowder in a bread bowl.  It was delicious.  Unfortunately my choice of lunch and the 107 degree heat (still cooler than Universal by eight degrees – but somehow felt warmer) was not a good combination.  We rode the train around three times I believe before I decided I could stand without being queasy about it.

       We did not have the option of taking the Monorail back to downtown as the heat was too drastic for it to run.  Go figure.  It’s a different monorail than the one offered several decades ago – a different monorail that ran the length of the park. There were tracks running through the hotel – I remember seeing that when I was a kid.  How cool would that be? 

for monorail history see this post 

       The hotel is not even the same as what I had seen as a kid – not that we ever stayed there.  It is now a resort made up of at least three different buildings for lodging and a plaza (where we had done laundry) and restaurants maybe?  I think there were six buildings in all – though I know I did not take the time to go inside of all of them.    Even downtown is not the same.  Not a disappointment exactly, but definitely not what I had imagined.

       The pool is awesomely large – the largest I have ever seen.  We never took advantage of it though as there were always more people than water.  Guests trying to cool off.  Too many people in my opinion. 

       Once again I was so grateful that Sam had come with us.  This may be the last year of Disneyland for me.  What a whimp I have turned out to be.      

Disneyland Hotel

At the time we checked in the staff had asked if it was a special occasion.  We told about late grad/college hoorah and they asked Jaime if she would like a pin.  She had declined but as she thought about it wished to change her answer.  But later when another staff member asked, I said that Richard and I had an anniversary coming up and they gave us anniversary pins which we had given to Jaime and Sam.

I had always wanted to do an anniversary in Disneyland – perhaps with my sister and her husband as they were married in September also. I had planned on buying the white Minnie Mouse band with ears and a veil.  But omigosh – it was weigh too hot for me to want a veil weighing at the back on my neck.

We really did pack enough clothes to change each day – not two or three times a day.  But our clothes were so drenched with perspiration that they had to be washed.  Shortly after we checked in Jai and I went in search for the laundry room which was in another building. We took some pictures on the way.  The plaza offered the only non-crowded feel.

While our laundry was washing, Jai and I played some card games.  It was fun just to relax. 

Here are some shots we took of the hotel:

Who Are Jack and Louisa?

         So here is a family history find.  Jack Day Prather was born in Nicaragua to a single mother who had mentioned Jack’s father to him.  The name of his father is Ralph Prather – the same Ralph Prather that had married my Grandma Mary when my mom was sixteen.

 At age eighteen Jack decided he wanted to go to the states and needed proof of his birth.  His birth certificate had him listed as Jack Day Garcia – no mention of a father or even his last name.  Thus when Jack arrived in the states he dropped the Prather/Garcia and passed himself off as Jack Day and has gone by that name ever since.

Eventually Jack did have the desire to know his father – or the man he was told was his father and has been on a mission for many decades.  It’s too bad facebook and Google didn’t exist in the 70’s for both he and Ralph were living in California – though different parts.  He missed finding him.

He did find Richard through Ancestry.  The name “Ralph Prather” came up in Richard’s profile and in April 2021 Jack sent him a message which Richard passed on to me.  I knew that my brother Steven had been in contact with some of Ralph’s descendants and so I passed Jack’s name onto Steven (here). 

We have all become good friends with Jack and his wife Louisa.  Steven wrote his own post about them here.

 Their home is on the list of airbnb.  This is where we stayed on Saturday night.

On Sunday we went with them to Maddalena Restaurant at Antonio Winery – which we were supposed to tour.  Unfortunately we forgot and had not made the time.  Again fried brain. I think Jack was hoping we would return to the bed and breakfast but we parted ways at the restaurant. So good to visit with them.

Where Is The Security???

             The heat had contributed to not only drinking more water than normal in order to stay hydrated but also made me somewhat disoriented.  A worker at the Jurassic ride had allowed me to cut through the line in order to get out – I saw two different exit signs and had gone towards the first as that is where I was being sent.  Maybe not.  I saw people sitting like they were tired of standing in an endless non-moving line.  Thus I decided I would go in the direction of the “other exit”. 

       I don’t remember having gone through a door.  Oh, maybe I did to exit.  The doors were marked “employees only” all of except for the last one.  It said “door alarm will sound” I could see it was attached to some electronic device.  I chose the first one before it.  As soon as the door shut I realized that I was no longer in the park and had no way of getting back in. 

       My first thought was, “Where is the security?”

       I had a view of Studio 81.  To the left was the exit from Universal lot, to the right . . . perhaps if I followed the exiting area around?  See where it goes?  Would it lead me back?  Would studio 81 have a bathroom?  Probably not – I mean those things are supposed to be soundproof, right?  I am lost.  I am so lost.  I am no longer in the park and I am somewhere in Universal cyberspace and I don’t know how to get back. 

       I heard a siren – a really loud siren.  Or maybe not the siren.  Just the engine.  I don’t know what it was.  It was loud.  It was the widest fire truck I had ever seen – not like these fire trucks (below) that Jaime took when we were on the tram.  

It was loud and big and . . . surely there would be a person in it, right? 

       I saw some legs through a garage door.  The engine was too loud.  The person (assuming there really was a person on the other end of those legs) could not hear me.  I walked further.  There was nobody in the truck!  Are you kidding me?  Where is the security?  Could I actually have the opportunity to steal a fire truck?  What huge consequences that would provide! 

       Just beyond the fire truck (did I mention it was huge?!?) I saw some stairs.  There were stairs at the park!  Perhaps they would take me back.  I took the gamble and climbed the stairs.  As I rounded the bend I saw two security guards sitting on chairs watching the park.  It’s about time.

       “I am so sorry,” I said.  “I know I’m not supposed to be here.  I am lost.” 

       I think the security guard that assisted me was somewhat amused and asked where I was trying to go.  I said I desperately needed to use a bathroom and she directed me where to go.  The other security guard didn’t seem to even notice me – even when I walked past him.

       It was a haphazard adventure – but hey, I got a good story from it, right?

Universal

          Louisa has a nephew who works at Universal and was able to get us for passes at no cost to us.  That was amazing!  We parked in a VIP area and were able to walk passed the lines of those waiting to get into the park.  I felt like we were getting a royal treatment – something I had never experienced before.  That was pretty awesome.

         Southern California – perhaps the entire state – was experiencing a heat wave.  It was 115 degrees out!  Holy cow!  Universal had set up tons of cooling stations with fans blowing mist over the many patrons in attendance. We had entered the park via Simpsons and so had gone on the Simpson ride to start.  I really did not care about the rides at all.  I was so grateful that Sam had joined us and willingly went on anything or anywhere Jaime would take them to. 

         They were exploring Harry Potter when Richard and I decided that we needed to eat.  I don’t even remember what we had – chicken, I think.  Apple cider, apple pie.  It was good but very crowded.  We met up with the girls a few times, but mostly they did their own thing while Richard and I waited – trying our best to stay out of the heat. 

         Richard did want to go on Jurassic Park – which none of the rest of us even cared about.  It was definitely the longest line – and it wasn’t even packed to overflowing.  But I really didn’t think it was worth the wait.  More important for me that I find a bathroom.  I left the line and headed on a rather unique journey (which I will post tomorrow) and after a while Richard left leaving Sam and Jaime to ride it on their own. 

We had ridden the tram together and I think the girls enjoyed that.  We left the park about three hours before it closed, but took in a stunt show before we left. Except for the heat, I think it was a good experience for all.

Pictures at the Start of Traveling

          As it has been over 50 days since our journey begin I don’t recall all the details.  Jaime took these pictures on the way to Modesto – or at our lodging.  We past lots of olive groves.

Labor Day Deja Vu

I was searching through various posts in search for specific memories of Universal Studios.  I was floored when I came across one labeled Labor Day Weekend in which the first line reads Roland said he wanted to take Jenna to Universal this weekend

The date read September 1 – that is when we left the house this year – when did I write that?  Apparently it was a thought that had existed in 2019 which became a reality this year – only it wasn’t on a Sunday that we left.  It was on a Thursday.  We drove to Modesto, California – which I had believed was a halfway point to Monterey Park.  It wasn’t.  It was so out of the way that it proved my point about why I don’t like making reservations.  We should have just looked for something in Sacramento.  Modesto was such a waste of driving and the pool was closed. 

VERY contaminated pool

We continued our drive to LA – another gamble in industrial area that didn’t appear to be a safe part of town.  The pool was open however – but it would have been nice to have known that Jack and Louisa had something available for us that night.  I will certainly do it differently if ever the opportunity arises again.

So it seems like Richard was gung-ho about getting Jaime to Universal for at least the last three years.  We had watched a YouTube video just right before her graduation.  He still wanted to take her to Universal but neither Jaime nor I wanted to go – at least right then.  We changed our minds when we learned that Disneyland decks out for Halloween just before Labor Day.  It was a late graduation/last-hoorah-before-college excursion. 

We’d taken Jaime’s friend, Sam.  Did Universal on Saturday, spent Sunday with Jack and Louisa and family.  Checked in the Disneyland hotel on Sunday night and went to Disneyland on Monday – Labor Day.  I was hoping to hit San Francisco on the way home as neither Jaime or Richard (or even Sam for that matter) had been there before, 

https://gayldsactor.blogspot.com/search?q=San+francisco

but Richard was quite tired from driving.  We went home early.  Jaime unpacked and repacked and we took her to Ashland on the 9^th (our Wedding anniversary – which we have yet to celebrate) and started emptying out Jaime’s room and the office to make way for Biff and his little family. 

So I need to post the details of that trip – at least three days worth.  And I have some other thoughts that hopefully will come out as my posting has been more sporadic and I think I lost my following – not that it’s important that anyone is following.  I have referred to it a lot for journaling purposes.  It has been an interesting journey.

A Child's Prayer

 Ally said the prayer to bless the food.  Biff started out helping her but she took off with it on her own.  She did a good job. I was impressed.  I was amazed that she actually ate all that was on her plate without complaining.