Road Trippin thru California! July 12th- July 26th - Page 2 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.
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We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
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Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
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Really beautiful pics! Your picture of Half Dome is gorgeous! Your kids did really well on those long drives...I'm almost certain mine would've melted halfway into the first drive, lol!
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Huge Disney Fan...Always Have Been...Always Will Be!
Disneyland 60th Anniversary Celebration TR here!
2013 WDW trip here!
2011 trip to Hawaii here!
Beautiful photos from Yosemite. Reading about the crowds, I'm very glad we had our short stop there in April when we went, as it was pretty deserted then.
Really beautiful pics! Your picture of Half Dome is gorgeous! Your kids did really well on those long drives...I'm almost certain mine would've melted halfway into the first drive, lol!
Thank you!
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
Beautiful photos from Yosemite. Reading about the crowds, I'm very glad we had our short stop there in April when we went, as it was pretty deserted then.
It would be nice to go back during a quieter time and take it slow. I'm sure my DH would love to camp there at some point.
Sleeping in was just what we needed to re-energize us from our long day yesterday! We slept until almost 9am and had “brunch” at the hotel restaurant. We left Sonora around 11am and headed to San Francisco. I was really looking forward to seeing this city!! I knew we wouldn’t get to do as much as I wanted here since we only had 2 nights but I was excited to do as much as possible. And, I was really looking forward to our hotel. In the trip planning stage, DH and I debated long and hard about where to stay. He wanted to stay near the airport and drive into the city (to save $$$) and I wanted to stay IN the city. Why spend all that extra money on parking?? In the end I won the argument. But then came the next argument, where in the city to stay? I asked a few friends from California and finally decided we’d stay in the Union Square district. So I booked a room at the Intercontinental!
I was on driving duty this morning and that drive into the city (we took the Oakland Bay bridge over) was AMAZING!!!! Wow!! We got to our hotel around 2pm. Instantly, I knew I’d made the right decision. It was right across the street from Bloomingdales! But really, it was a great location! Very close to Market Street. We got settled as quickly as possible and left to hop on a trolley (or are they called cable cars????, I could never really figure this out!). We bought MUNI passes that would be good for the trolleys as well as the buses and went to wait in a long line to catch the trolley. Kids didn’t seem to mind the wait, they were having fun with the new camera.
DBil with DD and DS#2 on the trolley (cable car).
We took the trolley all the way to the end where it dropped us off on near Ghirardelli Square. Well, we decided this would be our first stop!! We’d skipped lunch since eating a big breakfast and were hungry! What a fun place! DS#2 decided he wanted a BIG cookie and we all had yummy Ice Cream Sundaes. We were also given a free piece of chocolate when we ordered!!
YUMMY!!
After our yummy treats, we decided to head to Fisherman’s Wharf and walk up the Embarcadero to Pier 39. Kids did great on the walk and there was SO much to see! They especially loved the street performers. Their favorite was this man dressed like the tin man who only made “squeaky” sounds when he talked. They got the biggest kick out of that!
We found Pier 39 and explored a few of the shops and then came across this
Next we went off in search of those famous seals. I am embarrassed to say we didn’t find them. I honestly don’t know how this happened. I mean they are supposed to be RIGHT THERE!!! Nope! Maybe it was because at least one kiddo was becoming whiny and complaining of being tired and hungry (oh! and wanting to spend some of that spending money!!!) So we turned back and tried to figure out where to eat. At first I suggested Bubba Gumps. It was right there on Pier 39 and kids were getting hungry, especially the whiny boy! DH didn’t want to eat here. He thought it was too “chain-like” (remember our rule of no national chains?). So, we decided on the Boudin Bakery (which maybe was chain-like to San Franciscans but not to us!). I was SO happy with that choice!! The bread was some of the best bread I have ever eaten!!! DH and DBil had soup in a bread bowl, I had a great pasta dish (don’t remember the name but it was fantastic!) and the kids enjoyed their kid meals. I didn’t get any food pictures, I was so ready to eat!
After dinner, we went through the area where you could view them making bread down below. Kids really loved this!
After dinner we decided we wanted to check out that crooked street!! So, we hiked up Hyde Street to Lombard Street. That was one crazy hike! My legs were shaking from walking up such a steep street. DBil pushed our DS#2 in the stroller and the older kids hiked with us. I think we even stopped to take a break!
Once at Lombard Street we took DS#2 out of the stroller, folded it up, and carried it down the street. The sidewalk is ALL steps!! It was much easier going down though!! I don’t think I could ever try to drive on that road, how curvy!! I wonder about the people that live there, they must get so sick of all the tourists walking up and down their street right?
At the bottom of Lombard St.
We didn’t walk back up so we went around the corner and walked up the next street. Which was just as steep as Hyde street. Well, we really worked off those calories from Ghirardelli and the Boudin Bakery!! At this point we were all tired from a long day so we got on the trolley and headed back to our hotel!
Up next: Will I be convinced to WALK across the Golden Gate Bridge with the kids??
Bummer the seals weren't there! I've noticed that in the last few years, I've seen fewer and fewer there.
Your treats look so yummy! It's been a long time since I've eaten there...I'll definitely have to correct that on my next visit!
Wow, you walked down Lombard Street?! I've only driven down a few times, and yes it was quite weird. I agree with you that I would really hate to live on that crooked section. I'm impressed that you all did so much walking...those hills are killer!
Boudin was a great selection...they really do have great bread, don't they? I always pop into the Boudin Bakery attraction at DCA just to get a little taste of their sourdough!
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Disneyland 60th Anniversary Celebration TR here!
2013 WDW trip here!
2011 trip to Hawaii here!
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Reading about the crowds, I'm very glad we had our short stop there in April when we went, as it was pretty deserted then.
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