Disney Feast West&East Day 5: Big Fish, Big Sur, Big Fog,

[WileyCoyote]

and it should end with Big Sulks but I ran out of room !

We are awake at 5.30 today which is an hour later than normal so quite a result. Our usual morning routine now is to upload all the previous days pictures onto our hard drive and then on to photobucket, update Andys Facebook page to keep the folks at home in touch and to go over the incredible spreadsheet to review the day ahead.

All this is done in whispers to avoid disturbing the “bears with sore heads who need much hibernation” , otherwise known as 3 boys who seem to require disproportionate amounts of time in their beds in relation to their actual physical size and level of daily exertion. Who knew that using the ipad could be so exhausting

During the night the hoodies have clearly tried to escape as they are in a pile by the door, arms stretched out pleadingly “wash me , wash ,me”. No chance, at least two more days to go yet. I muse on the fact that we have each used 5 days of clean t shirts – not one which has seen the light of day or camera flash yet will all still need washing when we get to LA. Clearly we could have had the same one on all this time and no-one would have been any the wiser !

At 6.30 Andy goes off to get a “pre breakfast” of warm cinnamon rolls and coffee from the breakfast area – as a freebie , its really much better than we expected. The smell of food clearly too much to resist and the boys are up and about at a reasonable 8am and not even whingeing – obviously saving it all for later on the journey. We all go over for breakfast and its warm ,(free, did I mention that) and very nice so with hamster pouches suitably stocked, we load up the car with our one case and check out. We are very impressed at the internet bookings made so far, they really have gone without a hitch.







today's arty bird shot



The guy says we can leave the car in the hotel car park while we explore the aquarium. We take a nice walk down Cannery Row which is coming awake and looks quite good fun. We stop a couple who are walking their boxer dogs to chat with them as we are missing our pooches terribly – we are just such suckers for boxers, always stopping to fuss them and these dogs are the usual loonies, doing the kidney bean circular dance wagging their bums about. We were so excited we didnt even take a photo !

















to be continued ...

[WileyCoyote]

We get to the Aquarium just after opening , around 0945 and already its fairly busy , particularly the sea otters who are totally adorable . We have a good look around ,marvelling at the amazing jellyfish and the design of the building with fish in the most amazing places ( like the circular ceiling). We like the touchpools and the huge tanks where you can see the divers. We watch the open sea feeding time which is really fascinating despite the shrill nasal tones of the person doing the talk – we are to discover that shrill nasal tones must be a key part of the person specification for all people who commentate at these sort of things – it really grates after a while. But it’s really good, the way they feed the different species in sequence . Very enjoyable.

[WileyCoyote]

It’s a really good building , lots to see and explore but after a couple of hours we have done enough and knowing we have the drive to Pismo, we don’t want to be too late setting off.

We head back down Cannery Row to find somewhere to eat and decide upon Johnny Rocketts again – clearly getting the timing right as we arrived around 1145 and it was empty but queuing to get in when we left.















The food is pretty standard although I order the chicken salad, which comes with no chicken – eventually arriving later. It’s a so –so meal , coming in at $55 . Only after we have left does Andy tell me he saw cockroaches under the counter …

As we head up to explore some shops, Jamie announces his tooth has come out – lets hope the tooth fairy has a passport. Poor kid then has further woes when using the pressed penny machine – as he bends down to get the pressed penny, I inadvertently moved the handle and it clunked him right on the head – oh well, he’s not worried about toothache now he has a headache – A quick stop in the candy store sorts him out .





Dont see those about over here !





. Connor has developed a thing about sliding down stairs – as evidenced here



and here



so when these appeared , it was a firm NO WAY from me, not fancying an afternoon in the Emergency room.

[WileyCoyote]

We finally make some purchases – a magnet ( woo hoo), a welcoming sign ( it says, Friends Welcome, Relatives by Appointment) and Jamie buys a catapult. Gosh , we know how to shop.

Armed with sweeties for the journey we set of for 17 mile drive – using the local map rather than satnav to get there – but that doesn’t prove any less stressful and cross words are exchanged before we finally find the right entrance. The Guide map talks about the leisurely drive that can take you up to several hours – well, not in our case , it took about 30 minutes with the briefest of stops where I jumped out Sweeney style , car in motion, leaping over the bonnet to take a quick snap before diving back in through the window. Well, not quite but it felt like it at the time. We did see some nice views, some fog (of course), some very nice houses and some bendy, windy roads that would have been quite a challenge if you had been on the ale and were coming home on a bicycle.










We make it to the end of the drive at Pebble Beach Golf Course , which feels very familiar from the playstation and we have the obligatory snaps. And the sun is shining . hurrah.









We now have the road to Pismo ahead of us– we haven’t started yet and already there have been at least 10 questions of “how long will it take” being asked from a grumbly back seat. To which the answer is “ as long as it takes”. So its about 2.30 now and the real drive begins. We don’t stop in Carmel , a shame in hindsight as it looks quaint , but Andy was wanting to get on with the drive.

So , its stop and start along the way – I cant say it was particularly leisurely as Andy drove quite fast as evidenced by my one bit of videotaping where all you can here is the wind whipping by. It is indeed breathtaking scenery and we made a lot of stops ( all followed with suitable whingeing from the back along the lines of ,” why are we stopping here, its just more rocks/surf/bridges “. it did begin to grate on me by the end of the day . At one stop we came across an eagle tracking programme and it was really interesting to listen to the rangers. I think this is the place where I tried to get into a car that wasn’t ours, which had everyone in fits of laughter after yesterday , but I did point out that at least I had gone for a car that was the same colour as ours !

[WileyCoyote]

I think the boys were plotting to push me over by this stage





We are almost at Pismo and not a seal in sight when we spot a few in the sea so we reverse up and get out to have a look – I feel quite triumphant but as I get out the whingeing starts again and I have to say I threw an almighty strop with the boys – reminding them that there were days of things we wanted to do ( like today) and endless days of things they wanted to do ( like theme parks) so could they just for once try and not spoil it for me by keeping their whingeing to themselves.





It was a very quiet car then as we carried on and just a few miles later we come across loads of seals on the beach – it really was a fabulous sight and I could have stayed for ages – even the boys had to admit they were quite impressed .











Given the whinge factor, we decide not to make a detour here to see the James Dean memorial - its getting late and just not worth the extra miles and minutes





It was getting late on now and the drive had been quite unnerving for Andy ( good job he wasn’t on the cliff edge side) and we were starting to feel hungry and maybe even a bit car sick with all the stopping. Depressingly as we arrive in Pismo just before 7 , it is bathed in fog which does little to restore our good humour. We find the hotel and it’s the best we have had so far – it was one of the cheapest but a real find and we are really pleased with it. So that does cheer us up . We are soon deflated though as Andy had really wanted to eat at the Pismo Fish and Chip café ( trip advisor) but of course we hadn’t taken the address down and Pismo is bleddy full of fish and chip shops innit !








We are advised that the award winning Splash Café is our best bet and having parked up in a dubious looking car park ( so dubious that we moved the car a couple of times closer to the main entrance so we could keep an eye on it) we join a very long line of people. We finally get served and its ok , but Im not sure what was award winning about it and Andy is really disappointed as he had so been looking forward to Fish and chips on the Pacific Coast. It was $52 for some chicken tenders , a burger and fish and chips. It really feels like a town stuck in the 1950s and loads of surfer “dudes” and gangs hanging about so we don’t explore , we head back to our nice comfy hotel room. I decide to try out the fire as it looks so good and its certainly effective as we are nearly passing out with the heat in minutes. I almost wish we had a few days here as we are all so pleased with the room.











SatNav Sabotage Count: 2 from the map so not technically the SatNavs fault , 2 in Pismo, total now at 6
Shopping Count : 3 items , less than $20 , poor effort !

[jo williams]

We are booking that hotel next year for our trip, who did you book it through.

[WileyCoyote]

Hi Jo
We booked through expedia - cost £132 for one night, 5 of us with free breakfast, free internet and free parking - BARGAIN !

[jo williams]

Thank you really enjoying your trippie.

[Guest]

Lovely photos at the aquarium! Very long drive for you all, but hotel looks gorgeous!

[disneylover]

I'm really enjoying this trip report. It brings back many memories of our trip there. Lovely photos.