Day 1
Off to a rocky start, but the day ended wonderfully.
Started by getting up at 4am, forgetting to call the cab, pulling my back muscles so I can’t walk upright and getting a couple minutes from home before I realized the passports were sitting on the dining room table and made the cab turn around!
It was all uphill after that.
The lineups at the airport were long, for both check-in and security, but not insanely so. I honestly thought that at six in the morning there might be three flights, tops. There were 15 between 6-8am!!!
When we changed planes in Calgary, as we were departing, there was a group of Ground Crew holding up a sign on the tarmac wishing us a good flight. What a great send-off!
Turns out the plane we were taking to LA was brand new, only 250 flight hours since leaving the factory! But, apparently there’s a downside - NO TV!! There were no seatback TVs and no drop down screens from the ceiling. Also, the panels on the life vest and oxygen compartments were taped shut because they were concerned about their “air-worthiness”!
Arriving into LA was great – we got to see the Hollywood sign! Unfortunately we couldn’t snap a picture because we’d already stowed all our stuff.
The Marriott Courtyard shuttle was quick and free and check in was fast and easy. The check-desk staff are amazing here. The beds are comfy. There’s complimentary coffee and fruit water in the lobby and there’s free wired and wireless internet in all rooms. I can’t recommend this place enough if you need to stay near the airport in LA.
Spent the afternoon and evening at the Santa Monica Pier. We took the bus to the pier, it was only $0.75 and we caught it just two blocks from the hotel.
On the bus ride there, we passed through Marina Del Ray and the cars on the road sure caught your attention: more Mercedes and BMW’s than any other cars, and more than one Porsche went by. Not that we can’t find those cars in Winnipeg – but not in those quantities!!
The Pier was buzzing with activity. So many people enjoying so many things: restaurants, midway games, rides, vendors. It had a great carnival atmosphere – and one Balloon Guy did an awesome SpongeBob SquarePants.
We went to the Aquarium; it was small, just one room, but had really neat stuff. Including baby sharks in eggs sacs, in three different stages, with one ready to “break out” in a month. It was absolutely amazing to see.
We ate dinner at the end of the pier, at Mariasol Mexican restaurant. Had a bit of menu shock at first, but it wasn’t what we thought. Turns out when you see the $12 price for appetizers, it’s not because they’re overpriced – everything there is meal-sized. Antojitos? I think not! Ended up having to decide between the Chimichanga and my craving for a Chicken Caesar because the Chimi wasn’t just a pre-meal snack but a whole meal!
After dinner the sun had set so we took some nice night shots of the lights on the rides. The ferris wheel looks great at night, the lights seem to have an infinite number of patterns. The waves seemed a bit big since there was no wind, but we’ve never been here before so what do we know.
We were supposed to catch the bus home again, but hubby was just too wiped and wanted the easy way out. We ended up picking a crabby taxi driver and were home in about 20 minutes, although $50 lighter.
We get on the ship tomorrow, but watching the news tonight it turns out there’s a big storm up and down the coast with big winds causing big waves. San Francisco has been hard hit too. Hopefully it doesn’t rock us too much because it’s expected to last all week. We’re not too worried though, since the Splendor is new and likely has the best stabilizers available.
Started by getting up at 4am, forgetting to call the cab, pulling my back muscles so I can’t walk upright and getting a couple minutes from home before I realized the passports were sitting on the dining room table and made the cab turn around!
It was all uphill after that.
The lineups at the airport were long, for both check-in and security, but not insanely so. I honestly thought that at six in the morning there might be three flights, tops. There were 15 between 6-8am!!!
When we changed planes in Calgary, as we were departing, there was a group of Ground Crew holding up a sign on the tarmac wishing us a good flight. What a great send-off!
Turns out the plane we were taking to LA was brand new, only 250 flight hours since leaving the factory! But, apparently there’s a downside - NO TV!! There were no seatback TVs and no drop down screens from the ceiling. Also, the panels on the life vest and oxygen compartments were taped shut because they were concerned about their “air-worthiness”!
Arriving into LA was great – we got to see the Hollywood sign! Unfortunately we couldn’t snap a picture because we’d already stowed all our stuff.
The Marriott Courtyard shuttle was quick and free and check in was fast and easy. The check-desk staff are amazing here. The beds are comfy. There’s complimentary coffee and fruit water in the lobby and there’s free wired and wireless internet in all rooms. I can’t recommend this place enough if you need to stay near the airport in LA.
Spent the afternoon and evening at the Santa Monica Pier. We took the bus to the pier, it was only $0.75 and we caught it just two blocks from the hotel.
On the bus ride there, we passed through Marina Del Ray and the cars on the road sure caught your attention: more Mercedes and BMW’s than any other cars, and more than one Porsche went by. Not that we can’t find those cars in Winnipeg – but not in those quantities!!
The Pier was buzzing with activity. So many people enjoying so many things: restaurants, midway games, rides, vendors. It had a great carnival atmosphere – and one Balloon Guy did an awesome SpongeBob SquarePants.
We went to the Aquarium; it was small, just one room, but had really neat stuff. Including baby sharks in eggs sacs, in three different stages, with one ready to “break out” in a month. It was absolutely amazing to see.
We ate dinner at the end of the pier, at Mariasol Mexican restaurant. Had a bit of menu shock at first, but it wasn’t what we thought. Turns out when you see the $12 price for appetizers, it’s not because they’re overpriced – everything there is meal-sized. Antojitos? I think not! Ended up having to decide between the Chimichanga and my craving for a Chicken Caesar because the Chimi wasn’t just a pre-meal snack but a whole meal!
After dinner the sun had set so we took some nice night shots of the lights on the rides. The ferris wheel looks great at night, the lights seem to have an infinite number of patterns. The waves seemed a bit big since there was no wind, but we’ve never been here before so what do we know.
We were supposed to catch the bus home again, but hubby was just too wiped and wanted the easy way out. We ended up picking a crabby taxi driver and were home in about 20 minutes, although $50 lighter.
We get on the ship tomorrow, but watching the news tonight it turns out there’s a big storm up and down the coast with big winds causing big waves. San Francisco has been hard hit too. Hopefully it doesn’t rock us too much because it’s expected to last all week. We’re not too worried though, since the Splendor is new and likely has the best stabilizers available.
