From Very White to Very Green!

Going from a very white world to a very green world was quite a shock to your system!  From Utah, George and I flew to Newport Beach to spend a week with John and Alison and their family in their condo.  We were so happy that they have moved back to the U.S. so we can see them more often.  We spent a fantastic week with them there!  

We arrived in Newport before John and Alison did since they had to drive nearly six hours to get there, and our flight was a mere hour and a half.  So, we went out to see the area.  Suddenly we came upon a building that had an Angel Moroni on top!  We discovered the Newport Beach Temple.  It was absolutely beautiful!  So different on the outside than we had seen before.

Right across the street was the Mormon Chapel and behind that was the institute building.  They have everything conveniently located in one spot!

After exploring the area a little, we went back to the condo to wait for John and Alison.  The condo is in a beautiful area overlooking the beach.  We knew exactly where it was, because it is in the same group of condos that we had stayed with Kevin and Angie and their family last year!

It was great seeing John and Alison and the grandkids.  We had seen Alison at the Rigby Christmas party, but I hadn't seen John or the kids since I flew from China at the end of the school year, and George hadn't seen them for probably a year.  The boys have all really grown!

We decided to head to San Juan Capistrano the next day to see all the swallows there.  Nope!!!  First of all--wrong time of year.  Secondly, they hardly even come there anymore because there is only city around the area and not enough for them to feed on.  I remember when we took our kids there when they were little and saw so many birds.   And the pictures of when my parents went there in the '50s were filled with birds.  Too bad!  Well, we can say we went there even if the birds weren't there.

We did visit the cathedral which is right next door and went inside.

It was very ornately decorated and with the beautiful Christmas poinsettias, we enjoyed seeing it all.  After a really fun pizza lunch across the street, we went back to the condo.

The next day, John, Alison, Tyson, Preston, and I were off for Universal Studios.  George stayed with the boys who wanted to see the bowl game on t.v.

I have been to Universal Studios in Florida quite a few times, but had forgotten how they use this one in Hollywood as a working studio.  They still film many t.v. productions and movies there.

First stop:  The animal show.  This was by far Preston's favorite activity he did all day.  I couldn't believe how many animals they had involved in the show--and they all did exactly as they were trained to do.  Many of them just had to walk across the stage at the appropriate time, but they walked where they were supposed to even with all the clapping and laughing of the audience.

This was a real bird with wind blowing at him and a "black" screen behind, so they cold superimpose any type of scene where it would look like he was flying.

This was really funny--they said the little dog got the wrong clothes off the clothes line.

Even little guinea pigs followed along in perfect order where they were supposed to go (or are they hamsters?  I don't know!)

Fantastic show!


Lunch time--little Preston ate this entire meal!

So cute!

Look who we ran in to--Scooby Doo and the Gang.

Preston really got a kick out of this!

They all wanted to give Preston High-Fives for being such a good sport!

Then we met Curious George.

And Sponge Bob . . .

Here we were waiting on a tram which would take us on what they call the "Back Lot," where they actually do filming.

This was our tour director on the tram.  He would intersperse what he said with some of what the actors said.  He would sing and dance--he was fantastic.  He told us afterwards that he is getting small parts and waiting for his "big" opportunity.  Nothing better than being where all the action is, right?

The Courthouse where they filmed, "Back to the Future."

Some of the buildings were merely drawings and not buildings at all. 


Some of the buildings were just facades--they looked like a building, but behind you could see that they were only a front with nothing behind.  It is amazing what they fool the audience into believing that it's real.

When the tram went into this tunnel, we had to put our 3-D glasses on. 

I wish I could have taken pictures inside.  They had dinosaurs and big apes, you name it which came over and around and on all sides of the tram.  It truly looked so real, it made little Preston shut his eyes.  It was absolutely fantastic!

They, also, showed us the area where they kept all their famous vehicles from their movies.  I had to take the "Knight Rider" car because both Alison and Amy had done a Fourth of July Spectacular with "Kitt" and David Hasselhoff back when they both danced with Stars.  We will never forget that!

This was a re-enactment of a burning car which crashed.

Moving dinosaurs from "The Lost World."

This ship and the mountains were probably no more than five feet tall, but when filmed, your eye sees them as gigantic rocks and a huge ship.



While we were riding along, suddenly a flash flood sent waters raging towards us!

But, soon they receded, and we were safe again.

Soon we came to Amity Island where "Jaws" was filmed.

It looked so peaceful, until . . .

the giant shark came toward us.  Sorry, I was on the wrong side of the tram to actually get him before he went back in the water!

We drove down Wysteria Lane where "Desperate Housewives," is filmed.

Then we came to what really looked like a crashed giant plane--I guess that's because it really was a giant plane that they purchased for Stephen Spielberg's, "War of the Worlds," and then absolutely beat it up to look like it had crashed.

As our tram tour was coming to an end, we were all sad.  It had been so fun!

I took a picture of our tram director--remember that face!  He is going to be famous some day!


Walking around, we saw The Simpson family!  They were right in front of a little souvenir shop.

Tyson, with his own money, bought these Homer Simpson slippers.  He wore them the rest of the vacation and did they ever look comfortable! 

No, Alison didn't buy the Marge Simpson wig!  Hah!

Universal Studios really has a beautiful view of the entire area.  We next went to the lower lot.  You go down several escalators to get to the bottom of the hill.

Another fantastic ride--Transformers.  You rode it with 3-D glasses on and seriously, those Transformers saved you from every enemy imaginable.  It was a good thing that Garrett and Isaac had already told me who the good Transformers are and who the bad ones are.  They would have loved this ride! 

After the ride, there was a real Transformer outside--I think this is "Bumblebee," right?!

This Transformer was very nice and interactive.

While John, Alison, and Tyson went on a ride that you had to be so-tall to ride on, Preston and I had fun at the playground.

Next, we went to "Waterworld," where Kevin Costner made that strange movie.  But this action stunt mini-movie was absolutely breath-taking!

Finally, after jumps and fights and daring water machine rides, an airplane comes flying over the back wall and lands right in front of us.  How did they do that?  It really was amazing!

All the actors come out at the end.  Truly one of the best shows I have ever seen in a theme park!

We stopped at the giant candy store.  No, John and Alison didn't let their kids buy these giant packages, but they were fun to look at anyway!

Alison did this for her dad--he can't live without his chocolate syrup on his ice cream!

Oh, no!  Time to go!  We had so much fun we hated to leave!

Good-bye, Universal!  Next time George is coming for sure!

And Tyson went back to the condo and put on his slippers.  I told you they looked so comfy, didn't I?!

The next day, we went shopping for the Wilde's Christmas gifts--or, should I say, "After Christmas" gifts.  They chose to go shopping when we all got together, even though it was about a week later.  Tyson chose a little basketball set which he absolutely played every single time we entered the door--until a nice lady downstairs asked if he was ever going to quit playing one night because she needed to put her kids to bed.

They had a huge chess set on the property.  But, sorry, I don't know how to play chess.

They, also, had an outdoor court where the kids spent lots of time.

That smaller ball came in really handy for a little guy on a 10-foot basket.

Lots of fun playing tether ball.

And even a little miniature golf course.

A hole in one!

Grandpa wanted to show his basketball skills to the boys . . .

but, I'm afraid they sort of showed him a thing or two that day.

Alison intended to show her dad that not just the boys got the athletic ability!

These condos are situated in such a beautiful setting.

Next day, we went to Disney California Adventure.  This time, George and Bracken stayed back at the condo, but Parker and his friend, Jessica, from Shanghai whose family was in the U.S. for Christmas, came with us.

They all went on the Hollywood Tower, but Preston and I did a little exploring.

We loved it when the trolley came by with the harmonizing singers.

This was from "A Bug's Life."

That was one happy little guy that he got to drive by himself.

Parker and Jessica trying out the cotton candy.

We got to see "Aladdin, the Musical" in a theater.  It was fantastic!  The guy who played the genie was as good as Robin Williams!    

Across the pond, we could see the giant Ferris wheel.  It looked so fun because it was absolutely huge.

There was a water-show choreographed to music that was very pretty.

So, we walked around to get in line for the Ferris wheel.

Well, after a half hour wait, and 15 minutes of loading everyone, we went around one time, and they took everyone off!  What a disappointment!  But, it was quite the experience anyway!

Tyson is such a nice young man. 

We all sat on the curb and watched the parade.

Bubbles were blowing everywhere.

Preston and I headed for the merry-go-round while the others went on a ride that Preston couldn't go on.

The Christmas decorations were still up which added so much fun.

Parker and his friend, Jessica.

It was almost time to go, but we had to visit the "Cars Land."  We felt badly that we hadn't gone there sooner because there was so much to do there.  It was the whole little town from the movie. 

Our day had been full again, and we all went back thoroughly tired, but with such fun memories.


I have to say Newport Beach has some very expensive, nice cars.  Seriously, Parker knew the names of every one of them!  But this was one of the most unique.  I told Parker I had to have a picture of him in front of it.

Final day in Newport--we decided to go bowling.  George is a fantastic bowler, but let's just say he wasn't really on his game this day!  Hah!


Notice:  As the frustration level got up, the hair got a little messier!




Well, you get the idea. 

I love to take the expressions of everyone as they turn around.



It seemed like Alison was always leaving one pin!

The scoreboard was so funny--it would have little captions like this. or this . . .

Preston worked so hard to do his best, and had such a great time.

These boys were all very good!



A strike!  Way to go, Tyson!




Parker, forever the comedian:  "Hold the applause, please."



And Bracken--boy, could did he have a powerful throw!


 Such fun boys!  Bowling is such a great sport to do with a family!
The next morning, we were off to the airport for our across-the-country ride home--from California to Florida.  Thanks, John and Alison, for inviting us to your condo.  It was great seeing all of you, we had such a great time, and we hope to see your new home in California soon.   

During the past two and a half weeks, George and I had been in Utah, Idaho, and California with different members of our family.  Every place we went, everyone treated us so kindly.  But, now it was back to work and reality.