Saturday, April 09, 2022

Saturday, April 09, 2022

hidden valley

Posted by Hippobean at 8:59 PM 0 comments
A gorgeous day among hills and flowers:

Monday, April 04, 2022

Monday, April 04, 2022

Wizarding World of HP

Posted by Hippobean at 9:24 PM 0 comments
The day was overcast and cloudy when we crossed the portal into the Wizarding World of HP. Instantly Hogsmeade became real and I was overwhelmingly ecstatic when I've laid eyes on the rows of crooked buildings. And beyond, high above, the Hogwarts castle. First order of business was the HP Forbidden Journey ride. There was no real waiting line since it was so early, but one had to walk through a long winding tunnel that showcased the inside of the Hogwarts school. The Gryffindor common room entrance portrait with the Fat Lady moving about, the phoenix statue to Dumbledore's office, the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, all in real time. Finally, strapped on the flying cars, we flew over, under, and around the castle, dementors and spiders in the dark forest lurking everywhere. It was awesome! All the rest of the rides paled in comparision. We lunched at the 3 Broomstics with the ribs, chicken, veggies and salad platter, and washed it down with butterbeer. Coffee break was at the Voodoo doughnuts at city Walk with a giant donut. In the evening, the lights show at Hogwarts displaying each house of the school, was the best sound and light show ever. We did the HP ride again. Been a very very long time since the Hip visited a theme park.

The afternoon before, we had udon with fatty ribeye. Aaaah the oily broth, heaven! The night before we dined at the 5 on the Hill overlooking the park and Universal city. The New Zealand lamb was tastier than the ones I had in NZ. The table had a gas fireplace in the middle which warmed us well since the evening was cold.

The next morning we drove along the Palos Verdes coast and paid a visit to the Point Vicente museum, which unexpectantly, had quite a few interesting pieces of megalodon, a fresnel lens and even a map and models of the CA Missions. We had lunch at Nelsons in the Terranea resort and strolled down to the beach where D and the Hip built cairns by the ocean.

The following morning, a short walk on the Santa Barbara warf and had the Craft Ramen with black garlic and pork shoulder and belly on the State St. On the way back, we did a quick stop at Solvang to get a bucket of Danish butter cookies.

Went over and over the decision to get Gryffindor or Slytherin. I like the Slytherin green better but the Serpent did not look well. Eventually decided on the Gryffindor colors, and purchased a backpack, drawstring and an athletic jacket. D got an interactive Holly wand and practiced a few spells!

Such a good outing! We all have enjoyed it tremendously !

 

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