potatomonk

Japan has always been a goal of mine to visit in my lifetime. When international travel comes up, Japan is always my first choice. I’m in love with the food and the culture even though I have yet to experience it from the source. Unfortunately a visit would probably be restricted to 3 weeks due to the Japan Rail Pass restrictions but I have a friend in Tokyo to lend me his couch for my visit so I can keep it relatively cheap.

Some call it obligatory, some say it’s an adventure. Most say it’s good but not up to the hype. I’m going to make my own opinion about it when I visit, I’m going to let go of all of my biases of the country. There’s lots to do and see in that big land of oz!

This was my Mom’s favorite ride whenever we came to Disneyland. While I was off in the arcades or riding space mountain, she was wearing down the asphalt inbetween the ropes to the entrance of this attraction. Fun ride. A classic.

The Blue Bayou is one of those great ideas that people always come back to and talk about. Set in the extremely dim and dusky park of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. The fireflies buzzing, the old guy in the rocker playing his banjo with the slow bayou flowing by. If only they offered food worth a crap it would be worth paying the park entrance fee just for this place.

Good ol’ Disneyland. Now almost as large as most resorts (along with the price), Disneyland is more than an obligatory stop for everyone in their lives, it’s manditory. Ticket prices are now $56 per adult. Staggering! I could buy 112 tacos at Jack-in-the-Box for that price. It is still worth it though. All the fun rides (the lines), the park food (the prices) and the beautiful california weather (LA smog) add to the enjoyment of this one of a kind (4 worldwide) theme park.

The Wild Animal Park is the pride and joy of Escondido as far as I’m concerned. They have a HUGE paddock of animals that can only be seen by taking the 5 mile tram out into the enclosures. They offer some cool packages such as camping with the animals, that I’ve always wanted to do but couldn’t due to time constraints. Almost any animal that you would want to find is lurking somewhere within this 1800 acre park.

A large hacienda style hotel built in 1888. I’ve toured the grounds a few times and even had brunch in its main restaurant. Upscale and suited for even the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Charles Lindbergh or Ronald Reagan, oh wait, they did visit. I spent a few minutes in Room 3327 which was open on the day we went. I didn’t find Kate Morgan, maybe she “liked it hot”, and not just at the business end of a gun.

This is San Diego’s answer to central park. A 1,200 acre “urban cultural park” that also houses the San Diego Zoo. Most of the building have cool Spanish style architecture just as many of the old districts do. The IMax Dome and Science center are always fun to stop in and play around. The tilted dome theater is fairly unique and shouldn’t be missed while you’re here.

A bit expensive ($50.95!) but fun on a hot day. I haven’t been here in about 5 years, but I vividly remember the “Shamu” stadium, Shark Encounter and a sky tower that takes you up to get an overview of the park. One tidbit of information that I learned from WikiPedia is that “Shamu” is now a generic name for all performing killer whales.

Very fun zoo compared to most. Bittersweet considering how close it is to the Wild Animal Park. They have lots of rare and exotic animal speices to see here that aren’t found many other places outside of their respective ecosystems. It’s always fun to exchange the bird with the gorillas. The Park in the Dark thing they had for a while was cool.