San Diego and LA

Okay, the eels were also kinda cool.

Tunnel of water through
the shark tank. It reminded
me of Vegas.

The first thing I did when I got to San Diego was visit Sea World. I'm not  sure why... Shocked by the $65 ticket price, I felt trapped and forced to stay longer than I originally planned in an effort to get my money's worth. Crissy very accurately described it as a "fish prison." I had no interest in the rides and the Shamu show was closed, so I ended up at the dolphin and seal/sea lion shows.  They were like Disney events. I wasn't really paying attention to the plot, there was something about a princess and her dolphin friend being chased by an evil pirate. I much prefer an informational show about the animals, i.e. "the bottle nosed dolphin can swim at speeds up to xx mph and jump x feet in the air. Now we will have them demonstrating these feats." This was not that. The Vancouver aquarium was much, much better. Sea World is clearly meant just for the kids. There by myself, I felt like a pedophile. I will admit that I liked petting the sting rays. That was cool.

Look -- I have bangs! Oh, and there is a panda behind me.

After my expensive and disappointing time at Sea World, I almost skipped the San Diego Zoo. But having heard repeatedly that this is one of the best zoos in the world, I decided to gamble another kid centered experience. I am really glad that I did. Let me preface this by saying that I love zoos. I know a lot of people think that they are also animal prisons, but have always been a big fan of them. The summer before we moved to Rome, I worked at the Bronx Zoo in the day camp. My co-workers were all vet students (I was there through good, old fashion nepotism) and I learned a huge amount about the zoo and their conservation efforts. After the zoo closed one night I even got to play catch with an endangered monkey-type animal. (That summer, while having lunch in the South Bronx, was the first time that I ever noticed a police officer wearing a bullet proof vest. His chest was so big and tight around his shirt that his arms looked like twigs sticking out from the billowing sleeves.) Here's a fun fact I bet you didn't know: they keep an armory at the zoo in case any of an animal escape. They also have monthly target practice in the parking lot. Apparently firing an elephant gun is a skill that you need to keep well honed.

When I first got to the San Diego zoo I took the tour bus that travels all around the 75 acre park and points out the highlights. Let's Go recommended this as a good way to get your bearings and figure out what you want to see. They even suggested seating, "Everyone scrambles to sit on the upper deck of the bus, but from there all you see are the trees branches. Sit down stairs and, if possible, on the right side of the bus." Boy were they right! I actually felt a little guilty about all the kids who were sitting on the far left side of the bus. Not enough to offer one of them the seat that I had pre-scouted out, but still a little guilty.  On the bus we drove past a long line in front of the Panda Exhibit. "Don't worry, that line will be almost gone by 3pm" our driver informed us. I looked at my watch and it was 1:30 pm. "Perfect, I can wander around, have lunch and catch the panda's right before I leave," I thought.  This was a great plan until I walked past the panda's at 3:30 and saw the line as long as ever. Instead of waiting, I continued exploring. I kept checking back and the line was never ending. At 4:45 p.m. I decided that it was getting late and I needed to get on line or skip it. It turned out to be the perfect time to see them -- the line took 20 minutes and when I got in, the pandas were all awake and active. That was a first for me. The last time I saw panda's (D.C. in high school), they were asleep and barely visible. It was so great that I even took a little video:

The best part of LA were the tours of the movie studios. I did both Warner Brother's and Paramount. The Warner Brother's lot has a museum with an entire floor dedicated to Harry Potter. This was especially significant after my time with Jack Markus. "Who is your favorite Hogwart's professor?" I was asked more than once during my San Francisco visit. The museum even has a sorting hat like the one from the books/movies. You sit on the stool and they place it over your head (being careful not to actually touch you). When I sat down it declared "Hmmm... what house should I put you in? You're a difficult one!" I thought, "Well this is right out of the book. Clearly it's going to put me in Harry Potter's house, Gryffindor. It probably puts everyone there." The hat continued, "I think the House for you is in the loyal house of... HUFFELPUFF!" Huffelpuff??? Unbelievable. That's one of the crappy, boring ones. Oh well. Some how I managed to continue on. Before my tour group left the museum, I thought to ask if it was possible to visit the Harry Potter exhibit without taking the entire two hour tour. Colby and the kids should definitely see this, but they really don't need to spend their time driving around the back lot. "Not unless you know someone who works here and they give you a pass," was the response from the unfriendly WB employee. "Hi, I'm Anna," I said smiling at him and offering my hand. He didn't get the joke. The gift shop had fabulous wands for sale and I was so tempted to buy them for the kids that I even asked one of the women to look in the store room to see if they had any more Dumbledore wands (he's got the good one, the elder wand.) Realizing that were $40 each and that I would have to get three, I reconsidered the $120 purchase as soon as she left. By the time she got back, I had changed my mind. I snuck out after buying only a tee shirt that declared, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!" It seemed appropriate.

At the Paramount lot, I was on a tour with a German family and one other man. When we stopped to watch the filming of a scene from NCIS, we waited and waited for something to happen before our tour guide suggested that we move on. The Germans didn't respond and looked slightly befuddled, but the other gentleman stated quite firmly that he wanted to stay. I mumbled that I thought "watching filming was a bit like watching paint dry." This was despite the fact that I was the only one who was able to point out any of the actors. Mr. 'I-want-to-stay' had no clue and our tour guide admitted sheepishly that he had never watched the show. "Do you work in the industry?" he asked after I pointed out a confused looking Chevy Chase ambling around. "Oh no, I just watch a lot of TV."

I almost forgot to mention my visit to the Getty! The museum is wonderful, but the view and building are spectacular.  I was there in the late afternoon, so I got to enjoy an magnificent sun set over the coast. It was a great last stop for my first trip to Los Angeles.

No photoshop - I swear!