Summer Vacation - Day Six

We went back to Disneyland to ride Space Mountain and the Monorail again at 9 when Disneyland opened- then we went to Disney's California Adventure. We didn't think we'd spend much time there based on the amount of rides, so we decided to do an experiment and not get Xander the wheelchair. More of the popular rides have a Fast Pass, where you go by the ride earlier and get a ticket to come back an hour or so later and go in a smaller line. We ran to the Tower of Terror first, only to find that they weren't issuing Fast Passes. We found this several times- I wish they would just always issue the passes! We only waited for about 20 minutes, which wasn't bad. Besides that, the lines were really short for all the attractions! We were able to get Fast Passes for "Soarin' over California," which was Xander's very favorite ride! It was amazing- hard to describe, but you really feel as if you are flying over California. Grizzly River Run was really fun, and we were in a raft with a very cool family.

The lowlight of this was the meltdown at lunch. Disney's California Adventure has a place called "Burger Invasion." Xan and I went to get a table when Chad stood in line to get our food. Xander lost it when others came and sat by us with their food. He doesn't understand that all food doesn't belong to him and threw a complete fit. He acquired a new bad habit a month or so ago...spitting! It's horrible, we've tried ignoring it, we've tried "time outs" and he just doesn't get how disgusting it is. Anyway, Xander spit RIGHT IN MY FACE when I had to hold him back from rushing some family's table to steal their fries. A little girl (probably around 11) stood staring at us with her jaw absolutely dropped. I was so frustrated that I told her to "Take a Picture!" LOL! I know it must have been shocking for the girl and I feel bad in retrospect, but we all have our limits.

We had all had enough that day, so we went shopping for Mickey ears and then back to the hotel to swim again. We wanted salad and ordered one to share (Xan was happy with leftover pizza)and some dessert for room service. It was our last night!

Summer Vacation- Day Five

Day Five- Disneyland!
We heard that Disney accommodates those with special needs- which was a major influence in taking this trip.

People with autism become impatient and don't like to have their personal space invaded. Disneyland does recognize autism and understands that these kids need a little special treatment so they can enjoy the park, also. We had long heard about the Guest Assistance Card that Disney would issue.

When I called Disneyland it seemed like getting the Guest Assistance Card would be kind of a pain. We wanted to get on rides as early as possible to avoid lines, etc. The woman at Guest Services suggested renting a wheel chair, and seemed to understand the needs of an autistic child to not be crowded, and he's a bit big for a stroller. Chad and I decided we would rent the wheelchair (and then Chad wouldn't have to carry Xander everywhere- because he doesn't like to walk) and if we had problems with the lines we would go to get the Guest Assistance Card later in the day.

We never needed the card! There are special queues for Wheel Chairs with smaller wait times. Our son was treated so well and had a blast! It was also cool because at some of the queues we saw some other kids with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder), which was comforting. So often we aren't able to do the things that "typical" families can do, and this is a rare instance where we are honored and needs are recognized.

Xander couldn't stand "It's a Small World," and I don't blame him. It's long and slow. He doesn't care about the story driven rides at all- Xander loved Space Mountain and Thunder Mountain, and any ride that was FAST! We actually rode Space Mountain twice the first day. We're going to have to take this kid to Six Flags or somewhere with big coasters in a few years. He loved the Churro's!

We had a great time but didn't overdo it. We averaged 3 rides an hour and were back to the hotel swimming by 3pm. We had dinner delivered= pizza, salad and spaghetti from a local pizza place. We finished Running with Scissors, which was very good and makes me want to check out more of Augusten Burrough's writing. He had a very interesting childhood, with an author mother who was obsessed with Psychiatry and gave her shrink custody of him. The acting was absolutely incredible.

Summer Vacation- Day Four

Day three was long, so we took it easy on Day Four. We left our hotel and drove to Garden Grove, California- a suburb of Anaheim. We settled into the Embassy Suites Anaheim- South. This was a beautiful hotel, and we were on the 9th floor. The rooms were huge and beautiful! Xander absolutely loved looking out the huge window at the world (which made us really nervous! I know that the windows might be secure but having fallen through a "secure" window years ago I'm paranoid.)

This place is on the more pricey side, but worth it. Parking is still free, but internet access is $10.00 per day.

The lobby and atrium was beautiful, with a jungle theme including Koi ponds and a lion that "roared."

The morning breakfast was incredible (as it has been in every Embassy Suites we've been to.) Made-to-order omelettes, fresh fruit, cereal, pastries, and Xander's favorite- BACON. There is also a Disneyland stand in the lobby where I bought our tickets for the next couple of days. Ouch! $350+ for 2 adults and one child...but he's only a kid once, right?

The best part of this hotel was the pool and hot tub. Since everyone must have been at Disney, we had it to ourselves and really relaxed for the rest of the day (except for a trip to Target for supplies and an early lunch at Ruby's Diner.) We ordered room service for dinner....I LOVE room service, and it was reasonably priced.

After Xander went to bed we got "Running With Scissors" on Pay-Per-View, based on the memoir by Augusten Burroughs. We only made it half way through and were able to pause for up to 24 hours.

Summer Vacation- Day Three Pt. 3

(This is part of a continuing series about our vacation- to be continued!)

Next we went to Star Wars Celebration IV, which was marking the 30th anniversary of the saga. We had been planning on taking a trip to California with Xander to visit Disneyland, and this was additional incentive. Realistically, we knew that with a 6-year-old on with ASD we wouldn't get to do much, but we'd get to be there!
.

This is a picture of the screen from the only "presentation" we attended at the convention- a discussion of the new Star Wars themed "Robot Chicken" with Seth Green (far left.) I really wanted to go to this, but an hour or so prior we saw a huge, long line to get in. There were glass doors in front of the room and a few minutes after the presentation was supposed to start, we ran down so we could at least see Seth Green through the window. When we got there we noticed many empty seats, the show hadn't really started and we got a nice position in the back. Xander has a really hard time not being the center of attention and yelled a few times, but candy helped! We saw several people with small children leave shortly after the presentation started and I was pretty impressed we made it through. Yeah Xander!
















Xander licks a Wampa! I wouldn't recommend this!

Summer Vacation - Day Three Pt. 2

Next we went to the Walk of Fame and Grauman's Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard. We always wake up very early, and the trip to "The Office" didn't take long so we had no problem getting parking very close.

Obligatory R2-D2 and C3PO foot and handprints- we are on our way to Celebration IV!
















Xander started getting Groucho.





















Gotta love this guy, especially his music!
















We had no idea that Xander would have this reaction to "Spider Man."

Summer Vacation - Day Three Pt. 1

Seeing the "Boston Legal" studios made me think- where is "The Office" filmed? This is our favorite show. After doing some internet research, I came up with an approximate address of the studio where interior and exterior scenes are shot. The show seems to be very descreet about the location, which I can understand- if they are filming a scene in the parking lot they don't exactly want a bunch of people staring in the gates (they are on hiatus, so we felt fine with it!)
Anyway, we found it!


Sign for Scranton Business Park, Dunder Mifflin and Vance Refrigeration.
















Good shot of parking lot. The cars are there! Identify the character's cars, they are here!
















Studio/Office Shot- can't you just see Pam standing there with the timer? I wonder how long it takes to remove the sign (or do you think they do it digitally?)
















This is the sign on the gate next door (another part of the studio.) Too funny!

Summer Vacation - Day Two

We drove to Pierce Bros Westwood Memorial Park to see the final resting spaces of stars including Marilyn Monroe, Frank Zappa, Donna Reed, Dean Martin, Natalie Wood, Roy Orbison, Carroll O'Connor, Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Don Knotts, Dominique Dunne, Heather O'Rourke, Mel Torme, George C. Scott, Eva Gabor and Truman Capote.


When we got to Marilyn Monroe's grave there was this really creepy guy with his hands on it, trying to "channel" or something. Pretty disturbing. Seeing-Stars.com had a great map of the park and since it was early, only us and the creepy guy were there. We walked through and since we were already in Westwood we decided to do some exploring. We drove down Sunset Blvd (later to find out that we just drove by the scene of Lindsay Lohan's "accident" that happened only a few hours earlier," and Beverly Hills. We realized fast that we had NO sense of direction and got disoriented. We need a compass, especially when Google Map's directions start with "turn south." Without the westward mountains, Chad and I are hopeless! We went from Beverly Hills to Compton and all points in between. It was a definite education- the poverty of LA is often unseen. There were streets that were completely filled with trash, a site I have never seen before. We went from multi-million dollar mansions to shacks and old motor homes turned into homes. I can understand why people leave California for more affordable housing. We ate at Rally's, a fast food burger place. It was awesome. When Chad and I were in Florida for our Honeymoon 10 years ago we loved a place called "Checkers"- and we found out that Rally's was basically the same thing. For dinner, we checked out another local grocery store called Bristol Farms. Another incredible store! It was like Whole Foods, but had some "normal" foods as well. We picked up a Pastis we hadn't tried and some Tortillas, a rotisserie chicken, lettuce, cheese, sour cream, salsa and some chips for dinner. It was wonderful and lunch for day 3 as well.

As we left we noticed a studio right by our hotel. Chad thought they probably filmed "porn" there- but when I came back to the room to look up "Raleigh's Manhattan Beach Studios," I found that they film one of our favorite shows, "Boston Legal," there! It was so exciting...no studio tours or anything, but fun to think that the show is filmed down the alley from our hotel. We were also just a few blocks from the Bed Bath and Beyond that was filmed in the movie, "Click," with Adam Sandler.

Our Summer Vacation- Day One!

This year we did something really crazy- we decided to take Xander on a real vacation! Here is a synopsis of our trip.

Day 1: Xander loves escalators and moving sidewalks so the airport was a winner. He looked at the airplanes, and when we got on he was thrilled, especially when we started to "take off." The pressure of the forces against his body must have been comforting, and tickle a little because he just kept giggling and jabbering.

So, maybe Xander enjoyed it TOO much. Lately, when Xander is really happy he yells really loud. It's very sudden, loud and screetching- what everyone wants to hear on a flight, right? He thinks it is hilarious, and after years of him barely making a peep, it is really hard for us to fight with him about it....but believe me, we did. We covered his mouth, etc- until I remembered the commercial "Chewy stops the chatter..." and gave him a snack. We could tell that it was irritating those around us, but no one said anything. I wish they would. I do. That way I could explain to them that Xander is 6-years-old and doesn't speak, and this is how he is expressing himself but we are working on it, and then explain Autism a bit to them. I CAN understand it being disturbing to others. So, sorry to those on Flight 69 that day!
The snack worked, and then he fell asleep- some peace for everyone! Then again, there were several babies on the flight that cried out, and that never bothers me at all. After years of being judged I am a very tolerant person when it comes to children and I understand that sometimes they just have a mind of their own, regardless of how good parents are!
Xander's true joy on the flight was a highlight for us, as was the fact that United shows episodes of "The Office!"
By the time we took the shuttle and got the rental car, we were all exhausted so it was off to settle in. The Springhill Suites LAX, Manhattan Beach was a great value. We only stay in hotels that are "Suites" because Xander needs his own space, and having a fridge and microwave is always helpful with a child. Our favorites are Embassy Suites, but after doing a comparison, the Springhill had free parking and internet access and was also about $40.00 less per night. The room was clean and nice, but did not have a divider or door between the "living area" and bedroom, making it more of a studio. The "kitchenette" area was too close to the desk, making it difficult to open the fridge when one of us was on the computer. The pool area was nice and very busy at all hours. The best part of this hotel was definitely the bed...the bed was incredible, awesome bed, sheets and lots of down pillows.
After settling in, we needed supplies. Juice boxes, snacks, etc... so we decided to check out the neighborhood. Nearby was an INCREDIBLE store that I loved called "Trader Joes." I went crazy immediately after walking in....Strawberries for $2.12 a pound? That was just the beginning. A great California White Zin for $2.99 a bottle? Incredible, healthy foods at really low prices. It is a small store where you could do all of your grocery shopping, but you can definitely get the basics. If you want to check them out go to www.traderjoes.com
We drove around Manhattan Beach and to the beach itself, which was beautiful. Xander was obsessed only with throwing the sand, nailing me early on. It had already been a long day.
Xander was being very behavioral, and after the stressful plane trip, Chad and I were really wondering what we were thinking logically when we planned the trip.
After a swim and ordering pizza online from Papa Johns online, and a bottle of wine (for Chad and I only!) we all slept well!

Fun with Project Playlist!

This is so cool, easy and fun! You can make your own playlist, and they have MOST songs (although they didn't have Wham! Rap, darn it!) Here is mine.
http://www.pplaylist.com/user/6660116

I can't seem to get it to post in here (although it posts on Myspace easily.)