Sir Clinksalot Posted May 30, 2005 Share Posted May 30, 2005 5 Days, 4 Parks, 4 Bridges, 1 Rock, 1,030 miles and LOTS and LOTS of people Day One Our first day consisted of driving from Camarillo to Gilroy. The fun didn't really begin until day 2 although we did see some Penguins. Day Two Thursday 7:00am We leave the Super 8 Motel in Gilroy to head up to SF to start our vacation. We were planning on doing PGA on this day, but they were closed until Saturday. Our first stop, Alcatraz. This was something I had wanted to do on my previous trips to SF, but never did. Since this was Kristi and the kids first trip to SF we figured why not. Our reservations for the boat were at 10:45am so we figured we would have a few hours to get to the city, drive around and get there in time. It didn't take as long to get into the city as I thought it would, and we actually got to Pier 39 at about 8:30am. Picked up our tickets and actually decided to take an earlier cruise. Our Cruise left the harbor at about 9:45 and we took the short ride to Alcatraz, getting some nice pictures of SF and the Golden Gate on the way. Unfortunately, in typical SF fashion, it was quite overcast and foggy that morning. Gotta love SF in the Spring and Summer. We arrived at Alcatraz, opting to not do the audio tour (I don't think we missed much) and just walked the island at our own pace. It was quite interesting to see the place where so many bad-asses called home. We also learned some history of the island I didn't really know about. Kristi and I definately enjoyed it more than the kids. It's not something I would need to do all the time, but I'm glad we did it and I would certainly do it again. We only spent about an hour on the island and once we got back to shore, we were all pretty hungry since we skipped breakfast. We decided to have lunch at Bubba Gumps at Pier 39. We don't usually splurge on big meals like this but we figured this may be the only chance we would get for some good seafood. I had the Coconut Shrimp (to die for), Kristi had Shrimp and Steak Atkins style, Josh had Shrimp and fries and Amanda had Pizza (she doesn't like seafood). It was awesome, I certainly recommend it. At this point we had a choice. We were going to do the Jelly Belly tour, but didn't know if we had enough time to make it up to Fairfield by 4:00 and still do what we wanted to do in SF. The only things we really wanted to do were Ghiradelli (sp?) Square and the Golden Gate. We decided to skip Ghiradelli Square and go to the Golden Gate then up to our Hotel in Vallejo then to Jelly Belly. After paying our $18 parking fee we were heading out of SF Driving through SF we didn't get lost, although we got turned around once on Van Ness, no biggie. We made it to the Golden Gate which no longer requires a toll going North, just south. I had been across the bridge before, but it certainly doesn't dissapoint. Certainly one of the great Modern Marvels. We then continued north and across the Richmond Bridge (kinda weird looking) and up to Vallejo via I-80. Checked into our Days Inn, freshened up and continued on to Jelly Belly. The Jelly Belly factory is only about 13 miles north of Vallejo and is certainly worth the tour. The tour is free, but unfortunately you can't take pictures during the tour for security reasons, whatever those are. The tour itself shows you the complete process of the Jelly Belly, the art of Jelly Belly and how they come up with new flavors. It was really cool. We then dropped about $50 in the Jelly Belly store on Belly Flops, sweat shirts (on sale) and various other things. It was certainly worth it though. Then back to our hotel, had dinner and just relaxed so we wouldn't be too tired for day 3 at SFMW. Stay Tuned The Lighthouse SF from the Rock Solitary confinement, where you can crap in a hole, maybe that's why they called it "The Hole" The dining hall Kristi wanted to leave me here Al Capone was here And the holes dug with spoons You can see the fake heads in the cell From the day after "The Escape" The first cell block This way to jail The old Barracks Some pretty steep stairs Welcome to the Rock!!! At the docks of the island Getting closer to the island Looking back at SF Golden Gate Alcatraz Pier 41 Driving into SF Candlestick Park: Home of your SF 49ers Heading North Day One at Denny's, we find some penguins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Clinksalot Posted May 30, 2005 Author Share Posted May 30, 2005 More pics from Day Two: Civil War Cannon We all got cool hats The Lobby Jelly Belly!!! The Richmond bridge, kinda curvy Nice Family Shot The Golden Gate If you need something, you tell Forrest to STOP If you don't need assistance from your Waiter, you leave this up Life is like a Box of Chocolates Golden Gate and the Birds of Alcatraz Kristi, Amanda and Joshua on the boat Amanda and Joshua on the boat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Clinksalot Posted May 30, 2005 Author Share Posted May 30, 2005 Day Three - SFMW and SCBB: Day Three began rather early. For some reason I woke up at 6am every morning of this trip. I don't know why. We checked out of our Hotel at about 7:30am and headed to IHOP for breakfast before SFMW opened at 10am. Headed over and we were actually the 3rd or 4th car in line. We were hoping that since it was only Friday that the crowds would be light. They werent'. But, we did get to meet a pretty cool guy, who became our tour guide for the day. Wally (PhishyBrewer) had PM'd me last week and said he would be at the park that day. We didn't actually think we would run into each other, but we did, before the park even opened. We are usually kind of leary of meeting on-line people but Wally was totally awesome, and it was a pleasure to meet him. Wally decided to hang with us and show us around the park because we had never been there. As soon as the park opened we headed over to V2. This was Kristi and my first impulse, and it didn't dissapoint. I loved it. We actually got a mini-marathon on the ride getting 2 front row rides and 1 back seat ride, all solo. I have heard this is the worst of the Impulse coasters, if that's true then I can't wait to ride some more. Next up was Roar. I had heard this was a good ride, I heard right. This is without a doubt the best woodie in CA, not like that's saying alot, but it's a really good ride. Probably my #2 woodie behind GASM. The kids then decided to ride the whale spinny ride before heading over to Medusa. We figured that Medusa wouldn't be too bad since it's a B&M, high capacity and the park didn't seem THAT busy at that point. Plus we had our trusty "Tour Guide" who assured us that although the line looked long, it wasn't that bad. Well, it was long. We ended up waiting an hour. Not that it could be helped. It wasn't really the line, but the God-awful operations that made the wait that long. The ride itself was actually REALLY good. Much better than Scream and pretty close to my #1 Floorless, Superman at SFFT. At this point we could see the park was getting pretty full. We hit Cobra and then said goodbye to our Tour Guide since he had worked the 12:00am - 8:00am shift at the brewery, and it happened to also be his 1st wedding anniversary, and he was spending it with us, at SFMW of all places. After making sure he was going to pick up flowers on his way home we said Adios. Amanda and I were going to hit Boomerang, but the line was about 45 minutes, not worth it for a measly Boomerang credit, the SLC was about the same. No thanks. We went through the kids area, got the Road Runner credit and left the park at about 1pm. 3 hours in the park which included a 1 hour wait for Medusa. The rides here are fun but I don't know if I need to come back up to this park anytime soon. We then decided to drive to our hotel in Santa Clara, check-in, then drive to SCBB for the afternoon. We made pretty good time and made it to SCBB by 4pm. I had been to SCBB about 12 years ago and had a really fun time, this time would be no different. It's definately a great old-style seaside park. Opting out of the $10 parking fee we found some meters, yay!!! We were going to get the bracelets, but seeing as Josh couldn't ride alot of stuff we opted for just 60 tickets. First up, Giant Dipper. I had the credit and didn't care to ride it again, so Kristi and Amanda got their credit. According to them the ride is REALLY rough now. I remember it being a really fun ride when I rode it, but I guess 12 years can do some wear and tear. We then did the sky-ride, the Himalaya, Ghost Blasters and a few other rides then called it a day, heading back to our hotel and then to dinner. Pics from day 3: Amanda and Joshua were pretty tired after a long day of parks and driving Amanda, Joshua and a Classic Woodie Welcome to SCBB KBF was at SFMW ... maybe that's why KBF sucks now Medusa Our Tour Guide, Wally Ghetto SFMW Penguins Kristi and Amanda on Roar Roar V2 Nice Fountain The Entrance, no hands on the clock V2 and Roar SFMW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Clinksalot Posted May 30, 2005 Author Share Posted May 30, 2005 Day Four - PGA This was my first visit to PGA in something like 26 years, back then it was Marriot's Great America. I was really looking forward to this park. We arrived at the park at about 9:15 so we could get our Vouchers exchanged for tickets. Turns out it took pretty much that whole time to get them exchanged as the Guest Services people were rather slow. This weekend, aside from being Memorial Weekend was a Salute to Heroes weekend at the park. I think it's great that parks have things like this, I just don't understand why they had to do it on an already busy weekend. After getting our tickets just as they were opening the gates we got in and headed straight for Top Gun only to see the area in front of the ride was still roped off. They finally opened the area at 10am and it was a mad dash for the ride. We ended up waiting about 20 minutes for the ride. This is definately my new #1 inverted coaster. It is rather short, but it is really fun. Next up was the flyers which was a first for all of us. Amanda and I really enjoyed them, Kristi and Josh not so much. We then proceeded to make our way around the park hitting the Spongbob 3-D ride, Taxi Jam, Spongebob's Boatmobiles and Runaway Reptar. All were pretty much walk on's at this point. It wasn't until we got back to Psycho Mouse that we started to see just how busy the park was getting. We waited about 35 minutes for the ride, but it was fun. Walking around to Drop Zone, Grizzly, Demon, Invertigo and Vortex we see lines of at least an hour for each. Not cool at all. With no Fastlane, Fastpass, Freeway type system and no Single-Rider lines for anything this was shaping up to suck, big time. To add to this it was WAY too cold for Boomerang Bay stuff. At this point it was about 1pm we decided to leave the park to have some lunch, chill at the hotel for awhile and head back. We headed back to the park at about 3:00pm and ran into even more crowds. As people who are used to using Fastpass and Q-bot systems we don't deal with lines that well anymore. Not to even mention that the lines were for rides that only Kristi and I could ride so that wouldn't be very fair to the kids. We did the Enterprise, Log Ride, walked around Boomerang Bay and did the sky-tower then called it a day at about 6pm. We all really liked PGA, they have good rides, an awesome kids area but their operations leave alot to be desired. They could really use some single-rider lines on their 54" attractions, we were seeing empty seats all day on Top Gun, Vortex, Invertigo and Drop Zone. Empty seats that we would have been glad to fill. Pics from Day 4: The Parking Lot was rather full The Park was Busy From the Sky Tower Boomerang Bay Kristi and the kids The Parks Entrance Drop Zone Psycho Mouse Runaway reptar They had lots of cool Nick stuff Spongebob Spongebob's Boatmobiles was a really fun ride Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? As does Amanda Gregg and Joshua get their Taxi Jam Credit Taxi Jam PGA has an awesome kids area Top Gun Double Decker Carousel PGA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Clinksalot Posted May 30, 2005 Author Share Posted May 30, 2005 Day Five - Bonfante Gardens I think this is the park Kristi and I were looking forward to most, and it certainly didn't dissapoint. Hands down Bonfante Gardens is the most beautiful park we have ever been to. It's not a thrill park by any stretch of the imagination, but that doesn't mean it's not a fun small park. It certainly appeals mostly to families, but that doesn't mean that your average thrill seeker can't find fun here. We arrived to the park WAY too early, a theme for this trip. We were the first car in line. They opened the parking area at 9:30 and we were one of the first cars in. The park opened at 10am and we headed straight for Quicksilver Express. It was still testing so we wandered around and took some pictures of the park. Our first ride of the day was the monorail. It doesn't go all the way around the park, but it does show a nice birds eye view of Quicksilver and the Monarch Gardens. When arriving back to the station we see that Quicksilver was open so we headed over there. This is a typical Arrow Mine Train that delivers moderate thrills, but it's a fun coaster. We managed to get 3 rides without leaving the station. It certainly is more thrilling in the back than the front. Next up was the Ferris-Wheel. Not the biggest one ever, but again gives a nice arial view of the park. Amanda and I hit the Mushroom swing, which was actually REALLY good. Next was the "Spinning" raft ride, that's not really supposed to spin. I couldn't get it going as fast as I wanted it to since nobody else wanted to help. We then hit up the spinning garlics before lunch. This ride was totally awesome. It's a typical tea-cup style ride, but it's bigger and faster. Kristi almost fell over a few times and we got some cool video. We grabbed a quick lunch then decided to take the train around the park. From there we walked around the Rock Maze, hit the parks other coaster Timber Twister and rode the awesome Banana Split (Dragon Swing). I wish more parks that had Dragon Swings ran a good program like this one. Certainly one of the more thrilling rides at this small park. By this time it was about 2pm and we were ready to head home. It had been a LONG weekend. We hit the Garlic Store on the way home, bought some garlicy stuff and arrived home at about 8pm Sunday night. All in All we had a really fun weekend. Sure some of the parks were a bit more crowded than we would hope for, but those are things you can't help. It was more about having a fun family weekend, and we certainly had that. Pics from Bonfante Gardens: Falling hills in La Conchita Told ya Bonfante Falls was really beautiful Joshua on the train Amanda and Joshua on the Spinning Garlic Ride Spinning Garlic Topiary is cool Duck Amanda on the Spinning Boat Ride More beauty Nice Family Picture, we got alot on this trip It provides some nice views The parks Ferris-wheel More of Quicksilver The queue had some cool theming Quicksilver Express More of the beautiful gardens Amanda and Joshua enjoyed the gardens here Monarch Gardens Front Entrance We were the first ones there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhishyBrewer Posted May 30, 2005 Share Posted May 30, 2005 Had an awesome time with Gregg, Kristi and their two kids while they visited SFMW. The solo rides on V2 were nice. Even though I just rode Wicked Twister at Cedar Point the week before. And Roar was running great. Awesome airtime on this ride. Medusa, alright ride. I long for Kraken. Plus the 3 man staff running the ride, what the hell? Overall it was great to meet someone from TPR. Someone with the same love for amusement parks and coasters. Also being married and having kids helps to. This is me looking at the map before Gregg and Kristi arrive. "I know the elephant that poops in the trash can is over here. But where is the the front gate?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hattuchili Posted May 30, 2005 Share Posted May 30, 2005 WOW, this is definitely the best photo TR you have ever posted. It looks like you have had some very nice 5 days, with your family. Alcatraz looks awesome. I have never visited this island before, but it looks unbelievable. In the movies the cell blocks looks so big inside, but on your photo they looked so small, isn´t it? I liked the Bubba Gump picture, it remembers me to the great movie "run Forrest run". However, all in all great pictures. Thanks for posting. --Soeren "....mmmhhh Jelly Belly" Schomburg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhishyBrewer Posted May 30, 2005 Share Posted May 30, 2005 Gregg & Kristi, We'll be heading to SFMM & Knott's during Labor Day Weekend. I'll let you know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meteornotes Posted May 30, 2005 Share Posted May 30, 2005 Glad you had a good time. That looked like the most cars I've ever seen in the PGA parking lot! We used to go down to the park almost every Saturday night for a Top Gun ride and garlic fries (I have no idea if they still sell those there, but they RULED!). And all parks, not just PGA, need single rider lines! Alcatraz is worth doing once. I got sucked into going there a couple of times when we used to have to play SF tourguides for visiting family/friends, so I really don't think I ever need to see it again. But it is cool to see. The GG Bridge is a "must see" site, as is Muir Woods over on the other side of the bridge. Anyone that's never seen the woods needs to stop there at least once. I haven't been to any of the Bay Area parks since I moved out of there in 2000, but I always liked SCBB and thought SFMW was "ok" at best. The ass operations of Medusa really need to stop! You're not the only person I've heard from lately that talks about how lame they're operating it. Lazy SF bastards... I keep wanting to get back to the Bay Area, especially to go to the Gilroy garlic festival again. SF is a great place to visit, but I'd never live there again, unless I was a billionare. Just too damn expensive... dt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Clinksalot Posted May 30, 2005 Author Share Posted May 30, 2005 ^^ OMG, you look so different!!! Thanks for the kind words Soeren. For those interested, there are more photos at our photo site linked in my signature, we ended up taking close to 250 pictures over the weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhishyBrewer Posted May 31, 2005 Share Posted May 31, 2005 ^^ OMG, you look so different!!! Yeah, it's like the only family photo we have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingScooter Posted May 31, 2005 Share Posted May 31, 2005 nice TR. Great pics! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhishyBrewer Posted May 31, 2005 Share Posted May 31, 2005 I checked out the rest of the photos from the website. Very nice. Looks like you guys had great time. Very nice shoots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hattuchili Posted May 31, 2005 Share Posted May 31, 2005 ^I agree with PhishyBrewer, I also checkd your photos from the website. They are very good. All I can say: GREAT job! --Soeren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Clinksalot Posted June 1, 2005 Author Share Posted June 1, 2005 Thanks guys. Most of the picture credits go to the woman as I was busy with the video camera most of the weekend. Got some nice footage. I'm thinking of maybe doing my first video. Stay tuned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebl Posted June 1, 2005 Share Posted June 1, 2005 Your trip looked like a lot of fun. I have a couple of weekends where the girls are going away, so I'm thinking ahead to some sort of road trip. For a long time I've been wanting to go to the Jelly Belly factory---I may do just that. Glad you enjoyed Bonfante Gardens. I went there last summer and had a good time. One time I'd like to take Diana there. Of note, the Quicksilver Express is a Morgan mine train, not Arrow. In fact, I think this was Morgan's first ever coaster, but it opened much later because the park itself was delayed. It's actually better in the back as I discovered. I laughed about the monorail having a lap bar. It may be the world's only monorail with one. Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomizzle For Rizzle Posted June 1, 2005 Share Posted June 1, 2005 hEY gREGG, Looks like super fun...at the Prison. I wanna go! When are you guys going to make it to Dollyhood? Tommizzle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Clinksalot Posted June 1, 2005 Author Share Posted June 1, 2005 I have no idea. Maybe next year sometime now since we weren't able to go when we were in GA in April. We will just have to see, but we will certainly let you guys know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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