Summer...I mean Fall Road Trip

It took some patience and a bit of planning, but we have successfully started our 2017 road trip and all three sons are participating which makes me one happy mama. Normally, we take a summer road trip, but with Zach's trip to Germany, my week of Summit training, and assorted events, we just couldn't make it happen during our traditional months. I was getting a little worried that we might have to forego this year's trip; however, we were able to synchronize schedules and squeeze in a little weekend trip to Long Beach and Catalina Island.

I'm the king of the world! Oh wait, wrong ship.

After a late start this morning due to David sleeping in and me trying to finish up a few work items, we picked up Zach and headed up the I-5 toward Long Beach. Joe had to work, so he would be joining us later in the evening. We made a quick stop at Downtown Disney for lunch at The Earl of Sandwich one of the few restaurants we haven't eaten at yet. I had an ulterior motive which was to go into Disneyland and meet up with one of our teachers, a former student, and her mother. Since both David and I have passes, we thought we'd go into the park for a bit while Zach explored Downtown Disney and perhaps played a little Pokemon Go. Alas, in our rush to leave the house, I forgot my annual pass, so those plans went by the wayside. David went into the park briefly, and Miss Koch came out to say "hi" while Mikaela and her mom went on a ride.

We left Disneyland and made it to Long Beach and the Queen Mary, the first real stop of our little road trip. We checked into our rooms which have some of the original fixtures like vents that open and close to make it warmer or cooler and a metal fan mounted on the wall. Also, in the bathroom, there are four spigots labeled hot fresh, hot salt, cold fresh and cold salt. We have two deluxe twin rooms. One room is long and narrow and the other is pretty open. Apparently, there are many shapes and sizes of rooms. In fact, we were told the Winston Churchill Suite is the size of an apartment.

We purchased tickets and walked through the Princess Diana exhibit learning about the history of the royal family. We got to see some of Diana's dresses, notes and letters written by members of the royal family, newspaper articles, and many different artifacts. After the exhibit, we explored the ship a bit and had a little dinner at one of the onboard restaurants. We were passing time until our Guided Historical Tour which wasn't until 8:15.

The Queen's Room aka First Class Lounge

The tour was interesting and we got to see some beautiful rooms, amazing woodwork, and Art Deco. You can tell especially in some places on the ship where it must have been very luxurious for that time period. There are 56 different types of wood on the ship from the 56 different English colonies of the time. It's really quite lovely. Because the Queen Mary is on the National Registry of Historical Landmarks, they have to follow strict rules about remodeling and restoration. As a result, you get to experience what it was like on a luxury liner in the 1930s. Well, that is, without the 16-20 degree pitch on the rolling waves of the Atlantic and of course with many modern day amenities.

Joe arrived around 9:30 p.m. and soon we retired to our staterooms. The walls are very thin and the people in the room next to us were having an argument as I typed this blog post, but it sounds like they have quieted down, so I'll sign off and head to bed.

For a different perspective, read David's blog: http://favoritesonsspiels.blogspot.com/