Parasailing

It's parasailing time!!!   Wheeeeeeee!

On the way out of the harbor, a guy showed me his halibut!

Later on that day, I was told it was a winning fish in the tournament that morning! 

Check out the swordfish boat:

 
On the way out, I was searching the waters for dolphins, as I wanted to make friends with them.  It never hurts for a gal to have a back-up plan!  ;-)

I didn't see any dolphins.  The chute was ready to fly!

How about Glenn and Gladys go first? 

They took off fast, and just like that, the boat left them behind!

Take off was nice and smooth.

They were terrified, but having fun!

Yes, one little knot on each end secures the rope! 

The driver of the boat used to live and preform in the water skiing show at Indian Beach, in Monticello, Indiana.  Small world.

The parachute kept getting smaller and smaller-- they were waaaaayyyyyyyyy up there!

The rope is 800 foot long, and they were literally at the end of it!!!

Our turn!  Jean and I took off as soon as we had the harnesses on!  There wasn't even time to be scared!

Although, as I felt the wind take us I went into TOTAL FREAK OUT MODE!

All I could think about for a second was that knot coming untied.

It was at this point, when I was shouting---  LIFEGAURD, LIFEGAURD!!!  

No one came to my rescue; not even the dolphins!  Gladys told the guy to shake the rope, and he did.

The rope, btw, was a little frayed too!  We were really living on the edge.

I had my camera in my right hand.  Jean asked me to hand it to her so she could take pics, but I couldn't loosen my grip enough to manage that!

When it was time to come in, I'm pretty sure I seen hungry sharks in the water below!

Our boat driver slowed waaaayyy down so our feet touched the water and teased the sharks!

Seriously--- the shark is that dark fish with giant teeth right below us:

I don't know we survived, but we did, AND with our feet and legs still attached!   :-)   Parasailing was sooooo FUN!  I would do it again in a heartbeat!

Ferry to Catalina Island

The day after arriving in California, we headed out to Catalina Island via ferry.

The weather was nice out, like 86 degrees Fahrenheit.  Although California's 86 is much different than Indiana's 86.  It was another misty morning, but the air had a coolness to it, and it wasn't the muggy humidness I am familiar with back home.

Troy convinced us to ride on the upper deck in the fresh air. 

The distance from the mainland to the island is approximately 26 miles.  It takes an hour and 15 minutes by ferry.

Holy Smokes-- it's the Titanic!!!   Nope, sadly that ship sank, but it is her sister ship-- The Queen Mary!!!

I thought the ferry was large until it got close to some of these ships!

The cruise ships were massive!  The pics do not do them justice.

Upon leaving the canal, and the no wake zone, the ferry took off like a jet, for the island!    

I decided to change seats and go exploring.

Every view was soooo cool!  The Pacific Ocean and all it's massiveness has me in awe!

I kept watching for whales!   That seems like a strange thing to even type.  Whales!  

After the first hour, I started to settle down.  I don't think I seen any whales, but I did see some type of big critters, which I later concurred they were sea lions.

Before I knew it, Catalina Island came into view!

The plan was to go parasailing and I totally had butterflies in my stomach!

I mean, I'm not afraid of heights, I'm just afraid of the parachute malfunctioning and me crashing. 

That nightmare tends to end with sharks devouring my body.  Thank goodness the ocean water was clear and all I noticed were happy, orange, garibaldi fishes!

Catalina Island is home to several buffalo brought over to make a movie film and then left behind.  I didn't feel to sorry for the buffalo as it seems like a nice enough Island to be stranded on. ;-)

I know in the past, I did a jigsaw puzzle of this exact scenery!

Folk's-- Here is the MONEY SHOT! 

The above pic is my favorite! 

The dogs eventually got some breakfast too!

After breakfast, which was the best egg sandwich ever, it was time to parasail!!!!

I'm soooo ready!!!!  ;-)

On the Way to CA

EEEEeeeeee, finally it's time to fly!  I packed so light, all I had was my two carry-on bags allowed by United.  I have been known to go away for a couple days, really only needing to pack 3 outfits, but have packed like 30, just to be safe!  I'm not sure why, but I was at peace with bringing the bare minimum.  One thing that helped me through this minimal outfit crisis was how I packed!   

In the above pic, I have a top and pants that I planned to wear as an outfit.  I added a hoodie to it and folded the entire ensemble up together.

Bundling my outfits saved time in the mornings because I didn't have to hunt for what I wanted.  I just grabbed whatever was on top and hey-- it was a coordinated bundled outfit!

Most of my outfits I was able to roll up together into nice n' neat, little handfuls.  I was amazed by how well that worked out for me!

The flight was scheduled to leave Chicago at 6:30 AM.  We left the house at 2:30 AM!   Ughhh.  Mainly because we wanted to allow plenty of time to get through airport security.   Plus, O'Hare Airport is a good hour drive from the house.

 Lines to go through security check points were long-- even in the middle of the night!

I gotta tell Ya'all about the airport bathroom!  The ladies room had automatic toilet seat covers! 

Security was very tight.  An agent sniffed Troy and his bags very thoroughly.

Somehow, we managed to make it past all the security check points and onto Rainbow Road Level!!!  I did feel a bit like I was in a 90's throwback playing Nintendo's Mario Bro's.  It was somewhat challenging to watch the ceiling change colors, while carrying bags, and attempting to walk on the mobile sidewalk.  I felt very skilled. 

Flying is exciting for me!

The wait at the gate wasn't very long. 

It just seemed like it, because we were all eager to be on our way.

This is it-- time to board!!!  I've been on several flights in my life and each time, I still get nervous.

I got to sit next to Troy! 

Him and I were busy looking out the window.

Flying is amazing!

The views were spectacular!

 WOW!

Hey-- I see PacMan! 

The altitude didn't bother me, but it made Gladys go crazy.

She was trying hard not to smile here:  (I know that poker face!)

 

When we reached the desired altitude, the flight attendants passed out complimentary snacks. 

I had never had a caramel filled waffle treat like this before.  It was good and the perfect size to be warmed up top a hot cup of coffee.

The view of the landscapes were incredible and constantly changing.

 

Troy probably couldn't take anymore of me oooouuuuiii and ahhhing; we traded seats.

The Rocky Mountains:

The Grand Canyon:

Peaks and valleys:

Heaven:

Jean took some pics from her window of the plane.

I was busy.  ;-)

I don't know what it was that put me to sleep; must have been the coffee.  

Turbulence was intense at times while flying over rough terrain like mountains and canyons.  It was about as bumpy as riding a trotting horse.



And then WE CRASHED!

The plane fell right out of the sky!!!

Nooo, we didn't crash!  I just wanted to see if Ya'all were paying attention.  ;-)

The landing wasn't too bad.

Los Angeles had a haze in the sky.  Weather was a bit overcast that morning.  I came to find out that is how Anaheim is EVERY morning.  It rarely ever rains there, but the mornings are misty until about 9AM.

We landed safely at LAX Airport.

Hub was waiting for us! 

He drives a Lexus and it has a SNOW button!!!  No, snow doesn't fall from the sky even if you press it 100+ times. 

Hub made sure we were all set by lending us his car, and checking us into the Hilton, before he had to head off to work.

We dropped him off at his house, which is actually on the grounds of Disneyland! 

Before parting ways for the evening, he programmed his car to take us to Which Wich, for a bite to eat.  It was sooo cool seeing palm trees again.  The weather was absolutely perfect and being outside did feel like I was indoors!!!

Check lists are trending now along the west coast!

My Wich was delicious!

I didn't see any bugs either!  So far, Hub was right about his neighborhood in CA not having insects or rain!

Hub's fancy car drove us back to the Hilton so we could go swimming.  A few hours later, after we finally figured out how to open the trunk of his car, we were able to get our bags out and put on swimwear too!  :-)     Yes, Really!

The first day went by quickly, as did all of them!  After swimming, we all fell asleep for the rest of the night.  Para sailing was on the agenda for the next morning and I could hardly wait!!!