California Trip Day Six

The Turner's and Pearson's ventured to Disneyland in Anaheim California today. It was pouring rain when we left La Canada but as we drove south, the clouds broke and we never saw or felt rain again. After arriving, we waited briefly for our friend Bob Dobilina to come out and give us some free Disneyland tickets. He is the head of the entrance/security (I think) and this is his second time to save us money at the theme park.
We put a whoopin on the two theme parks, Disneyland and California Venture. We got to ride about 90% of the rides we wanted and even road Pirates & water rapids twice. The kids held up really well. Zander was extremely nervous before most of the rides and then he ended up loving them all. I think he just needs to process the rides by watching them operate first. Rides inside buildings or mountains gave him a hard time.
My daughter, Addison, must have taken a brave pill. There was no ride off limits for her. She road a ride I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole. She had a great time (and is still asleep this AM). Here is a video of our crew on the Matterhorn roller coaster. Notice the Scary Snowman.




We left around midnight to drive back north. Disneyland is a well oiled machine. Its clean, friendly staff, well run, organized, logical, very impressive. Its well worth the visit.

After a WET water ride

California Trip Day Five

Slow day in La Canada and the Pearson/Myer house. Zander, Gabe, and I went to a few hair cut places in the area. After poor Gabe got his hair butchered, Zander and I decided to venture over to another shop to get our ears lowered. Z likes his cut and so does his mommy.
After a few naps and a couple of backyard tetherball games we decided to travel to CityWalk at Universal Studios to watch the 3D movie "Bolt." My families bill was $61.00. Thats right. Not a misprint. The movie was great.

We went out to discover rain and decided a quick sit down at a mexican restaurant might be just the thing. However it was still raining when we got outside. So we made a quick dash down the walk, took some pictures, and headed back home.

California Trip Day Four

Busy day in Southern California. It started with a light breakfast and some laying around the house. The everyone (except mom) loaded up in two cars and drove to Pasadena to a Japanese resturant for some exciting cooking and conversation.
We then found "Flip Video Cameras" for $49 at Blockbuster. They are normally $149. We were so happy because we had been looking all over for them and willing to pay much more.
The girls and their mom's went to supper at the American Girl store at the Grove in Hollywood. I decided to take Gabe and watch a movie and hang out. We had a blast. We got to see Santa and take some pictures. Gabe informed him that he needed a new dog to replace C.J. Interestingly enough, Santa really did know where Gunter, Texas is and knew we received a lot of rain a while back.
We hung around the living room and watched Reagan entertain us with some shows and crazy talk! It looks like rain may effect our next few days. DisneyLand may be postponed. :(

California Trip Day Three

Just woke up at 5:30am LA time and tried to keep kids quiet for a few hours. We just had a great breakfast that Tippy made...
and are waiting for the Cowboy game. Its starts at 10am here. Crazy. Update: TO rocks. He is still good!

The kids are playing in the backyard. The weather is just great.

The afternoon plans are: nearby playground, LA friends dropping by to visit, maybe catch 3D movie Bolt, and series premier of 24! Just a day of hanging around and letting the body heal from 2 days in the car. Kids are having a blast playing in the yard and wii.

Just returned from the park. Mandy and I took the 5 kids about a mile up a hill. (I dang near needed an ice pick to venture my way up to the park. I think my fat heart hit 145 bpm) We played a great balancing game on a crooked beam. We rock! Zander schooled me in small rim "around the world" while I took him to the woodshed in big boy "around the world."
Dad and I are waiting to see if Jack Bower saves the world tonight!

California Trip Day Two

Not a lot to say here. We were in the car 90% of the day. Got to LA about 8:50pm Texas time.
We tried to stop at cool rest areas and get State Sign pictures. Arizona did not play very nice.
The sunset was beautiful while driving through Palm Springs. It was a nice drive once we entered into central California. We were ready to get out of the car and even more ready to see Aunt Tippy and the kids. Tanya did a great job preparing for the 1 week whirlwind. Can't wait for our crazy week to get started.

California Trip Day One

Left North Texas midday Friday (after watching Gabe's Thanksgiving program at CCA) and headed towards El Paso on I-10.
I drove most of the way with dad picking up the slack for a few hours. The iPhone has turned out to be a life saver. The GPS Map apps is awesome and the "near me" app told us about upcoming gas stations, places to eat, and hotels. The iPhone saved us $80 by allowing us to shop and drive 30 miles outside of El Paso.

The kids travelled great and watched movies in the car and listened to iPods. Mom wore her mask to keep lights from her eyes.
We stayed at a Red Roof inn next to a topless bar. Nice. I should have question things when the lady wanted to know if we needed our rooms by the hour or night.

Austin Day 1-4

Made the annual Convio trip to Austin. Convio Summit 2008. This year I went with Chris Baggett from Insight. Our trip to and from Austin down I-35 was great. The conference gave us opportunity to meet a lot of interesting people from many different non-profits. It is a wide range of people respresenting many causes. From save the whales, ban guns, pro choice, end tidal waves, free James Brown, and down with freedom. Even though IFL is technically a non-profit, I must constantly filter everything we hear (strategies and trends) knowing that we are a ministry and do not have traditional NP operations and goals.

Chris and I went to a few nice meals and watched the latest James Bond movie, the Convio/Austin tradition. Since I am on the Convio CAB, I was invited to go on a dinner cruise on Lake Austin right by downtown. It was a nice night full of nice scenery and good conversation.

My main memories of this trip include: Getting to know Chris better, Nice dinner conversations, CAB discussions, and Convio APIs.

2008 Convio CAB Group

Turner Trip Blog Details

Thanks for checking out our family travel blog. It's a lot easier to update family and friends via a blog then to send out 20-30 emails each day of the trip. Read our daily synopsis and be sure to look at the videos and pictures linked below. I try to update them almost daily during our travels. Daily Pictures (Web Album) and Youtube Videos

London Day Nine

Finally, the rains came. The cool weather and heavy drizzle caused us to sleep in a little today. We finally decided to brave the weather and were so glad we did. The clouds never broke but the rain stopped and the winds died down.

We took the train into Victoria Station and walked to Buckingham Palace. The next four hours we filled with picture taking and being in awe of the massive structures before us.
We stopped back by Scott's house to say bye to their kids. We played Wii and I got my rear kicked in Bowling and boxing. We did OK on a trivia game... although we did not know the UK or many sports answers. We are packing for home right now.

London Day Eight

Long day around London today. Walked a lot and took almost 400 pictures. We ate at a Spanish restaurant and then saw the play Wicked at the West End. It is 1am and we are headed to bed.
We saw a lot of Hip Londoners in the Knotting Hill area. It seems to the the Melrose of London. 20 and 30 somethings dressing up in their hip outfits (Black of course) and shopping, sipping tea, and looking important.

Notes on fitting in on a London Subway:

1) Wear something black. Its like a giant funeral around here.
2) Listen to your i-pod. It doesn't matter if it on, but keep the earpieces in to avoid conversations with Americans.
3) Read a paper. There is a discarded tabloid on almost every seat.
4) Keep quiet. Only American tourist are loud. Not the British
5) When appropriate... cuss. The F-Bomb is no stranger to the British tongue.
I really like this city. It is full of old and new world nicely blended. The building are phenomenal, the people are beautiful, and the weather has been great. (I know that is is not normal) The whole experience has been epic. I feel we dove into the city life and into the country charm of England. From slow train rides in the country to the Underground subways within the city, we have seen a lot.

London Day Seven

Bill woke up with a sever limp in his left leg. I have no idea how his day went yet because he and Liza went a different direction than Mandy and I.

We headed to the trains and went all around the south of London. Down to the coast, over to the east, up towards London and back to our hotel about 30 minutes after dark. Its been a long day but full of interesting scenery.

We learned everything we needed to know about trains, schedules, tickets, pay-as-you-go bathrooms, seating etiquette, and "minding the gap."

The coast was cold and windy in some towns yet pleasant and warmer in others. We were able to find most all the gifts we needed in the towns we visited today.
Most everyone is very friendly. If not, it is because they are "properly" keeping to themselves.

Mandy and I had fish and chips at a pub in Leatherhead. I hit my head twice on the same cross beam near the bar. Dang my short British ancestors.

The weather has just been great this whole trip. It rained for a few hours one day... other than that, its been sunny and fair. We couldn't ask for better fall weather. Cool and little breezy and sometimes damp.... but that is typical London.

London Day Six

Woke up and had another great breakfast and walked to the train. The station is about 1.5 miles from our hotel down a nice windy street littered with nice houses, an old church, a few pubs, and large trees.

The station has a train come by every few minutes and most them take us where we need to go. Once Bill and I arrived in Leatherhead, we walked about a mile to the office via the a path besides a river. It is beautiful and very peaceful.
We had a meeting with the whole staff and then had some one-on-one time with employees. It was a very productive day.
The walk back home seemed a lot longer than the walk to work. All four of us went back to the same pub near the hotel for dinner and called it an early night.

Pubs are a very interesting place here. They are next to churches and part of everyone's lives. Even good Christian women would be seen in a pub... eating and socializing. It does not have the stigma of a bar in the states. The ones we have visted are hundreds of years old. I have enjoyed them very much.

London Day Five

An early morning eating a English breakfast (eggs, beans, ham, and hash browns) in the hotels dinner. Low ceilings, fireplaces, and quaint table settings made for a unique experience. Productive day at work with some long white-boarding sessions.

We met the chairman of the IFL UK board for lunch and I had grilled sole. Great conversation.

Mandy walked to town and began shopping and changing currency to the Pound. She and Liza took a train to another village to find some jean (pants mean Underwear here). They were brave. I was proud of them.

Mandy, Bill, Liza, and I walked to the local pub and had a truly British dinner: starters, drinks, dessert, and hot tea.

The weather was great today. A little chilly but very crisp and sunny. Who knows what tomorrow may bring?