So You're Dating a Brit- Club Biscuits

it's been many months since I've written a "So You're Dating a Brit" post. We have had two groups of visitors from England and both brought us treats! When Dan's parent's visited us in September, they brought a bunch of treats, that on his parent's insistence, I hid from Dan. He can go through the treats way faster than I can and in my defense, i wanted to taste everything for blog reviews!

We forgot about the treats and within the last month, rediscovered them in my gym clothes drawer. This is where I fess up and admit that my big plans of hitting the gym, now that I am a SAHG, have not happened. Why start now? With only a few weeks before 2013, going to the gym get's moved to my New Years Resolution list. You know, stuff that I should have been doing all along, but will put off until the new year starts, when I can be serious about it. New Years Resolutions are a procrastinators fail safe.

Out of my gym drawer, came my new favorite snack from England, Jacob's Club Biscuits. Dan's parents gave us a variety pack, which included the following flavors, fruit, mint and orange.

Fruit Club Biscuits- My Favorite

Orange Club Biscuits

Mint Club Biscuits

A variety pack of Jacob's Club biscuits.

Club Biscuits are light cookies with a filling (fruit, mint, orange) and covered in thick chocolate. They are delicious and I can't think of anything that is even a close American equivalent. To me, it feel more closely related to a candy bar, than a cookie, but it has elements of both. If America had an equivalent, i imagine that Pepperidge Farms would manufacture it.

Inside a Club Biscuit

A Club Biscuit

The biscuits only contain around 120 calories each and are so rich with chocolate, that I found it difficult to eat more than one. It's a perfect nibble for chocolate lovers. When looking up information on the club, I saw that they also make it in a honeycomb variety, which I need to try!

Here's a great television spot from the 80's.

Zion National Park - April 2012

Visiting Cars Land this past weekend, gave me the urge to write a few blog posts about the epic Utah road trip that Dan and I took last April. Disney really nailed it, because we kept saying how much the landscape in Cars Land, looked like the drive on our trip.

I've always wanted to go to all fifty states, although, I used to say that I wanted to travel to all fifty, minus one, Utah. It's a post for another time, but I have distant relatives in Utah that have created a lot of family drama and animosity. Luckily, as much as we traversed the state, we never came close to them, their area being near Salt Lake City. Nearly everything that I saw and experienced in Utah was amazing and beautiful., not excluding it's citizens.

Prior to hitting the road for Utah, we spent a week in Las Vegas at the Palazzo, so that Dan could work. I sunbathed by the pool and had Pina coladas, while Dan slaved away. We were in two different places starting out the road trip and Dan was a trooper, as I couldn't even help out with the driving. My motivation to learn to drive a stick shift will kick in if I get cast on The Amazing Race, I promise!

We had planned our trip to be three nights in Zion, followed by two nights in Bryce. However, how could we call it an adventure, if we didn't completely change our plans on a whim? More on that later, right now, we are still sticking to the plan...

We stopped in Saint George, the last big town before Zion, to buy a new camera at Best Buy and to get supplies at Walmart. This was my third time in a Walmart and my first time in one that had a gun section. It was all very fascinating to me, as that's just not something we have in Los Angeles. Not just the guns, but we don't even have a BIG-BAD-EVIL-WALMART anywhere near where I live. Admittedly, the prices were amazing and we stocked up on a bunch of snacks, some flashlights and the Milton Bradley classic, Battleship.

If I had realized how close Zion is to Vegas and how truly amazing a place it is, I would have visited years ago. It's only a few hours from the strip. If you're reading this and have not been, GO. Dan had been before and knew the drill. He booked us a room at the official Zion Lodge. The lodge is not only beautiful, but it was the benefit of a great location. It is just a few steps from the shuttles that take you into the park and to the hiking spots. This is like staying on property at Disneyland.

Our bathroom had cute animal tiles.

A pretty tree in front of the main lodge.

The guest room building. Our room was on the second floor and had a balcony with rocking chairs.

The grass area in front of the main lodge.

The view from the main lodge.

A free range turkey that ruled the grass area in front of the lodge.

The river adjacent to the main drive.

Our wheels for the trip..before Thunder got road muck all over her!

The road to Zion.

The road with shadows.

The first evening, we arrived a little late and went to the lodge to have dinner. I had a salmon dish that was utterly amazing. I don't remember what kind we drank, but Utah has some awesome local beer. The lodge is a special place to eat. We sat on the patio, under stars and it was so completely quiet and dark. Perfect for this city girl.

After dinner, we had a magical moment walking to our car. Dan reached out to stop me, because just feet in front of me, were deer. We were completely surrounded by deer grazing. They barely acknowledged us as we quietly observed them. Magic. We went back to the room, played Battleship and decided to forgo setting the alarm.

We woke up around eleven and opted to do some hiking. Dan did a great job at getting us prepared with a backpack full of water and some energy bars.We threw on our hiking attire and some sunblock, Dan bought a hiking stick in the gift shop and we hopped on the bus. The idea was to do a simple hike, especially since we got a late start and leave the bigger hike for our second day.

This was the first place that we threw the plan out the window. Dan, having done it before, convinced me to hike to Observation Point, the big hike. Had I know what I was in for, I would have psyched myself out. This is not a hike for the unfit or unprepared. We were unfit and moderately prepared. It's also not a good idea to set out during the heat of the day, especially on a hot, April day. There was a reason why we kept passing by people on the way down from their hikes, early birds, smart people.

The hike to Observation Point is listed as difficult hike and it's over eight miles round trip. Eight miles, when half of it is uphill, is a very long eight miles. The hike was clearly cleverly carved out by the same people who design Disney ride queues. It has so many switchbacks, that you always feel like you must be close to the end, but never are. It's maddening.

Luckily, the hike is filed with so many stunning views, that even though you are sweaty and miserable, you never regret the hike. It's worth the effort.

A cute little chipmunk on the hike,

One of my favorite pictures. It looks like a postcard.

Dan on the trail.

I love when it looks like the trail narrows because of the rocks. There was so much variation.

A pretty part of the trail. Any part of the trail that had shade, was extra pretty.

One part of the trail had a mini cave with a stream.

Geology is cool.

close-up...pretty shades of yellow.

This was on the way down, when I was beyond exhausted and still had miles to go.

looking up on the trail.

Another cool trail picture, with Dan and his stick. That stick came in handy!

Beautiful flowers.

Another favorite picture.

We found a bit of motivation to plow forward, when we met a couple on the trail who were far less fit and less prepared than us, so we wanted to keep ahead of them. We left them in the dust!

The view at Observation Point.

Observation Point

The marker at Observation Point.

Dan and I at the top of observation point.

Another view from Observation Point.

The hike took about six hours and we hardly saw anyone on the way down. Let me reiterate an important point, smart hikers, hike in the morning. We probably drank about fifteen bottles of water between us and had blisters and chaffing. Although we did it, but we should have been more fit and done it early, after having something for breakfast. The walk back to the shuttle bus was more of a limp. After showering, we headed into town for dinner.

There are no words to accurately describe how hungry we were when we sat down to eat at the Zion Pizza and Noodle Co. For once, our eyes were not bigger than our stomaches. Having only eaten half a power bar, coupled with a mega hike, we were ready to eat anything and everything. We ordered a pizza, each.

I nearly ate an entire pizza by myself.

Dan perusing the menu.

To put this in perspective, I can normally eat two-three slices tops and after the hike, I ate all but one slice chased down by half a pitcher of local beer. Then, we went across the street for ice cream cones and I didn't even feel sick from too much food. I can't remember the last time that I felt so ravenous. On July 4th, I plan to do a long hike and head straight to Coney Island for Nathan's Hot Dog contest, where my newfound strategy will lead me to victory. Sorry Joey Chestnut, but you've had a good run!

Since we had done the biggest hike, we decided to alter our vacation plans and head to Bryce in the morning, a day early. Zion was amazing and really could be a several day stop, depending on which hikes you do. The great thing is that the park is totally accessible for visitors that cannot handle the hikes. They have a free shuttle/tour route that takes visitors to the best locations and gives narration. We saw a lot of senior citizens, some with very young grandchildren and they were enjoying the National Park too, without going on intense hikes. I am relieved that on my next visit, I can forgo the hard hike and do some tamer ones!

This is a really great destination for families and the lodge has guided nature talks and programs for kids. I grew up with a family that was much more into hotels, room service and Hawaii than National Parks, I wish that we had done something like Zion when I was younger.

Navigating Cars Land

I finally made it to see Cars Land. I've had an annual pass this entire year and just days before it expired, Dan and I snuck in a weekend trip to the parks to check everything out. I had not used my pass since last February, when I went to the parks with Dan's father.

We woke up at five am, so that we could be to the parks by opening. I had heard horror tales of how crowded Cars Land gets and I didn't want to take any chances with our enjoyment. We were among the first fifty or so cars in the Mickey and Friends lot.

An empty Mickey and Friends parking structure.

The first in many bad dietary decisions of our weekend, a croissant at the La Brea Bakery chased with a latte to fuel us up for Cars Land.

I'd like to say that this was the first tram of the day, but I was a slow-poke and we missed it.

The best Disney parking spot ever.

We were let into California Adventures half an hour before the official opening time. Upon entering, we realized that we had a big decision to make, we could wait at the rope drop and head straight to the Radiator Springs Racers or wait in the fast pass line for the RSR. The fast pass line was already super long, so we decided to take our chances with the first option and try the fast pass on Sunday.

I do make use of Fast Pass, but I'm not a fan. I feel like ever since it was introduced, it just makes the wait times longer. I see Disney's side, it keeps people happy and hopefully spending more time in the shops and restaurants, spending money. I feel like I have been on many trips, especially with fellow pass holders, who have become spoiled by the system and will not wait in line anymore and get whiny about it. It diminishes the experience for me. i would rather they do away with Fast Pass, if you want to ride, you can wait. Ok, rant over.

In the end, I'm not sure which was the better way to go. On the first day, we walked straight over to the queue and waited about 20-25 minutes. I think this was the right move, as there are many wonderful things in the queue and the Fast Pass line bypasses much of it.

On the second day, we were in the middle of the Fast Pass line, which started moving when the rope drop happened. It took us about 10-15 minutes to get the passes and included a really pushy guy blatantly cutting in line behind us. We had a return time of nine-thirty, which we used to go on many other rides. It then took about 10 minutes in the Fast Pass queue. So in the end, whether you go directly there or opt to get a FB, the wait for us was about the same. The only advantage to the FP is the flexibility in return time and it's a reserved spot if the ride breaks down, which apparently it frequently does.

Either way, it is essential to arrive early and do this first, as the popularity is huge and it's still new. The FP's run out very fast. We were told usually within an hour of park opening.

Utah..i mean Ornament Valley.

Ornament Valley...this looks exactly like our road trip around Utah.

The mob of people making their way toward the Radiator Springs Racers. We were near the front of the rope drop and somehow got pushed back to the middle once we started moving.

It's early, we've been up since 5am and have had a lot of coffee...waiting for that rope to drop!

Rope drop at DCA.

Entrance to the Radiator Springs Racers

The Amazing Oil Bottle House, a safe version of the real deal at Rubel's Castle.

We won!!!!

Cactus in the queue

Queue signage

Regardless of how you get on the ride, it's worth it. RSR has many similarities to Test Track at EPCOT, but is unique enough that it is a completely new attraction. I was surprised with how much of the ride takes place indoors. They really made it as much about encounters with the characters and places from the movie, as they did about the race segment of the ride. The race portion is thrilling enough to be fun for adults, but much more mild than the track segment in TT. Most adventurous kids could probably handle this ride. The height requirement is only 40 inches.

Speaking of children and restrictions. The age to ride unaccompanied is seven and we saw a family using the single rider line with a child that was obviously younger than seven. When the attendant asked the kid how old he was, he fumbled and has was not allowed to ride. The father had to exit the single rider queue with the child. Having worked at a theme park, I can verify that parents lie and get their kids involved in the lie all of the time, whether is be regarding height or stuffing their shoes to make them taller. The great thing is, the kids usually fumble when asked directly. It's just not worth it. Plus, who lets their little kid ride alone, just to squeeze in more rides in the day?

Here is a video that Dan took of cars crossing the finish line. On our first ride, we lost, but we won on the second day!

Cars Land had so many creative touches, that it's impossible to take pictures of everything. Plus, if at all possible, it's really something that you need to experience yourself. Here are some pictures that we took of the land.

in the seating area of Flo's Diner.

At Flo's

Dan was naughty and climbed over the fence to get this shot.

A creative way to landscape

I especially love the traffic cone water wheel off to the left. This entire section has loads of creative uses for traffic cones as decor and I can't believe that Disney isn't selling them in the gift shops!

Dan posing in front of an "old" sign.

We are all set to plan our Route 66 road trip.

The best Christmas tree ever!!!!

I love this building, it's the other side of where Dan was standing with the "Here it is" sign.

Dan in Cars Land.

Dan in front of Flo's

Another cool Christmas tree.

The Radiator Springs Racers is not the only attraction in Cars Land. It felt really silly at the time, but we loved Luigi's Flying Tires. This is a ride that has a bit of a learning curve, but once you get the hang of how to make your tire fly, it's a lot of fun. The best way to describe it, is a gentle version of bumper cars.

The first time we rode it, we were so anxious to get on, that we didn't notice signs giving tips in the queue. We sort of figured it out on our own and by the second trip, we flew all over the place. We took pictures of the tips, to hopefully pass on to anyone planning a trip. it's definitely a better ride when you know what to do.

The Festival of the Flying Tires!

Dan and I, excited to get flying!

The grounded tire.

Topiary in the queue.

Tire Christmas Tree. I think this stack of tires is probably a fixture in the land, but they decorated it for the holidays.

Luigi's Tire shop

The first tip was to have the heaviest person sit in the center.

Me, standing in a flying tire!

We were given one triangle per tire, to make the loading process quick.

When they say don't lean too far, they really mean that sitting up, in the center and making very subtle movements is the way to fly. Less is more here!

Dan took a video of the Flying Tire ride. It looks so ridiculous, but is actually a lot of fun. Warning, entering the queue will make you crave Italian food!

The third Cars Land attraction is Mater's Junkyard Jamboree. It whips you around faster than it looks. The queue moves fast too, as it loads on two sides and is very organized. it's an update of a carnival attraction, but like everything else at Disney, it has a unique twist and an overload of creativity.

Cars Land was the main thing that we were both excited to see, but we also had two days to see the rest of DCA and all of Disneyland. This was Dan's first time at DCA and he had not been on many of the attractions at Disneyland. It was almost like taking someone for the first time and I love playing tour guide!