We went there in...2006.
Disney World, Orlando, Florida (October 27 - 30)
So we got an offer for a “free” trip to Orlando including a 3-night stay at a property near Disney if we would just listen to a half-day pitch on a timeshare. After running the numbers, we felt the trip was worth it, so we took care of the airfare and rental car, bought a Disney park-hopper pass and headed to Florida. We basically spent all of our time on the Disney parks and took advantage of the extended hours that were available each evening at one park or another. We visited about everything: Magic Kingdom, MGM, Epcot, Animal Kingdom and Downtown Disney. The park hopper pass was great since we could bounce around as we pleased.
We flew down on Friday; no problems with the travel arrangement, although the flight was very bumpy. We were able to check-in right away at the Hilton (about 1:00) and headed to the Animal Park. We spent the rest of the day at the Animal Park (closed at 5:00). I’ve seen better animal parks and zoos, but this was still pretty cool. The safari ride was probably the best activity. We went to Epcot for the evening. We took advantage of the extended hours (open until midnight, but we only made it to about 10:30). Just walked around the place and took in the sites in the world tour. We ate at Japan, which was excellent.
We flew down on Friday; no problems with the travel arrangement, although the flight was very bumpy. We were able to check-in right away at the Hilton (about 1:00) and headed to the Animal Park. We spent the rest of the day at the Animal Park (closed at 5:00). I’ve seen better animal parks and zoos, but this was still pretty cool. The safari ride was probably the best activity. We went to Epcot for the evening. We took advantage of the extended hours (open until midnight, but we only made it to about 10:30). Just walked around the place and took in the sites in the world tour. We ate at Japan, which was excellent.
Saturday started with rain, so we just hung around the room for a bit. Covered MGM during the day (Raiders was cool, as was the back lot ride). Spent a little time at Epcot, the ate at Fulton’s at Downtown Disney (the King crab claws were excellent!).
Sunday morning was our scheduled time for the timeshare pitch but this turned out to be a non issue. After we arrived and introduced ourselves, including our professions, the sales lady excused herself and returned with a manager. He was very nice and asked “so, you two are engineers, right?” Yep. “So, you won’t be buying anything this morning, will you?” Nope. “OK, thanks for your time. We’ll have a car take you back to your hotel. Enjoy your stay in Orlando.” Groovy. So we were off to parks again and gained a couple of hours; we were back at the parks at 10:30.
We started at the Magic Kingdom which was mostly kid stuff, but the Pirate of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion and Buzz Lightyear rides were really fun! The evening was spent at Epcot. We did all the tech stuff and at the front of the park. Soaring was the best (long line, but worth it). IMAX show on flying, but the viewers are suspended above the ground so gave you the feel of flying. Lynn was worried that I would not like the ride, but it was outstanding!
We headed back home on Monday; no issues with the travel, in fact it was a very relaxed trip.
San Francisco, Muir Woods and Yosemite (June 2 - 12)
Lynn accompanied me to the AIAA fluids conference in San Francisco. We added time both before and after the conference so that we could explore the city, Muir Woods and Yosemite. Since we started planning for the trip a bit late, there were no rooms available in the park, but Lynn had the brilliant idea to check on tour packages and we were able to find a bus excursion that included a two-night stay in the park. Since we found this tour, we also booked a guided tour of Muir Woods (so now no need for a rental car).
Friday June 2 - Travel to San Francisco. Only hitch of the trip was that the flight out of Cleveland was delayed about 2 hours (fortunately, we had a direct flight, so no worries about missing a connection). Once we checked into the Hyatt, we spent the afternoon and evening walking the waterfront. The hotel is directly across from the Ferry Building (pier 1). We walked to Fisherman’s Wharf and beyond. We had dinner at Bubba Gump’s on Pier 39.
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Saturday - Muir Woods Tour with Extranomical Tours. The tour included Muir Woods and Sausalito. We were pick-up at 8:00 AM just outside the hotel. Turns out that Lynn and I were the only ones on the tour. We got a private guided tour of San Francisco (just a quick drive through of downtown), a 3-hour walking tour of the park then a drop-off in Sausalito for a self-guided walking tour. We took the ferry back from Sausalito to the Ferry Building (excellent views of downtown). We then returned to the waterfront in the afternoon/evening. We also walked through the Aquarium of the Bay.
Sunday – We took the muni train to the zoo for the day (back by 4:00 for an AIAA meeting). Evening in the hotel lounge with the GTTC crew and Lynn, then a walk along the waterfront.
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Monday – Full day in meetings.
Tuesday – Conference in the morning. At the awards lunch I received the 2005 Ground Testing Best Paper Award. During the afternoon, we walked to Union Square and found the Light Opera Company (Russian boxes) then up Telegraph Hill to Coit Tower.
Wednesday – We walked around the waterfront in the morning including touring the Liberty Ship, SS Jeremiah O’Brien. Back to work for the afternoon for the conference and working group meetings in the evening.
Thursday - We took the muni train to Golden Gate Park where we walked through the eastern third of the park. Then we met up with the GTTC crew at 4:30 (Haas, Castner, Cahill and Melanson). We walked through Chinatown then down to the waterfront for dinner and a fair amount of beer.
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Friday
6/9 - 7:30 departure for Yosemite on the California Parlor Car Tour bus
(left from the Hilton downtown; just a short cab ride from the Hyatt).
Got to the park about 1:30 and had a tour of the Valley. Dropped-off at
the Yosemite Lodge at 3:30, but could not check in until 6:00 due to a
power outage (only a minor issue). We used the time to walk around
Yosemite Village.
Saturday – We took the Grand Tour (narrated bus tour) which included a drive up to Glacier Point (to overlook Yosemite Valley), lunch at the Wawona Hotel, then a tram tour of the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias. The tour started at 8:00 AM and returned to the Yosemite Lodge at about 5:00 PM. Excellent way to see a lot of the park.
Sunday - We walked and hiked in Yosemite Valley (used the valley shuttle bus to save time). Hiked to Vernal Falls vista (1.5 miles round-trip, with a 400 foot elevation change); also hiked to Mirror Lake. Yosemite was just amazing! Great vistas in the valley (gigantic granite monoliths, tall waterfalls). The bus tour was an excellent idea and a great to get and introduction to Yosemite. We will be back!
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The return trip departed the park at 4:00 and had us back in San Francisco on schedule at 8:30 PM. We then went to the airport from the Hilton and took the red-eye back to Cleveland.
More details on this trip are contained in the photobook (which also has information on the 1998 and 2009 trips). There are also a photo galleries for our time in both San Francisco and Yosemite.