Celebrating the Chinese New Year at Lan Su Chinese Garden

I attended the Feng Shui lecture this afternoon at the Lan Su Chinese Garden in downtown Portland. The Chinese New Year - Year of the Rabbit begins February 3, 2011. Afterwards I had Golden Monkey tea and Almond Cookies in the Tearoom. There was a lack of tables so I invited Donna to sit at my table. We talked about Lisa See, a Chinese American writer and novelist, whose novels Flower Net (1997), The Interior (1999), and Dragon Bones (2003) make up the Red Princess mystery series; Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture and the book The Women (2009); and Wineries and the impact of the Missoula Flood. In the Gift Shop I saw a chart that showed that I was born in the Year of the Boar/Pig!

Who is Rose Red?

Rose Red is my Geocaching name. Rose Red was not taken from "The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer - My Life at Rose Red" ghost written by Ridley Pearson nor from Stephen King's televison drama, "Rose Red." Rose Red was taken from the Brother Grimm story of "Snow-white and Rose-red."

Sunday, January 2, 2011 (Last day of vacation)

We rose at 6:00AM to finish packing and eat breakfast. I made Mickey Mouse waffles for us. We caught the Mears Shuttle at 8:15. At the Orlando Airport we checked our luggage and got our boarding passes. Catherine got Mocha at Zaza Cuban Coffee Café at the Orlando Airport.

We had lunch at the Berghoff Café in the Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. We saw the film “Social Network” during the flight from Chicago to Portland. I plan to watch it again as it was difficult to follow the dialog.

We arrived back at Portland International Airport a little before 6:00. We retrieved our luggage. Paul, my husband, picked us up at the airport. I drove across the I-205 bridge to Vancouver. I dropped Catherine off at her house and then we headed home.

Saturday, January 1, 2011 (Sea World)

We caught the shuttle bus to Sea World at 7:30. I had made arrangements for us to have a VIP tour. We purchased our park admission and then picked up our VIP Tour tag. The tour did not start until 11:00 so we saw Pets Ahoy!: Cats, dogs, birds and even a pig performed high-action feats at the Seaport Theater at 9:30. Afterwards we saw Penguin Encounter and the Pacific Point Preserve with the two large Sea Lions from Bonneville Dam. Somehow we missed seeing Shark Encounter and Wild Arctic. Catherine purchased gifts for two of her friends.

We joined our VIP tour group at 11:00AM. Catherine and some members of the tour group rode Journey to Atlantis and Kraken. We had lunch at the Spice Mill Café. We should have eaten lunch at Mango Joe's Cafe instead but I didn't want to walk that far. We saw the Clyde and Seamore Take Pirate Island show at the Sea Lion & Otter Stadium at 12:15PM. We fed little fishes to the Sea Lions. We saw the Blue Horizon Show at the Whale & Dolphin Theater. We fed the little fishes to the dolphins and then to the stingrays. Catherine and some members of the tour group rode Manta Roller Coaster. We saw the Believe Show at Shamu Stadium at 5:30. We saw the three-month-old killer whale. We had to leave before the end of the show to catch the shuttle bus. We had Subway sandwiches, chips and drinks for dinner in our hotel suite.

Friday, December 31, 2010 (Magic Kingdom)

We caught the shuttle bus to Epcot at 7:25 and rode the monorail to the Magic Kingdom. The crowds were horrendous. We used Fast Passes a lot. We had lunch again at Columbia Harbor House in Liberty Square. Catherine had the Shrimp Platter and Apple Crisp while I had a bowl of Clam Chowder and Apple Crisp. I watched The Christmas Parade while Catherine rode Big Thunder Mountain. We rode the ferry across the lake to the parking lot where we caught the shuttle bus at 5:15PM. We had Subway sandwiches, chips and drinks for dinner in our hotel suite.

Thursday, December 30, 2010 (Universal's Islands of Adventure/The Wizarding World of Harry Potter)

After breakfast we caught the shuttle bus to Universal’s Islands of Adventure at 7:30AM. We purchased Express Unlimited Pass for Catherine.

Catherine waited in line for an hour to get passes to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter for later in the day. There were masses of people! I waited at The Mystic Fountain. It is my favorite place in the park. The fountain talks to the kids and occasionally squirts or showers them with water.

Catherine went on several rides including The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, Ripsaw Falls, Bilge-Rat Barges, and the Jurassic Park River Adventure. I saw The Eighth Voyage of Sindbad Stunt Show and watched The Mystic Fountain.

Catherine went on the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride while I looked in the windows of Hogsmeade Village. I could hardly squeeze through the crowds. We missed seeing Hagrid's hut! We had lunch in Harry Potter Land at Hogs Head Pub of Fish ‘n Chips. The Fish ‘n Chips were so much better than the Fish ‘n Chips at Columbia Harbor House in the Magic Kingdom.

We caught the shuttle bus back to the hotel at 6:00PM. About a dozen or so people were left at the bus stop as there was no room on the shuttle bus.

Wednesday, December 29, 2010 (Universal Studios Florida)

After breakfast we caught the shuttle bus to Universal Studios at 7:30AM. We purchased the Admission Tickets at the hotel and then purchased Express Unlimited Passes both Wednesday and again Thursday at the parks for Catherine.

Catherine went on the Men in Black Alien Attack ride, Disaster!, Revenge of the Mummy, and Jaws. I saw Shrek 4-D, Twister…Ride It Out, Fear Factor Live, Jaws, and Terminator 2: 3-D. We went on the E.T. Adventure, and saw The Blues Brothers Holiday Show and Beetlejuice's Graveyard Revue.

We had a delicious lunch at Finnegan’s Bar about 4:00PM. I requested the song ‘Garden Party.’ It has my favorite line – “You see, you can't please everyone, so you got to please yourself.” Catherine requested a Johnny Cash song -- "Folsom Prison Blues".

We caught the shuttle bus back to the hotel at 6:00PM. Because we ate lunch so late we passed on dinner. I checked my e-mail in the hotel lobby.