Well here I am finally doing a new blog post. I know that I have just skipped a bunch of stuff that we have done since my last post but I just thought that I would skip those other ones and do this one.
Larry and I had the opportunity to go to San Diego last week for our annual meeting, last year I didn't get to go and so I was glad that I had the opportunity to go this year. We stayed at Paradise Point Resort, it was a gorgeous place and I would definitely stay there again. It was kind of like a little piece of Hawaii but not in Hawaii. We left on Sunday the 14th and my dad was kind enough to watch the kids for us. It is was nice to get away and just be Larry and I even though it was business but we get to see friends that are in Grocery Outlet so that is a bonus as well. The weather was beautiful and warm. We like that warm weather, who knows maybe someday we might move there. We had a great time at the meeting and enjoyed our free time when we had it.
This is the front of the hotel. The hotel was different it wasn't like a regular hotel where you took the elevator up to your room these were all on the ground and when you check in they have a bellman take you to your room in a golf cart.
On Monday we had a free evening and so Larry and I and then our good friends took the bus to downtown San Diego and went to dinner. This is just the other grocery outlet people waiting to get on the bus as well.
Our grocery outlet family. I will explain later who everyone is.
On Tuesday at the meeting we had a guest speaker and it was a great one. We heard from Aron Ralston, I don't know if you know who that is and I wish I could have gotten a better picture but it was with my phone so sorry, but he is the guy who cut his arm off because he went hiking and fell and his arm got caught in between a boulder and the rock wall. I think I explained it right. Anyway they made a movie about it as well, 127 hours. So he came to speak to us and it was really good. We got a signed copy of his book as well.
This is Troy (left from bellingham) and Greg (from oregon). They are listening to the debate on our way to dinner.
Tuesday's dinner Grocery Outlet took us to Marimar Marine base and we got to go and look at the jets and things that they use. I think that they filmed some of Top Gun here. We got to go and look at them and sit in them for just a little bit and talk to the pilots. It was a great place and then after that they took us to another part of base that I can't remember and we had dinner and we did awards.
This is where we started the awards ceremony. We do awards for each region and then they do an award that is the BIG award called the Jim Reid award who is the man who made the company. An the region award is called the Star award and it just basically means the you are the best store in the your region. The Jim Reid award is saying that this year you are the best store out of all the stores. The DSO's basically the boss of that region gives the star awards out and then the head DSO gives out the Jim Reid award.
So guess who got the Star award for their region. That is right Larry did. They don't tell you if you are getting an award ahead of time and Larry thought that it would be a different store but he got it and it was so great to get. He definitely deserves it and it makes him working so hard worth getting this award.
Before we had dinner they presented the flags, these were the ones who presented them.
So if you don't recognize this, this where they shot the bar scene from Top Gun where he sings "You've lost that love and feeling". I might have to watch the movie just so I can really see if it is the right one.
After dinner at Marimar, we always try to get a group shot when we are all together. I will tell you who everyone is.
Left to right-Troy and Tina Clark from Bellingham, Mike and Sou from Livermore California, Larry and I, Greg and Sandy from Oregon.
So Larry and I met at the Bellingham store and so did Mike and Sou and there were also a couple of other people that we know who aren't in grocery outlet that have met at the bellingham store and had gotten married as well. After Larry graduated from Western he went and worked for Greg and Sandy who were good friends with Troy and Tina and at the time they had one of the Tacoma store. So that is how we are all connected.
So Larry and I decided weeks before the meeting that we were going to stay longer and go somewhere else so on Wednesday we rented a car and started driving towards Anaheim, as we are leaving San Diego right on the freeway we saw the San Diego temple it was beautiful, I wish that I could have gotten a better shot.
Here we are on our way.
Look where we ended up, can you guess where we are going, with no kids.
That is right, Larry and decided that since we were only about an hour and a half away that we would go to Disneyland by ourselves. Judge us all you want but that is where we honeymooned and so we love it and the last time we went to Disneyland Larry and I never got to ride any rides together. I do have to say though that we did feel guilty for not bringing them, but we did get over it. We got to go on rides that we have never been able to go on before, we were though disappointed because Indiana Jones was closed until the winter. We stayed at the Disneyland hotel which was nice to be close to downtown Disney.
Getting ready to go on some rides
Disneyland Hotel
They had all kinds of Halloween decorations it was a good time to go as well. There really wasn't allot of people.
Main Street at Disneyland
This is not such a flattering picture and I have no makeup on but we are in line for Pirates of the Caribean ride and it was hot outside.
Here we go Splash Mountain.
You can't see me but I am right behind Larry.
On the Matterhorn now and this was our first time riding it because every time we went to Disneyland it was closed.
Finding Nemo ride
Larry and I thought that these were cool, and it must have taken them forever to build these but it was amazing. The first picture is of a dragon made out of all lego's at the lego store.
Main street day two and it was still warm just cloudy that day.
We also went to Disney California that day because we had a three day hopper pass.
This is the beginning of Cars Land, it was way cool. They had just like the movie, with the road and shops, I can't wait until we can bring the kids back to Disneyland and take them there.
This is one of the rides that you can go on in Cars Land it was pretty fun.
So in this picture if you can't tell I am not thrilled to be going on this ride. This is Screamin California and every time we have been there I have never wanted to go on it because it goes upside down and I really don't like upside down rides because I only think of bad things happening, well this time I told Larry I wasn't going on but he went ahead and go two fast passes to it and told me that he wasn't going on it by himself. I was really nervous. I like roller coaster just no the ones that go upside down.
Well guess what, I LOVED it I thought it was great. I could have gone on allot more.
That same night we got fast passes to go and the the water/laser show of World of Color. This was a great show and if you haven't seen it I suggest that you go and see it when you are there. It was amazing. We are waiting for it to start.
Here it goes, oh and they shut down the rides when this is going on.
They do little clips of the Disney movies and if you can't tell this is The little Mermaid
Finding Nemo
Wally
Toy Story, they did alot more but we didn't bring the good camera and we brought the smaller one and so it doesn't take as good of pictures as we would have liked. We need a good quality smaller camera.
Like I said we got a three day hopper pass and we could have really only done a two day hopper pass but oh well. On Friday it was a day to just go through the shops and see what we can get the kids, even though they didn't know we went to Disneyland and they didn't ask about it either when we came home, but we just walked around and went on a couple of other rides that we wanted to go on again and just kind of hung out together. It was nice and hot this day so we actually took a break from the park and went and layed by the pool.
Larry talking to someone from the store but that is why he got his award because he is that good.
Mater and Lightning McQueen out for pictures
Had to switch out, Mater needed a break.
Mater taking going to take a break.
We saw an area where they had pumpkin carving and these were the different pumpkin carvings that we saw.
This was so cute, Mickey Mouse came out and saw this little girl and he took her hand she just waved goodbye to her mom it was so cute.
We Left on Saturday and it was cloudy that day as well and when we were taking off this was the view from the plane as we got higher into the air it was pretty cool. Oh ya and Larry and I upgraded ourselves and flew first class home, I think I might have to may the extra money to fly first class all the time.
