Photo Album

2004 Vacation

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Viva Las Vegas! (and California was cool too)
	This is Matthew and David at Newport Beach in California. The locals may be blasé about such things, but we were fascinated by the tiny little seashells everywhere, not to mention the Pacific surf.
	Me and the boys at Newport Beach.
	Matthew and David playing in the sand. We didn't have the foresight to bring along buckets and shovels, so they just used their hands. Somebody remind me the next time we travel 3000 miles to California :)
	This is a little restaurant called "Los Sanchez" in Anaheim, just a little south of Disneyland. Once again, this is something I'm sure the locals are quite blasé about, but we were fascinated by all of the Mexican restaurants in California serving what appears to be genuine Mexican food (half the clientele in this place didn't even seem to speak English). I don't know how Taco Bell survives against this kind of competition in California, because it's really much better, and why would you get faux-Mexican food when you can get so much better?
	Matthew and David posing at the Terminator-3D display in Universal Studios. Everybody loved Universal Studios, although it cost us a pretty penny to get in ($400 US in order to get 4 "Front of the Line" passes).
	The boys posing in front of the Jurassic Park water-ride sign.
	Rebecca and the boys posing in front of the giant Jurassic Park water-ride gates (you can see them to the lower right).
	All of us at the famed Venice Beach in California. Venice Beach is actually inferior to Newport Beach in my opinion, after having visited both of them, but it's got such a history behind it that we had to go. The whole place is a huge tourist trap.
	Me and the boys standing in shallow water at Venice Beach.
	Yes, it's a real sidewalk preacher! I know it's not much of a picture, but I couldn't help but take a snapshot of something you just don't see in most places. It reminded me of "Life of Brian".
	All of us in front of the legendary "Muscle Beach" weight-lifting area.
	Rebecca, the boys, and my cousin Daphne at Muscle Beach.
	David on the rings at Muscle Beach.
	Matthew on the rings.
	Me doing chinups at Muscle Beach. Their chinup bar is a pain in the ass for a guy like me, because I'm only 5'7" and I had to jump to the limit of my vertical ability just to grab the bar.
	Another sidewalk preacher at Venice Beach! This guy even had a couple of people holding their hands in the air and swaying hypnotically, just for effect. He was a real fire-and-brimstone guy, ranting loudly about how people in the audience were not following the Ten Commandments. I don't know whether he followed the Ten Commandments impeccably himself, but from his belly, I'm guessing that he coveted his neighbour's lunch, if not his wife.
	Wayne Poe and me, in Los Angeles!
	Rebecca and David on the cable car at San Diego Sea World.
	Some kind of manta ray at San Diego Sea World. David is an animal enthusiast (maybe he'll become a zoologist someday) and he was beside himself with excitement at the opportunity to touch one. That's one really nice thing San Diego Sea World has that our local marine park (MarineLand in Ontario) doesn't have: the opportunity to touch some of the animals.
	Dinner with Shamu the Killer Whale.
	This was taken at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, not San Diego Sea World. It's a crocodile (obviously), and once again, David was thrilled.
	Yet another "touch the animals" exhibit, also at Mandalay Bay. Mandalay Bay is nowhere near as expansive as San Diego Sea World, but it does offer a surprisingly large number of aquatic life exhibits.
	David posing next to an exotic fish at Mandalay Bay.
	A swordfish!
	Matthew and David harassing a Rainforest Cafe mascot who was trying to take a rest.
	Yes, they actually started grabbing parts of his costume. At one point they managed to rip off one of his gloves and run away, although he did get it back. It was at that point where I decided we should move on.
	This picture was taken inside the Venetian, where they have a painted sky and a simulated miniature Venetian cityscape complete with waterways and boats.
	This was taken at the Mirage, if I recall correctly.
	David posing in front of one of the animal displays. If I recall correctly, this is where Siegfried and Roy used to perform before the injury that sidelined the show. Now they have a "Secret Garden" exhibit there where they show a lot of the animals that used to participate in the act. It's too bad we never got to see them perform live; we bought a DVD of their magic act and it would have been quite a thing to see in person.
	David hamming it up again.
	Me and the boys in the pool back at the Venetian.
	Can you believe how nice the Venetian's courtyard pool is? I couldn't believe it at first sight either.
	David at Disneyland. If I recall correctly, that's Minnie's house behind him.
	David in Minnie Mouse's house!
	Matthew and David (I think this was Goofy's house).
	Matthew and David at Toonland.
	Beluga whales at SeaWorld.
	David flashing his trademark super-grin at SeaWorld. Given his love of animals, this was his kind of place.
	Becca and the boys on the big front walkway at the beautiful Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas, where we stayed.
	All of us in the front foyer at the Venetian. Honestly, photos just don't do this place justice.
	Rebecca and the boys posing with the Red M&M, at M&M World in Las Vegas!
	The Coke Museum!
	David posing in front of a wall-mounted lizard statue at the MGM Grand in Vegas.
	Now I have a machinegun. HO HO HO ...
	Matthew and David with Winnie the Pooh! I have to say that David's age is perfect for Disneyland. It was great the way his eyes lit up when he saw Winnie the Pooh, and at Universal Studios he saw somebody in a Spiderman suit and he asked wide-eyed "Is that the real Spider-Man?"
	Becca and David at Autopia in Disneyland.
	This is all of us in front of the Hollywood sign. Yes, it's corny, I know.
	Yes, we got one of those cheesy Universal Studios framed photos in front of the big Hulk statue.
	David loves to ham it up for the camera, and this picture taken at the Jaws display is no exception.
	David in one of those cheesy digitally superimposed pictures at the Shark Reef in Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas. Because of the dim lighting in the shark tunnel, this is pretty much the only way to get a decent picture unless you're a real photographer.
	This was one of the pools in the Venezia Tower Courtyard at "The Venetian" Hotel and Casino where we stayed while we were in Las Vegas for our 2004 vacation. The water was so warm in this pool that it felt like taking a bath, and I'm not exaggerating at all.
	This is the sauna in the Venezia Tower Courtyard. As with everything else in the hotel, it was beautifully designed and decorated. I had never seen a hotel that looked anything like this until I went there.
	Part of the courtyard pool area. Honestly, there's just no comparison to any other hotel I've ever stayed at.

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Michael and Rebecca Wong

Photo Album

2004 Vacation