California Trip, Day 12

7:55 AM - A fairly decent sleep in, but I notice that Tracey isn't in bed; apparently she had another lousy sleep so ended up on the couch for a few hours so as to not keep me up. Probably wouldn't have mattered, I was dead to the world.

8:00 AM - I hear Tracey's alarm go off and she's up to begin "the process". We have a big day ahead of us today, which is our eighth wedding anniversary!

10:00 AM - We are off, right on schedule, to Universal Studios. Just planning a short day here, a few hours, to hit the biggest attractions. It's not particulaly busy today so we are able to tackle The Mummy, Jurassic Park and the Simpsons Ride in about an hour and a half; and have lunch, as well.

2:15 PM - Leaving the park on the way back to DCA for the last time this trip. We are very excited for our dinner plans at the brand new flagship restaurant of the park, Carthay Circle Restaurant.

3:15 PM - We arrive at the park and have to park in the regular parking area.....I admit to feeling a little dirty getting on the tram with all the scumba.....er......"regular people".......but that's what happens when you aren't staying at a Disney hotel (anymore). I will have to deal.

Into the park and am once again overwhelmed with how fantastic the new entrance to this park has become. It is truly like being transported back in time. Everything that was wrong with DCA, the lack of identity, has been fixed, and this park has become nearly as special as the one across the courtyard.

We hit Soarin' over California again, our last ride of the trip, snap a few pictures and then head into the restaurant for dinner.

5:30 PM - We walk into the Carthay Circle Restaurant.

Wow.

All I can say is.....go. This has instantly become the "must do" place to eat at this resort. We order two appetizers: Biscuits filled with cheese, bacon and jalapeno, as well as their special soup, which was roasted corn and vegetables in a tomato broth. Both were absolutely wonderful. The soup was so good I was actually tempted to cancel my entree and have more soup.

I'm glad I didn't do that.

For my main course, I ordered quail, stuffed with peaches. Because, when you think quail, you automatically think peaches, right??

Well, if I didn't before, I do now. Mouthwateringly delicious. Just the right contrast of sweet with the roasted bird. Unreal.

Tracey has a pork pot roast, which was absolutely the most tender pork either of us have ever seen. Another fantastic dish.

Add to that a terrific bottle of Gewurtztraminer, and that was a fantastic dinner! And quite reasonable too, $125 including tip (with my 15% discount). Not bad at all. Will definitely be back!

After dinner a little more shopping, and then it's time to depart.

7:50 PM - It's always easy to tell when the Happiest Place on Earth becomes the saddest.....this trip, it was 7:50 PM on Tuesday, as we left the park (and the Disneyland resort) for the last time. Tracey remarks that this might have been our best Disney trip ever, and it's hard to argue with her.

9:10 PM - Back at the resort and both of us are heading to bed, it was a great (but long) day and we are both tired. Tomorrow is our last "resort" day, and we are planning a little trip to the beach and not much else!

If this trip was over and we were coming home tomorrow, I know that we would both be completely satisfied....but it's far from over, after tomorrow's very relaxing day, we have a fantastic day at the Safari Park for Thursday!