Ted Goes on Summer Vacation! (part 6)

Ted's final stop for his summer vacation was to the beautiful Pismo Beach for the annual Clayton Family Reunion. Tradition dictates that the Clayton family first started visiting Pismo in August to clam the shores. Now we just go and BBQ some huge oysters.

Ted didn't like the idea of getting grilled like these oysters (and other things) but he said "anything for a photo op!"

Ted on the half shell:

Every time cousin Ryan sees Ted he says "you know, I love Ted the Turtle" while slowly grabbing him out of Julie's hand.

This is the only way Ted could hang out with the cool cousins.

A trip to Pismo is not complete without a visit to Old West Cinnamon Rolls, only the best cinnamon rolls this side of the Big Fresno Fair (coming soon!)

Ted posed for a shameless plug while on a walk down the beach. Welcome Pismo Beach Tourists to Ted's Blog!!

Ted chose not to journey into the Pismo Caves, although they looked both challenging and exciting.

Ted did find some cool barnacles though! Doesn't he look right at home?

Ted got to visit Mo's Famous BBQ before he left Pismo.

He even managed to leave without very much of Mo's Sweet Caroline BBQ Sauce on him.

And so ends Ted's Summer Vacation 2011. Stay tuned next week for a special announcement regarding Ted and a new friend he found at the beach!

Ted Goes on Summer Vacaction! (part 5)

Ted's first art related stop was at the "World's Smallest Art Gallery". Truly, the gallery is smaller than a closet and houses rotating exhibits by local artists.

Julie discovered the Panorama setting on her new camera and loves it. Can you find Ted in this panorama shot of the boardwalk and the beach?

Ted paid a whole dollar to get his picture taken with Predator (made out of mechanical parts) so you better enjoy it!

Here is another (more challenging) Find Ted panorama photo in the spread of different sculptures made of engine parts.

Here is Ted in front of a Venice Beach tribute to Starry Night (in spray paint).

And when Ted was driving back home (to TERI's house) the traffic was so bad, he was embarrassed to have his picture taken with it.

Next post: Ted goes to Pismo a year from when he was adopted by Julie and C. Stay tuned!

Ted Goes on Summer Vacaction! (part 4)

Towards the end of the night, Ted started getting a hankering for something sweet. Lo and behold, the Deep Fried Banana and Nutella Crepe came to the rescue. SO GOOD!

Besides the concert itself, tickets to the Weezer concert included free OC Fair admission and a free ride on the La Grande Wheel, the fair's big huge Ferris Wheel. From here, Ted could see the whole fair all lit up.

The next morning, Ted (and family) woke up bright and early (read: 11 a.m. [hey! we're on vacation here!]) to drive from Orange, CA (where TERI's house is) to Venice Beach, CA (the best place to meet crazies and buy cool arts/crafts). Here you can see the ideal traffic situation. We only experienced about 15 minutes (total) of this kind of traffic.

Here is Ted at the beginning of the beautiful Venice Beach Boardwalk.

And here is Ted (and mom Julie) waiting for lunch at the Candle Cafe. C's recommendation: the 1/2 lb South of the Border Burger with extra guac.

After lunch, Ted tried to run away to his home in the waves. After a few unsuccessful tries, a waterlogged little sea turtle returned to mom's warm beach bag for a well deserved nap.

Next: see some of the art from Venice Beach's famous street vendors!

Ted Goes on Summer Vacaction! (part 3)

C (Ted's partner in crime) convinced Julie to ride the OC Fair's famous ski lift ride again (after a quite nerve wrecking ride last year). More, he convinced her to let him hold Ted over the crowd (over 162 feet below) to take a photo. Julie almost had a heart attack FOR Ted, because as you can see, he was quite happy.

Ted (and family) gave in a shelled out $1 a piece (Ted was free) to see the "Giant Florida Gator". However, Ted was only mildly impressed after watching the last half of the latest season of Swamp People on the History Channel. Also, the gator looked quite dead.

Although the fair's livestock exhibition ended a few weeks ago, Ted still got to see some pretty impressive animals. This steer was the "coolest": laying down in the shade and chewing the cud.

The OC Fair features an outdoor and indoor floriculture exhibit, both difficult to find. Ted only found this one, and had to take a photo to document his feat.

The fair also has a section called Centennial Farm much like the California State Fair with life crops growing and examples of farm animals.

And now: ON TO THE MAIN EVENT! Ted really came to the fair to see his favorite band: WEEZER! The show was amazing, although pictures are slim because the camera batteries (Kodak brand -.- ) died. Fear not! Fun was had by all!

Ted Goes on Summer Vacaction! (part 2)

The theme of this year's OC Fair is "Let's Eat!". It must be said the Ted's mother does not condone eating ice, but she had no complaints about the beautiful Ice Museum exhibit. Ted was quite comfortable around this (ice) jellyfish. Because he is a SEA turtle, you see!

And with the angelfish, he was quite at home. Although he thought she was a bit cold.

Ted was super excited to see the Chainsaw Chicks carve up a blizzard right outside the Ice Museum.

Can you guess already what she is carving?

[insert photo of finished ice sculptures here that Julie forgot to take]

These girls chainsaw-ed an angelfish and dolphin out of those ice blocks in 7 minutes. SO IMPRESSIVE! Even more impressive: how patient they were with the crazy girl with a stuffed turtle who wanted a photo with them. Here is the result:

Next post: Ted goes to see Weezer! Stay tuned!



TERI 

Ted Goes on Summer Vacaction!

On Thursday Ted (and family) left home to go on a trip to Costa Mesa, CA and Pismo Beach. But he couldn't make it two hours without breakfast at McDonald's. Here is is at the McFarland Mickey D's getting his egg McMuffin on.

Ted's mom bravely drove through all the L.A. traffic to get Ted safely to the Orange County Fairgrounds for his first stop.

Ted's first photo op came in the form of the fair's cool cow.

And of course, he had to stop for a world famous Old West Cinnamon Roll. Soon Ted will be eating the best cinnamon rolls on the Pacific Coast in Pismo Beach.

While touring the Woodworking building for Ted's grandparents he found a man making "crazy puzzles". They have no flat edges and are painted the same on both sides. This small one took about 5 minutes to complete by Teds cohort, C. The man tells us that these puzzles can be completed then picked up by one of the knobby bits and hung from the wall. Ted was too scared of ruining his good work to try.

The fair's theme this year is "Let's Eat!" and the exhibition building showcased sustainable eating habits and lifestyles. See if you can find Ted in the Fair's "Live Eat Grow" sign!

SPOILERS!: Here he is!

A favorite of the fair, the Russel Brothers Circus. Ted is already excited even before the show starts!

Ted happily poses for pictures even while the show is going on!

Stay tuned for more of Ted's Summer Vacation!