Metallica Concert - Dec. 20, 2008

One of my favorite bands of all time is Metallica, so of course I had to go to their concert in support of their new album, Death Magnetic. My partner in crime for this particular show was Shawnna's brother, Mike, who has a similar taste in music - gotta love the hard stuff. We took BART to the Oracle Arena (Oakland) and were there as the opening band (The Sword) began their set. The stage was set up in the center of the arena and we were standing in the center of one of the sides of the stage, about 5 people from the front. This ended up being a great spot to see the show.

The Sword played for 30 minutes and then the stage was set up for Lamb of God. We had the perfect vantage point to see the Lamb of God drummer - he's amazing! The sound quality of their set wasn't the best, but they played with a lot of energy and got the crowd into it. Their set lasted about 45 minutes and their setlist included Laid to Rest, Ruin, Now You've Got Something To Die For and Black Label among others. It was the perfect setup for Metallica, but the stage changeover took 45 minutes to complete. By the time Metallica took the stage, the crowd was restless and needed a release.

Metallica gladly obliged with lots of lasers, pyro and of course, their signature sound. Lars' drum kit was on a turntable in the center of the stage which rotated about every 5 songs. James, Kirk and Robert didn't stand in one place very long as they made use of the entire stage. The band really seemed happy to be back "home" and rewarded the audience with a nice performance - the crowd responded in kind. Their setlist was as follows:

1. That Was Just Your Life
2. The End Of The Line
3. Creeping Death
4. For Whom The Bell Tolls
5. One
6. Broken, Beat and Scarred
7. Cyanide
8. Sad But True
9. The Unforgiven
10.All Nightmare Long
11.The Day That Never Comes
12.Master Of Puppets
13.Blackened
14.Nothing Else Matters
15.Enter Sandman
Encore:
16.Last Caress (Misfits cover)
17.Whiplash
18.Seek and Destroy

Metallica played for 2 hours and when their last song started, they released a bunch of black beach balls from the ceiling. I was lucky enough to grab one to bring home to Kaitlyn. I also was fortunate to nab one of James Hetfield's picks when he threw it into the audience. Immediately, a teenager asked if I would sell it to him for $26 (the amount of cash in his pocket). He said that he plays guitar and it would be awesome to play with one of Hetfield's picks. Of course, not wanting to crush this kid's dream, I took his cash and gave him the pick - win-win. I had a fun time, it was a good show (not great, since there were a bunch of songs I wish they would have played instead of all the new stuff - 6 new songs!) and I went home happy and satisfied with my Metallica fix.

Christmas Tree Decorating

We finally got around to decorating our Christmas tree last night. Kaitlyn is now old enough to help decorate. She loves to look at the lights and play with the ornaments. She particularly likes my SportsCenter ornament that plays the theme song from the show and the baby's first Christmas ornament we got last year that plays a lullaby. I don't think we'll put the gifts under the tree, however, as it might be a bit too tempting to open them early.

Disneyland Trip - Dec. 10-13, 2008

There comes a time in every child's life when they get to make their first visit to The Happiest Place on Earth. For Kaitlyn, that time came this week. We packed up the SUV and made the long drive to Disneyland on Wednesday with Grandma and Grandpa Pride following behind. We stopped at Harris Ranch for lunch and arrived at the hotel (Tropicana Inn & Suites) at 5:30pm. After unpacking, we walked through Downtown Disney and ate at ESPN Zone for dinner. We filled our bellies, then it was time to get some sleep before the big day.

On Thursday, we ate breakfast at IHOP and entered the park shortly after it opened at 9am. We took the obligatory photo by the Mickey head made of flowers right inside the entrance, took some more photos in front of the castle, then made our way to Fantasyland. For Kaitlyn's first ride, we chose a Disneyland classic, Dumbo the Flying Elephant. She just looked all around and really seemed to enjoy it. Next, we headed to Mickey's Toontown, rode Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin (she was indifferent), tried to take a picture with Minnie Mouse (she was terrified) and played in Goofy's Playhouse (she loved it). The rest of the day went like this: we rode many rides (even some adult rides, while Grandma Pride watched Kaitlyn), Kaitlyn ran around as often as we would let her, she took an afternoon nap in her stroller in California Adventure, we ate lunch at Rancho del Zocalo Restaurante in Frontierland with our friends Phil, Char & family, ate dinner at Redd Rockett's Pizza Port in Tomorrowland, watched the awesome fireworks show and left the park as it closed at 10pm.

Friday was another big day that started when we entered the park at about 8:45am. We did some rides in Disneyland before eating a late breakfast at Storyteller's Cafe in the Grand Californian. It was a yummy buffet, but we had to watch out for the characters walking around so they wouldn't get to close to Kaitlyn as she seems to have something against adults in costumes. After that, Shawnna and Kaitlyn went back to the room for a nap while the rest of us rode rides and shopped in California Adventure. We met back up for a late lunch at Blue Bayou in New Orleans Square, then continued the fun around Disneyland, watched the Christmas parade, then went back to the room to put Kaitlyn to sleep at about 8pm. Grandma and Grandpa Pride were nice enough to watch Kaitlyn while Shawnna and I went out to a very special dinner at Club 33.

Club 33 is a five star restaurant inside Disneyland above New Orleans Square. There are only 487 members and there is a 14 year waiting list to become a member (and it's EXPENSIVE). Anyway, our friend Phil works for a company with a Corporate Membership and he asked if we'd like to go with him and his family - you know our answer. The experience was amazing and the food was even better. I started with the Baltimore lump crab profiteroles with stone fruit compote, my main course was the filet of chateaubriand with truffle port demi and potato leek puree and creme brulee for dessert. Shawnna started with the day boat sea scallop, her main course was the same as mine and she had the chocolate orange cake for dessert. We dined in the trophy room where the decor was a hunting theme with stuffed animals (not the kind you'd find at the gift shop). I took a video walkthrough of Club 33, but the lighting is very low and might be hard to see everything - I felt like a complete dork taking it, so I'm posting it anyway. Other videos of the club can be found here. We left the club at midnight and walked back to the hotel to get as much sleep as we could before Kaitlyn woke up.

After about 5 hours of sleep, Katilyn woke us up and it was time to get ready for our final day at Disneyland. The adults were tired, but Kaitlyn was well rested and full of energy. We were back at the park when it opened at 8am and continued down the list of rides we wanted to go on with Kaitlyn. We ate lunch at Wine Country Trattoria in California Adventure and finished our trip with a visit to A Bug's Land, did some shopping at World of Disney in Downtown Disney, then headed for home at about 4pm. We hit some traffic driving through L.A., but the rest of the way was smooth sailing. After a brief stop at Carl's Jr. for dinner, we made it home by 10:30pm (Kaitlyn slept a good portion of the way).

For the record, here's the list of rides Kaitlyn went on: Alice in Wonderland, Casey Jr. Circus Train, Dumbo the Flying Elephant, Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, Haunted Mansion, Heimlich's Chew Chew Train, It's a Small World, King Arthur Carrousel, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Peter Pan's Flight, Pinocchio's Daring Journey, Pirates of the Caribbean, Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin, Snow White's Scary Adventures, Storybook Land Canal Boats. Her favorites were It's a Small World and Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage. The ones she liked the least (she needed to be held half way through) were Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean.

Overall, we had a great time, the weather was perfect (mid 70s) and I will certainly remember Kaitlyn's first Disneyland experience even if she won't. Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Pride for helping to take care of Kaitlyn during the trip when we needed a break. Thanks to Phil, Char and family for allowing us to share the Club 33 experience with them - definitely a lifetime memory.

Unicycling Update

Over the last week, I have practiced unicycling for about 5.5 hours. As seen in the video, I'm not completely steady on the unicycle, but I'm on my way to mastering this thing. I can consistently travel about 30 feet which is as far as I can go in the backyard without running into the rose bush. My next step is to leave the safe confines of my backyard for the unforgiving world at large. I feel fairly confident I can remain upright while traveling on flat ground, but have a long way to go before I'm as comfortable as I would be on a bicycle.

If you're wondering what all the noise in the background of the video is, it's Kaitlyn talking on the phone. She loves to hold the phone against her ear and pretend to have a conversation. She also finds other ways to occupy her time while I'm unicycling, such as picking lemons.

Kaitlyn's Christmas Wish List

For those of you who have been asking what Kaitlyn would like for Christmas, I consulted with her and created a wish list that can be found here:

Kaitlyn's Christmas Wish List

In addition to the items on that list, she also would like clothes (size 18M or larger) or cash for her piggy bank.