Tag Archive

5 Hours
150 Miles
No Dinner
4 Mickeys

Tonight turned out to be one heck of an adventure! So, for those of you who have followed my journey this far, thank you, let me share some more details! My husband has been out of town on business since last Friday and will return this Friday night, so this entire Mickey Scavenger Hunt has been done on my own. I think so far, I have driven about 350 miles and put about 15 hours into it. I know I could’ve done a lot less hours, but, I don’t know the area that well and did a lot of driving all over!

I’d like to start off by thanking my boss, Brad – who is awesome! He let me leave work an hour early today to continue my dedicated mission! Let me say, my original plan tonight was simple. Head to Rancho Cucamonga, take one picture at Victoria Gardens and head home. BUT, I found out that the Mickey Statue had not yet arrived in Rancho Cucamonga so it was on to Plan B!

Around 4 p.m., I headed to Los Angeles. I’ve already told you that I am a country girl from Maine and not a fan of highways, definitely not cities. Since I did not have my right arm at home, I had to take on this adventure alone. It started off easy enough. I headed to Long Beach Towne Center where I discovered the Houston Astros Mickey Statue. Awesome, one down! If only, the rest of the night was THAT easy… well, I would NOT have spent 4.5 hours finding 3 more Mickeys or had a story to tell!

Next stop was ESPN Zone. Driving in traffic was insane. I programed my GPS to 1111 Figueroa Street, Los Angeles. When Lola (yes, I named my GPS) said, “You have arrived,” my heart about sank. I was no where near an ESPN Zone. That’s when I realized the word SOUTH. The actual address was 1111 SOUTH Figueroa Street, Los Angeles.  Well, SOUTH was a VERY important word to Lola, because it turns out, I am now 20 miles away from the actual ESPN Zone.

When I finally got there, I was like a little fish in a big ocean. I ended up on the wrong level and asked who I thought to be a Janitor for directions. It turns out he was just a bum, but still helpful and pointed out ESPN Zone. New York Yankees Mickey – got’cha! I am ready to leave and then realize I need to bring my parking ticket to a little machine before I can leave the garage. Of course my parking ticket is in my car, so I get my ticket from the car, go to the little machine, and off I go, 2nd Mickey of the night – check!

Okay, so this is where I start to panic. My iPhone is in the red zone which means it is about to die. The GPS in my car is tempermental and takes me where I want to go when it feels like it. I’m alone and there is no way I am going to drive around without a phone. I usually have my phone charger in my car, but I gave it to my husband to take on his trip to charge his iPod. I drove around for what seemed like forever trying to find an AT&T store so I could purchase a new car charger. I finally ended up at La Brea Shopping Avenue which was really cool! After $25 and an hour lost, I had my cell phone back! I also saw a real-life prostitute on the street corner at one of the traffic lights I was stopped at… A whole lot of firsts tonight!

Next stop for me was The Music Center. I ended up getting on a highway that was completely jam packed from an accident. I ended up calling my husband, who was in NY, and he guided me through back roads from a sig alert site on his computer. So, here I am a “non-city” girl driving down back streets to avoid traffic. You must ask yourself… Who is this girl… really?

I finally end up at the Music Center where I had to talk the parking attendant into letting me park for 5 minutes so I can just get a picture of the statue. He obviously has no idea what I am talking about and does not speak much English, but finally, he agrees. I run up to the LA Dodgers statue and I see two girls sitting at a table. I walk up to them and ask politely if one of them would mind taking my picture and one girl agrees! I was lucky because The Music Center was closed, so I am glad I found someone there to take the picture.

I had one more stop on my agenda and that was in Santa Monica. I drove another 15-20 minutes down some highway… and eventually found the Holiday Inn. I pulled up to the valet, who was MIA, parked my car and ran inside. There was NO one in sight in the hotel. I asked the front desk clerk if he would mind taking my picture with the Mickey. He told me he was not allowed to leave the desk but he would call the Valet guy. The Valet guy took my picture with the Chicago White Sox Mickey and FINALLY, I was ready to go home!

After about a 45 minute drive back to the OC, I arrived home, safe and sound, at 9:00 p.m. Dinner tonight – Chef boyardee!

Going to the All Star Game is definitely on my bucket list… if I do not make it, I may die trying!  What a long strange trip it has been so far… 21 down, 15 to go… and HERE is the UPDATED list!

1. All-Star Game Mickey- Anaheim City Hall
2. All-Star Game Mickey- Anaheim Convention Center
3. American League Mickey – Hilton Anaheim
4. National League Mickey – Anaheim Marriott
5. Minnesota Twins Mickey- Anaheim GardenWalk
6. Anaheim Angels Mickey- Angel Stadium
7. Atlanta Braves Mickey- Disney Esplanade
8. Florida Marlins Mickey- Downtown Disney – ESPN Zone
9. Oakland Athletics Mickey – Muzeo
10. San Diego Padres Mickey – South Coast Plaza
11. Detroit Tigers Mickey – Crown Plaza Anaheim
12. New York Mets Mickey – Irvine Spectrum Center
13. Colorado Rockies Mickey – The Market Place
14. Boston Red Sox Mickey – Discovery Science Center
15. Arizona Diamondbacks Mickey – The District at Tustin Legacy
16. Chicago Cubs Mickey – Orange County Zoo
17. Milwaukee Brewers Mickey – The Strand in HB
18. Houston Astros Mickey – Long Beach Towne Center
19. New York Yankees Mickey – ESPN Zone at L.A. Live
20. Los Angeles Dodgers Mickey – The Music Center
21. Chicago White Sox Mickey – Holiday Inn – Santa Monica

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