So many things happened this month, and I posted consistently on Instagram Stories since it is easy to write & post! However, for AntSolTravel.com, I had the need to write huge articles, however, it would pushed to the side for other things due to the length & quality that I wanted it to be. I should really just post it, so there is a catch-up from my October! Here is the summary for October starting after Oogie Boogie Bash!
The Comeback Quacks: Anaheim Ducks
The Anaheim Ducks are having a huge start to their season! As of November 2nd, they are 6-4 after 10 games! They are certainly a much different team from where they tanked last season with 23-47, where we expected a loss each game, and it would be a surprise that they would win & post the “This Duck is Happy” meme like below. The Ducks this year are much different than last year! With overtime nailbiters vs. the Arizona Coyotes, last-second goal winners during regulation at the Pittsburgh Penguins, their draft pick Leo Carlsson, and even a fired-up former minor league hockey coach, Greg Cronin, who was even thrown out of the game for “unsportsmanlike conduct“. Let’s keep the wins coming!
OC Vibe is Runes the Vibe for Cars (The Way It Should Be): OC Vibe Construction at Honda Center & ARTIC
Henry Samueli, the co-founder of Broadcom, also owns the Anaheim Ducks & Honda Center with huge swaths of parking for event attendees’ convenience. However, the city of Anaheim wanted to transform the Platinum Park area, which includes the Honda Center to redevelop into a mixed-use area with event spaces, hotels, restaurants, and more that would complement the Honda Center & the proximity to the Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center. This gave way to the OCV!be.
Due to the car-centric nature of suburban California, cars are driven in most cases to most destinations, including Honda Center. Below is the traffic flow that I observed after leaving opening night for the Anaheim Ducks. The first phase of parking closures affected the lots colored in gold, fans coming in from Katella Avenue on the Honda Center side parking lots, or parking at the ARTIC parking lots. Due to the lot closures, Honda Center day of event staff park at Angel Stadium, however, no one is monitoring, so event attendees just roll on through. Due to the construction closures, the lot next to the Santa Ana River is only accessible via Ball Road, which was actually the easiest to enter & exit. However, everyone else had a bad time trying to get back on to Katella & Cerritos.
If you are staying in the Anaheim Resort, you don’t want to deal with driving in stopped traffic, you either don’t have a car with you, or you want to pay $20 to park? You can take the Anaheim Resort Transportation buses to the ARTIC for $6 per person for a full day pass from most resort area hotels with their app, A-Way We Go, and use the On Demand function. You can also take the OC Bus line 50 down Katella Avenue to the ARTIC for $2.50 per person per way via cash or $2 with the OC Bus app.
AntSol Travel Transit Adventures!
Who needs a car when you can go by transit! Unfortunately, Southern California is too car-centric to care too much about taking the train, bus, & bike as you can see from above. That is why I am hoping that my content will help change people’s minds about transit. Most of my adventures are solo endeavors since my coworkers have schedules all over the place to do things after work, and my family would much rather drive to places when we are all together. Here are a couple of solo transit adventures from last month!
Clean Air Day: October 4, 2023
The California Coalition for Clean Air had its California Clean Air Day back on October 4, 2023. In most things we do, it contributes to air pollution, but we can lessen our pollution by changing out building & vehicle air filters, and taking transits. They also suggest going vegan, however, I am not willing to do that unless you count eating carbohydrates as going vegan, which I did a lot that day. The one thing that I happily did was take transit that day, in which transit was free for many public transportation agencies that day!
I wanted to go on a trip to see how transit-connected the Southern California Missions are, first was Mission San Juan Capistrano, which is a couple blocks from the train station. Mission San Luis Rey in Oceanside was on my list, It is five miles from the Oceanside Transportation Center, which is perfect for taking Metrolink to Oceanside, jogging to & going around the Mission, taking NCTD Breeze bus & Sprinter train back to Oceanside, and Metrolink back to Anaheim. If you don’t want to jog five miles like regular people, you can take the NCTD Breeze 303 to Douglas Drive & El Camino Real, and walk a couple blocks to the Mission.
For me, it was a planned one-off trip, and for many people, was another work day that they did not need to pay to take transit to work. Some people decided to take transit a try, and some, they want to take transit for the sake of taking it. The latter two have me worried that if you did not plan your schedule correctly, or even don’t do any research, then you could be stuck at your point of origin or destination & not able to return for a while. Let’s see how things go with the video below!
I Bought A Used Mountain Bike…and It Had a Flat.
I bought a used mountain bike from one of my coworkers, it was in good shape from his claim & the initial test ride. However, when I took it for an adventure a few days later, I discovered a tire leak. I thought repumping it would help, but air leaked over time. I took the OC Bus line 54 by biking to Orange train depot and took the bus to Santiago Canyon College, which is just outside of Irvine Regional Park to test the bike there. However, when we arrived, the front tire still kept deflating, so I decided to bike downhill to REI in Tustin, about seven miles. Thankfully, the tire did not burst. At REI, the technician said that the tube in the tire was shredded up. As an REI member, the labor & parts are free! He got it repaired and ready to roll in twenty minutes. Then I went to In-N-Out Burger for lunch. After that, there was still plenty of time to get to Irvine Metrolink instead of going around Irvine Regional Park. Eight miles later, I made it to Irvine! Then waited twenty minutes before the OC 609 took me back to Anaheim.
Around Orange County in October
OC Auto Show:
GardenWalk During Halloween Was Unimpressive
Events in Orange County on Halloween Weekend:
At the OC Fairgrounds & Event Center in Costa Mesa, they will host the OC Japan Fair with plenty of food, vendors, entertainment, and even a cosplay contest. It was held from October 27th to 29th. Admission is $10 per adult and parking is actually $12.
In Orange, the neighborhoods east of Chapman University hosted a Halloween house Decorating contest with many spooky designs. Instagram Reel by ocfeed.
On Saturday, the city of Anaheim hosted a fall festival & Halloween parade in downtown Anaheim!
If golf is more your thing, Stadium Links hosted a golf driving range at Angel Stadium last weekend.
Did my family and I do any of that on Halloween weekend? Nope, we went to San Diego that weekend.
Meteorology & Astronomy
The Great American Eclipse of 2023
The solar eclipse of October 14, 2023, was an early morning spectacle starting at 8 a.m. with the moon covering 70% of the sun according to NASA. It was a slower Saturday at the hotel, so my coworkers & I took a moment to take pictures of the sun with eye protection. Cresants in the lens & reflections show how much the sun is covered.
The Santa Ana Winds
The Santa Ana winds are leaving me breathless… for my inhaler! The Santa Ana Winds are an autumn phenomenon with winds going from the Nevada Great Basin to Southern California. This blows plenty of dust, dirt, and pollen, worsening allergies. It also decreases humidity & increases wind speed, putting SoCal at greater risk of wildfire. Unfortunately, it had triggered the Highland Fire in Riverside County.
Coming Soon to AntSolTravel.com!: Disneyland Holidays & Treehouses!
With October over, everyone, including Disneyland is taking down the Halloween decorations & immediately putting up the holiday decorations!
Starting November 10th to January 4th, It’s a Small World gets a holiday overlay with Its a Small World Holiday, where animatronic children sing “Jingle Bells” & Deck the Halls” in their native language. The Festival of Holidays at California Adventure is a cornucopia of seasonal food, entertainers, and activities of the winter holidays. Check out their food & beverage list for this year! From September to January 4th, the Haunted Mansion is transformed into the “Nightmare Before Christmas” movie as “Haunted Mansion Holiday” where Halloweentown’s Pumpkin King, Jack Skellington, takes on the role of Santa Claus and tries to spread Christmas cheer with Halloween twist.
Reopening on November 10th is the Adventureland Treehouse, which used to be the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse (1962-1999) & Tarzan (1999-2021). The Adventureland Treehouse is inspired by the Swiss Family Robinson movie (1960), based on the 1812 novel, where a father, mother, and three sons escape the reign of Napoleon & escaped to New Guinea. However, they were shipwrecked on a deserted island and constructed a treehouse for shelter.
In the Adventureland Treehouse, the story is changed a bit to have a sister & two brothers instead of three sons. Each family member has a hobby that they are pursuing while stranded on the island, the father is for art, the mother is for music, the sons are for biology, and the daughter is for astronomy.
On November 9th, Disneyland will have a Magic Key holder preview for the Adventureland Treehouse. I am working that day, I will make it a postwork day trip to Disneyland for the preview.
Mountain Biking OC: Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park
With my mountain bike in a more operational shape & now knowing how to better handle the bike after my first bike ride, I think I am ready to try Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park! Managed by OC Parks, the park is over 4,500 acres of protected wilderness, I have been to the park once before last year, and it has plenty of wide trails and mountain bikers on the trails. So that will be part of my next adventure!
Wow, I had a packed October & soon packed November! I did so many things that I had to keep pushing making bigger blogs off to the side, hence this update. At least I publish most things via Instagram Stories so I can reference them later like I am now, even if is not as a post. With Thanksgiving being my website’s first birthday, I am going to make sure to post on here more consistently, even if not, do more overall summaries like this. Thank you for reading!
AntSol Travel 
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