Lazy Sunday

Today was spent just lazing around... I unpacked, did a little laundry and just loved on my boys. I missed them a ton and I think by the reception I got, they missed me too. It's nice to be back. For whatever reason, my house looks bigger and the little things that bugged me about it, just didn't matter when I got home. I am just happy to have a comfortable home to live in, in a beautiful, clean city.

Speaking of appreciating my home... can I just tell you that my car, while it is not sporty or fun or even real nice to look at, got 42.666 miles to the gallon? I spent less than $120 on fuel for this trip (the average gallon was like $3) and my last fill up was in Willard so I still have a full tank... that I can appreciate!

Homeward Bound

Well, today was the long, long drive back to Utah. Actually, it didn't really seem to take that long at all. We made it in just over 11 hours and I only had to drink 1 Red Bull. Jill wrote the whole time while I listened to music. We pondered "What Would You Do?" questions my brother had posted in a recent blog and just enjoyed sitting on our butts.

I have to say, there is no place like Las Vegas and there is no place like Disneyland. Jill thought it was funny that we were going to be in "Sin City" and in "The Happiest Place on Earth" in the same trip. I would rather spend my time in Disneyland. If I won a huge amount of money in Vegas, I would take my entire family to Disneyland.

Matt... I couldn't find you an Ariel shirt. I asked at each shop we went into and was always led to the little girl's section. They had the cutest jammies, but I didn't think you would fit into them. One guy I asked said, "We don't carry any shirts for men, but let me show you one of the BEST pictures I have ever seen of Ariel." He then proceeded to the books, grabbed a princess book and then said, "If you turn to page 85... doesn't she just look retro and trendy?" WOW... I took a picture just for you.

Here is a collection of our other photos...

World of Color

California Adventure premiered their new "World of Color" light show tonight. This was unforgettable... Water, color, lasers, music... WOW!

Our ticket time was for 11:15 pm and we were supposed to be in line an hour early. The temptation to leave the line was huge, we had whiners behind us (a sad story of food, love and denial) and a bunch of obnoxious, tired kids in front. To add to the madness, we were in line under the wild rapids attraction and had to listen to the clack of chains and the repetitive oooga, wampa, ooga wampa sound it made. Torture, but so worth the wait!

Just so you know the photos and video I took did not do this justice so I pulled a section off of You Tube if you want to see it. This was the best part of the show...

Post

Greetings from Disneyland... I have been blogging, I just haven't had the ability to use the internet. When I get back on Saturday, I will post Tuesday thru Friday.

We are having fun.

Rides, rides and more rides...

I can't say there are any L-A-M-E rides or attractions at Disney or California Adventure. There are some that I like better than others, but everything is entertaining... Here are my favorites in no particular order. I am not going to go into too much detail in case you have never been there, but plan to go someday.

DISNEYLAND

Haunted Mansion

This is incredible for its graphics. Ghosts everywhere... even one sitting with you!

Indiana Jones

This is so fun! As you can see, even standing in line for 45 minutes is entertaining because your surroundings are interesting to look at. I love being tossed around in the jeep AND I love that Indiana makes a few special appearances... This is Jill's favorite.

Space Mountain

Nothing like a roller coaster in the dark.


Yes, that is us in the back...

We only rode this once, but not for lack of trying. We fast passed it, but it was out of order when we came back. Then we stood in line for nearly 45 minutes on our last night, about missed the fireworks, and then to our dismay, it went out of order when we were about to enter it! My theory is this: when people puke at high speed, in the dark, in a very closed space, it takes a lot of time *gag* to clean up the mess.

Star Wars Jedi Training Academy

Jill and I loved watching this! Young kids given the opportunity to train with a Jedi and then fight Darth Vader or Darth Maul.


Some take this responsibility very seriously. One kid forced back 2 stormtroopers (who totally went with it) without being prompted by the trainer.



This is awesome and I am jealous it is only for kids! So entertaining to watch!


CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE

Tower of Terror

WOW! This ride is intense every time. Great graphics and of course a great rush. Even on our umpteenth time, I had to grip my seat!

Soaring Over California

This for me is a serious trip. I don't know what it is that makes me want to leap out of my seat, but I really have to restrain from doing so. Incredible. Jill hates this ride but humored me anyway. In the end, I think she at least enjoyed watching me freak out.

California Screamer

The smoothest roller coaster in the world! It's fun to be launched up the initial climb and the g-force in the loop was like none other.

People are People

Day Three

Disneyland is a great place to people watch. When Jill and I would get tired, we would just plant our butts on a bench and take in the human landscape.

One family of note:

Seriously, what man in his right mind would agree to wear a shirt like that? Aww, just one that really, really loves his woman… Not that the shirt by itself would have been that bad, but combined with his wife's head hanky... major fashion faux pas. This family of six got many, many looks and I heard through the grapevine (ride line) that she made these outfits herself for just $250! See what you learn when you pay attention?

Another thing that I like to do is talk to our shuttle drivers and the people riding to and from the park with us. I think it's interesting to find out where they live and what brings them to California. I don't know where this comes from because typically I am pretty shy around people... Jill HATES it when I talk to people, which of course makes it all the more fun! Sorry, she wouldn't take a picture of me with Randy or Lana...

Anaheim

Day Two

I am so dang tired. Seriously, I didn't get to sleep until 3 am. I hurried and got ready and was so glad to get off the 32nd floor! We ate at a breakfast buffet - while we both don't particularly care for buffets, you have to do at least one while in Vegas. We picked the boys up a T-shirt and loaded up the car.

We were in the tower to the right of the red one, 2 floor from the top. 2 of the 4 walls were floor to ceiling windows.

The drive to Anaheim was smooth. California drivers know what they are doing and the freeway was well marked. I was cursing Mapquest for having me get off the freeway too soon, but realized once we got to the hotel, there were 2 exits with the same name marked a and b… I should have taken b!

The temp was about 74 and overcast. In fact, when we were in the park it started to sprinkle a bit. We went to eat at Joe's Tortillas and then went on some of our favorite rides: the Haunted Mansion, Indiana Jones and Winnie the Pooh. After, we grabbed a couple of treats and headed back to the hotel.

Can you spot Mickey Mouse?

My little graduate!

We are staying at the Sheraton Garden Grove. Unfortunately, I will have to post all my blogs when I get back (I think it should still count as daily blogging) because they don't have free internet service. They do however, have a shuttle service to the park (we are about 2 miles away) that runs every 30 minutes.

I am looking forward to a good night's sleep and a fun day tomorrow.