Recovering from the Disney Express pretty much shoots Day One of our three day Disneyland pass. We are nothing, however, if not determined. Those of us who can navigate take in the sights from Paradise Pier—the hotel I chose for the entire group over the Disney Hotel (same price) because it sounds so "resortlike" ...
Turns out Paradise Pier has an incredible view of the gigantic dirt hole that will become California Adventure the following year. Two-year-old Austin wants to stay behind to watch the excavators. Sis-in-law is still recuperating and would probably like to stay behind too. But she's a trooper, so she, Austin, and our brother join us as we climb aboard a tram headed for the Magic Kingdom. "Be sure to hang on to Grandma's wheelchair! Oh no...there it goes!”
"OK, so what shall we do first? I know what everyone will love--It's a Small World.” "No thanks. We're taking Austin to Tom Sawyer Island." Thank goodness sis managed to retrieve the wheelchair—it's propelling our group to the front of the line. And there she is. Sitting like the granny in National Lampoon's Vacation, on top of our boat, cruising along. It's a world of laughter, a world of tears, it's a world of hope and a world of fears. There's so much that we share, da da da, da da da...sigh, this makes it all worthwhile. Wait, she's asleep? Well, anyone who can sleep thru the Disney Express—just be sure to get a photo of her for those scrapbooks.
"OK, so what shall we do first? I know what everyone will love--It's a Small World.” "No thanks. We're taking Austin to Tom Sawyer Island." Thank goodness sis managed to retrieve the wheelchair—it's propelling our group to the front of the line. And there she is. Sitting like the granny in National Lampoon's Vacation, on top of our boat, cruising along. It's a world of laughter, a world of tears, it's a world of hope and a world of fears. There's so much that we share, da da da, da da da...sigh, this makes it all worthwhile. Wait, she's asleep? Well, anyone who can sleep thru the Disney Express—just be sure to get a photo of her for those scrapbooks.
It's a world of...okay, I get where sis-in-law is coming from, I'm never going to be able to get that blankety-blank song out of my head.
Meanwhile on Tom Sawyer's Island...
"Where's Austin?"
"Don't you have him?"
"I thought you did."
"Where did he go?
Oh my god, we've lost our two-year old!"
"What were we thinking. We're on an island. Surrounded by WATER!"
"Waaaaaa", snivel, punch. "Why did you leave me?"
We're supposed to meet up with Uncle Jack at Disneyland, but he doesn't own a cell phone—it's a little like looking for a needle in a haystack. When we don't connect, he insists on making it up to us. Uncle Jack's one of those guys who headed to California as a young man in search of real estate gold. Unfortunately, he hasn't found it yet. In fact, Jack's not a young man anymore, and he's pretty down and out. But he'd never let that stop him from showing us Oregonians a good time.
Jack and a couple of his buddies "rent" a huge van, fifteen of us climb in, and we're off for a tour of what Jack considers LA's hotspots. We make sure to lock the doors as we travel through places that look downright sketchy. We're relieved as he pulls into Knott's Berry Farm to cap the night off with dinner at Mrs. Knott's Kitchen.
Meanwhile on Tom Sawyer's Island...
"Where's Austin?"
"Don't you have him?"
"I thought you did."
"Where did he go?
Oh my god, we've lost our two-year old!"
"What were we thinking. We're on an island. Surrounded by WATER!"
"Waaaaaa", snivel, punch. "Why did you leave me?"
We're supposed to meet up with Uncle Jack at Disneyland, but he doesn't own a cell phone—it's a little like looking for a needle in a haystack. When we don't connect, he insists on making it up to us. Uncle Jack's one of those guys who headed to California as a young man in search of real estate gold. Unfortunately, he hasn't found it yet. In fact, Jack's not a young man anymore, and he's pretty down and out. But he'd never let that stop him from showing us Oregonians a good time.
Jack and a couple of his buddies "rent" a huge van, fifteen of us climb in, and we're off for a tour of what Jack considers LA's hotspots. We make sure to lock the doors as we travel through places that look downright sketchy. We're relieved as he pulls into Knott's Berry Farm to cap the night off with dinner at Mrs. Knott's Kitchen.
We're not sure how long it's been since Andy, Ken and Jack had a good meal, but after they finish their heaping plates of fried chicken, mashed potatoes and green beans, they start in on our leftovers. On our way out, they load up with all the biscuits and jam and butter packets their pockets can hold. We ignore the stares from the other diners. We'll never see them again.
Last day of our Disneyland three day pass. Rain. And I mean buckets of it. But we're from Portland, the land of liquid sunshine. No big deal. We rent yellow ponchos and away we go. There aren't even any lines. No one else wants to be there.
Our trip home is fairly uneventful. Oh, we aren't surprised when my pregnant sister has to run and jump on the accelerating train when she misses the All Aboard call. Or when we discover our private compartment ends up being on the same ventilationally-challenged car we rode down on. Thankfully, Grandma is the only one not to succumb to the stomach bug making the rounds, but I catch her muttering things like, "Why can't we just fly like civilized people?" Now that I think about it, I never did tell her whose scathingly brilliant idea taking the train was...
Our trip home is fairly uneventful. Oh, we aren't surprised when my pregnant sister has to run and jump on the accelerating train when she misses the All Aboard call. Or when we discover our private compartment ends up being on the same ventilationally-challenged car we rode down on. Thankfully, Grandma is the only one not to succumb to the stomach bug making the rounds, but I catch her muttering things like, "Why can't we just fly like civilized people?" Now that I think about it, I never did tell her whose scathingly brilliant idea taking the train was...
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