All Good Things Must Come to an End

It was bound to happen eventually…that Mama and I would have to leave Disneyland and get on with our lives. We sat in the lobby of the hotel to contemplate such horrible ideas.

And then, our ride showed up. And we had to leave.

We dropped Mom off at the John Wayne Orange County terminal, then headed to Atlantic to pick up Gladys.

This little guy is a Citation Mustang.

This is the Citation X (the old version), which was the fastest corporate jet in the market for a few years. Supposedly, their new version, the Ten, is once again the fastest.

Why don’t we just break the sound barrier with corporate aviation and get it over with! We are getting so close! I think the new Ten goes 0.95 Mach! Sheesh.

There were lots of big, beautiful, and expensive airplanes on the ramp today. Getting Gladys ready for our flight back to Bremerton was lots of fun because of all this eye candy.

Good morning, Gladys! We would have been here an hour earlier, but it literally took us eighty minutes to travel the twelve miles from the hotel. Man, I hate California traffic.

I would just have to live at Disneyland to make this work.

As we taxied to the runway for takeoff, we passed the airline terminal. I fly commercially so rarely (thank goodness!), but I am a fan of Southwest Airlines.

Orange County only has one runway, surprisingly. So it was a long taxi to get from one end of the airport, where we had parked for our three-day stay, to the beginning of the runway for departure towards the west.

We finally got our IFR release and taxied onto the runway. Because of the single runway here, you have to be ready to go so that no giant airliner behind you ever has to go-around and try again.

We were ready. And Gladys is always ready.

As you can see, we departed Runway 19R. And, as you can see, Orange County tower is microscopic.

Window glares can be so annoying, but this could have been an awesome shot of the Los Angeles beaches! I like that we can see an inland harbor, too, no-doubt full of lots of expensive and massive yachts.

Hubby and I park our massive yacht somewhere similar to this…

Goodbye, Southern California! I am sure that I will see you again really soon. I just wish that I could wear Mickey Mouse ears when doing it. I don’t know when I will get to go back to Disneyland, but I already know that it will be too long.

I love this shot of downtown Los Angeles. Talk about a concrete jungle!

It was a nice, uneventful flight home to Bremerton. I have been here so much this past seven months that it feels like a second home! And I’m actually OK with that.

The usual Seattle overcast layer greeted us as we descended into Bremerton today. After such perfect weather in California, it was nice to see something so cloudy!

And here we are, underneath the layer of clouds, to land at Bremerton. Because of flying schedules, we are actually leaving Gladys here for about four days while we commercial home from Seattle-Tacoma.

It was a terrible experience riding home on US ScAirways. I will tell you how awful on Monday.

Have a great weekend! I am off to explore one of my favorite cities, New York!

Man, I love my job…

California Adventure – Part II

We are into the second half of my second day at the Disneyland Resort with my Mama. It has been a blast so far. At the very end of this post, there are links to read about all of our fun.

Let’s get some more California Adventure in our system, huh?

As previously mentioned, California Soarin’ was definitely my favorite ride in the park. We were in the middle and up front every time, so I got an incredible view as we floated along through various gorgeous California landmarks.

I love how they even add smell to the features of the ride. I felt like I was soaring through the forest and the orange groves! So cool! My Mom kept saying that I would love it, and she was right.

Here we were about to board our second flight. We ended up riding three times today. Once with no lines in the morning, and twice more with a Fast Pass.

With some Soarin’ Fast Passes in our pockets, we decided to head over to Disneyland to grab some fun Fast Passes there. Also, we had some receipts that gave us nice discounts if we shopped before noon, and Mama wanted to grab some souvenirs for our wonderful trip.

So, pretty much, we headed back to Disneyland to do some shopping! Yet another perk to staying at the Grand California Hotel? They dropped everything off at the hotel for us so we had nothing to carry for the rest of the day.

It’s amazing how much more tired we were today. After being on our feet constantly yesterday from 7:00 AM to almost midnight and then being up-and-at-‘em at 5:50 AM, we were both feeling it today. We were still having the time of our lives, but we found ways to do things while sitting down, too.

Like taking the train to New Orleans Square instead of walking. Our feet appreciated the concern. Here we are waiting for the next train to arrive.

Mom had seen some great Mickey Mouse ears in a store near Splash Mountain, so we headed there first. She tried this on, and we died. And then we bought them! And not just because she found out that they had just come out that day!

You should have seen the jealous admiring looks she got for the rest of the day. It was so fun! Almost like I was with a celebrity, and all because of Dumbo!

So, with Dumbo Ears in tow, we headed to grab a quick bite to eat. I know, we just ate. But we are here to enjoy ourselves, thank you very much. And that breakfast burrito was hours ago, so there.

The crazy thing is that I wasn’t hungry for lunch yet (I know, no one believes me when I tell them that)…just thirsty. So while Mom enjoyed her made-from-scratch hand-dipped corn dog, I enjoyed a water and a frozen soft strawberry lemonade.

 

And we learned a very valuable lesson! Don’t stagger eating times! Either you both eat, or neither one of you eats. We were off on our hunger for the rest of the day. I was ready to eat, and she was still full. Or she was hungry and I wasn’t quite yet.

Our motto next time? Eat constantly. Then we forgo this entire timing mess!

Mom managed to find the perfect bench for our noon meal. It was right on Main Street where every single person in the park was forced to walk past us. We both agree that this was one of our favorite moments from our entire trip…people-watching in the most magical place on earth.

It was fun to just relax with someone who enjoyed things no matter what we were doing. I think I would have felt guilty sitting with anyone else. But she enjoyed the resting time, too. And, of course, we had good food to enjoy whilst watching lots of people walk by.

So we finished some shopping and sent our things back to the room. And then, with some Fast Passes in our hot and sweaty little hands, we headed back to California Adventure to have some more fun.

Man, I can’t get over how cool those ears are! I wanted her to wear them on the airliner home, but I think she opted not to do in in fear of her life. When leaving Anaheim, someone is bound to steal such beautiful ears on an airplane!

She is always so modest and simply didn’t want to look better than everyone else.

 

Back in California Adventure, we stopped to enjoy the 3D Muppet Vision movie. It was really cute. The entire theater plays a part by the end of it.

 

And then we enjoyed the Monsters, Inc. ride. I really enjoy the movie, so the ride was an enjoyable thing as well.

Then we did the typical tourist thing by getting our picture taken in front of the fake backdrop. Yep, we’re still smiling!

We waited in line for almost an hour to ensure good seats to the Aladdin show. I am glad that we waited but wish we could have waited on a chair! Our legs and feet were still protesting at this point. The theater is beautiful.

No one was behind us to enjoy the Dumbo ears from the back!

After the wonderful show, we headed over the Pacific Wharf Café. Now I was hungry, and Mama wasn’t.

But, like the champ that she is, she agreed to eat just a little bite with me.

 

I am a bread-aholic, so I knew as soon as I heard about them that I had to get a famous bread bowl in me at some point during this trip. Mom went with her usual, the Shrimp Louie. I dry-heaved when she ordered it but still managed to choke down my cheesy broccoli soup.

Look, Ma! I’m eating my veggies!

I love this view of California Adventure. I see this as a lot of watery real estate that could be developed into future rides. I hope they do it.

We decided to burn off some calories take a leisurely stroll through Paradise Pier once again. Here is the California Screamin’ roller coaster, yet again. Man, it was fun!

And we both admired this twisty Mickey’s Fun Wheel from a distance. I know that I brought the right person along when she also had no desire to ride this beast, either!

This is another favorite picture from our entire trip. I love our shadows on Paradise Pier, with Mom’s Dumbo Mickey Mouse ears taking center stage. It still cracks me up!

And then, in a series of misfortunate pictures, we had a blast. I love these three photos because I feel like they capture exactly how much fun we had together during our trip.

I asked her to open her eyes for at least one of the shots facing the bright sun. Who picked this direction, anyway?! (me)

So she gave me her best serious face with eyes open. Man, I love this woman.

This is the Grizzly River Run, which we also opted to not ride due to an intense desire to not get wet for the rest of the evening.

Of course, Splash Mountain is excluded from this restriction.

Here is Mom next to the giant bear where we got our Fast Pass tickets for later this evening to the California Adventure laser light show, World of Color.

We gave our nice tickets to a nice couple on The Pirates of the Caribbean ride several hours later when we both realized that standing around for a few hours, only to stand around for a light show, just wasn’t in our cards for the evening.

Our feet ended up making lots of executive decisions towards the end of the night.

Time to head back to Disneyland to live out some of our Fast Passes. Early this morning, before our mad shopping spree, we grabbed Indiana Jones Fast Passes. So now it was time to use them and walk to the front of the line, yet again.

And, since we were oh-so-close, we went to The Haunted Mansion again. Because three times simply isn’t enough.

And then we went back to this place to use some more Fast Passes. Man, we are smart cookies. No lines today, even with the big crowds of a Friday!

Hmmm, a cookie sounds pretty good right about now! Never mind…

We were on Splash Mountain with two girls who had never been before. How is that even possible?

So, like the mature adults that we both are, my Mama and I proceeded to ask them if they had their life jackets handy, etc. It was awesome to get them so scared excited for the big drop. They both thought they were about to die, so I guess we did our job?

And then, a nice evening stroll next to the water where lights were being extended for the evening’s Fantasmic show. We saw it last night, when my camera battery decided to pass out.

At this point, we were both feeling a little sappy because our wonderful trip was winding down. So we walked to Main Street for some nighttime pictures. The crowd was getting ready for the fireworks show.

We even tried to sneak over to Fantasyland for one last hurrah on Peter Pan. But, no luck. It was already closed in anticipation of the fireworks. It would have been great to begin and end our two days on the same ride!

We had enjoyed the fireworks just the evening before, so we took advantage of the empty building and visited the Hall of Presidents in Liberty Square. Mom had never seen the animatronic Abraham Lincoln presentation, and we were both game for yet another chance to rest our wearied feet. I saw it back in the day, but they’ve certainly improved on Mr. Abe himself.

While waiting for the next show, we enjoyed some of the displays in the lobby. I love seeing Splash Mountain from this perspective, though it’s even better in person. In a log riding through it.

I found this picture for Mama of her favorite ride. This is a painting of Peter Pan. Can you see Captain Hook? And Mr. Smee? Check out the Mickey Mouse ear balloons. And the Matterhorn in the background!

I love this.

We suckered the lobby attendant into taking our picture with President Lincoln. We were the only ones in the presentation.

He is one of the most technologically-advanced animatronics in the world. Sometimes, it was hard to remember that he was a machine and not a real person! Very well done!

Then, since we had to go out with a bang and Peter Pan was out, we opted to get a Ghirardelli Hot Fudge Sundae in Pacific Wharf in California Adventure.

Hey, it was on the way to our hotel! Why not?!

Mom had never experienced one of these beauties in person. I have in San Francisco, but it tasted better as I ate it in the most magical place on earth with one of my favorite people on earth. It really was the perfect way to end the perfect two days that we had together at the Disneyland Resort.

As a finale, I just want to thank this wonderful man who made so much magic possible. Did you know that Walt Disney was fired from his first job because he wasn’t creative enough? I can’t even fathom how much happiness this man has brought to so many people. I know that he made me and my Mama pretty happy.

I can honestly say that this was the best two-day trip that I’ve ever been on. It was an unbelievable treat to be there with my Mama, and I’m so blessed to have her.

Thanks for going, Mom. I love you!

In case you missed out, you can read all about our awesome Disneyland trip!

Downtown Disney with my Mama
Magical Disneyland – Part I
Magical Disneyland – Part II
Disneyland Parade
California Adventure – Part I