The Happiest Place on Earth!

Happy Birthday to the U.S. of A. A special thank you to all who have served & continue to serve - my Father (K.I.A. - Vietnam, 1970) my Dad (Career Officer of 24 years), and several students, so that we may enjoy independence. How fun that my family & I got to celebrate at the Happiest Place on Earth - Disneyland! We enjoyed a fabulous fireworks show at the end of the evening. It's such a treat since 4th of July in Alaska doesn't allow for such a spectacular display of fireworks due to the sun still shining late into the evening. It doesn't matter that we are now on the downswing of daylight hours - it's still light. Too light for fireworks.

Despite the expense and the amazing crowds - Disneyland was fun. Orion met Mickey as soon as we walked into the park. Iain was too shy (unbelievable) to stand with him for a photo. First stop: Star Tours. The boys loved it & were convinced for a moment that we were really traveling into outer space. A bit jerky, but it was fun & more importantly, the line was manageable with two small boys.

The boys have been looking forward to "Jedi Training" since they heard about it. Children are chosen randomly from the crowd to participate. Orion was one of the chosen. Iain was a bit disappointed, but he helped protect the crowd from Darth Vader & the Storm Troopers using his "Force Power". Orion had the chance to fight Darth Vader, who proclaimed "The Force is Strong With This One." Orion was victorious - all is safe with the world.

We continued our 1st day's visit with the all time favorites: Tea Cups (not Wade -too spinny); Dumbo's Flight, Pinnochio's Adventure, and of course: It's a Small World. That last one was worth the price of admission as it provided a relaxing ride in AIR CONDITIONING. As Lisa & I said last year during our Heat Wave Tour of Europe "God Bless the Person (man most likely) who invented air conditioning!"

Day two at the Magical Kingdom started at California Adventure Land. The first ride was "Rushin' River" - something akin to Splash Mountain, but in rafting type vehicles instead of a log. Fun, Fun, Fun! The warning tells you that you MAY get wet. Yeah - that is the understatement of the year. Iain & I were facing backwards as we went down the 1st hill & got soaked. I mean wet to the core. We're taking dripping wet. Iain & I were wringing out our clothes hours after we got off the ride. My socks were still wet by the time we left after the fireworks at 10:30 pm. In any case - it was a fun ride & the line moved quickly. I'm amazed how Disney has mastered the art of cramming people into lines. I highly recommend this ride - however, remember - you MAY (ha ha) get wet. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Here's a shot of Wade, Orion, and Wade's mom Sylvia on what we thought would be a tame ferris wheel ride. Ha! You have the option of swinging or non-swinging gondolas. Wade suffers from vertigo on spinning rides, but we were assured the swinging option was pretty tame. Not so much. Fortunately Wade emerged unscathed. We rode other rides in California Adventure & then bounced between parks to see all of the parades. I was amazed at how quickly the time flew - the boys had a great, memorable time. It'd be interesting to see the bank records for the park. With thousands of people in the park paying an average of $60 each - we're talking big bucks!

I do have to say that despite the crowds, Disney seems to bring out the best in humanity. Everyone was well behaved (except for one fellow who felt the need to light up his cigarette as thousands of people were moving toward the exits like cattle. I'm sorry to offend those of you who exercise your right to smoke, but I choose not to smoke & try to provide as healthy of an atmosphere for my children as possible. If you choose to become addicted to such a horrible product - please don't subject others to smoking's nasty byproducts. Okay - enough said, I'll get off my soap box now & be nice.) As I was saying - everyone was really nice & patient when leaving the park. Yeah!

No knitting at Disney, although it would have provided a nice distraction while waiting in lines. I'm just not at that point & it was nice not carrying anything around. Plus - it was hot & I was at the gusset of my Jaywalker. With my luck I'd drop a stitch & lose a marker. After frogging this sock & restarting several times, I wasn't ready to take any chances.

Ciao ~