Good morning and Happy Sunday......sunny and warm here...and yes mac, my son has told me it has been dank, rainy and gloomy most of the time we have been away....so it will be quite a change.
I've had this stinkin cold now for almost a week, it needs to take a hike...it hasn't kept me down, but I'm sick of coughing.
Not much happening today....back to school and work for GS and son tomorrow, so they are enjoying their last day of freedom. We leave here Thursday morning and will be back in DC around 9:30 that evening. I will be a week adjusting to the time change yet again.
We drove to DL last Sunday, and stopped in Cabazon, CA for the littles to see the dinosaurs there...they loved that..and arrived at our hotel around 3 p.m....checked in and walked across the street to the California version of Downtown Disney...it is much different than what you guys associate with DTD. It was cool and starting to rain. Monday we set out for DL and got a good bit done before it started raining...and it rained too....I broke down and bought ponchos or we would have been soaked, there was no way to run between those raindrops...and ponchos here are clear Pam, NO YELLOW. We returned to the room and then came back out a little later to catch the 50th display of fireworks show. I'm going to tell you, it was worth it that we went back (it's the only night of the week they have them)...I have NEVER seen a fireworks display at any Disney resort to top this show...it brought tears to my eyes and we all enjoyed every second. Tinkerbelle flies all around the castle from the Matterhorn and they set off fireworks all around you...it was awesome and again, the BEST I've ever seen, so thankful the rain stopped so we could see them.
Tuesday we hit CA Adventure and headed right to ToT....the little gs went along, and he did real well, but he said he didn't like it and would not ride again...

It's a tad different than the one in Florida, but it still took my breath away with lots of drops. We did Space Mountain which is newly renovated and cool and hit most of the other rides. The son/DIL rode CA Screamin' the big roller coaster with the Mickey ears loop, umm....the rest of us observed....

We stayed for the Monster Bash Parade/Street Party which the kids loved.
Wednesday the crowds they did come........DL was overflowing and after awhile it got so we were sick to death of hordes of people and standing in line...but we stuck it out and saw the evening parade. Yikes, you think people are bad in WDW staking out a spot...they are vicious in sunny CA...

They have a little show with like a DJ guy that plays music and then Buzz Lightyear comes out and dances with the kids, well my 19 month old was so taken with this DJ guy, he was dancing with him and following him around, and the guy actually asked his name and had a blast with Dylan and just couldn't keep away from him....a little star in the making....I've got some cute photos I'll post when I get home...it was a riot...
Thursday we got up and set out for the coast, going to Santa Monica Beach...umm....the traffic is awful out here and it took forever to get over there. We walked out on the pier and they were filming an episode of Alias on the pier, so we saw a little bit of "Hollywood" while there. We then drove to Malibu....wow, mansions on the edges of mountains...then got on Sunset Blvd. and drove towards LA....we went by Bel Air (home of stars), saw the Beverly Hills Hotel, drove on Rodeo Drive and ended up on Wileshire Blvd.....trying to get the hell out of LA........

We finally managed to find a street out to the freeway towards Anaheim and again met up with stop and go traffic, but we got back somehow....not a place I relish ever driving again..........a tour bus will be the only way I'd do it....oh yeah, we went by the La Brea Tarpits and they are right in the middle of the city....too funny........that evening we ate at Rainforest Cafe and then did some shopping and headed back to AZ on Friday morning...thank goodness for HOV lanes on the California freeways or I think we would still be sitting there..
Hope that wasn't too boring, but I must say the 50th Anniversary at DL was worth all the people and hassle.........we enjoyed ourselves.