Sunday, April 11, 2010

My California Adventure:

It all began with an airplane ride on a Tuesday night.(March 23). We left from the Boise airport. After I had gotten on the plane I realized to my dismay that I had left the book I was reading in the waiting area. The book I can replace, my picture of Johnny I cannot. I felt really bad. We had a short layover in Oakland, Ca. Then we went on to Los Angeles. When we got off the plane and went to get our luggage, a lady came up to Danny with a cart, which he gladly accepted. He had no idea that the lady wanted a tip for helping with our luggage. Jenny had to explain that tips were expected by anyone who helped us out.

The first day that we were there we went to Hollywood and walked down the stars and saw many names of famous people. The kids were really excited to find Michael Jackson's star. I was more impressed with finding Harrison Fords star. It was an interesting experience. Later we went to the Santa Monica Bearch. I tired to walk in the sand but found it was really hard for me to do, and quite tiring so I went up to the pier to sit on a bench and watch the rest of them play in the sand. We only stayed for a couple of hours. Danny said the beach was to sandy for him. LoL.....After we checked into our Hotel, we went and did a little grocery shopping for the next four days in Disneyland. That evening we went to Goofy's Kitchen in downtown Disney for the character dinner. The food was really good and the kids had a great time meeting some of their favorite characters. They met Jazmin from Alading, The mad hatter from Alice in Wonderland, Goofy, Micky Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, and Chip. It was great fun. The long walk back to the Hotel was a little hard on me but I made it. Caroline stayed back to walk with me during our whole trip.

The next morning we were up early and on our way to Disneyland. I rented an electric scooter so that I could keep up with everyone. Everyone went on a few of the kids rides right away, but Josh and Megan were anxious to get to the big rides. All the kids, except Ryan went on most of the big rides. Trevor amazed me. He showed no fear of the big rides and loved everyone of them. His favorite ride was Space Mountain. When we were in Toon Town everyone confinced me to go on the Roger Rabbit ride. I had no problem getting into the car but the step was high and I worried about getting out. My premonition was right. The ride ended and I tried to get off the car in my usual way of putting my bad ankle out first. It didn't work, I got stuck between the bar and the seat. I paniced right away, I couldn't stand back up. Danny had to come to my rescue and help me stand back up. I then just stepped down from the car with Danny's help and got off. I was so relieved. Jenny and Tim were right behind me but they didn't come out. Danny went back in to see where they were and found out that because I had not gotten off the ride quickly, all the cars behind me had backed up. They had to close the ride down while they got the cars going again. I just bet that they were glad to see me leave that ride.
The only other ride that I went on that day was the Pirates of the Carribean. I enjoyed it very much.

The next day at Disneyland I didn't rent an electric scooter, just a regular wheelchair. Danny had to push me around. That lasted for about half a day. He got mad at me because I kept falling asleep while I waited for them to get off rides. He took me back to the Hotel and I didn't rejoin them until dinner time.

On Saturday I stayed at the Hotel all day. I was glad. The walk between Disneyland and our Hotel was a long one and it was hard for me to keep up with everyone. I spent the day resting and reading . Later that night we went to a restaraunt called Bubba and Gumps. They had the best shrimp and fish plates you could ever find. It was so good.

Sunday back to Disneyland again. I rented an electric scooter again. We went to California Adventure land first this time. On our way from there back into Disneyland I had a little mishap. While waiting in line to get my hand stamped I fell asleep on my scooter. When I woke up Danny and Tanya were gone. I hurried through the gate but I couldn't see them anywhere. Thank goodness for Cell phones. I called him and they were already in Disneyland going down main street. Wherever that was. I got to the gate into Disneyland, found out that I needed my ticket to get back in. I couldn't find it. I was so frustrated, I really considered just going back to the Hotel. Danny found me at the gate and helped me find my ticket. The rest of the day I stayed awake and got around the park ok. I finally got to go on the It's a small world ride. I didn't go on many rides but I enjoyed being there and watching the excitement of the kids. We lost Caroline once, Beverlie and Kaitlyn once, and Scott once. On Friday we ran into Teribeth Bates. She was there with a school group. I was so surprised but happy to see her.


On Monday we went back to Hollywood to walk the stars and get some lunch. We went to the McDonalds there. We ran into a Transvestite with his manaquin girlfriend. He was a scary site. We couldn't get out of there fast enough. We then drove around Beverly Hills to find houses of the rich and famous. Tim found a few of them. The Playboy Mansion, Michael Jacksons and Tom Cruises houses.

Tuesday morning we had to get up early to catch our plane back to Boise. We were back in Boise by 11:30. We had to take taxi's back to Jenny's house. When we pulled in the driveway we were met with a disaster. Someone had toilet papered the house and yard. They had thrown all kinds of food at the house and garage. It was not a pretty sight.

For the most part the trip was a lot of fun. I think everyone enjoyed it and had a good time. Samantha wasn't with us because she danced in the Nationals dance competition with her dance team from school. We ran into her a couple of times in Disneyland. Jenny went and watched them dance at the convention center.

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Happy Birthday Danny

This post is a little late. My youngest turned 27 on the first, New Years Day. I took Danny and his family to the Chuck-a-Rama for lunch. Jenny, Tim, and all the kids joined us. After lunch Tim and Jenny took the kids to a movie, Alvin and the Chipmunks. Later that evening we got together for ice cream and cake and sang Happy Birthday for the 3rd time that day. It was a fun day. Happy Birthday Danny Boy!