With My Darling, To Anaheim

I was able to pick up Michael late in the morning, due to the kindheartedness of my instructor. He let me out at 10 so I could. Direct from the airport, we went to MCRD to get Mike a military spouse's ID card. There are so many requirements to getting one, we thought it would be good to do asap. Then it was breakfast at Perry's Breakfast House across from Old Town. We were both rather tuckered out from our early mornings, and both very hungry. Mike had his usual bacon & eggs & toast, and I had sausage & eggs & hashbrowns. Also sipped some of Mike's coffee, and had OJ for a refresher. My poor Darling had a bit of a head cold with a runny nose, but he was a trooper the whole weekend.

We laid down for a good hour's nap, plus some, when we got to my room in the house; which was very nice, indeed: a wonderful way to rejuvenate. By about 4 we left for Hillcrest Cinemas in order to enjoy "The Artist" again together. Never get tired of that one! Mike's seen it in three different cities now, twice with me. When we got back, we moved everything we needed for the weekend with us to the motel a couple blocks down (landlady doesn't like overnight guests, and my bed is small) to Loma Lodge (America's Best Value). Then we had takeout Italian from the greatest little place in Old Town... Pizza Bella. Watched some Spanish crime show on TV, then we were out like lights.

The morning came too early, but we were excited for it. The train left just a few minutes after 8, and we were ready to go when it did. Great seats so we could watch the Pacific (and the many surfers) all the way to north of Camp Pendleton. It didn't take long before we were standing outside the Anaheim train station, overlooking the baseball stadium. A giant red "A" stood nearby with a small gold halo atop it. Caught a bus to Enterprise Rent-a-car, found the Super 8 just a block away, then stopped at Denny's down Harbor Blvd, opposite direction from Disney. More bacon & eggs, except this time I had a big salad and some nachos.

Next on the agenda was a 20-minute ride northeast to the Orange County Zoo in Irvine Park. We listened to Exodus the entire way (and everywhere else too) and were very soon there. Very easy to drive there, surprisingly. My favorite was the two beavers and their antics, but I also thought the bears, eagles, peacocks and coyotes were neat. Awesome zoo, although it was very small. We walked through easily in about an hour and a half. The park outside is nice too... lots of duck ponds and spreading trees. Activities too... a kiddie train and rental boats and bikes. But we took it easy. :)

We returned to the motel, got our key, then rested for just under a couple hours before heading off for Medieval Times. Wasn't too far away, although it seemed like it. A bit surprised and angry that although I had purchased tickets, I also needed to reserve them... didn't realize it, but I had stumbled onto an "Anaheim Attractions" website, instead of the original corporation. They were slightly discounted, but then again, they almost didn't let us in. Thank the Lord, they finally did... and we had wonderful seats. Loved the half chicken, potatoes and soup, all without utensils. And the show was pretty good when they started the jousting and sword fighting. Very colorful... and the horses were amazing! We looked at them in their stalls afterwords. Especially loved the black Friesian gelding. :)

We thought of getting to Disneyland early, but that didn't quite work. Had breakfast first at Tiffy's Restaurant, down Katella a bit... had seen it on the way to Medieval Times and had some joking about how "nice" it looked. So it was the Nice Restaurant for us, and it lived up to its name. I had pancakes and Mike had a waffle, and we were soon just full enough. Drove back to the hotel, then hoofed it to Disneyland:

And then we walked and walked and walked! Just to be fair to the lady from Super 8, it was only a half mile/11 minute walk to the gate on Harbor Blvd. :) How exciting it was to be there! We stopped in the theater on Main Street to watch the cartoons, watched a band perform some songs with a bunch of the characters in front of the castle, walked through, tried to do the Finding Nemo submarine, but it got temporarily closed. Mike did get to shake Donald's hand though, as we were walking around. Also had some Donald Duck caramel corn. :) It's a Small World was a bit too backed up, so we took the Jungle Cruise; met Mickey up in Toontown, and loved the Pirates of the Caribbean. Then took the train around the park (one of my favorites), and had lunch at the Jolly Holiday... even stained glass penguins in the windows... quiche and a sandwich and a cookie... and serenaded by a brass quintet playing favorites from Dumbo, Sleeping Beauty, Pinocchio, etc.; it was practically perfect in every way. :)

Then we walked through Frontierland, shooting rifles, and riding the original 1955 riverboat Colombia around Rivers of America. Loved the moose! Then it was Snow White's Scary Adventure (where my sisters were terrified in 1987 - I wasn't on that trip)... and we finally fit in Finding Nemo, and rode the monorail right after that. The Disneyland Parade was going to come right by the road from Tomorrowland, so we got second-row spots to see the spectacle. Stopped by the Golden Horseshoe Saloon for dinner (fish & chips & coffee/chili breadbowl & hot tea) to warm us up... it was now dark, and very chilly! Next, we walked back down Main Street and saw Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln (fitting, as today is President's Day), and looked around at the conjoining museum of Disneyland plans and attractions. But then, as we were finishing with the Casey Jones train room, we heard big "booms" outside... quickly we joined thousands of people packing Main Street and watched the fireworks show. It was terrific! We wondered around a bit afterwords, but didn't have the heart to wait 70 minutes for Space Mountain. Lingered by Sleeping Beauty's castle before we left, and finally found a good bus to take us back to Katella Ave. Definitely would like to go back.

Today we got up in time for breakfast at the hotel, returned the car a bit early, got a ride from Enterprise to the train station, watched a Woody Allen film (Zelig) while waiting for the train, then enjoyed a long, leisurely ride back to Old Town. Realized as we were almost to the base that I had somehow lost my wallet on the train... so we booked it to the downtown station, where, thank the Lord, the train had ended it's run. Parked, ran, found (thank God), ran back and resumed our mission to print out Mike's boarding passes on base. Then it was dinner at the Olive Garden (OB was way too busy) and a brief rest back home before I had to drop him off. :(

Oh, what a wonderful time!
Jw