The Happiest @*#&! Place On Earth

A couple weeks ago, our family returned from an alternate universe called Disneyland. I can sense your knowing smile coming right through the interwebs.  Yes, everyone's been to The Magic Kingdom before. Everyone, that is, other than our family, a handful of Amish, and a solitary Kalahari bushman who cannot overcome his fear of flying.

We figured we should finally get down there and see what all the fuss is about.  Take heart Kalahari bushman, we drove the whole way!

We invited my parents to come along for the fun.  We figured that in the event Melis' and I were both somehow incapacitated, kidnapped, or arrested -- our precious children would still have access to a nice SUV to watch DVD's in air conditioned comfort.

After all, we are very conscientious about our children's safety and well-being.

We didn't stay in one of the Disney Resort hotels.  We figured we could save a few bucks by staying at a hotel across the street from the park's main gate.  Sure, our rooms had all the charm of a run-down college dormitory -- but after paying for the rooms, the California sales and hotel taxes, and some other vaguely-named fees, we saved nearly enough to buy a small bottle of water in Tomorrow Land.  We are money managing geniuses!

Notwithstanding our (ahem) posh accommodations and a free continental breakfast that consisted of DIY toast, we decided to check out a couple days early.  More on that later...

In the months and weeks leading up to our trip, we did a lot of online research to educate ourselves about visiting Disneyland.  For instance, we chose to arrive mid-week in October post-Columbus day.  Our research suggested that the park would be less-crowded and the weather would be mild.  We still waited in line about 20-45 minutes for most rides -- and it was 104 degrees on our second day in the park!

I don't know what we're looking at here, but judging by the child-like wonderment on our faces -- it must have been awesome!  Quick fact: Melis' and I took ZERO pictures during the whole week.  Thanks Grandma Shirlene for the photography...and for mailing us back our completely-forgotten camera we left in your vehicle.

Langy failed to meet the height requirement for some of the rides, but his grandparents selflessly volunteered to hang out with him whenever we came upon some serene climate-controlled area of the park.  As you can tell, Langy was sad to miss the half-hour wait in triple-digit heat just to ride Dumbo for a couple minutes.  Well, I'm sure he was sad on the inside.

Karsten and I spent some quality time with Mickey.  He didn't say anything during our brief visit, but I could tell he was glad to see us.  He was smiling the whole time.

Grandpa Dave taught Taeg' how to fly a spaceship.  Note the man's warm smile, calm hand, and relaxed encouragement.  While none of these were present when he taught me how to drive over 20 years ago, his granddaughter appreciated them very much.

As soon as our two-day Disneyland adventure was completed, we checked out of our convenient-but-dumpy hotel and drove a few miles south to Huntington Beach.  The Hyatt Regency was nothing like my freshman dorm...

...this was better.

After settling into our new digs, Taeg' and her grandmother decided to take advantage of the resort's heated pools and water slides.  They even swapped bathing suits before realizing they had grossly misjudged their size difference.  They switched back and proceeded to the pool together.

The hotel gave us fancy terry cloth robes to lounge around in.  In heaven, I think we'll all be wearing these around.

I've waded into the Pacific along the Oregon coast since I was a young boy -- it's generally a bone-chillingly cold endeavor that can only be tolerated for a few minutes at a time.  How strange it was to walk into waist-deep water and be completely comfortable.  I hesitate to admit this, but I even took my shirt off [Apologies for the disturbing mental image, especially to those who were eating while reading this].  We played in the ocean for a couple hours without any loss of lower extremity sensation.  There was even a school of dolphins playing happily about 50 feet away from us.  Karst' summed up the whole experience: "This beach is better than ours."

We enjoyed our week in southern California very much, but we're happy to be back home.  October is not supposed to be 90 degrees, and a small soda is not supposed to cost $6.50.  Life is back to normal and everything is as it should be.  Cold and overcast with no fluffy terry cloth robes.  Hmmm...

Maybe we'll visit the alternate universe again sometime.