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December 2004 Back to HOME |
| December 15, 2004 -- Closed ahead. |
| Driving home last night we passed a big light-up sign on the freeway that said "4 LEFT LANES CLOSED AHEAD." There were only four lanes total and, continuing on, we found that none of them were closed. "Was that a joke?" Lloyd asked. It must be road crew humor. |
| December 13, 2004 -- The Happiest Place on Earth. |
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Yesterday we left about 6:00 in the morning, stopped for breakfast burritos at Carmel's, picked up Kimberly and Raymond in Fullerton, and then headed out for a day at Disneyland. We went yesterday because it was the last Sunday before our passes would be blacked out for the holiday and we wanted to see the park with all the Christmas decorations up. It is so pretty. There is a huge tree (about 50 feet tall) on Main Street and everything is decorated with lights, garlands, and wreaths.
It was a lovely day, the weather was perfect and the crowds were not too large. We started the day in Fantasyland, photographing the Disney characters and spinning on the teacups. I don't think I have ridden on the teacups since I was a child. We usually skip them but Raymond wanted to ride them this time. We then went to the bobsleds and Toon Town, and then over to New Orleans and Critter Country. KImberly wanted to have her picture taken with Eeyore, her favorite character, but she wasn't sure she wanted to wait in line with all the little kids. "Oh, go on, who cares?," I say. "Well," she said, "you never know who's in these costumes. It could be someone I know at school." That's true, actually. Kimberly, taking dance and theater classes, knows several of the Disney performers. Raymond, too, has several friends who work at Disneyland. In fact, he ran into three people he knew during the day. We rode on Splash Mountain, Pirates of the Carribean, Indiana Jones, and of course, Raymond's favorite, The Haunted Mansion. From October through December it is completely redesigned into the style of Tim Burton's "The Nightmare Before Christmas." It is as though Jack Skellington, himself, decorated the mansion, and, as with everything Disney, the attention to detail is fantastic. In the afternoon we saw the Snow White stage show and the Christmas parade. Kimberly knew one of the dancing reindeer, but couldn't tell us which one since they were all wearing large mascot heads. After the parade we went over to California Adventure for awhile, where we were lucky enough to see a couple of the Incredibles. Raymond had his picture taken with Frozone and Elastigirl. We went on the roller coaster, the swings, the zephyr, the "tower of terror," and "soaring over California." We returned to Disneyland after dark to see the park all lit up. I think it's worth the trip just to see "It's a Small World" at Christmas. The outer facade is completely covered in colored lights and the ride itself has been redone with a holiday theme. Christmas decorations, costumes, ribbons, packages, bells, and other holiday accents are added throughout the ride. The dolls sing Jingle Bells and there are various holiday greetings posted along the way. We were very lucky with our timing of the ride because, just as we got out of the Small World boat, the fireworks started and we had a perfect viewing position. I think Disneyland has the nicest fireworks display of anywhere. They "choreograph" their fireworks to go with their music and it is amazing how well they match. It was a fun day. |
| December 13, 2004 -- However, not a perfect ending to the day. |
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After driving to Anaheim, spending sixteen hours at Disneyland, and then driving back, we were very tired, and the last thing we wanted to see as we pulled into the driveway was the gate standing wide open. This has happened before. Those stupid door-to-door sales people never shut the gate, which means that the cats are out all over the neighborhood. Five of the six of them were not at home.
So, at 3:00 AM we were out circling the block, calling and ringing their "kitty come home bell," while triggering all of the automatic sensor lights along the way. AND, if that wasn't bad enough, there were three racoons in the yard as well. They'd been in the house (they come through the kitty door), eaten all of the cats' food, and generally made a mess, as they always do. Cute as they are, I am very much coming to dislike racoons. At least we were finally able to locate all the cats and get them home and settled for the night. Whew! It must have been an exciting night for the cats though, because, here it is past noon, and they haven't budged all day. None of them followed me down to the kitchen in the morning. They are all still asleep; on the bed, on the chairs, on the stair landing, cats curled up all over the place. They will probably be wild tonight. |
| December 5, 2004 -- 20 shopping days until Christmas. |
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It was only 7:30 on a Saturday night. There were seven registers lined up by the store's exit door, but only one had a clerk standing at it. As I set my single item on the counter she looked up and said, "I'm closed. You'll have to take it to another register." I said, "Take it to what register? I don't see anyone at the others." Heaving a sigh of martyrdom, she said, "Oh, never mind, I guess I can do it." Thus began my Christmas shopping experience. |
| December 3, 2004 -- Freak accident. |
| Last night I was in bed kind of dozing and watching T.V. Our bed has one of those bookshelf type headboards and Toby was sleeping up on top of it. I'm not sure if he was bitten by a flea or if something spooked him in his sleep. Maybe he just fell (he is kind of clumsy.) But all at once, without any warning, the cat fell on my head, inbedding two of his claws in my neck in an effort to prevent himself from falling further. He continued to thrash about as I grabbed his foot, trying to get his claws out of my neck before he slit my throat. So today I have a bruised lump on my forehead and two swollen puncture wounds on my neck. It looks like I've bitten by a vampire. |
| December 1, 2004 -- Oh, Cristmas Tree. |
| In 1904 the first oudoor tree was lit with electric Christmas lights. Located at the Hotel Del Coronado, it was the forrunner of the many lighted trees across the country today, including the huge Rockefeller Paza tree and the Washington D.C. tree. To celebrate the 100th anniversary of that tree lighting, the Hotel Del will be lighting the very same tree, which is still there but about 90 feet taller, again this year. |
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