According to my high school girlfriend, Cheryl, we haven't seen each other in about 5 years. This was when she brought her whole family out to California for a visit. This is no small undertaking for there was her, her husband Russell and her four children, Michael, Phillip, Gregory and Nicole.   When she mentioned she and her sister, Beth, would be in Anaheim on the weekend of March 18th and that we should try and get together if at all possible, I jumped at the chance. I am saddened that all my friends from so far back and I have grown so far apart. Due to no fault of my own, of course. The girls got there first and Cheryl set off the LAX to find me. We stayed at a Motel 6 and though many of you may think this is not the most luxurious of places to rest our heads, we are mindful of being frugal. The hotel featured a friendly staff, a pool and Jacuzzi. Realizing we were going to participate in water sports, I mentioned I didn't bring a bathing suite. "No problem," Cheryl said, "we'll go shopping. I need shorts."   One bathing suit, a pair of shorts and a pair of shoes later, Cheryl even found her shorts, we were on our way to the car. What's this!? The car won't start?! Did we leave the lights on? Well heck! We tried to push start the thing to no avail. A very nice man and his girlfriend came by and we tried to jumpstart the car. Not a chance. Cheryl went to purchase a new battery and I was to wait by the car and look helpless. It worked! Three people asked me if I needed help. Some days its good to be well known. Hey its hard on my ego to have to look helpless!   The nearest place to buy a car battery did not have her particular model. Great! Now what? Cheryl brought me a soda and we decided to get some lunch instead of standing there being frustrated.   There was a restaurant nearby that served sea food burritos. I had the lobster and Cheryl had the shrimp. She said she didn't like lobster and in order to keep peace, I told her that a lobster was just a crawdad with a big ego. Since Cheryl mentioned something about wanting to lose weight, I thought I would lecture her on good foods and bad foods. We definitely have different tastes in eating. I'm such a little prima donna. he he he   While waiting for me to change from my business casual to my bathing suit and shorts, hey it couldn't hurt at this point, Cheryl called Russell. He was as friendly as ever and had very specific instructions. We could now push start the car since there was a little "juice" in the battery after that nice man gave us a jump, he was holding down the fort back in Utah and I was to get Cheryl "drunk and laid". This was a joke, of course, since their religion prohibited alcohol and, you know, ... other things. he he   Push starting the car was a success! The vacation could only go uphill from there. Or so I thought. The rest of St. Patty's day was fun in the sun. That evening, Cheryl and I went to the local El Toritos and had fajitas and margaritas. Hers without alcohol of course. Later at the same place, we did karaoke. This was Cheryl's first time so I gently persuaded her with a huge shove. She did great! We did one together and there was a request for her to do a Sony and Cher song with one of the regulars. It was so much fun. We tried to call the girls but could not find them. I feel as if they missed out. We were up when the phone rang at 08:00 in the morning. "Kill them, who ever that is." Grumble grumble grumble. We were late getting started as was expected for four women and one man. There was Cheryl, Beth, Beth's girlfriend Julie, Beth's beau RJ and myself.   A quick breakfast at Cocos and we were off to see Mickey and the gang! Parking was atrocious! We found a place to park at a nearby convention center and we shuttled our way to the gate. A couple of people remarked on my swimming suit attire and a man at the gate said I would have to put on a shirt. "Was he serious." Not many men ask me to put clothes ON! *grin* I explained I was going to purchase a souvenir, any way, once I got inside. He let us pass and I did as I said I would.   I asked a man in the souvenir store if there were any tank tops and "Chad" said no. Not just a regular no but an emphatic, "no". We found tank tops right there and I was really annoyed by the way we were treated. Lying was completely unnecessary. It made the little man look ill-informed and was unprofessional customer relations. Customer service is high on my list, so I was deeply disappointed. I love Disney. I have memorized many of their songs, collected their movies, recite their lines and had hoped to purchase stock for my nephews. Well I bought my shirt and off we went in hopes of salvaging the rest of the day.   The group split up and Cheryl and I decided to take the Jungle Safari tour after seeing the line for the Indiana Jones ride. The ride was in a boat and on the water. Most of the ride was in the shade so we were nice and cool. The lady leading the tour was informed and punny. (that is like in puns, not that she was tiny and weak) It's a great safe and relaxing way to learn a bit about the jungle. Tarzan's tree house was also in shouting distance. AAAAAAaaaaaaaAAAAAAaaaaaaa. *cough, cough* Ahem...

After this ride, we went to become pioneers. We were set in canoes and had to row our way around the waterway as the guide explained some of the things we might see if we lived back in the old west. The days of Daniel Boon and Dances with Wolves. Yes there were models of Native American Indians in their native habitats and wolves (sure but what if there was a hunting pack of wild wolves, they didn't mention that in the movie) It could have been called "Dances with only one Wolf because a hunting pack would have not been conducive to my accepting the Oscar for best director on awards Night"   Of course me being the wise acre, (no not me!) I had to keep everyone in time by chanting 'STROKE, STROKE, NO REALLY, I'M HAVING A STROKE!". That ride was a clever way to legalize slave labor. I commend Disney. I told Cheryl I would drown her if she sang one blasted note of "Cumebya" or however it's spelled!

We went to the Haunted Mansion, next. The kids called us on the cell phone so that we might meet for lunch after this attraction. It certainly was an attraction for me too. The old Victorian house was GORGEOUS! Oh yeah, the inside was fun too. As a writer of horror stories, I was enchanted. It was a lot of fun. Special effects galore, or should I say "gore" and maybe a ghost or two. Ok thousands. After that, Cheryl and I went to find the kids. They were still stuck in line where they were before we went into the Haunted Mansion. Cheryl suggested we go and get in line where they were but I demurred. "Disneyland may have been rude to me but there is no reason I should be rude in return". The ride was broken, anyway, and the kids came down. I believe it was Thundering Rapids or something. This was the second time this has happened to them. The first was the Indiana Jones Adventure. We decided it was lunch time. We went to the French Quarter. The little four star restaurant was closed between lunch and dinner so we decided on a little Creole place where they served beef gumbo in bread bowls and bennets. C'est tres bon ca! A man on the stairs was throwing bijoux (beaded necklaces) to the crowd and they loved it. There was also a small Dixieland Jazz band. Now it seems everyone noticed the half naked chick (me) but no one noticed when a boy on the second floor was sitting on the railing in a precarious manner. We noticed and told him to get down.

We all decided to stay together after that. We took in the Indiana Jones ride and this time we were successful. There were runes on the walls for a person to decipher and film footage to watch featuring one of the characters from the film, Sala. It was fun. Not quite feeling like being in real ancient ruins, though. But we won't tell. Shhhhh... It was easily my favorite ride.

The next event was Thunder Mountain Railway. At this point we thought we heard RJs friend Jeff on the two way radio.   By this time it had began to get dark. I took many more pictures but my camera was a daylight camera and if I was in the shade or it was dark out, I was out of luck. I hoped they had better cameras at Universal. I got this one from town.   The Small World ride was sweet and fun. I remember singing the song in my excitement of going to Disneyland. The parade was awe inspiring. Characters from Snow White, Cinderelli...uh I mean Cinderella, Little Mermaid, Tarzan (hubba hubba!) Fantasia and many more...   We then went to a showing of "Honey I Shrunk the Audience" in 3D. That was an experience! Almost felt like we were really in on the whole show! I was freezing at this point and Cheryl bought a Winnie the Pooh sweatshirt and let me wear it to keep warm.   Space Mountain was the last ride of the evening. We were ready to get into line when we realized there was a 125 minute wait. I said I'm outa here. I'm cold and exhausted. What did everyone want to do? I would have just sat out and waited for the rest of them to return. The general consensus was to leave, not to wait.