First visit to Disneyland, Day Two, Post No. 7

We three rode Heimlich's Chew Chew Train--someone at our hotel recommended it, so we decided to try it. Turned out to be a cute and creative ride meant for adults with little children.

From the Disney Web site: Ride atop the Bavarian caterpillar from Disney•Pixar’s A Bug’s Life on a fragrant journey through his favorite food. Chew, Heimlich, Chew! Crawl through a garden in search of tasty treats on a toothy tour with the ever-talkative Heimlich.

Hop on top a giant caterpillar and take off on a journey through a food-filled garden. As the hilarious Heimlich winds his way through the grass, he devours one snack after another. Smell each scrumptious morsel as he chomps through every delectable tidbit: watermelon, carrots, candy corn and more! You'll soon discover he's not particularly "chew-sy" about what he likes to eat because his belly seems to be bottomless.

All Aboard Each of the two 5-car-long “trains,” designed to look like Heimlich himself, can accommodate 2 Guests per seat.



Sharon and Amy sat in the car in front of me. I was last in line and sat in a car alone which was great because with another person in there with me, it would have been tight, no matter what it said on their Web site. How about that huge slice of watermelon!



If I remember fight, Heimlich's favorite is candy corn. He's eating a piece of it in the top photo. He talked about it a lot during the ride.

The Portland Trail Blazers are ahead in the first round of the NBA playoffs, Western Conference--we won both games in Houston. Now the Rockets will be in our house where we fans will be loud and proud as we watch our team make every effort to win the third game in the best-of-seven series. Go, Blazers!

First visit to Disneyland, Day Two, Post No. 6

Characters here, characters there. And I'm not talking about Sharon and me, although we are known far and wide to be a couple of characters!

 

Sharon, Pluto, and me, smiling our heads off! How kind of him to wear a name tag! Most everyone we saw out and about smiled a lot, well, except for tired and/or frustrated children, toddlers and babies, followed by their parents/grandparents/extended family members. Whew. A real-life reinforcement of the brilliance that children are born to the younger generation, let me tell you! Thankfully for everyone, most of the babies, etc. within earshot made it A-OK. By the way, his whiskers did not touch our faces, so everyone else who poses with him shall be safe and sound! Hey, Blue Diamond PDX, my favorite neighborhood bar in Portland, I'm wearing one of your comfortable T-shirts!



Mrs. and Mr. Incredible, aka Helen and Bob Parr! Wearing their suits designed by Edna "E" Mode. Do I ever wish I'd seen her. You see, my little Mama's first name was Edna, her middle name Earle, therefore she was an Edna E, too! And she stood right around five foot tall, probably a little taller than Edna "E." So, besides the fact that Helen, Bob and I are all incredible, we're closely connected with a tiny woman named Edna!



On to the next attraction with characters!



The speedy, suave and debonair Lightning McQueen entertained Sharon and me as we posed for a photo while visiting Radiator Springs in Cars Land. Ladies, y'all ought to hear him roar!




Amy joined her mom Sharon and I as we met Sir Tow Mater! Love that guy! It was a lot of fun to pose with him and Lightning in front of the Cozy Cone Motel.

First visit to Disneyland, Day Two, Post No. 1

Mickey Mouse and Walt Disney perpetually enjoy the sunshine at Disney California Adventure, the second park at the complex in Anaheim.



The plaque.



Sharon with Mickey and Walt.

Fascinating fish at the Rain Forest Cafe at Downtown Disney in Anaheim, California

Jenna was the first to notice this fish and its attraction to the bubbles in the tank which was behind me, over my right shoulder. She called our attention to it, and soon Sharon and I were just as fascinated with its antics. We watched the fish swim around the tank, return to the bubbles, play for a while, then repeat the entire process, over and over. See what I mean? It was like the fish was standing on its head. In this photo, the fish is at the top of the bubbles, and another unique one is swimming by--reminds me of Bob Hope! Behind Sharon and Jenna I had a great view of another fish tank. The slowly moving fish kept me looking and looking. Look at the variety--speckled fish, yellow fish, blue fish with reddish markings, orange and blue fish, silver fish. Seeing them was a colorful treat.

Everywhere you look, folks smiling either on the way to or while at the Downtown Disney District, Anaheim, California

If you ask me, it's great to have such a good reason for a trip to Disneyland. The back story: My work friend Sharon has twin daughters, Amy and Jenna. Jenna, smiling for the camera along with her Mom, walks half marathons, which means 13.1 miles, y'all! The three of us had more than just a fun time at Disneyland on our minds when we flew to John Wayne airport on Jan. 16. The goal we held dear--a successful Tinker Bell Half Marathon for Jenna! We arrived on time, got a shuttle to our hotel, checked in and set out by bus for Downtown Disney seeking food and, eventually, race central at the Disneyland Hotel. A bit I found about Downtown Disney online: The Downtown Disney District is a lively walking promenade featuring shopping, dining and entertainment at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. To tell you the truth, I had never heard of Downtown Disney, but I am glad that it exists because it gave me a chance to get some first-day walking accomplished which helped get me ready for our four-days at Disneyland and/or Disney's California Adventure. I couldn't resist asking Sharon to take what turned out to be the first of many character photos of me. I promise that I'm not getting familiar with someone in a costume. It's a statue. These two look much cuter on the bench than I do! And I'm glad that you can see the entire sign for the place where we walked and walked and walked (I'm exaggerating a little bit here) to get to for what turned out to be a really delicious late lunch. Thank you, Rain Forest Cafe for not only the food, but for the fabulous service, too. We left the cafe and walked over to the Disneyland Hotel so that Jenna could pick up her race packet and to go to the running/walking vendor expo. By the time it opened at 3 p.m., all three of us had been awake for almost 12 hours, with many more to go before we would hit the hay.
Checking in for the big event, that's our Jenna! I think we were inside a parking garage--we walked down a ramp to get inside and up a ramp to get outside, but it did have carpet everywhere, thankfully for our feet and legs and, more importantly for the feet and legs of all of the race competitors. Over several days, folks had come to either run or walk in races for kids, a family fun run 5K (4,500 participants), the Tinker Bell 10K (10,000 participants) and the Tinker Bell Half Marathon (15,000 participants). Here she is after she had picked up her race packet--that's the giant plastic bag it all came in that she's holding between her thighs so that she could hold up her pretty pink shirt. In this photo you can see the carpet and a few people--believe me, lots and lots more folks than you see here had to pick up race packets over the next few days--I just wanted to give you an idea of the massive space set aside for this important part of the events. We walked through the area in the Disneyland Hotel set aside for the expo that goes with the running events--a huge area filled with vendors of all kinds. Jenna saw these wings and asked me to take a photo. Turned out to be a great photo! One of the busiest, most popular vendors on site--SparkleSkirts, known as the world's most comfortable athletic skirt! A bit from their Web site: SparkleSkirts, The Ultimate Running Skirt. Comfortable and cute! Three huge pockets. Guaranteed anti-ride undershorts featuring moisture-wicking Spandex.

Live Music: Curtis Salgado and Band at Jimmy Mak's, November 30 - Inanimate Objects That Caught My Eye, No. 1

From the time we got the tickets, my friend from work Sharon and I had held out the upcoming Curtis Salgado and Band show as the ultimate motivator to get through the days until it arrived. Saturday night she drove to my apartment and parked. We rode the bus to Jimmy Mak's since neither one of us had any idea where to park near the club. We got off in front of Powell's Books and walked down the slope on NW 10th, arriving at Jimmy Mak's before anyone else, not realizing that our reserved seating/dinner required tickets meant an assigned table. We thought it would be first come, first seated. So, we arrived three full hours before the show was to begin, were led to our table--a booth in the corner beside one end of the stage. By 7:00 p.m., we had dined and watched people and talked about what a great time we knew was coming our way. We could see very little of the stage, raised at least six inches from floor level, because a large Hammond organ stood right in front of us, giving us a perfect view of its keys and of the electronic keyboard sitting on top of it. We decided it didn't matter one bit. We were right where we were supposed to be, learning about making reservations at Jimmy Mak's and how you can call after you've bought your ticket online and request a table. Next time we'll know better.
 

I couldn't help but notice the vintage Samsonite suitcase right in front of me, to the right of the organ bench. Duct tape repaired suitcase handle. I have a long history with duct tape, having learned from my Mama how to tear it off straight from the roll when I was a young girl. For a small woman, Mama had very strong hands. Over my sons younger years, their Christmas included a new roll of duct tape, a roll of string, a flashlight, and batteries. I told the organist that I like his suitcase and its repaired handle. He explained that it wasn't his, that it stayed with the organ which I took that to mean that the organ wasn't his, that it stayed on stage at Jimmy Mak's. Pretty good idea if you ask me. That thing must be very heavy, not something you'd get out of your vehicle and pull into the club to set up for the night.