THE HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH

It had been 35 years since I viewed Disneyland through the eyes of a seven year old - my now 42 year old son, Darrin. This past weekend I had the pleasure of experiencing "The Happiest Place on Earth" through the eyes of another seven year old, my beautiful granddaughter, Charley Ellen.

The first day was spent exploring Disney California Adventure. It had been at least 20 years since I visited Disneyland & 40 years since Lou explored the Magic Kingdom. Neither of us had been to California Adventure since it wasn't yet built.

This is the view of Pixar Pier, The Incredicoaster & the Pixar Pal-A-Round. The Pal-A-Round has stationary gondolas & ones that swing back & forth while going around. Charley & I both requested the stationary one!

The old Minnie Mouse & the young Minnie Mouse ready for a full day of adventure. I bought our Minnie ears from Amazon for $$4.00 for two. Little did I know that Minnie ears were all the rage at the parks. There were fancy, sparkly ones, theme ones & probably 20 choices. But the cost ranged from $15 to $27 & the headbands were too tight. Our cheap ones were completely comfortable & didn't hurt our heads at all.

California Adventure was just being built the last time I was at Disneyland. "Cars Land" is one of the highlights. It recreates the sleepy town of Radiator Springs on Route 66. We all love the movie "Cars" which incorporates Route 66 into its story line.

Radiator Springs Racers is the most popular ride at California Adventure. Darrin suggested making a beeline to that ride first thing then we could get a Fast Pass to ride a second time. You scan your ticket & are given a time to return to the ride where you enter a separate line that should have no more than a 10-15 minute wait - something new since I was there last. Many rides in both parks can have wait times of 60 minutes or more. 

Darrin took a selfie of the four of us in our first Radiator Springs Racer. The ride reenacts much of the movie as you ride through the town inside. Finally you & a car on another track pull up to the starting line for a race. The cars take off really fast going up & down & around curves. Our car won the first race but lost the second. Lots of fun!

On many rides there are cameras situated to take action photos of each car. Of course they would like you to purchase the photos but they are displayed briefly at the end of the ride & don't care if you snap a photo with your phone or camera which is what we did on our second ride on Radiator Springs Racers. That's Lou in the middle front & me on the right. Charley is in the middle back with Darrin on the right.

There are lots of fun rides in California Adventure but I'm still a Disneyland purist. Starting when Darrin was three we made a pilgrimage south to Disneyland every other year until he was an adult. Darrin has been back many times since then.

The Little Mermaid is a super tame ride for smaller kids. You sit in a shell & slowly traverse the scenes from the story of Ariel, The Little Mermaid.

Charley & Darrin enjoying The Little Mermaid experience.

Charley & I saw "Incredibles 2" earlier this year. Elastigirl is one of the stars. She instructed Charley & Darrin on some super hero or heroine poses for this photo op.

We happened to be right there when Mickey showed up for a photo session. He grabbed Charley's hands & danced with her for a minute before they settled into the photo shoot.

The Incredicoaster comes around the corner, does a 5-4-3-2-1 countdown then shoots off to the first hill. If you click on this photo to enlarge it, that's Lou & Darrin in the next to last car. I decided if I was going to screw up my hip any worse, it would be the next day on Space Mountain at Disneyland so I elected to not ride (even though I love roller coasters.)

Charley getting ready for the Golden Zephyr, a spinning rocket ship ride. She got into raising her arms like most people do when something is fast or up & down. This ride was pretty mild but she was into it.

The Jumping JellyFish is a ride that goes up & down but doesn't drop fast. Again if you click on it enlarge the photo, that's Charley & me riding it.

Lou & I in the Pixar Pier Pal-A-Round.

The kids loved this big ball that spun around on a layer of water.

Day Two was our all day Disneyland adventure! Charley had been fighting a bad cold with a stuffy head, coughing, etc. but she was a real trooper. Darrin did decide to take her back to the hotel in the afternoon for a nap before continuing. 

The train station at the entrance to Disneyland's Magic Kingdom.

Our first stop was the "Pirates of the Caribbean". That has always been Darrin's favorite ride. One year when he was maybe 15, the "Pirates of the Caribbean" was closed for refurbishing. He was heart broken & we had to go back a few months later when it was open. The first time Charley was a little scared. But we went on it a second time before it got crowded & she loved it. I'm sure Darrin was happy that it was her favorite ride, too!

The "Haunted Mansion" was our next attraction. Everything was decorated for the holidays but I think I liked it better without all the ribbons, wreaths & bows.

"The Jungle Cruise" has been the same for 60 years I'm guessing. It is fun but the guides are still telling the same cheesy jokes & puns from a long time ago.

I thought that the Mark Twain riverboat & the Columbia sailing ship were no longer operating but both of them were making treks around the river all day.

When Darrin & Charley went back to the hotel, Lou & I took the opportunity to ride "Space Mountain". This is the boarding area. My hip did fine but the girl who worked there had to help me out of the damn thing - couldn't get my leg lifted high enough. We also rode the Matterhorn Bobsleds, the Monorail & the Columbia sailing ship.

Back when Darrin was about nine years old we visited Disneyland with a good friend, Carol, her daughter & their school teacher who was in her 30s & had never been to Disneyland! Carol turned us on to the Blue Bayou Restaurant. It is a sit down, table service restaurant with impeccable service & excellent food.

The Blue Bayou Restaurant is in the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. From the boats you can see the restaurant & the restaurant patrons can see the boats float by. We either got lucky or Darrin greased someone's hand but we had a table right at the railing where the boats went by. Before & after dinner Charley stood at the railing waving to all the boat passengers. Many people yelled "hi" back to her. I heard one woman holler, "What's your name? You are adorable." I noticed at first she just waved, then later was saying, "Arrrgh!" with her fist pumping. Finally she was doing the pageant wave where you cup your hand & just rotate it back & forth.

Waiting for our table at the Blue Bayou we all had our Mickey & Minnie shirts, not to mention the ever present Minnie ears. Darrin made the reservation & treated us to a first class meal

After dinner Charley wanted to go on the Pirates of the Caribbean for the third time so Darrin took her while Lou & I tried to get on the Indiana Jones ride which had broken down earlier & was once again inoperable.

My hip held up pretty well but by about 9 - 9:30 PM my feet were killing me. I elected to find a bench on Main Street while Darrin & Charley headed to Fantasyland & Lou watched "Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln", the animated figure that walks & talks.

Sleeping Beauty's Castle all lit up & decorated for the holidays. These photos are a combination of mine, Lou's & Darrin's. When I get to Disneyland I just want to enjoy the experience & often forget about taking lots of pictures.

Charley made it to the carousel in Fantasyland around 10 pm at night. We saw & did lots of stuff but there is still more to see. I can't wait for the next time! The plan is to take Charley every other year, too. She seems to be doing better with her cold BUT Gaga started feeling it the night we dropped them off in Hayward. The cold has set in big time for me which I expected. I mean, come on, how can I not hug, kiss, hold hands & just plain love this little sweetie?

The end of two long, wonderful days with my three favorite people in the whole world!

MASS ASCENSION

Yeah, it sounds like some Catholic ritual but in actuality "Mass Ascension" is the term used when over 500 hot air balloons rise into the sky at the annual International Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque, New Mexico. 

I just returned from another wonderful visit with my soon-to-be seven granddaughter. Charley, her dad & I spent four days during her fall break just hanging out, playing, watching movies & having fun! Friday morning we decided to take a ride out to the Balloon Fiesta site & see what was going on.

We found this balloon hovering really low over the street. I took this photo out the front window just before our car literally drove right under the balloon. We all opened our windows, yelled "hi" & waved at the pilot who waved back!

This balloon looked like it was landing just to the side of the road. You can just get a glimpse of these trees in the lower left corner of the above photo.

That was such fun that we checked out the schedule for the weekend where we discovered the "Mass Ascension" on Saturday morning at 7 AM. The three of us decided to go for it & Darrin bought us tickets. You can drive but they recommended one of the four bus transportation locations that bypass all the traffic into the field. These events usually attract over 80,000 spectators.

If you are not a morning person (like me), you have to really suck it up since they suggest arriving by 6 AM which we did after getting up at 4:30 AM. The place was packed with spectators as the early "dawn patrol" balloons go up first to check the wind speed & direction.

Since the burners are ignited every few seconds to keep the balloons rising these photos were really hard to get. I tried to anticipate when they would crank up the flames to get these photos. I also have about 20 that are pretty much black.

We were bundled up in the chilly New Mexico morning. Charley had the great idea to go over by this balloon that was using its burner to heat the inside air enough to ascend. She was right! It was really warm since we were just a few feet away.

Dawn was just beginning to light up the sky as the first balloons rose into the air as people yelled & cheered. These two are a little hard to see but I dubbed them "Breakfast of Champions" - the orange one is Krispy Kreme donuts & the black one is Dos Equis beer.

They say that around 500 balloons take part in the mass ascension from the huge field. It takes close to two hours for the several waves of balloons to go up since each has to be inflated with fans, then heated with burners & finally allowed to take off into the sky. I was amazed at how thousands & thousands of people just wander around engulfed by hot air balloons in various stages of inflation. The crews simply find a spot & constantly ask the spectators to move over while they spread out the cloth of each balloon. You are definitely up close & personal!

For about an hour we were literally surrounded by balloons. It was fascinating to watch the crews go through the steps to inflate & fly the balloons. But I came to the conclusion that it was a hell of a lot of work to ride this thing up into the air with no ability to steer it or control it other than to give it more heat to rise. Fun to watch but I think I'll pass on flying in one.

After the balloon is laid out on the ground, it is inflated with a giant fan before the burner is used to heat the air enough to stand the balloon upright. 

These are my favorite photos of the sunrise as hundreds of balloons continued to ascend into the New Mexico sky.

These Rainbow Ryder balloons apparently travel around giving balloon rides at various events. 

I am still amazed at how all these balloons with almost no ability to control them don't hit each other. I suppose that they are all at the mercy of the same wind. They all have chase crews in pick up trucks that follow them along roads & ultimately arrive to haul the pilot, basket & balloons back to the field.

Here we are thoroughly enjoying the spectacle. We had lots of snacks for Charley but that breakfast burrito tasted really, really good when we all sat on the grass to finally eat breakfast as we watched the final groups rise into the air. And my hip did pretty well - I only needed minimal help to get up off the ground!

This shows you just how close the spectators are to all the action.

There are all sorts of shapes, sizes & colors of balloons. Here are some of our favorites.

The elephant was a favorite of kids of all ages. There was also a cow, a zebra & Darth Vader but they were either blocked by other balloons or wouldn't cooperate turning around for my photo op.

I liked the shape of this one & wasn't sure if it was a carousel or something else.

Charley said that this was a princess elephant. It was really big & took forever to inflate.

All of us loved this Black Widow spider attached to the side of this balloon. Charley had watched the opening day on TV & had a great time seeing the balloons in person that she saw on TV.

There were several balloons such as this fish that were just on static display, too.

All but the static display balloons were finally airborne. Here is our sweetie with a full tummy, all warmed up & enjoying the balloon necklace & butterfly wand that Gaga bought for her - of course. She was a real trooper & we were so proud of her! 

HAPPY 90th BIRTHDAY, DAD!

If my dad would have lived two more months, he would be turning 90 years old today & we would be sharing a glass or two of wine together. Happy Birthday, Dad! I wanted to do a little photo tribute to my dad on this emotional & special day. Family was the highlight of his life. First Karen & I were his focus, then Darrin was the apple of his eye. And finally, our beautiful Charley constantly delighted him.

This is my favorite picture of our four generations. Sports have always been a love of our family, my father especially. We wore our shirts & took this photo as the playoffs began when the Warriors won their second championship (third, actually if you count 1975). We did the Number One thing believing they would win it all & they did!

We took a few four generation photos that will live on for the next generation. Fortunately, either my mom or my Grandma Hattie took this one & it survived over 60 years!

This photo goes WAY back to probably 1955 with my dad's father & grandmother. Wow, my dad was 27 & had black hair! That's me on the left at age 5 sitting on my Grandpa Harry's lap & Karen was just a few months old with our "Old Grandma" as she was referred to - my guess is that she wasn't thrilled with that name.

Our tiny baby girl was just a few weeks old when we took the first of our four generation photos with my dad as the patriarch. Getting a good photo of my dad can be a real challenge. He is one of those people who looks at a camera & suddenly a crazy expression crosses his face.

This one was taken three years ago at Christmas. One of our better attempts at getting the four of us to look pretty good.

After my mom's death, my dad made yearly pilgrimages to Sea Ranch. In recent years his health made the trip north difficult. Last year we all made one last visit to Sea Ranch a reality for him. This is a small meditation chapel just off Highway 1 in Sea Ranch.

About ten years ago we had some professional photos taken. This was a three generation one with Darrin, my dad & me - B.C. (Before Charley).

This is probably the only time he had a professional portrait taken.

My dad's health issues began just after his 69th birthday when he had a brain stem stroke. Most people don't survive those but my dad made an almost miraculous recovery & we had a huge bash to celebrate his 70th birthday. He loved it! Some friends even flew in from Washington to surprise him.

Yes, we put 70 candles on the cake & made him blow them all out! There was a time when we weren't sure he would even make it to his 70th birthday & he eventually made it almost to his 90th!

For some reason I don't have any photos of him & my mom together. She died over 27 years ago. My parents weren't into taking photos & didn't like or want their pictures taken. Nor does my sister but here is a rare photo of my dad with his two daughters probably taken at least 15 years ago.

You'll notice that the champagne was flowing freely in this photo which probably explains how we managed to get my dad & Karen to sit still long enough to snap a picture.

When Darrin entered our lives & later Charley, I was far more into taking lots of photos. It was still difficult to get a good photo of my dad. He just can't seem to keep a natural expression on his face when the camera is present. We had to catch him adoringly admiring his only grandson & only great granddaughter to avoid the goofy face.

Back in 1977 when Darrin was one, my dad's hair was just turning gray.

Meeting his great-granddaughter, Charley Ellen, when she was one day old at the hospital in October 2011.

Holding our precious Charley Ellen at just a few weeks old.

Darrin & his dad scattered my dad's ashes up in Sea Ranch along the northern California coast. My parents spent lots of time up there & loved it. My mom was scattered there along our favorite trail over 27 years ago & now my dad has joined her.

Happy 90th Birthday, Dad! Wish you could have made it to this milestone birthday.....BUT I'm guessing that you really don't care now since you are enjoying time with our mom, your mom & dad, old friends, & of course, laughing & telling jokes with Harold nonstop. We miss you!