o c t o b e r

always happy when our birthday month rolls around :-)  this year, again, I couldn't be with my best birthday buddy, but we were texting each other again throughout Our Day.

took two weeks off from work and spent 7 days in LA-LA-Land, and 4 of those days in the Happiest Place on Earth! puttered around organizing the apartment for a few days, then flew South on Thursday morning, picked up a rental car (a zoomy red one!) and drove over to San Juan Capistrano to see the mission, then to the coast, Laguna Beach. wandered around town and had lunch at the Lumberyard restaurant - had a gargantuan burger and amazing garlic fries plus a rye drink called a Thyme Out. then I walked up Broadway to the Laguna Playhouse to catch the matinee performance of Billy & Ray, a comedy set in the 40's about Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler and how they wrote the screenplay for the movie Double Indemnity together.  It was very funny, and I thoroughly enjoyed being in a "new" (for me) theatre. by the time I drove home I was "done" since I had been up since 'oh-dark-thirty' to catch my flight. got checked in at the Doubletree by the Ducks stadium, then ordered room service - Mac&Cheese and beer - to eat while watching our boys play on Thursday Night Football. they didn't win.

  

the next morning I headed over to Hollywood, purposely leaving around 10 am to miss any commute traffic  - and ran right into LA traffic :-/  I guess there is no good time to drive there.  it took two hours to drive the 20 or so miles. but I lunched right next door to the famous Pink's hot dog stand (the line was too long to actually eat there) and then strolled along the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame. since the weather was hot - in the mid-90's - I could only do that for about 2 hours. then it was off to drive up Sunset Blvd, and then find the little playhouse where I would see my next stage show, recommended by our friend Aaron, called Going, Going, Gone. I learned in the few hours I drove there, driving and parking in Hollywood are extremely difficult and nerve-wracking, so when I found a metered spot right in front of the theatre, where I would have to feed the meter a dollar every hour, I considered myself lucky and pulled in. there was a tiny cafe right next to the theatre, so I spent the next three hours there - during their lull - eating dessert and drinking wine, feeding the meter each time it expired, until 6pm when it didn't require feeding any more. I also had supper there, a light greek salad with champagne vinaigrette. and more wine. Yum! the theatre was quaint, the people were lovely, and the show was just as funny as the previous days' comedy; this one was set in the sportscasters booth at a ballgame.  the playwright was there in the audience, and I met him and shook his hand, and told him how much I enjoyed the show!  the drive home took only 25 minutes thankfully, and I plopped into bed much in need of rest! what a great day!!

   

 

Saturday was the first day I spent in the parks. knowing it would be crowded for Columbus Day (long) weekend, I got there around 9 and went to California Adventure. this is the last year for Tower of Terror - they're going to build another "franchise" attraction hoping to get even more people into the park! (if you ask me there are too many here now - but they won't ask me.) I will need to work up the nerve to get on this ride, but with Joyce's encouragement, I will. eventually. this week. :-D  I got a fast-pass for the Carsland ride and started to stroll the park to see what has changed. as I walked past the theatre where they do live productions (previously Aladdin was there) I started a conversation with one of the cast members who was at the queue ropes. She saw it was my birthday, and that I was an Ana, and she arranged priority seating for me at the next performance of the new show Frozen!!! it was such a tremendous production. ever the theatre-geek, I would count how long quick-changes took - Anna's change from bed-head to ballgown took 65 seconds, and Elsa's coronation gown to ice-gown was one second!! on stage, during a black-out.  so amazing!! and of course I cried at all the same places I cry during the movie. the puppets for Olaf and Sven were a-dor-able!! as we were walking out of the theatre after the show, one of the other guests who knew this was my first time seeing it, told me I had just seen the best Princess Anna of the bunch who play her. BONUS!!  park-hopped to Disneyland for a little while too, but since there are Halloween festivities going on, it was more crowded than the other park. even saw Boba Fett in Tomorrowland! this first day I spent nine hours in the parks,  <whew!>  then took the hotel's shuttle back to the hotel, ate dinner at the bar with my new best friend Chris-the-Bartender, who was fun to talk to and made delicious refreshing beverages! packed it in early since I was tired, and sun-burned - especially my eyes - and knew I needed to be ready for Our Birthday on Sunday!

   

 

my eyes were so sun-burned they were painful to keep open when I woke on Sunday, so I kept them under cold compresses for a couple hours and felt human after that. no parks today. instead, I had lunch at the Starbucks across the street from the hotel - got my free birthday beverage with "happy birthday" written on the cup! - then went to the mall behind the hotel and to the AMC theatre to carry on another "Ana & Joyce Tradition"... I watched an action adventure movie! Joyce and I have seen two Bond films together on previous trips, but since she's not here and there is no Bond movie opening now, I opted to see Denzel's Magnificent Seven, which was magnificent.  then it was back to the hotel to get dressed up for dinner, even though I'm by myself. when we were kids our big treat would be an outing to Farrell's Ice Cream Parlor, which closed all it's restaurants in our neighborhood when I was still in my teens. there are now two locations open in Southern California, so a month ago I made a reservation at the one in Buena Park. my waiter was delightful, about my age, but a big kid at heart and thoroughly enjoyed "acting" throughout the evening, singing various birthday renditions of famous songs. mine was the Beach Boys' Surfin' USA. "If Everybody had a birthday...."  I had a BIG glass of wine (my waiter said "this isn't our 'standard' pour") and comfort food of "frickles" (fried pickles and ranch dressing), and a foot-long hot dog and fries. For dessert I had a Straw-Ana (no, not named after me) which is a strawberry and banana sundae with chocolate and strawberry sauces. scrumptious! the family dining behind me was from Oklahoma and celebrating their daughter's 9th birthday; we had fun chatting with each other through most of the evening. such lovely people!  I drove home by way of Knott's Scary (for Halloween) Farm and took a picture of Independence Hall all lit up for the evening. shades of 1776. it was a great day and a lovely birthday!

   

 

Monday and back to the Park! I got there early to avoid the heat and crowds, and got fast-passes for Soarin' Over the World, and later, the dreaded Tower of Terror.  Soarin' was wonderful, although I wanted it to last longer and to visit more places. the heat wasn't as bad as previous days so I spent more time wandering around California Adventure. I had to time it right but I finally got to have my picture taken with Woody from Toy Story!  my Tower fast-pass was for 2:15, and you don't go right onto the ride when you get there, even with the pass. you meander in a queue through a themed area that represents the subterranean parts of the hotel. already I was building up the anxiety. finally on the ride, they placed me all the way in the back in the corner. no way out from there. the ride was only about a minute long but it felt like hours of agony.  and I was so queasy when we got off I waited until everyone else was off before I exited. deep breaths.  get your land legs. I stopped in the gift shop and this time I did buy the T-shirt (when we rode the Florida ride we neglected to get the shirts there.) I had no desire to ride any other ride - except the shuttle bus back to the hotel. I took a nap for a couple hours and felt better. So I went back downstairs and had dinner again with Chris-the-Bartender who made me another magical elixir and witty conversation. that definitely made up for that horrible elevator! back to the parks tomorrow!

   

 

knowing that Disneyland would be filled with trick-r-treaters again, I headed over there first, early, and got right onto Small World. then I went into Toontown for the first time in years (when Joyce was younger) and stood in line for 30 minutes to get my photo op with Minnie. Pirates was always too crowded every time I passed by … well, maybe next trip. stopped for lunch at the Café Orleans where I dined on my traditional Monte Cristo and Mint Julep, then had Mickey beignets for dessert. with work being done on Star Wars Land, the train is parked in New Orleans Square and is a walk-up attraction. the Dixieland Band was playing there and the Conductor asked me to dance, wishing me Happy Birthday as we two-stepped! Then the band members sang me Happy Birthday too!! Tarzan’s Treehouse and the Tiki Room, and I hit all the fun Adventureland sites. I was still stuffed to the gills from my late lunch in New Orleans, but I still needed to stop by and say goodbye to Chris-the-Bartender, and have him mix me up one more delectible drink.  He shook my hand goodbye, not wanting to let go … I think he enjoyed my company as much as I his. 

   

   

   

 

woke up early one more time, packed up and checked out of the hotel. drove over to Downtown Disney to stroll the mall before the crowds hit. had breakfast at Tortilla Joe’s – chilaquiles and coffee – then rode the monorail - in the front car - into the park for a final few hours in the Happiest Place on Earth. but before I caught my flight out of town, I knew I wanted to stroll through the gardens of what I once knew as the Crystal Cathedral. the local diocese had taken over and was renovating and restoring, but the grounds were open to the public, and were well groomed and in bloom. it was so restful to just stroll through the nearly empty, peaceful place. then it was finally off to John Wayne airport, where I had early supper at the IHOP across the expressway, turned in the rental car, and then waited at the gate for my flight home, which would end up being more than an hour late due to an equipment problem on another plane. oh well, if that was the worst of my luck, that was fine. I got safely home late at night, with visions of Disney lands dancing in my head!

   

   

   

   

no sooner was I home than I had my season ticket to see one of my favorite musicals Memphis! I also won tickets at work to see the Disney on Ice show at the Shark Tank … how appropriate considering my recent trip! then that very same evening I saw our dear friend Aaron playing Harold Hill in Music Man; of course he was wonderful! it was such a wonderful birthday month! Joyce and I weren’t together in person, but we texted so much day to day, that we seemed to be as close as ever.