Disneyland II

Two exhausting days doing Disneyland in the rain, followed by a day sitting like a slug on the couch crocheting and watching the "American Chopper" marathon which my nephew got me hooked on. It's great having a three-day weekend, but I'm still tired.

The weather had predicted thunderstorms for Saturday and showers for Sunday, so I wore my long wool coat for protection and my neoprene sandals to keep from getting some sort of jungle foot rot from wearing soaked shoes for two days. My kids and nephew each eventually sprang for a Mickey poncho when they got tired of getting wet through their sweatshirts. Their shoes all got soaked, but nobody reported foot rot.

I really recommend thunderstorm days, because everyone stayed away. The lines for Indiana Jones and Star Tours were way shorter than normal (Space Mountain is closed for renovation), and we spent Saturday riding all the great rides in both Disneyland and California Adventure, some more than once.

Sunday, we were still worn out from Saturday, so we spent more time seeing the shows than riding rides. But that turned out for the best, because the driver of the Omnibus (top level closed due to rain) told us that Monday would be the last day of the "Mr. Lincoln" show, so naturally we had to see it. They had upgraded it since the last time I saw it, and the sound was via headphones. They had a mosquito buzzing your ears and they gave you a haircut, both of which were too realistic for comfort. It was pretty cool, and I don't know what they're going to put there instead, but it had better be more cool than this.

They've discontinued the "Who Wants to be a Millionare?" game in California Adventure, which was Really Fun and I had been looking forward to playing again, because the last time I played, I got into the top 10 and I wanted to try for the hot seat. That's the way it goes...

In Disney's California Adventure they have 75 Mickey Mouse statues probably three feet high, all in the same pose. They were given to different celebrities or artists to decorate, and most of them were incredible. They'll be auctioned off later this year and the proceeds will go to charity of the artist's choice. The base of each statue listed the statue's title, artist and charity. Here is a link for more information on the InspEARations program.

One of the Mickeys was wearing a coon-skin cap, and I said it must be Fess Parker. It was. The only one I guessed right, besides Home Depot. My nephew guessed several of them right. Tom Hanks did one with galaxies on it. There was a silver Mickey, a wooden Mickey, a marble Mickey, and a swiss cheese Mickey with a cute little mouse in his ear. He was painted all sorts of colors, one with the paint looking like it was chipping off. He had world maps and stripes and swirls and music notes painted, and old Mickey comic strips papier mache'd on. He held baseballs and bats and a skateboard, and an umbrella while he wore a rain slicker. The Mickeys ranged in quality between great and fabulous, except for one. Rosie O'Donnell painted one by dripping yellow paint all over it, and it looked disappointingly out of place. I feel bad for her charity, because they probably won't get as much as the other charities will. Some pictures here, here, and here, and a map and schedule of the coming locations here.

We all had a good time. My nephew liked Disneyland just fine, though he would have been more excited by bigger thrill rides. My kids and I were in our element, except that I had more thrill than I could handle on the Ferris Wheel (yes, even the wussy non-swinging gondolas were too much for me).

Wonderful weekend, and I'm glad to have gotten to know my nephew better as an adult. He's turning out all right.