Disneyland

We sat on the train near the back by the caboose, where they have a ramp to load Ike’s chair on and off. It was just to get out of the sun for a little while and rest our weary feet. We’d been on it before, a day or two earlier but hadn’t yet gone all the way around, so that’s what we did – that and chatted up the nice people who’s daughter had nodded off and who were looking for the same break in the day that we were having. It’s a quiet ride, mostly in the shade or through the various tunnels depicting the Grand Canyon, the age of the dinosaurs and a strangely warbled Zip-a-de-do-da’d Song of the South paddleboat scene.

It was the afternoon of day five and by this time we had pretty much had our fill of the Happiest Place On Earth™. We’d done the Pirates of the Caribbean, Peter Pan, Dumbo, that “Small World” place, Pooh, Alice in Wonderland, Splash Mountain, Haunted Mansion, Autopia, Honey, I Shrunk the Audience, Indiana Jones, that safari ride boat thing, some other non-safari boat ride that really sucked and who’s name I can’t remember now and hope I never do; we wandered through Toon Town, Adventure Land, Frontier Land, Tomorrow Land, walked down Main Street, and rode both the Monorail and the train. We made our way through California Adventure’s roller coaster, Farris Wheel, Soaring over California, Hollywood Back-lot, whatever the hell their river ride is called, and the older boy climbed all over the “Nature Area” forest ranger-rope-runaround thing.

We did everything but what was closed or Ike disagreed with. Things like avoided all parades, day or night, no listening to an animatronic Mr. Lincoln, no riding Space Mountain or Big Thunder Mountain, no seeing the Tiki Room, or paddling in canoes.

But by the afternoon of day five we didn’t really care. On that last train ride around the park, all I could think of was a big bowl of Pho’, or a piece of hard cheese on a cracker and a tart apple. How I wanted to sleep in my own bed with my own pillow, together with my own wife. I wanted to take a shower that left me feeling clean and not just wet; to drink water from a tap that quenched my thirst. Food from my cupboard and not some crummy cafeteria.

Of course I was also thinking about the fact that my family so totally and completely rocks at this vacation thing, and how I’d sign us up to do it again in a heartbeat. Sweetie got around just fine on her booted up ankle, Ike was game for just about anything staying up way past his bedtime and enjoying himself, and The Older Boy was just the perfect age to go on some of the scarier rides but still get excited when running into Stitch.

Right now I’m really too tired to come up with clever platitudes or insightful insights about the Big Disney Machine. The coffee is managing to keep my eyes open but it’s not doing much to turn on whatever part of the brain that is.

I’m happy that we made it there, happy that we had a nice time, and really, really happy to be home again, all relatively sane, alive, and in one piece.