Heading West to the "Original": Flight Home & Final Thoughts COMPLETE 4/10/06 About This Page:

[DawnDenise]

[b]Day 4, Part 3: Phone Tag, A Couple Drinks, and Finally Meeting a Friend

<font color="navy">We head into DTD and make our way over to the House of Blues to check on the wait time. They tell us it will be an hour and give us a buzzy thing. They tell us we can go as far as WoD but that’s about it. I have some time before I am to meet Karen so we head to an outdoor coffee bar. Everyone but myself order some kind of specialty coffee with some type of liquor. I go with a white Russian.

The conversation is good. We go over Judy’s list to see what she still needs to buy. She says she wants to go back to the Crystal Arts place in the Magic Kingdom after the fireworks as there are a couple of things she saw there. Chuck tells me he is glad that I am going away for awhile as he wants to buy me something. I cannot help but smile as he can never surprise me especially when it comes to Disney, but I sure do appreciate his attempts! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

We order a second round and then decide to go ahead and pay the bill as we are sure we will be getting called. Now I am not a coffee drinker in the least but Judy really wants me to try hers. It’s called a B-53 and has amaretto, Bailey’s, and Kaluha. If all coffee tasted like this, I would be addicted. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/yuma.gif[/img] I have to keep myself from not drinking more of her drink. I deal with my simple white Russian. At about the 50 minute mark, the buzzer goes off, and we make our way to House of Blues. I say good-bye to the gang and head over to Ralph Brennan’s.

I have not checked my cell phone so I decide this would be a good time. Well, looky there. I missed a call and have a message. My ringer is not the loudest one, so I am not surprised I missed it. It’s Karen, and she is telling me that they are stuck in LA traffic. I get her number and call her back. She tells me that they are going to miss the PS but would call me when she hit property. Her and Zack were going to renew their APs and grab a bite to eat within the park. She tells me to use the PS for Brennan’s if they haven’t already gotten something to eat. (I can’t remember the exact details but I think this is what happened.)

Well, I go into the House of Blues in search of the rest of the gang. I want to offer the chance for Brennan’s but they are already into appetizers and drinks when I finally find them. I take a seat and a waiter appears out of nowhere. He takes my drink order. How he heard me, I have no idea. The atmosphere of this place is rockin’ to say the least. I have my first taste of catfish as the appetizer of choice was catfish bites. Not bad!! The waiter returns with my drink and we go ahead and place our entrée orders. I go with the open faced turkey Manhattan. Yummy!!! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/yuma.gif[/img] We really enjoy the food and the atmosphere at the HoB. Chuck and I plan on checking out the WDW version on our next trip.

I have one more drink with dinner so the current count is 4. The rest of the gang wants after dinner coffee but since I do not drink coffee, I have another White Russian. So now we are at 5. I do not feel the effects at all. Well, not until I stand up after we pay our bill. The world starts to move on me and I take it nice and slow outside to get some fresh air. All I can think of is that I am going to be buzzin’ when I meet up with Karen and Zack and how embarrassed I am going to be. Luckily, the fresh, cool air perks me up. I notice that I miss another call from Karen. Darn loud music! I mean, it’s not like I could have switched the phone to vibrate. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img] Anyway, I call Karen back and she tells me they are going to grab something to eat at Pizzaport. I tell them I will come find them there as we are headed back to the parks.

We get to the entrance and there is a huge line to get back into the park. It probably takes about 15 minutes for us to get through. Once inside the gates, I kiss the husband, tell him where I will meet him and the in-laws, and a hobbling off I go. I am amazed at how fast I am moving in and out between people. CMs are already blocking off Main Street for the fireworks. You cannot go against the grain. If you need to get back to the right side of Main Street (Facing the Castle), you have to go all the way around the hub and down the left side. I could already predict that it was going to be very interesting finding the rest of the gang.

I make my way into Tomorrowland and boogie my way back to the Pizzaport. I immediately see Karen and kind of skipped my way up to her. There is no hesitation and hugs are immediately exchanged. Zack is standing over by the entrance to Pizzaport and is a little hesitant about coming over. Well, that doesn’t last long. I call him out and make him come over and give me a hug. We start chatting back and forth while we are walking. We stop at the store with all the Star Wars stuff in it. I make a mental note to come back here because I want to pick something up for Zack, but I unfortunately never make it there. I vow to get something to send out to my CA friends. Anyway….

We walk all the way around the hub just chatting away. As we are walking down the left side of Main Street, I luckily hear Chuck yell my name. We duck under the rope and find ourselves standing in the middle of Main Street. Introductions are made all around and we are within 5 minutes of the fireworks beginning. Judy is the short one of the group and all the people around us are so cool about making sure she can see. We hear the opening sounds of the music and the dimming of the lights. YAY!!!! I am so looking forward to “Remember…Dreams Come True.”

Eileen described these fireworks in great detail so I won’t bore you with that. I’ll just let you know that I love them. The perimeter fireworks, the lasers, the music….awesome. I video some of the performance but then just watch it in amazement. Since we were leaving the next morning, I could not think of a better way of capping this vacation off. Here I am standing in the middle of Main Street with my hubby, my in-laws, and some good friends. I am definitely in my happy zone! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Once the show completes, Chuck and the in-laws go into the stores while I continue to talk with Karen and Zack. I wish I could remember exactly what we talked about but I know it is so easy to talk to Karen. We eventually get around to taking pictures. Zack takes pictures with both our cameras of the two of us.


Now as we are talking about this and that, I grab a picture of Zack. Well this turns into a mini photo shoot of the many faces of Zack!!







I have to tell you. Zack is an awesome guy! He is going to be famous one day. I know it in the bottom of my heart. So, we here at Passporter can say, “I knew him when”. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] We talk for a little while longer, and we have to say good-bye. Zack is tired due to staying up late the night before. We go into the store and find my gang and we say good-bye. Now, I did not cry during the fireworks but when they left, I had tears in my eyes. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/zcry.gif[/img] Judy looks at me like I am from another planet but Chuck just nods and understands. He knows from all of my reports that Passporter people are incredible human beings that have made my life even fuller. &lt;Big sigh&gt;

Ok, now that I have dried my tears yet again. I apparently ruin Chuck’s surprise by walking up about 5 minutes too early. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/roflmao.gif[/img] I have an idea about what he bought. All of you will get to see pictures of it in the next update. (Mostly because I still need to take a picture of it. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img] ) Judy makes her purchases and she says she needs to go to World of Disney for a couple of more things.

We say good-bye to Disneyland and make our way back into DTD for the last of our shopping. I pick up my scrapbook and a kit. I pick up a shirt for Chuck that he had been eyeing all week. We all walk out of the World of Disney with our wallets a little lighter and our arms a little heavier with all the bags. It’s closing in on 11:00pm, and we still have to pack. We make our final journey from the parks to our hotel. Can you tell I am getting a little sentimental here? We head to our separate rooms and make plans to grab breakfast the next morning. Our shuttle is to be at the hotel at 11:45am.

Once Chuck and I make it back to the room, we both just crash on the bed for about 20 minutes. We sit and talk about the vacation and how much we really did enjoy it. Then Chuck asks if I am going to take off my shoes. Now…I have not complained about my toe for the past 3 hours. I do not want to take off my shoes though. Being the wonderful hubby he is, he takes off my shoes and surveys the damage. I am actually impressed. My bandage job held up great. Kudos to me!

We finally decide to do the sad task of packing. We grab some Cokes from the fridge, the package of Fudge Stripes, and open the suitcases. It took some creative packing on our part but we get everything in and hope that they make the weight limits. Chuck has to carry one of my surprises as it’s too big. (He did question why he didn’t have it shipped home.) We both take showers and climb into bed. When we first planned this trip, we didn’t think we were going to come back again. We decide that night as we are drifting off to sleep that we will be returning.</font>

Coming up: Our Flight Home and Final Thoughts

[lauren-roxy]

Great update Dawn!! I am so glad that you got to meet up with Karen and Zack!! LOve the pictures!! I can't believe that this trip report is about over, I have really enjoyed it!!

[loobyoxlip]

That's so cool that the people around you at the fireworks were making sure the shorter people could see, too. Great update, Dawn. I don't want you to leave, either!!

[simbarel]

Nice bandage job. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif[/img]

How cool that you'll be returning. I'm really jonesing to experience other Disney locations, DH promises me that we'll visit DL one day. He's worked at the HoB and can attest to its noise volume.

5 White Russians! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img] Respect. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502yes_prv.gif[/img]

[chezp]

I so don't want this report to be over. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502no_prv.gif[/img] But hey, if a Disney trip is going to come to an end, that's the way it should end - what an amazing last night you guys had. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

I'm looking forward to seeing what your surprise was.

[Colexis Mom]

What a great last night Dawn [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/zwavin.gif[/img] How cool to meet up with Karen and Zack [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

I'm sorry it's all coming to an end [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

[Caldercup]

Sounds like a great meet, Dawn. And that pic of you and Karen is just gorgeous!! What a hambone that Zack is ... too funny!

[ QUOTE ]
<font color="blue"> Chuck just nods and understands. He knows from all of my reports that Passporter people are incredible human beings that have made my life even fuller. &lt;Big sigh&gt; </font>

[/ QUOTE ]

Waaaah! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/zcry.gif[/img] you totally made me tear up reading that! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/zcry.gif[/img] I know EXACTLY how you feel, girl!

&lt;sniff&gt;

Can't wait for more,
Eileen

[DrDolphin]

Great update Dawn!!! Sounds like a WONDERFUL evening!!!

[PrincessSharon]

Great update, Dawn! I am sad to see this TR coming to an end. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] It sounds like it was a perfect night to end your trip, and it's so cool that you got to meet Karen &amp; Zack! Looking forward to more!

[SHEANA1226]

Great update Dawn!! I can't wait to see your surprise! Glad you finally got to meet up with Karen and Zack!

[ariel14]

I just got caught up! Great TR!
Sorry to see it ending!!!

[TinkerBelz]

Okie Dokie - all caught up and no Final Thoughts yet. Let's get to them! LOL

[snoozy]

Great update, just waiting for those final thoughts.

[DawnDenise]

[b]Our Flight Home and My Final Thoughts

<font color="navy">What??? What is that?? Oh…so that’s what my cell phone ringer sounds like. And who the heck is calling me at 7:30am?? I stumble my way to the “living room” area I have my cell phone charging and answer it. On the other end is someone who cannot pronounce my last name trying to tell me that the shuttle company will be picking us up at 11:30am instead of 11:55am. Chuck hears me and is now playing 20 questions with me while I am one the phone. I go into the bathroom to finish up the call in silence and am amazed I still could get signal in there. I hang up and fill Chuck in on the latest. He calls his mom and they ask if we want to go to breakfast at the Jolly Roger. He looks at me and immediately says no. We turn on the TV and climb back into bed. Chuck and I are not in the mood to get moving just yet.

We doze off and on until about 9:00am and decide we better get moving. He makes a run to the 7-11 for a healthy breakfast of milk and donuts while I get all the toiletries and miscellaneous stuff packed. He returns with the in-laws in tow. Apparently they were at the 7-11 getting snacks for the plane. We sit around and talk until my cell phone starts going off again. This time I have to dig through my bag to find it but it’s the same lady from this morning and she tells me the shuttle will be there in 10 minutes. I look at the clock and it is 10:50am WHAT?!?!? [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/eek.gif[/img] Since she can barely understand me, I say fine and tell everyone to go get their stuff and to go check out.

We make our way down to the lobby and I go check out. Nothing is due, thank goodness. I was sure they were going to charge me for the three unsuccessful attempts of trying to use their “Hi-Speed” Internet. Allan and Judy have some charges to pay, and by the time I walk back outside, the shuttle guy is there. Chuck is helping him load the luggage. We all climb into the van, and I have to bid a fond farewell to Anaheim. I’m happy to report my trip back to the airport was not as “thrilling” as my ride there. Of course, I wasn’t paying that much attention. We make it to Ontario and go check our baggage. Apparently Judy had gone down to the front desk and had them print out our boarding passes the night before. Good thinking Judy!! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif[/img]

Now we are to the fun part of going through security. Here is where my toe injury goes into play. My whole foot was swollen when I woke up due to the weird walking I did yesterday to compensate. Well, I was not about to take my shoes off for security. After getting all my bags on the conveyor belt, I start my way through the metal detector. I am told to go sit down in a chair so they can scan my shoes. They take a little circle piece of cloth and run them over the sides of my shoes and then take it somewhere to see if it is ok. I get the thumbs up. I do not know what it did but I am not about to question it. I make my way to help Chuck with all the bags. We get to our gate and get settled in as we have a good 2 hours before they allow boarding.

As soon as we sit down, a Southwest employee comes up to me. She has noticed my limping and was wondering if I was okay. I tell that I had hurt my toes but I was okay. She hands me a pre-boarding pass and tells me to use it. I try and tell her it’s ok because we have “A” group boarding passes but she insists. I thank her, and off she goes. Chuck and I decide we are hungry and need something to read on the plane. We get drink orders from Judy and Allan and head to the little newsstand and Carl’s Jr. (Hardees). I just get some French fries and a drink. Chuck gets some kind of burger meal. We take everything back and begin the waiting process.

The flight to Phoenix is far from full and I really didn’t need the pre-boarding pass. Chuck and I are able to spread across three seats, which is nice. Chuck and I just talk for the short flight and before we know it, we are power walking to our gate for our flight to Indy. We get to our gate with about 15 minutes to spare before boarding. Bathroom breaks are made all around, especially for me as I REFUSE to go to the bathroom on the plane. I do use the pre-boarding here as there is a huge amount of people. The employee at the gate tells me that the flight is full and I should be able to keep my foot propped up.

We board and find a row about mid-plane and get settled. I go ahead and prop my foot up and get all situated. Our plan was about 75% full so there are plenty of open seats. Well, this guy comes along and decides he likes our row even though there is a row across from us with only one person in it. We ask if he could look for another seat as there are plenty open. Well, he starts going off! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img] The flight attendant comes and asks what is going on as he is holding up the line. She tries to tell him there are other seats available but he insists he wants to sit in our row. Chuck gives me the look, and I move my foot. He scoots over one seat and the “crazy” guy sits down. Once everyone is on the plane, the flight attendant comes to the guy again and says there are two rows completely open five rows back. He refuses to move. So…what do Chuck and I do?? We ask the guy to move so we can go back five rows and I can stretch out. He starts going off again. We get him to move and we just leave the stuff in the overhead bin and take what we need back to the other seats. Judy and Allan are now left with the “crazy” guy. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]

We get settled in again and the flight is very smooth. I sleep for the first 2 hours and then finish watch the rest of Lion King for the last half. Before we know it, we are making our descent. Thank goodness because I really needed to go to the bathroom. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/roflmao.gif[/img] We gather our belongings and Chuck grabs the stuff in the overhead bin as we pass. We meet Judy and Allan inside the terminal. Apparantly “crazy” guy was never satisfied on the whole flight. He had too much ice in his drink. He though the snack box was a joke and demanded another one. All I can say is that I am soooooooo glad we moved. Chuck would have knocked the guy out before the flight ended.

As we are walking through the terminal, Allan keeps asking where baggage claim is. We just point up to the signs and keep walking. It’s about 11:30pm now and we are tired. None us feel like speaking. We make it to baggage claim, and we get our bags without any problem. Now, Allan is supposed to be calling to make sure our ride home is there. Chuck asks where we have to go to meet our ride. Allan says,” Oh, I guess I better call them.” I shake my head but Judy goes off. Luckily, our ride was there and we lucked out and got a limo this time around. We get dropped off at the in-laws house. We load our car, say good-bye and make a stop at Taco Bell as we are kind of hungry. Finally, we walk through the doors of our townhome. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/thewave.gif[/img] </font>


Now…my final thoughts….are ya ready??? [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/roflmao.gif[/img]

<font color="navy">I am so glad I made the trip out to Disneyland. To see the original in all it’s 50th celebration glory is something I will not forget. Though Judy is never going to be a Disney fanatic, I truly believe she saw the magic that I so love.

<u>Portofino Inns and Suites: </u> Great hotel. Love the suite rooms. For our first trip out to DL and not knowing exactly where to stay, I think the choice we made was a good one. When we go back, it’ll be the Candy Cane Inn if we stay off-site. Of course, I will be pushing for onsite accommodations. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502yes_prv.gif[/img]

<u>Disneyland Park:</u> My love for WDW and the Magic Kingdom aside, I still get the goosebumps walking down Main Street and seeing the castle. It is smaller than the Magic Kingdom, but it was easy to navigate. We hit the DL exclusives like the Matterhorn and Alice in Wonderland. I loved the “Parade of Dreams” and “Remember…Dreams Come True”. I regret not seeing Fantasmic here.

<u>Disney’s California Adventure:</u> A great park in my opinion. I think it has a variety of themes and rides that will appeal to those of all ages. I know I did not get to experience everything in this park. I have to say that even the rides that are similar to those in WDW have their distinct differences. One thing I regret is not getting back to DCA for Block Party bash and seeing the Aladdin show. California Screamin’ rocks!!</font>

Restaurants:

<font color="navy"><u>Tortilla Jo’s (DTD): </u> If you like Mexican food, it’s a must. Heck, if you like margaritas, this is a great place. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/toast.gif[/img] I do recommend if you get a burrito, try and split it with someone. They are HUGE!

<u>Lilo and Stitch’s Aloha Breakfast @ Paradise Pier:</u> I [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/love.gif[/img] it!!! It’ll be a must-do for us as far as character meals go. You can order off a menu or go to the buffet. I love the atmosphere, and the character interaction was awesome!

<u>Goofy’s Kitchen @ Disneyland Hotel:</u> Another wonderful character meal. We were not sitting in a prime area which I believe was the cause of the waiting for long periods for the character interaction but it was a lot of fun and full of energy. We will definitely be going again.

<u>House of Blues:</u> Now I know there are HoB in a lot of towns but this was the first time I had been to one. I highly recommend it! It’s a little loud but I love the music so it didn’t bother me. The food is really good!! And they make a great white Russian!

<u>Counter Service: </u> We ate at PizzaPort in Tomorrowland, which we enjoyed a lot. We also did the Hungry Bear Restaurant in Critter Country. Just the typical burger and fries establishment. The scenery was the best part of it.
Now I could go on and on but I won’t. All through my trip report, I was finding more and more reasons to make my way back out west. So I WILL be returning to DL again. I survived a trip with the in-laws with only minor bumps. Both Allan and Judy enjoyed themselves and have even mentioned a trip to WDW. Chuck and I are thinking about that one. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/roflmao.gif[/img]

As far as the souvenirs and Chuck’s surprise(s) go, the pictures are below. I have found this is a tradition of my trip reports so here goes.





Chuck also surprised me with a Crystal statue of Eeyore. It’s one of my favorite things but the pictures of it did not come out at all.

Now, I want to thank everyone for all of their kind comments and for reading this journey out west. I postponed the last couple of updates because I didn’t want to see it end. I loved reliving my journey. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/thanx.gif[/img] again!! I bid you good-bye until my next adventure in June @ WDW!!

[loobyoxlip]

Hmm, I see a few Tortilla Jo's margaritas in my future! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

I can't believe you didn't get to see Aladdin! It's a great show. Hopefully you can see it before they change the show to something else.

What was with that crazy dude on the plane? [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/eek.gif[/img] I wonder what was so darn appealing about your row??

This was so much fun to read, Dawn. Thanks for taking the time to share it with us!