Work and Play in California

Wednesday, January 27

I flew to Los Angeles with my friend M because we were attending a Math Education conference in Irvine for a few days.  We arrived around 8:30 pm, rented a car, and drove to Hotel Irvine, where the conference was being held and where we were staying.  After checking in, we grabbed a bite to eat and then pretty much called it a night because we had an early start the next day.

view from our hotel

Thursday, January 28

The day was filled with different sessions, work time, and meetings to finalize presentations.  I attended this conference last year and I absolutely loved it, and this year's conference also offered some great speakers and topics.  M and I went to dinner at a nearby Mexican restaurant with three of our colleagues – both the food and the company were fantastic!

Friday, January 29

Friday was pretty similar to Thursday, with the addition of our presentation in the afternoon.  The time always passes so quickly at conferences because it seems like the day is so filled that it is difficult to do all the things you want to do!  Our presentation went very well, and we had some great participation from our attendees.

After dinner, M took the car to meet up with family in the area, so I decided to take an Uber to Downtown Disney.  It was fun to wander around and shop for a few hours!  I couldn't stay out too late, though, as I had a second presentation with a different group of colleagues at 8:00 the next morning!

I did have one very annoying exchange with the cast member at the World of Disney store.  I bought these Orange Bird dish towels.  Adorable, right?  Well this is how the conversation went at the cash register:

CM:  I know this guy!  He's from California!

Me:  Actually, no, he's from Florida.

CM:  Are you sure?

Me:  Yes. 

CM:  Oh, yeah, I think he's from Epcot.  His name is Figment?

Me:  No, his name is Orange Bird.

CM:  Oh, he's friends with Figment, right?  I think he's from the big ball ride.

Me:  He's from Sunshine Tree Terrace at Magic Kingdom.

CM:  I'm not sure about that.

Me:  I am!

What a ridiculously irritating conversation!  Don't argue with me!  Obviously you don't know what you're talking about!  Frankly, it was embarrassing behavior from a cast member.  And also, IT SAYS FLORIDA ON THE DISH TOWEL.  Sigh.

Saturday, January 30

Despite the less-than-ideal presentation time, we had a nice turnout and our presentation again generated some great conversation.  It was a relief to have both of them over and done with!  M made plans with her family again, so we packed up, checked out of the conference hotel, and drove to Anaheim.  We checked into Anaheim Desert Inn and Suites, which is literally right across the street from the Disneyland Resort.  M headed off for family time, and I went to the parks.  By myself.  For the whole day!

I went to Disneyland first because I wanted to get a photo of my Tinker Bell ears with Sleeping Beauty Castle (the photo at the top of this post) – if you read my Disneyland Paris post, you will have seen the same Tinker Bell ears with Le Chateau de la Belle au Bois Dormant.  I plan to take a photo with my Tinker Bell ears at every Disney castle around the world because those ears represent Chelsea for me.

While I really did have a fun day, it was not the same without C.  Everywhere I looked, a memory came rushing to me and it was hard to be alone and not have him there to reminisce with me.  We also point things out to each other everywhere we go, so each time I saw something interesting, there was no one to talk about it with.  I also ate lunch at a table service restaurant alone, which was a first for me, but this also meant that I was privy to the conversation at a nearby table between a couple and their two children.  The little boy, who I guessed to be about 7 or 8, told his parents, "My teacher said people are like Oreos because the outside doesn't matter since all of the good stuff is on the inside of us."  I don't know who his teacher is, but boy, do I love her.

I headed over to Disney California Adventure later in the afternoon because I wanted to go to Cove Bar and give a photo of my ears with a drink on their secret menu called Neverland Tea.  I also wandered throughout the park and took lots of photos – in fact, in the course of the entire day, I only went on one ride!  I know I've said it before, but seriously, the rides are the least important feature of the parks for me!

I decided to relax for a while over at the Grand Californian Hotel.  There was a pianist in the lobby and it was such a treat to just soak in the amazing atmosphere and listen to the beautiful music!

I met up with M around 9:00 and to end our evening, we went to Trader Sam's at the Disneyland Hotel.  We had to wait about 30 minutes to get in, but it was completely worth it.  So entertaining!

Sunday, January 31

We got up pretty early to pack and check out, and then we met M's cousin and her cousin's son at Disneyland.  The weather was absolutely awful for the first part of the day – howling winds and nonstop rain.  Thank goodness for indoor options like Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln!  We waited in the rain for an hour to ride Hyperspace Mountain, which is Space Mountain, with theming, music, and visuals to turn it into a Star Wars ride.  It was awesome!  We also went on Star Tours, which is always fun, and the entire Tomorrowland area is currently themed as The Season of the Force.

The good thing is that the weather drove some people away, so by the afternoon, we were able to pretty much walk onto Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, Enchanted Tiki Room, Indiana Jones Adventure, and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.  Not bad!

I was really missing my Pongo and our Puppies <3

Daisy and Donald

After a day of terrible weather, things cleared up
and we were left with a gorgeous sunset!

Unfortunately, M and I had to head to the airport for our flight that night.  We took the red-eye back to the east coast, arriving Monday morning.  It was a very busy four days, but a lot of fun!

Happy Tails to you!