Telling Stories, Part II

Today's story takes place back in August of 2001, shortly before our first wedding anniversary. It had been quite a summer. We were living in what most people would call the ghetto of Yakima, down on 7th Street and Nob Hill Blvd. We were living in a dirty old house that had been abandoned since the last tenant died, but that's not our story today. Maybe another time. The brickwife's family had been having a rough summer, too. Lots of strife and confusion and changes. So we decided to take what little money we had left after working at a cherry processing plant all summer and after paying off the moving truck that we wrecked in June and use that money to go to Disneyland with all of the brickwife's brothers and sisters.

Imagine, if you will, eight people packed into a seven seat minivan (rented for us by the brickfather-in-law). These eight people included: Mary (age 5), George (8), Peter (almost 11), Claire (12), the brickbrother (18), the bricksister-in-law (19), the brickwife (21) and me (21). So basically, we had 1 adult for each kid, and two of the kids had to share a seatbelt.

Now, imagine that the whole trip is a surprise. The kids only know that we are going to visit their aunt and uncle in San Francisco for a few days. On day one, we make the 14-hour drive down US97 and I-5 to Frisco. Of course, we stop a few times on the way to eat, once in Bend, OR and once at a rest stop in CA. The highlight of the day is that George asked if every little bridge, or even overpass, was the "Golden Bridge." He meant Golden Gate, and he apparently had no idea what it looked like.

The whole crew (sans me, who was taking the picture) at Golden Gate Park. From the left: George, Zach, Peter, Claire, Leah, Mary, Maggie.


Days two and three were spent in the company of the wonderful Aunt Mary and Uncle Bob. We touristed around SF, went to Golden Gate Park, went to the Beach, etc. And on day four, we packed the kids up to "head home." So off we went, heading due south towards LA. AND NONE OF THE KIDS NOTICED! We passed a million signs for Los Angeles, which we didn't pass on the way down, but still, not a peep from the back about it. 6 hours later, we tell them that we're staying at a hotel that night, since we don't want to drive all the way back. On the way to the hotel, we pass Six Flags, California, and the older kids look with longing at all the roller coasters as I say "Nope, no time to stop there, sorry kids." And eventually, we reach the Hilton in Costa Mesa, where we will be staying for the next 4 nights, free of charge (set up, once again, by the brickfather-in-law.)

That evening, we went across the street to McDonald's where each of us were allowed to choose two things off the dollar menu. Remember, we had almost no money. After we ate, we hit the pool for some swimming and horseplay. And finally, it was time to hit the hay. (Ooh, this next part is my favorite part) Before we go to bed, we bring all the kids into one room and tell them that we need to have a talk. They all look nervous. And then I say, "okay, kids, I have something to tell you. I know you weren't expecting to hear this, but.....WE'RE GOING TO DISNEYLAND!" And then chaos ensued. There was bed jumping, tears of joy, shouts, screams of "I don't believe it!" "Three days!!!" and "I love you!!!" Plus we got it all on videotape, though I have no idea where that tape is.

So the next day, we pile into the van again and head off for Disneyland. The first thing we do when we get there (aside from parking and purchasing tickets) is ride the Haunted Mansion. This ride scared the crap out of me when I was a kid, so of course we thought it would be fun to take the kids. The youngest wouldn't go on it, but George, the eight-year-old, would. Only once we got in there, he covered his face up with a park map for the whole ride. Now, it was hot and George was sweaty, and the ink on the map was apparently not waterproof. All this lead to George coming out of the ride with a detailed map of Disneyland on his face. Priceless.

Next, we took all the kids on Splash Mountain (maybe the best ride, ever). We got all eight of us in one boat. We got Mary on the ride by telling her it wasn't scary, and boy was she mad afterward. We bought the picture they take as you start the plunge, and I swear, I have never seen a more frightened look on anyone's face than the one Mary wore as we hurtled down the flume.

After that, things get a little blurry and we often split up, 1 "adult" going with 1 kid. So, to tell you what happened, I need to go all list-style on you again.

Mary spent the whole week singing "Dah dah dah dah dah dah dah Hollywood!" or changing the words slightly to match the ride she was on. For example, on Dumbo, she would sing "Up up up up up up up DOWN DOWN DOWN!"

The only way I could get George to go on the Matterhorn was by playfully calling it the ItDoesn'tMatterhorn.

The oldest of the children, Claire, was absolutely the worst driver on Autopia. Even Mary was better.

I learned that the Teacups are not meant for adult consumption.

The bricksister-in-law, George and Peter went on Indiana Jones about 6 times in a row by hopping from the exit line into the entrance line when no one was watching.

At Disney's California Adventure, everyone went on the Maliboomer. I had to talk George into it, and talk him down in the lead up to the action. He loved it. I hated it.

The BSIL videotaped the whole ride on California Screamin'. The best part was that she didn't know about the rocket-style launch at the very beginning, so on the tape, you get a good 5 seconds of sky.

We discovered that Soarin' Over California is a great place to cool off.

When I went on Space Mountain with George (if you haven't guessed, he and I spent a lot of time together since he is the hardest of the four to deal with and nobody else wanted to do it) he hated it. He asked if it was almost over about 3 seconds after it started.

He loved Big Thunder Mountain Raliroad, though.

No matter how grown up I am, and how much I have forsaken my geeky past, I still love Star Tours and the Star Trader shop right outside it.

So many more things happened, I'll never be able to name them all.

So, after three hectic and fun days at Disneyland, we headed home. The first day of driving brought us to Sacramento where we stayed in the Doubletree, free again. This was about 1 day after some Ukrainian immigrant went on a shooting spree and killed a bunch of people in Sacramento. Scary. That night, our last night of the trip, we had a special treat: we ate at Applebee's! We had just enough food budget left over that we could afford it. Sort of. At the end of the trip, our credit card was maxed out and our bank account was almost empty, but it was totally worth it. Besides, financial aid day wasn't too far in the future, so we were okay!


Man, I really want to go to Disneyland now.


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