Further Adventures in Disneyland August 2003
When we last saw our heroine (Pumpkin)  in March, she was making arrangements for a paver as a memorial to her Dad who loved Disneyland.  She went down in June to check on it and was somewhat dismayed that it was not yet installed.

Fast forward to August when she decided to take Christopher down for a last fling of summer before his Junior year in High School. 

She was able to get a decent but not great rate on a room at her favourite hotel The Grand Californian.  Her brother Don (Duck) was delighted to fly down and join her.
cruiser picture to follow after I get home from europe,  meantime,  just picture it in your mind.
Cruising down in the Flaming HandQuilt4 we made good time.  The boys were dropped off at the hotel prior to picking up Don as the cruiser is small and the boys are not.
Heck,  I don't need directions to the Orange County Airport,  I lived less than 2 miles away from it for more than 3 years. 

Hmmm,  leave a place for 27 years and they have the audacity to build new roads, towns, cities, and move my landmarks. 
Ok,  nearly an hour late,  good thing my brother recognized me as he had grown a beard and I couldn't have picked him out in a crowd.
Between rush hour traffic, needing to stop and do a bit of shopping and finally having dinner,  we didn't make it back to the hotel until 9:30pm.  I had gotten very lucky and had a room on the 5th floor overlooking  Downtown Disney and facing the park.  I hoped to have a view of the fireworks from the balconey.   As we entered the room the boys told me that we could indeed see the fireworks, but I had just missed them.   Pouting I went out onto the balconey and not one minute was rewarded by the sight of spectacular fireworks.  The boys had seen the pyrotechnics at the end of Fantasmic,  not the Believe show.
The next night I scored the best fireworks viewing spot in the park.  A bench in front of Sleeping Beauty's Castle at the edge of the Plaza.  I like this spot so much that I was willing to sit there for 2 1/2 hours waiting for the show.  Don went back to the hotel to swim and nap.   Debi phoned me while I was there to ask if we had a fireworks view from our room that we were willing to lend to Nick so that he could propose to Jamie the next night. 
Of Course!
Our Room
Debi came down to join us the next day,  and after much intrigue,  ie how to get Jamie up to a hotel room without it seeming suspicious,  making sure there weren't 2 16 year old boys hiding in the closet,  setting up the scene....   the deed was done!
Note the wastebasket doing double duty as an ice cream cooler.
Life is not all romance and ice cream,  back to reality.  Sure wish I had sat up straight for this picture, 
My dad's paver.
It's out in what was the old parking lot in about the "Bambi" section.  He would have been pleased.
Somewhere we have a picture like this of Don about 45 years ago.  No beard though.
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