With COVID Over Is It Time To Build A Sandcastle With Theo?

I almost lost something valuable, to me, today, returning books to the library.

I almost forgot to retrieve that which I use as a bookmark, before sliding the book into the "RETURN" slot.

My bookmark is getting a bit threadbare. It has been in use since early on in the time of COVID.

I do not remember the reason, Birthday, Christmas, Halloween, or what, but an envelope arrived in my mailbox. And in that envelope, among whatever else was in that envelope, there was a note from my Favorite Nephew Theo, also known as my Favorite Theo Nephew.

The note said...

When COVID 19

is over I want

you to come

over to build

a sand castle

Theo

Just a sec, I shall go find a photo which shows why Theo was thinking of sandcastle building with his Favorite Uncle.

In August of 2017 I spent several days at Birch Bay with Theo, his big brother, David, twin sister Ruby, parental units, Michele and Kristen, and Theo, David and Ruby's other favorite uncle, my little brother, Jake.

On one of those days at Birch Bay, when the tide was low, exposing a lot of sand, Theo, Ruby and I had a mighty fine time building a sandcastle. 

In the photo documentation above, Theo has not yet given up in the battle to stop the incoming tide from breeching the castle's walls.

The next morning, I discovered the elevator, accessed near the door to the rooms we were staying in, went up a few flights, to a rooftop deck, with a view. I elevatored back to get Theo to take him to the view from the rooftop deck.

From whence the remains of our sandcastle could be seen, in the center of the sandbar, to the left of Theo.

Now, just looking at this photo of Theo, you can tell this is one fun kid. 

Hard to believe it has been 8 years since I have been in Washington. Since COVID I have only been out of Texas once. And that was just to go across the border to Oklahoma.

Time flies by way too fast.

Just yesterday something caused me to calculate how old my Jason nephew is. The last time Jason and Spencer Jack went to Disneyland, Jason told me he now gets why I said it wore me out the last time I did Disneyland.

Well.

Yesterday I figured out Jason is now five years older than I was the last time I did Disneyland, Christmas Day of 1995. I stayed til Disneyland closed that Christmas Day. It was fun, but exhausting, even with a mid-day break back at the motel...

Microsoft OneDrive Taking Me On A Log Ride Memory With Mom & Dad

That which you see here showed up in my email this morning in the daily Microsoft OneDrive Memories from this Day.

You are looking at my dad, my mom, my uncle Mel, aunt Judy, and Mel and Judy's eldest grandson, Kevin, on, I think, the log ride in Knott's Berry Farm

It was back somewhere in the mid 1990s. My dad had retired. A group, including some of my siblings, and others, went on a cruise to Mexico, sailing out of either Long Beach, or San Diego. I don't remember which.

What I do remember is I don't think I was invited to go on this cruise. I was tasked with something else related to the cruise.

Upon ending the cruise, the cruisers ended up in Anaheim.

My cousin Jeff's ex-wife, Ellaina, met me at Sea-Tac, with little Kevin in tow. I had my nephews, Chris and Jeremy with me.

We were putting the three little boys on a plane, with no adult accompanying them, to fly to meet up with the grandparents, to go to Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm.

It was a different world back then, pre-9/11. I don't remember even going through any sort of security to get to the gate and wait with the kids to put them on the plane. We explained the situation to the stewardess and she was real nice about it, saying she'd look after them til they found their grandparents.

I'm surprised my mom agreed to do the log ride. 

Around that same time frame, mom and dad had made a cross country roadtrip in their RV. Thanksgiving of 1995 I was in Las Vegas, staying at Treasure Island. I do not remember how it got arranged, pre-cell phones. But, mom and dad showed up at Treasure Island. I took them to Luxor for the lunch buffet.

Luxor, back then, don't know if it is still the case, had several fun adventure rides.

One was an extremely realistic simulator which made you think you were flying deep underground.

I was sitting next to mom. When the seat started moving, making it feel like you really were zipping steeply down, mom gripped my arm and acted all panicky. I told mom, just close your eyes and it'll be okay.

I don't think mom closed her eyes. I think she enjoyed the ride, though she would not admit it...

With Theo & Ruby & Mama Michele In Disneyland

Last night a new Where in the World email arrived in my inbox. With the subject line being "Where in the World Part 2."

I knew the twins were going to Disneyland, again, part of their happy birthday week, with Theo and Ruby's birthday being next Sunday, December 17, the day they become teenagers.

The photos which came in the email had one-line descriptive text, above all the photos, which had me guessing what text matched which photo.

The text matching the above photo was easy to discern...

"Pit stop between soccer camp and Disneyland."

I knew Ruby was in Southern California to attend some sort of soccer camp. I do not know if Theo also went to this soccer camp.

The text I think I correctly matched with the above photo...

"Inside Millenium Falcon ride."

There was no text which seemed to match the above photo, but I think I can guess that the trio is standing in front of the Millenium Falcon, in the Star Wars section of Disneyland.

This is the only one of the photos I thought must maybe match the following text...

"On a spinning car of the Ferris wheel. Only ride I’ve ever been in where they provide barf bags. It’s something."

In this photo I think the twins have left Disneyland and are in Disney California. The following is the only text I thought might match this photo...

"Radiator Springs. Amazing ride based on the Cars movies."

I am fairly certain the above photo is also from Disney California, with the following text explaining what I maybe be looking at...

"Backside of the Grizzly River raft ride."

Two lines of text I could not figure out matched any photo, those text lines being "After riding Grizzly River 3 times in a row" and "Big Thunder."

It has been almost three decades since I have been to Disneyland. Christmas day of 1994. That was a fun day, but exhausting, staying in the park til closing time.

In Disneyland With Spencer Jack & Jason

A couple years ago my Favorite Nephew Jason emailed me a photo of himself and Spencer Jack standing in front of what looked to me to be Utah-like scenery, along with a Route 66 road sign. This confused me because I did not think Route 66 went through Utah, or any Utah-like scenery.

Last night FNJ emailed a similar photo and asked, once more, if I could guess where he and Spencer Jack were. This time I replied "Disney California".

Jason then called to tell me I was correct. Spencer Jack took a couple days off school and flew his dad to Anaheim. Jason is now at the age when a day at Disneyland is exhausting. So, he left Spencer to continue riding rides, whilst Jason walked back to the hotel to get some rest and call his favorite uncle.

This morning another photo showed up in my email.

Above I can tell Jason is in Disneyland, floating on a canoe, following the Mark Twain Riverboat on the Mississippi, heading to Tom Sawyer Island.

When last I was in Disneyland, Disney California had not yet been invented. That last visit was Christmas of 1993. Disneyland broke an attendance record that day.

Way back then it cost around $30 to get admitted to Disneyland. If I remember last night's conversation correctly, Jason told me it cost $290 each for a two day pass to both Disneyland and Disney California. I'm thinking that price must include some sort of express pass.

When I was around Spencer Jack's age our annual family vacation was to California and Disneyland two years in a row.

We did not just go to Disneyland. We also went to Knott's Berry Farm, Universal Studios and Sea World.

Doing such in 2021 for a family of six would cost a small fortune.

Six Flags Over Texas Trinity River Bottom Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader Ride

A first look at a new Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington attraction.

Trinity River Bottom Adventure.

Apparently it is sort of a Texas take on Disneyland's Jungle Cruise.

Only with this Six Flags ride you are in jeeps, with a simulated Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader in the driver's seat, taking you on a simulated tour of the Trinity River Bottom zone which exists a short distance northwest of the actual ride in Arlington's Six Flags.

The Dallas Cowboys cheerleader takes the line of jeeps into a river crossing where she dodges obstacles like cows, alligators, feral pigs, giant catfish, snakes, flotillas of litter floating downstream from Fort Worth, random simulated corpses for scary shock value and a simulated flash flood from which the Dallas Cowboys cheerleader heroically leads her adventurers back to dry safety.

I have only been to Six Flags twice. When I moved to its vicinity I thought I would be a frequent visitor, thinking it was like Disneyland, because if I lived in Disneyland's vicinity I would be a frequent visitor, getting a season's pass each year.

Actually, back in the previous century, when I lived about 1,200 miles north of Disneyland, I visited about once a year. Which is a solid indicator as to how drastically Six Flags Over Texas is not even remotely a Disneyland type experience.

After my first Six Flags visit there was never any consideration given to getting a season's pass. I only returned a second time because someone I knew had free tickets and asked me if I wanted to go. And so I did.

But, I may return to Six Flags Over Texas, one more time, just to experience this new River Bottom ride.

The simulated Dallas Cowboys cheerleader looks sort of familiar....

Incoming Disneyland Location Verification With Henry's First Words

I lost track of the number of times Miss Daisy has asked me if I have heard again from Sister Jackie or Sister Michele since they have been in the Disneyland zone.

I had multiple times informed Miss Daisy that I had heard from Sister Jackie when the cruise ship docked in Mazatlan. I recollect reading that message to Miss Daisy a couple times.

And then last night, after I left Miss Daisy's abode to return to my current home location my phone delivered the photo you see here.

The text with the photo did not say where exactly this photo was taken, but we can assume they are in or near Disneyland or Disney California.

Sister Jackie did say in the text with the photo that, "One day into Disneyland and I'm totally exhausted! Hope you are holding up!"

The original concept of this current trip to Arizona had me also going to Disneyland. But that plan changed in the year since it was first planned. I have no clue how me going to Disneyland would have been facilitated what with the Driving Miss Daisy part of this current trip to Arizona.

For those who do not know who you are looking at in the above photo. That would be my favorite brother-in-law, Jack on the far left, with his head on the shoulder of his first wife, Sister Jackie. Directly above Sister Jackie is Sister-in-law Kristen, then niece Ruby, Sister Michele, nephew David with nephew Theo on the far right.

Last night we also heard from Spencer Jack's uncle, my favorite Joey nephew, aka FNJ2. I had texted Joey telling him his grandma was asking if one month old Henry was talking yet. Joey then sent back some cute photos and audio of Henry "talking".  I will see if I can turn that audio into a format that I can put on this blog. But that must wait til later...

Arizona Pooling With Theo, Ruby & David

In a little over a week I will likely by at the location you see here.

Had I planned it better I could have been at this location last week and had myself a mighty fine time pooling with my nephews, David and Theo, and niece Ruby.

That would be Theo on the left with Ruby in the middle, in the water. You can figure out which one is David without further instruction.

The location we are looking at here is the backyard of David, Theo and Ruby's aunt Jackie and uncle Jack in Chandler, Arizona.

My expected next opportunity to possibly see David, Theo and Ruby is next October when the trio take their parental units to Mexico City, followed by a stay in Anaheim in order to go to Disneyland with their aforementioned aunt Jackie and uncle Jack.

During that October time frame I will be spending the majority of the month in Arizona. It is only a short drive from Phoenix to Los Angeles. I'm sure David, Theo and Ruby's favorite grandma, Shirley, will be up to a road trip and a Disneyland visit. Grandma has never been to Disney California.

I'm sure the twins and David would love to take grandma on their favorite Disney rides...

David's Disneyland Recovery With Route 66 Radiator Springs & Brunch

UPDATE: Though the initial Disney diagnosis was food poisoning from tainted salmon, it is now thought possible David's sickness was a bout of influenza, due to his mother coming down with the flu within 24 hours of returning home.

Photo documentation arrived Sunday morning documenting some of nephew David's last day in California before heading north to Tacoma with his little brother and sister, Theo and Ruby.

By Saturday morning David had recovered from his bout of food poisoning from tainted salmon served at Disneyland's Blue Bayou restaurant at Pirates of the Caribbean.

The first couple photos document David, Theo and Ruby brunching at the Disney Grand Californian Hotel where they were joined by Pluto and a large Disney rodent who I do not recognize.

After brunching David felt good enough to go to Disney California. It is at Car Land in Disney California where we see David, Ruby and Theo in front of Mama's Michele and Kristen.

Route 66 is in the Radiator Springs Racer zone of Car Land. I first learned of this Disney Route 66 location a couple years ago when Spencer Jack sent me a couple photos which had me thinking he'd taken his dad somewhere along Route 66. But, what I was seeing did not look like any part of Route 66 I had ever driven on. Eventually I was told this was in Disney California. I think the actual Route 66 terminates a few miles north, in Santa Monica, if I remember right.

Eventually everyone was exhausted enough to leave Disneyland, Disney California and the Grand Californian and make their way back to home in Tacoma.

Above see what appear to be an extremely tired David, with Ruby and Theo resting on a less tired looking Mama Kristen. They are sitting at the Grand Califronian waiting area waiting for a taxi to come take them to John Wayne Airport, a few miles to the west.

I was informed yesterday by David, Theo and Ruby's Aunt Jackie that this coming October 23 through 26 is my next opportunity to go to Disneyland with a pair of Disney loving twins and their big brother.

Wishing I Was At Disneyland With Theo & Ruby

UPDATE: Though the initial Disney diagnosis was food poisoning from tainted salmon, it is now thought possible David's sickness was a bout of influenza, due to his mother coming down with the flu within 24 hours of returning home.

With their big brother, David, trying to recover from food poisoning, after eating some tainted Disneyland salmon at the Blue Bayou at Pirates of the Caribbean, the twins, Theo and Ruby soldiered on, trying to make the best of their suddenly sick trip to Disneyland and Disney California.

While David was being treated for being poisoned, Theo and Ruby went swimming in the Grand Californian pool.

And took the photo you see here, to send to their favorite uncle, verbalizing the wish that he was there.

Theo, Ruby and David called me about a month ago, asking me to go to Disneyland with them. Had I gone along with that plan I can see how it may have been useful to have me there whilst David was busy recovering from being poisoned by tainted salmon.

I woke up my phone this morning to find a text message telling me that David was able to get vertical for a short duration, last night, but quickly got horizontal again to continue recovering whilst being bed bound.

David Sick From The Disneyland Salmon Food Poisoning Ride To Urgent Care

UPDATE: Though the initial Disney diagnosis was food poisoning from tainted salmon, it is now thought possible David's sickness was a bout of influenza, due to his mother coming down with the flu within 24 hours of returning home.

I had a feeling something was amiss when I did not hear from David, Theo and Ruby's mom yesterday after she'd recovered from yesterday's Disneyland visit. I'd asked my sister a question, to which she answered that she would ponder and get back to me later.

This afternoon, 24 hours later, a text messaged arrived which quickly made obvious why I'd not heard back, til this afternoon.

Yester evening, dinner was had at a Disneyland restaurant, the name of which I have not yet been told. David loves seafood. David had salmon.

Later, back in their Grand Californian hotel room, in the middle of the night, as in around 2 in the morning, David began being sick.

And proceeded to throw up multiple times.

Soon the hotel nurse insisted David be taken immediately to an urgent care emergency facility.

David is now back in the Grand Californian, sleeping.

The hotel is comping David, Theo, Ruby and their parental units brunch. Somehow I think Disneyland needs to come up with something more than brunch for tainted salmon which pretty much wreaked havoc with a visit to Disneyland.

UPDATE: David's Disney salmon dinner was had at the Blue Bayou in the Pirates of the Caribbean zone. It was a combo dinner and show deal with good seats after the salmon at Fantasmic. David enjoyed both dinner and show, and then hours later, as my sister put it, "Barforama". David is currently medicated and not yet perked up to his usual perky self.

I hope David recovers real quick and gets back to full Luke Skywalker light saber wielding mode before it is time to board a plane back to Washington...

Disneyland With David, Theo & Ruby

About a month ago I got a call from David, Theo and Ruby asking me to go to Disneyland with them late in the first month of the new year.

That Disneyland proposed date with David, Theo and Ruby began today.

The twins and David knew I was going to be in Arizona a week after their scheduled Disneyland trip and that it should work out easily for me to head west a week early and go to Anaheim before heading back east to Phoenix.

However, there was a wrinkled wrench in the me going to Disneyland concept. I already had another destination I had to go to that I could not get out of going to during the Disneyland time frame.

And so I get to enjoy vicariously going to Disneyland with David, Theo and Ruby, with the first photos arriving a few minutes ago.

Behind David, Theo and Ruby, Sleeping Beauty's Castle looks as if it has been remodeled since I last visited the Sleeping Beauty, way back on Christmas of 1994. Don't the twins and David look cute in their matching Disney shirts?

I do not know what the name is of those t-shirt's shade of blue, but it is my favorite blue color. The Seattle Seahawks also use that color, and years ago, back when I used to have a rooftop patio deck festooned with flowers, many of those flowers were lobelia in that shade of blue. I used to remember the name of that particular lobelia, but age related memory loss has that name no long accessible to me.

In the next photo, possibly for a lunch date with Mickey Mouse, Ruby, Theo and David have changed their Disney attire.

I used to have a long sleeved Mickey Mouse on a mountain bike t-shirt from Disneyland. I don't think that shirt successfully made the move to this new location because I have no recollection of seeing that shirt in a long time. I never wore it anyway. I have some sort of neurotic aversion to wearing t-shirts with messages on them. This neurosis is so strong I get embarrassed for people past a certain age when I see them wearing such type t-shirts. Gar the Texan comes to mind when I think of this.

Anyway, back to the Disneyland photos.

Last week I asked David, Theo and Ruby's mom if there were any problems with height restrictions keeping the kids off of some of the fun rides, like Thunder Mountain Railway. I was told there are some rides which only David is tall enough for, a roller coaster in Disney California was mentioned which caused Theo grief when he was not allowed on board, but David was. And then on the next Disney California visit Theo had sprouted enough to join David on that roller coaster.

But I was told all were good to go on Thunder Mountain Railway, which is what I think we see a close up of Theo on below, with Ruby in the seat in front of Theo, and David ahead of Ruby.

I remember Thunder Mountain Railway as one wild ride. These are tough, difficult to scare kids.

I'd like to drive David, Theo and Ruby up the Phoenix version of Thunder Mountain, called South Mountain. Apparently their mother drove up South Mountain with our mutual mother and determined never again to do so. The drive up and down South Mountain is a bit adventurous, but I have driven roads much scarier. The Moki Dugway in Utah comes to mind.

I am not quite sure what David is doing below, but I am guessing it is Star Wars related.

David looks to be a natural young redheaded Luke Skywalker. The twins and David are such cute kids a Hollywood talent scout might discover them at their current location near Hollywood. I have been twice at Disneyland when I've run into people I recognized from TV. One time it was the guy who played Maude's husband, and another time it was the shrink from the Bob Newhart Show.

This interactive type thing we see above is a new addition to the Disneyland experience that I have not witnessed. I suspect a lot has changed in Disneyland and the parking lot I used to park on to go to Disneyland, since I was last at that location 24 years ago...

Riding A Disneyland Log With Ruby, Theo & David

I found that which you see here in my email inbox this afternoon. Photo documentation of the first visit to Disneyland by my Favorite Niece, Ruby and Favorite Nephews Theo and David.

Ruby, Theo and David's grandma had told me the kids were in Disneyland a couple weeks ago when I called my mom and dad from Fort Worth's Disneyland known as Sundance Square Plaza, which is also one of the happiest places on earth where people go to make dreams come true, when they have no better place to go.

Ruby, Theo and David did the Disney parks five days in a row, hopping between Disneyland and Disney California, using something called a Park Hopper Pass.

I have never gone to Disneyland for more days than one in a single visit. Disneyland is exhausting. My last time getting exhausted at Disneyland was Christmas of 1994

Christmas of 1994 was also my one and only time taking a ride on Disneyland's Splash Mountain. I did not like the ride. It was a cold winter day and that ride splashes water. That and I enjoyed Knotts Berry Farm's version more. Probably because the temperature was warm and getting splashed felt good.

On the log you are looking at David in the lead, followed by Theo, then my little sister, Michele, followed by Ruby, followed by mama  Kristen, and then behind  Kristen, near as I can tell, is my Favorite Brother-in-Law, Jack, he being the first husband of my Favorite Sister Jackie.

Jack and Jackie were also in attendance at Disneyland, for at least one day during the extensive stay of Ruby, Theo and David.  My Favorite Nephew Christopher, he being Ruby, Theo and David's cousin, was a surprise visitor, along with Christopher's girl friend.

I do not know how Christopher managed to find his mom and dad, cousins and aunts in the vast Disneyland parks. My guess is he called his mother once he was in the vicinity, got an idea where they were in which park, and then tracked them down. Christopher is very resourceful that way.

Strollers were used to move the kids through the parks. I can not imagine herding three little kids around Disneyland. I can barely handle herding myself in that locale...

Climbing Disneyland's Matterhorn Gets Me Melancholy About San Clemente Body Surfing

That which you see here arrived in my email inbox this morning at 12:55 am, sent by my Favorite Nephew Jason, aka FNJ.

The email contained no explanatory text.

The subject line of the email was: Disneyland Park Video jpg.

There was no video included, despite what the subject line said. There also was no photo in the jpg format. The photo that was included is in the png format.

I knew not what to make of this.

I thought that since this was sent about an hour after midnight that FNJ was tired and not thinking clearly.

A few minutes after thinking FNJ was not thinking clearly I was on Facebook where the mystery was cleared up with this...

Jason Jones FUD---We actually were privileged to hike up the Anaheim Matterhorn. Most guests reach such heights using a bobsled. It was a disastrous attempt. I was surprised as anyone might be that we were allowed this opportunity. Nonetheless, to make a short story.... Disney has pictures logged of this. I will contact those folks in Anaheim and see if I can provide you with photo documentation of our journey up one of Disneyland's four mountains.

The photo documentation to which FNJ refers is the photo you see above. At least I am assuming such.

When I read "one of Disneyland's four mountains" I could only think of one, at first, that being the Matterhorn. Then I remembered Space Mountain. After that I remembered Thunder Mountain. But, currently I can not think of a fourth Disneyland mountain.

Disneyland exists in my memory as far back as my memory goes. When mom and dad took me and my siblings to Disneyland for the first time I was 13. That trip was the best, funnest family vacation we ever took. And that covers a lot of fun family vacations.

Recently my little brother wrote a rather well written story of his memories of that trip. The first trip to Southern California was so much fun the following summer we did Disneyland and Southern California again. My little brother and I have been trying to differentiate those two trips, finding doing so difficult. Like I realized it was on the second trip we took that twisty ride down Lombard Street in San Francisco, because we did not know of Lombard Street til we saw it on the Circlevision attraction  in Disneyland the year before.

So, in my 13th year on the planet I had my first visit to Disneyland. My last visit to Disneyland was on Christmas Day of 1994.

21 years ago.

For some reason realizing this particular passage of time is making me feel melancholy.

I remember another Disneyland related time I felt melancholy. I was 21, seven years after my first visit to Disneyland. I was back in Southern California, camping at San Clemente State Park, near the Nixon abode. I was standing on the San Clemente bluff, looking out across the Pacific. The plan was to go to Disneyland the next day. I remember standing there and thinking it seemed such a long time ago, when it was only seven years, that I was there for the first time, with my siblings, and now I was back, without my parental units or siblings. I remember that first day at San Clemente, me and my little brother being so excited to hurry up and find our way down to the ocean. We all had our chores we did to set up camp. We hurried through those chores. Mom and dad knew how anxious we were to get to the ocean. They let us go ahead of them, which was not the norm in a new place, protective mom that we had.

To get to the San Clemente beach you take a trail that cuts through the tall bluffs,  goes under railroad tracks and then opens up on the beach. A beautiful beach with big waves crashing. We were quickly in the water and soon were trying to master the art of body surfing.

I can not remember the last time I went body surfing.

I think I have now gone from feeling melancholy to being depressed.  An ocean breeze and the sound of crashing waves would be a real good thing right about now.....

Spencer Jack Is Ready To Climb Switzerland's Matterhorn After Climbing Disneyland's

Incoming emails this morning from my Favorite Nephew Jason and my Favorite Great Nephew Spencer Jack, also known as FNJ and FGNSJ.

The emails included several photos, including the one you see here, along with a very short video, which was so short you won't see it here.

In addition to the photos and the short video there was the following message....

FNJ,
Your mother obviously spoiled our photo attempt to throw you off our current whereabouts.

And for the record books, this is only Spencer's 2nd trip to Anaheim in 2015.  I believe.

The choosing of our vacation destination is a complicated process. One that I am not at all involved in.  

This is solely Spencer's job. I merely suggest spots. 

Once he chooses a spot, I handle the travel arrangements and such like matters.

This was not a suggested spot. And I have no inside knowledge as to how Spencer comes up with his final choice. You would have to ask him if you desired to know his trip picking methodology.

I suspect he might have seen an Halloween Disneyland Commercial. The kid is easily persuaded by advertising gimmicks.

I was lobbying for Phoenix or an overnight floating trip down the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon.  

Both were denied.

In the end, I don't really care where we go, as I just enjoy our time together wherever we are at.

That being said, I should probably ask him what we are doing tomorrow.

Last night he mentioned we may be visiting the Santa Monica Pier.

FNJ & FGNSJ

________________________________________

When I was a much younger boy there was period where I was making annual treks to Southern California and Disneyland. But never twice, or thrice in one year, that I recall.

If I remember correctly I have asked FNJ if he and Spencer Jack have also visited Knott's Berry Farm. I do not remember the answer to that probing question. Knott's Berry Farm is real close to Disneyland. Back in its original iteration, before it became a roller coaster mecca, Knott's Berry Farm was sort of a one of a kind theme park. Now it's become like Six Flags Over Texas on steroids with better landscaping and a lot more variety, including Mrs. Knott's chicken dinner with boysenberry jam on biscuits.

Spencer Jack needs to add Universal Studios in Universal City in Hollywood to his theme park wish list.

And head south to San Diego to go to Sea World, the San Diego Zoo and the San Diego Zoo's Safari Park in Escondido.

I think I have been to what is now known as Safari Park twice, if I remember right. The former name for Safari Park was Wild Animal Park. It is the only zoo type place where I have experienced a gorilla getting annoyed at all the gawkers to the point that he began tossing gorilla doo-doo at the crowd. It was a lot more amusing than it sounds.

Safari Park is also the only zoo type place where I found myself peacefully walking along a trail in a jungle-like setting to suddenly find myself face to face with a big tiger.

Spencer Jack, and his dad especially, would really like the Safari Park monorail that takes you on a safari tour above all the wild animals milling about in their recreated natural habitat.

Anyway, I hope FNJ and FGNSJ are having themselves a mighty fine time in Sunny Southern California. But, I suspect they are probably already back home in chilly Washington....

Is Spencer Jack Learning Spanish On His Way To Texas?

Incoming email from my favorite great nephew and nephew, Spencer Jack and Jason, this morning.

Subject line: Spencer Jack learning Spanish whilst traveling.

It appears Spencer Jack is onboard an airplane, holding a book with the book's title being "I'm Going To Texas" which apparently translates into Spanish as "Yo Voy A Texas."

Now, had my mom not called me yesterday while I was walking the aisles of Albertsons, I might be thinking Spencer Jack and his dad were making a guerrilla visit to Texas, with me getting no fair warning and instead getting a phone call asking me to come get them at the airport.

Well.

Mom told me that Spencer Jack and his dad were currently in the Southern California zone, not North Texas.

Spencer Jack and his dad are once again visiting Disneyland. I think this makes the third visit with Mickey Mouse this year.

Mom told me that last week my favorite sister, Jackie and my favorite brother-in-law, Jack headed west from Arizona to Disneyland to visit Mickey Mouse with Jackie's youngest sister and her brood of three.

My last visit to Disneyland occurred on Christmas Day of 1994. If I remember right it cost $29.95 to get into Disneyland on that day. Currently it costs around $100 to get into Disneyland. And another $100 to get into Disney California, that being the new theme park adjacent to Disneyland, built where the Disneyland parking lot used to be.

I really don't know if I could get myself $100 worth of fun by going to Disneyland, nowadays. I remember my last visit, over two decades ago, wore me out by closing time. Wore me out even with a mid day break back to the motel for resting purposes.

What I  found much more enjoyable than Disneyland on that visit to the Los Angeles zone was going to the Richard Nixon Presidential Library. Mr. Nixon was still alive at the time, while Pat Nixon was not. Visiting Pat Nixon's gravesite was oddly melancholy. Mr. Nixon joined her there soon thereafter.

The Nixon Presidential Library has so many interesting elements. For one thing the building is like a palace, with the most deluxe restroom facilities I have ever seen. One area has life size statues of all the world leaders Nixon had known. One area has a large section of the then newly crumbled Berlin Wall. As you walk through the Library it is arranged like a timeline walk through Nixon's life. You hear the Checker's Speech as you walk by the area devoted to the 1952 election. Eventually you come to the dark Watergate Tunnel of Shame. The Tunnel of Shame ends with a room where you can ask questions of Mr. Nixon in a pseudo press conference. I imagine new technology has made this even more impressive than it was in 1994.

In Mr. Nixon's gift shop I got myself an official White House bath towel. I still have that towel. It  has never been used.

I think something like the Nixon Presidential Library is a Disneyland for Adults. And not nearly as exhausting as Disneyland....

Today Spencer Jack Is Getting His Kicks On Route 66

This afternoon an incoming email from my favorite Nephew Jason had a subject line of "Spencer Jack on Route 66".

I opened the email to find text which said "Enjoying the February sunshine!" along with two photos which looked to me as if Spencer Jack was somewhere on Route 66.

Just yesterday Spencer Jack's great grandma mentioned she thought maybe Spencer Jack and his dad might come down to Arizona whilst my favorite ex-sister-in-law was there.

With Arizona being the only location on Route 66 which might have the Utah type scenery I was seeing in these two pictures I figured Spencer Jack and his dad must have flown to Las Vegas, rented a car and then proceeded to head east, getting their kicks on Route 66.

So, I text messaged Spencer Jack's dad and asked where they were on Route 66, saying I assumed they were somewhere between Kingman and Flagstaff.

I then got a text message in return with precise location information as to where Spencer Jack was on Route 66, it being a location which I would never have guessed.

California.

Anaheim, California, to be more precise.

Disney California Adventure to be even more precise.

Disney California Adventure Cars Land to be even more precisely the exact location where Spencer Jack found himself standing in front of cacti on Route 66.

I have not been to Disneyland since Christmas Day of 1994. Which means I have never seen Disney California Adventure, or Cars Land. Reading the Wikipedia articles about Disney California Adventure and Cars Land makes it sound fun.

After Jason told me this was the Disney version of Route 66 I asked if that was some sort of realistic mural behind Spencer Jack, to be told that, no, it is an actual real life-like replica.

When I moved to the land of Six Flags Over Texas I figured I would be getting myself a season's pass, what with me being a lifelong fan of Disneyland, with more visits to the Magic Kingdom than I can remember. But, one visit to Six Flags Over Texas, via a free pass, quickly had me realizing I would not be paying any real money to visit that sad, compared to Disneyland, version of a theme park.

And now, speaking of theme parks, Fort Worth is currently in the midst of once again getting snookered by an out of state con job. This time in the form of something called DreamVision, yesterday holding a big press reveal in Fort Worth about a $3.5 billion theme park in Fort Worth with a tall indoor mountain covered with snow, along with New York City and other wonders.

I'll believe in the DreamVision vision about the same time I see water flowing under the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle's Three Bridges Over Nothing....

A Beautiful Veteran's Day In Skagit County Got Me Thinking About Being A Texas Tourist

Spencer Jack's dad, my favorite nephew Jason, emailed me the above picture a few minutes ago, with the subject line "Beautiful Veteran's Day in Skagit County."

It is a beautiful Veteran's Day in Tarrant County, too. But not quite as scenically beautiful as Skagit County.

I just used my computer based temperature monitoring device to learn that Mount Vernon is currently being chilled 3 degrees cooler than Fort Worth is being cooled at 49 degrees.

Before I got distracted by the temperature I mentioned that Skagit County is a bit more scenically beautiful than Tarrant County, but got distracted before adding, just like Mount Vernon is more scenically beautiful than Fort Worth.

Mount Vernon has a beautiful, clean, clear, big river running through town, Fort Worth has a modified river which looks sort of like a big ditch as it passes by downtown Fort Worth.

Mount Vernon has an actual mountain in town, called Little Mountain. Little Mountain would be considered a big mountain in Fort Worth. You can hang glide from the top of Little Mountain. There is nothing to hang glide from in Fort Worth. You can go wakeboarding though, in a dirty lake with a cable to drag you around the lake. No such contraption exists in Mount Vernon.

Mount Vernon has a Skagit River Vision you can actually see, while Fort Worth has a Trinity River Vision where today we learned we will soon be able to witness three bridges magically rising vertically from the ground.

Mount Vernon has a couple grocery stores in its downtown, one of which I greatly miss, that being the Skagit Valley Co-Op. Fort Worth has no grocery stores in its downtown, and nothing exists in the entire Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex like the Skagit Valley Co-Op.

Mount Vernon is served by a mass transit system which takes you all over Skagit County. Fort Worth has a mass transit system which takes you to some locations in Fort Worth, but not all over Tarrant County.

What got me off tangent from my original  intent to comment on the picture my favorite nephew Jason sent me?

Back to that picture. What we are looking at in the foreground is known as the Skagit Flats, one of the most fertile, productive agricultural areas in the world, growing all sorts of fruits and vegetables and flowers. Before diking made the Skagit River behave itself after it left the mountains, the Skagit Flats would get flooded when the river was in flood mode.

In the middle of the picture is something you can not find in Texas. A volcano. The Mount Baker volcano is that white spot sticking up above foothills of the Cascade Mountains. Mount Baker is an active volcano, which means you can see steam spewing from its crater at times.

Mount Vernon would be to the right in this picture, the town I grew up in, Burlington, would be in the middle, I think, maybe more to the left than the middle. As you can see one does not live far from the mountains when one lives in Western Washington. One also does not live far from saltwater. If we went left in this picture, heading west a few miles, we'd run into saltwater, maybe Swinomish Channel which runs past the tourist town of La Conner. Or Padilla Bay.

Having lived a long time in an actual area which actually attracts a lot of actual tourists and has actual  tourist towns, like La Conner, is one of the reasons my eyes roll when I read something ridiculous, such as downtown Fort Worth gets over 10 millions visitors a year. I wonder if those 10 million visitors are the same 10 million a year which were supposed to make the Fort Worth Cabela's the #1 Tourist Attraction in Texas?

Maybe in Texas visitor and tourist don't mean the same thing.

But, the thing is, when you live in an actual tourist destination and then live in an area which is not an actual tourist destination you can tell the difference. One big tell is the number of out of state license plates one sees. In a tourist zone at times it seems like every other vehicle is from out of state. Or Canada.

The only location in Fort Worth which seems like an actual tourist attraction, due to the number of foreigners and out of staters one runs into there, is the Fort Worth Stockyards. In Dallas, Dealey Plaza seems like an actual tourist attraction, albeit a sad one. I don't think many non-Texans head to Arlington to Six Flags Over Texas, not like which heads to Anaheim to go to Disneyland.

I have not headed to Anaheim to go to Disneyland for over two decades, Christmas of 1993. It has been two years since I've been a tourist anywhere, well, I have been to downtown Fort Worth during that time frame and apparently that is counted as a tourist.....

This Afternoon Spencer Jack Took Me Down San Francisco's Lombard Street

My favorite nephew Jason always does what he says he is going to do. Yesterday Jason indicated that today Spencer Jack would be sending me a photo of San Francisco's Lombard Street, and true to Jason's word, that photo arrived about an hour ago, with accompanying text saying....

"Photo documentation of Spencer Jack photographing Lombard Street."

I suspect Spencer Jack and his dad were on some sort of tourist tour and not driving themselves around San Francisco. To get the full Lombard Street experience one must drive oneself up the steep hill that leads to the famous downhill part of the street, you reach the crest and then descend slowly, brakes applied pretty much the entire time.

Lombard Street is memorable to my memory for a couple reasons. One being the last time I attempted to drive down Lombard Street I was unable to, due to the fact my clutch would not allow me to ascend to the summit.

The main reason Lombard Street is memorable to my memory is due to the fact that it was on the last family vacation I was ever to take that we drove down Lombard Street.

The summer after my freshman year of high school we took our first family vacation to California and Disneyland. At that point in time there was an attraction in Disneyland called, I think, America the Beautiful in Circlevision. You stood while moving images surrounded you. You were advised to hold on to the handrails. At one point the Circlevision took us down Lombard Street. It was very dizzying.

We had so much fun on that family vacation to California that we went again the next year, staying longer and going to San Francisco on the way south, where we did the drive down Lombard Street.

I did not know, at the time, that that family vacation was to be my last family vacation. My baby blister was born soon thereafter, which ended going on fun family vacations, at least for me.

On that last family trip to Disneyland, in addition to San Francisco, we also drove across the border, to Tijuana, we did wine tours in the Napa Valley, drove Highway 1 south, past Hearst Castle, staying at Santa Barbara State Park, where I got the worst sunburn ever, leaving a weird white spot on my back which remains to this day, I think. I've not looked lately.

Just a sec, I must go see if my Santa Barbara white spot is still there...

It's still there, about the size of a small pea, currently red due to sun exposure today.

I hope Spencer Jack tours Chinatown before he leaves San Francisco. I've had myself a mighty fine time or two in Chinatown. One time all of us in my traveling group got ourselves Mao jackets and caps in Chinatown. This made us look like revolutionary communists. I recollect us all later wearing our Mao outfits to the Duffy's Disco in Mount Vernon. The gatekeeper hesitated in admitting us, and then I guess he decided we added an interesting visual element and let us enter.

You ain't seen disco dancing til you see a Gang of Four doing the Hustle in full Mao regalia....

Under Village Creek Shade Calling My Mom About Gas & Disneyland & Six Flags Over Texas

Looking at the picture one might deduce that it appears that it might be cool to stand in the shade of this particular tree when the outer world is being heated to 100 degrees HOT.

In this case, appearances are not deceptive. It was cool to stand in the shade of this tree around noon today.

This particular tree overlooks one of the Village Creek dam bridge crossings in the Village Creek Natural Historical  Area.

Yesterday's brief storm that blew through downtown Fort Worth dropped well over an inch of fast blown rain in a very short time. At my location, about 6 miles to the west, I only saw a couple drops. But I did hear the thunder booming in the distance while downtown Fort Worth was being stormy.

I did not get gas today but I called my mom and dad anyway. I called on their Arizona land line, figuring if they were back from going to last Saturday's Tacoma Wedding of the Century my mom would answer that phone.

No answer.

So, I called the mom and dad cell phone. No answer, no voice mail.

Speaking of getting gas. I heard on the radio, two days ago, that we could expect a big price jump, with whoever it was who was talking on the radio, advising that it might be a good plan to top off ones tank.

And so I did. But, I did not make my regular call to my mom and dad at that point in time because it was too early to be calling the time zone of wherever their current location is, either Pacific or Mountain.

I topped my tank off at $3.29 a gallon. Today I saw gas has jumped  up 20 cents at the location I topped off a couple days ago. If I remember right I pumped over 20 gallons. I am really bad at math, but I think I saved $4.00.

I think I can remember when around $4.00 could fill up the tank of my now antique 65 Ford Mustang.

Back when I drove that Mustang I could drive it to California and go to Disneyland for about $15.95 for a ticket book that had 5 E tickets.

Today if I drove to California to go to Disneyland it costs around $90 to enter the park. And there are no E tickets.

I've always liked going to Disneyland. For years, back in the last century, I'd drive to California and go to Disneyland just about every year. The last time I went to Disneyland was Christmas of 1994.

When I moved to my current location I figured I'd get a season's pass to what I hoped was the Texas version of Disneyland, Six Flags Over Texas.

During my first year in Texas I went to Six Flags on the same day John F. Kennedy Jr. went missing. I had a free pass to go to Six Flags that day. Two years after that I had another Six Flags free pass.

After two visits to Six Flags Over Texas I felt no desire to return, let alone buy a season's pass. Suffice to say, Six Flags in no Disneyland.

Happy First Birthday Of Theo & Ruby While Spencer Jack Celebrates In Disneyland

I did not realize til the Tacoma Adventure Poodles, Blue & Max, told me on their blog, that this past weekend my twin nephew and niece, Theo & Ruby, had their First Birthday Party.

My invitation to the twin's birthday party must have gotten lost in the mail.

I don't know if Ruby & Theo's cousin, Spencer Jack, was invited to their First Birthday Party.

If Spencer Jack was invited I don't think he was able to attend, due to the fact that Spencer Jack was in the air, heading to Disneyland this weekend.

Spencer Jack's Grandma sent me this picture, this morning, of Spencer Jack helping pilot the plane that was taking him to Disneyland.