A Scrap of Life

Here we are, back at Autopia trying to take advantage of the short wait time in the early morning.  We all got in cars, one after another.   There were a total of 13 of us so we had quite a parade of cars.   I was near the end of the pack with Brian and Tristan ahead of me and Garan behind me.   Partway through the ride I noticed that the car in front of Brian, the one being driven by Allison and co-piloted by Melinda, had stopped.   Then it rolled backwards... halfway off the track.   It had become partially derailed or something, as it was really sticking out to one side.   I saw  a cast member and told him.   He slowly, slowly, slowly sauntered over, walked right past the car and over to chat with another cast member.   Then he walked to the car, looked, turned around and walked away.  There was quite a lineup in front of and behind us. (That's Melinda's husband Garan behind me in the lineup.) After a wait of 5-10 ...

I was already awake this morning when the alarm went off.   I knew today was the day we were finally going to Disneyland !   Carissa and I jumped in quick showers, we ate our breakfast of Costco muffins and milk in our room then left at 8am to head to the parks for the 9am park opening.   On our walk over I got a text from good friend Melinda saying "What are you up to?"   I texted back that we were walking, on our way to the park.   She replied with a "Me too" and not 2 minutes later we  saw this... After over a year of talking and planning, we were actually making this happen - her family and my family in Disneyland together!  We knew that with 13 people - her family of 6, both her parents and our family of 5 - there was no way we were going to be able to do everything together, but at the same time we really wanted to enjoy some moments with one another.  Well, here we go! We got through security, lined up together and entered t...

Cars is the movie we watched most recently before coming to Disney.   In preparation for our trip and the awesomeness that I hoped Carsland would be, I had borrowed a copy of Cars to watch with the family.   Let me say that having now been to Carsland, it doesn't let me down.   They have captured the unique aspects of each little character and building in Radiator Springs in perfect detail.   When you walk down the street in that town it is just an awesome site!   Amazing work! The first ride we came to was Mater's Junkyard Jamboree.   Brian and I got in line with the kids but then took the chicken exit further on in the queue, once we realized what the ride entailed... spinning, and lots of it.   Brian and I watched from a side rail and took photos of the kids riding.   They seemed to like it and it did look like a lot of fun. We decided to trek on down to Radiator Springs Racers, just so see what the wait time was. ...