The place of Adventure, Travel to East Africa: Djibouti, India, Madagascar, Zanzibar, Kenya, Jordan, Egypt, Cyprus and Disneyland.  Now adding Hong Kong, China, Korea, Japan and Disneyland.  Mexico and Disneyland.   Disaster, Earthquake and Emergency Preparedness and Services for San Francisco.  We also like Disneyland.

Disneyland and Cruise Diary Spring 1998

Thursday, April 9

At the airport, we run into one of my ship mates from the African cruise. I give them my web address and we may start corresponding.

As we arrive at the gate at 7:30, hungry, toon town hot dogs provide our nourishment.

Friday, April 10

Happy birthday to Christopher! We wake up late, arriving about noon at Disneyland. We spend a couple of hours there, meeting an interesting group of people in line for the Matterhorn. One of them recites the entire Haunted House dialogue, with the accents and nuances to a T up to "please exit the car to the left on the moving belt". Amazing and amusing. We ride a couple of other rides, go out to lunch, rest and shop in the afternoon. Daddy gets Christopher his desired birthday gift: A Turok game for his Nintendo.

Returning to the park with an appetite, the boys surprise by eating hearty BBQ adult portions, followed with a relaxing ride on Thunder Mountain.

A conflict develops: Birthday Boy wants a ride on Indiana Jones, Colt strongly declines. Solution: Hang radios on all parties, send Colt to ride as he wishes, while Dad and Christopher do Indy’s ride. When we return from the ride a radio call and contact locates Colt immediately: He’s on the Jungle Cruise, his boat having slipped off it’s rail and becoming stranded.

With the proper info, we weren't worried, but the shore attendants were chagrined when we walked up and they gave the standard : "I’m sorry sir but the ride is closed...." "Yes, we know. My son is aboard and we’re waiting for the rescue boat." "How did you know that?" That launched Christopher and I into a nice conversation with the shore folks, who gave us some cool insider info about Disneyland’s inner workings. Colt, meanwhile, was getting his own insider info and a once in a lifetime Disneyland rescue.

As a "sorry about that" consolation prize, Colt gets a "go to the head of a line" ticket. We head to the Matterhorn Mountain and see some friends at the head of the line, we use the ticket but the attendant fails to take it! So we ride -"rockin’ the rock"- then head to the head of the line at Space Mountain. There we head to the front of the line, and lo and behold, there are our friends again! So we "rock space mountain". Cool. It’s late and the lines have shortened to nothing, so off to Star Tours we head. Who comes in right behind us but our Matterhorn friends, so we "rock some space" as a bunch.

Closing time calls as we head out. The group of friends heads back to their lives. Back to the motel room for a bit of birthday cake with Daddy made decorations and blowout proof candles. On the third blow, Christopher got it and laughed away.

Saturday April 11

As you might imagine, all this activity saw us to bed quite late. I decided not to push the boys which would only make them tired and cranky - not a condition conducive to a good time. Our morning begins with the ring of the phone at 10:15 AM. It’s the boy’s mom, and her tone of voice is, well, angry. When I ask her to mellow her tone of voice, she explodes with rage. It seems her message from yesterday had not been delivered. Whether that was her excuse - who cares? - The main thing is that her mood was fine when she talked to the adventure boys.

A look out the window reveals --Rain! We head for the park anyway, the rain tapers off, we get in a couple of rides and have lunch under a rare umbrella as the sky opens up and pours. A rainy day parade leads most of us to the exit. We get back to the Inn soaked and cold. The hot tub warms us right back up.

We go shopping for "stuff" and find the sure cure for the rain - we buy rain ponchos. As we leave the store the sun is shining and the birds are chirping.  (As of April 1999, the ponchos never been used - nor even opened!)

After dinner, it’s back to the Park for us. Most of the other patrons have evacuated. Space Mountain, Matterhorn, and the Toon Town Taxi ride are all completed without waiting. The Gadget roller coaster is almost abandoned - we ride that seven times without leaving our seats! Unheard of!!

As the rides close it starts to rain but we are back at the room pretty dry.

Sunday April 12

The Easter Bunny has been here! You can see the chocolate buzz the kids are under. They can’t stay still for a millisecond. I think I may have Disneyed them out - They were tough to get going to the park. Still, off we go - the kids do the penny arcade, shoot up a storm, then storm Tom Sawyer island. It’s incredibly crowded, so I guess my thought everyone would be home is premature. Maybe around dinnertime. The kids are exhausted by the time we take in the day’s parade.

Back at the Inn, a call from the front desk calls us to another unusual event as maintenance has to come in, open up hatches and do work to repair a leak elsewhere in the building.

Easter dinner is being delivered from the local pizza joint. It’s a cinch it will be one Easter holiday dinner they’ll remember!

You will have to ask me personally about the super glue incident.

Tomorrow: To The Boat!

Monday, April 13

Written aboard the ship Viking Serenade.

This morning I was up and at ‘em, even though I stayed up quite late at the Inn’s laundry facility. By 10:30 AM the kids were starting to stir, and away we go! We get a move on and it’s one stop after the other, time gets short. In the back of the car the kids are raising a din - for the umpteenth time, and I miss the correct way to go and I don’t even notice, so we wind up in downtown Long Beach, rather than at the airport where we have to drop the car. Imagine! To get to the boat we have to go to the AIRPORT! How absurd! Anyway, when in Rome... So we buy some cuff links for Dad and are on our way. The kid’s endless fighting and fidgeting gets a bit on my nerves as the sailing time grows closer and closer, but we make it in plenty of time.

Aboard, the kids take to ship’s life like fish to water. I have them for their first emergency muster and meal at sea, and they’re off exploring the ship, finding the teen club and making new friends. At bedtime, they resist going to their bunks and again - it’s after midnight before they go to sleep.

Lesson of the day: Kids adventures should be served up in small bites.

Tuesday, April 14

Aboard the Viking Serenade

Again, the boys wake up a little late, but after a breakfast on deck, we hit San Diego. We take the trolley to Old Town, explore and eat lunch, then trolley to downtown, catching it all. We trolley back to the boat - quite early for Christopher has concerns about missing it - and I watch the cast off from the same perch as the night before.

This is a fun boat, and everyone is friendly. We all are making lots of new friends on the voyage, and that’s very nice. Save for our dining companions. They are an interesting lot, but not very chatty. No other kids at our table. Oh, well. It does prompt the boys to conduct themselves in a dignified manner. Tonight was formal night. I really enjoyed dressing up in my tux and "struttin’ my stuff". It’s been a long time.

We stay up and play very late. The book is right: There aren't a bunch of early to bed types here.

Wednesday, April 15

Hello Catalina Island!

I arise about eight, the kids stay in until about 11 AM, when I have to awaken them. Before they’re up, I take to the deck in a search for coffee. It’s cold and windy.

We wind up taking the tender ashore after lunch. First, we take on the Town of Avalon by foot. Then we ship out on a 1:30 PM glass bottom boat for a fine ride. The only thing noteworthy there was that we were almost alone in the boat, having purchased tickets at 1:25, and the ship’s bookings for the 1:00 and 2:00 PM trips having been canceled due to weather. It was warm and sunny when we got there. Afterwards, on the recommendation of the captain of the boat, we hired out a golf cart for a tour of the island. We used up all of our time and even made contact with the local Fire Chief, bur alas, no patches to trade - they’re out.

On the return trip we run into some friendly fellow passengers. We had a good time by the pool later, but plans to get the kids together for dinner never happened. Nonetheless, the kids had their dinner tonight in the informal restaurant "stag" tonight, and the waiter reported that he served two gentlemen. The weather is a bit rough tonight, but really, not bad. The kids report that they are having as much fun as they thought they were going to.

Lesson of the day: It’s amazing how good a robust male ego can make a man feel, how easily it can be deflated to make him feel bad, and just how little the man has to do with the whole process.

Thursday, April 16 1998

Ahoy Mexico!

We awake to bright sunshine streaming into our cabin - we have arrived in sunny Mexico. I try to get the kids up, but they demur on awakening, so I go and have breakfast. Later, amidst much gaggle from the boys as they protest waking up, protest that it is too late for breakfast and protest getting off the ship, we get going. Finally, we’re off and head to town in a bus. We explore town, buy some curios - Christopher adds to his glass figurine set. We were all quite impressed when a street vendor makes a COLT wristband on the spot: Price for 2: $5. We eat lunch in a semi open air lunch counter, with Daddy ordering in Spanish! Cool! I had no idea I had picked up that much, but I guess I did.

Back at the boat, the boys are playing in the cabin and in the teen center, while I meet a firefighter from Station 5, his wife and a friend. We are joined by other passengers I know, make tentative plans for dinner, but they flake out. Again. Oh well. I now think that very little of what we were told by them is truthful. Christopher adds to his collection again by getting Daddy to buy him 2 more figures aboard: The swan and a penguin.

Lesson of the Day: Nothing is as it seems.

Friday, April 17 1998

Goodbye Viking Serenade!

Up early as we prepare to disembark. We hang out in our cabin, waiting for our color to be called. We never hear it, and may have been the last passengers off. Not in any hurry, we wait for a taxi, wave farewell to some fellow passengers and head to the airport. Back home well in time to attend the local Ham club briefing and Saturday’s drill. Twas not to be.....

First Colt isn't feeling well, then he is quite sick.  I follow in about 6 hours. Christopher is frightened, seeing his brother and Daddy both quite violently ill, but he overcomes that and is without symptoms. By 4:00 AM on Saturday, the worst is over and we both get a few hours of sleep. No briefing or drill for us, I’m afraid - everyone is exhausted! To her credit, the kid’s Mom offered to be as helpful as possible. Another Daddy lesson: How to handle being this sick. It’s not instinctive, I discovered.

By Saturday night, the Adventure Boys are back at their Mom’s house. Save for the developing of photos, the adventure is done.... Until the next one!

Lesson of the day: Imodium AD is actually syrup of ipecac in disguise, I think. At least, that’s how it worked on Colt and I!!!