I'm baaaack

• Hey there folks! I'm back from my much needed vacation. I wasn't planning on blogging until later tonight, but I'm working an overtime shift and I thought "Oh what the heck?". Okay I'm not going to detail what we did minute by minute, but I'll recall what I can remember without boring you all to death. Cathy and I left our place Sunday morning around 8am. After a few stops to pick up last minute items, we headed out to Fresno and arrived in the late morning. Amy's new place is really nice. We hung out and chatted for an hour or so, and headed on our way. The drive to Anaheim wasn't really bad at all. We got to the hotel before 3pm and got settled in. Cathy and I were both starving so we went to Downtown Disney for some mexican food and shopping. Apparently the sudden climate change did a number on Cathy so we headed back to the hotel. She passed out, and I watched random stuff on TV for hours before falling asleep. Not exactly the way I wanted the first night to pan out, but stuff happens.
  
• Monday morning both of us work up nice and refreshed. My alarm clock was set an hour ahead for some reason, so we were ready to get out the door before 8am. We ate our free breakfast before leaving, of course. It was pretty darn good for being continental. Biscuits/gravy, eggs, oatmeal, orange slices, cereal and toast. No I didn't eat all of that. Opted out on the biscuits/gravy, eggs and cereal. We made it to Universal Studios by 9am and had time to grab coffee and browse a few stores before the park opened. Once we got inside, I took a random survey from a very inquisitive lady, and got a front of the line pass for the studio tour. Awesome. Cathy and I went on the tour first, then did some exploring, rode the Simpsons ride (twice). Second time we rode it some dude next to Cathy kept hecka farting. Hahaha. Oh yeah, we went down to the lower level and rode Jurassic Park. Plus we met Beetlejuice, then Scooby Doo/Shaggy tried to steal our lunch. Professor Klump also took pics with us. Back on the upper level I made Cathy go through the haunted house and she was actually scared. We met Curious George, Shrek and Fiona, Spongebob, Crash Bandicoot, Woody and Winnie Woodpecker, and Fievel from An American Tail. It was so much fun. We browsed Citywalk some more, then headed on back to the hotel and had IHOP for dinner. So nutritional. Oh well. Later on we relaxed our aching legs in the jacuzzi, and watched TV until we fell asleep.
  
• Tuesday was an even better day. Disneyland! We got up early again, ate breakfast and got to the park an hour before it even opened. Eventually we made it inside, and I made a beeline for Goofy. Cathy really had to pee and I forced her to stand in line with me for 10 minutes to get a picture. I'm so mean. Then we got a picture with Goofy's son Max. Throughout the day we covered the whole park. I'm more of a strategical person and used the map as a guide to cover the most ground. I think sometimes I get way too goal oriented and drive some folks insane, like my sister. We did get to see everything. The longest wait for a ride was about 35 minutes, for Indiana Jones. I think we waited about 30 min or so for Splash Mountain. Most of the other rides we practically walked on with no wait. We also got a picture with Mickey Mouse in Toontown. Yes I've met him before, but I love the guy. I did feel bummed about one thing. Early in the day we were going to meet Tinkerbell in Fairy Hollow, but the wait was an hour. We came back at 5pm and realized we had just missed her. I feel guilty for waiting forever for Indiana Jones. If we hadn't, Cathy could have met her. Or if we had read the sign, then we could have made a point to visit earlier, and go on other rides later. Oh well. Later I treated Cathy to Cheesecake Factory because I felt so bad. It was tasty. I was exhausted when we got back to the hotel. I fell asleep before she did, which is rare.
  
• Wednesday morning I woke up kinda sad since it was our last day. I also had quite a bit of packing to do. We checked out and hit the road around 9am. First we drove out to San Bernadino to visit some folks who work with Cathy. They're pretty nice folks. Then we drove an hour back to L.A., and I made an attempt to find Randy's Donuts, home of that giant donut you see in movies, TV shows, etc. After driving through South Central L.A. for 20 minutes or so, we concluded that Randy's is now a Jack In The Box. Either that or Google Maps is very very very wrong. Boo. So we drove to Burbank to take a picture in front of NBC Studios. Yes I'm a nerd like that. This we did accomplish. We drove past Warner Bros Studios next, but there was no access to parking, etc so we moved on to Bob's Big Boy for lunch. The burgers there are to die for. Our tummies were full, and we went further down Riverside Drive to a defunct University Medical Center, known to Scrubs fans as Sacred Heart. Had a nice convo with the security guard, but alas we could not get in. I did see Mike Schwartz AKA Lloyd The Delivery Guy come through the gate in his Range Rover. He's also a producer/writer. How frustrating. Next stop was Paramount Studios on Melrose Ave. No parking anywhere nearby. Cathy was crabby and didn't want to walk 3 blocks, so we just took pics as I was driving by. Last major spot we visited was Hollywood Blvd. It was fun as well. By this time both of us were tired/cranky. We left after an hour or so of browsing up and down the street, and cruised down Sunset. What a fun strip. Took it to Beverly Hills, did a little driving around that neighborhood as well. Then through Bel Air, and eventually to the 405 freeway, where we were stuck in traffic forever.
  
• Well, my trip was totally awesome. I was sad that it was over, but again there's no place like home. Okay I'm just trying to stay awake here at work. Gotta get used to overnights again. Lucky it's daylight savings time and it's nearly 4am already. Whoohooo. I wanna go home and hit the hay. Oh yeah, I already made a 2 part video blog about the trip...