M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E

I was quite tired after my run and my right knee was bugging me so we didn't go into either park that day. Besides Z was running his half marathon the next day so we took it pretty easy after breakfast. We drove down to Hunnington Beach in the afternoon and spent some time watching the surfers. This beach stretches for miles. It's got fabulous fine sand and the water was refreshing though a little on the cold side. The water was rather choppy and the lifeguards were telling people to watch out and not wade into the water near the pier.

Dinner that evening was at a lovely little Italian restaurant, Capones Italian Cucina, on the way back to Anaheim. Z and 3 others in our group were running the half the next day, so pasta was on the menu again. The food was really good and I decided to have pasta as well. Got to be as supportive as possible.

If I thought getting up early for my run was difficult, Z's run started even earlier at 5:30am. What had I gotten myself into? I promised to get up and head to the start line with him. This meant a 3:45am wake-up call. Who does that? Apparently thousands of runners and their support groups, that's who. No time for even a coffee before, but I did manage to find one in Downtown Disney while Z was running. Good thing otherwise I would have been G-r-u-m-p-y!!

My first glimpse of the Mouse was at the start line. Mickey and Minnie were both up bright and early dressed in their track suits ready to see the runners off. Z did well on his run, finishing sub 2 hours which was really good considering the intense heat they had to endure once the sun came out. His run took him through the parks on a shorten version to the 10k and then through the streets of Anaheim to the Honda Centre and through the Angels Stadium back towards Disneyland Drive to the finish.

After the run and breakfast we decided to spend the rest of the day in California Adventure. We had bought a California City Pass before coming here which gave us a 3 day park hopper pass, 1 day at Universal Studios and 1 day at Seaworld. The two parks sure had quite a different look from the day before because this time there were lots of people all around. We went on a few rides like Hollywood Tower of Terror. I willing went on this ride, but remembered pretty quickly why I don't like it. We did Soarin' Over California, watched the Aladdin show which was hugely entertaining - the genie was the star of the show, and went on The Little Mermaid. We had dinner at The Storybook Cafe and did a lot of walking around. We capped off the night by watching the World of Colour show at Paradise Pier. This show was spectacular. It is a water show that included lights, music and cartoon imagines within the water. This show is really worth checking out. I was blown away by the production. Disney sure does aim to please!!

Our day in Disneyland included many exciting rides. We did Finding Nemo - a submarine ride under water, Space Mountain -a thrilling ride in the dark, Star Wars in 3-D, Alice in Wonderland, Pirates of the Caribbean, It's A Small World, Indiana Jones, Buzz Lightyear. We also took in the new Mickey and the Magical Map show. This was a fun filled day that also took us rough Toontown. By the end of our park days, we were exhausted from the heat and all the walking.

Our third day at the parks took us to both California Adventure and Disneyland. We arrived at C.A. at opening and head straight to Cars Land so we could ride the new Radiator Springs Racers. The wait for a fast pass was probably about half an hour so we decided to risk it and try our luck in the regular line. When we got to the ride we heard the line was about 1.5 hours long so we debated whether our better bet was getting a fast pass. We ended up staying in the line up because we didn't have all day at the park. When we got closer to the entrance we as the single riders' line and decided to go that route, so we were on this ride within about 10 minutes. It was an exhilarating ride that included a "race" between two cars. This was a great ride. We did the Mickey Carousal ride and Z did the big coaster; I was too chicken. I got my picture with Donald and Chip and Dale. We saw Woody and Buzz Lightyear as well. We hopped over to Disneyland and got to see Mickey, Minnie, Daisy Duck, Pluto, and Goofy. We stopped in to watch Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln which was a neat presentation on Lincoln's greatest achievement of equality for all. This was the end of our visit to the happiest place on earth and it was once again a great visit to an enchanting place that allows you to leave all your worries behind.
















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