9 Day Countdown..... Happiest Place on Earth

December 18,2009- 9 days to leave for Europe

So weeks and weeks ago my friend and I marked the 18th of Dec. on our calendars as our set day to go to the Happiest Place on Earth, aka. Disneyland. I love that place. Ever since I was a little girl my dad has been taking my sisters and I to this magical place. Every time I go back a rush of warm feelings and good memories fill my body, I know a bit corny but hey I'm speaking the truth. Disneyland really does hold a special place in my heart especially around this time of the year. Everything is lit up, there's a great fireworks show, and it SNOWS, well its fake but still it's the thought that counts. I have had multiple annual passes growing up, so you get the picture I really love Disneyland and so I wanted to go one last time before leaving for Europe.

The plan was to leave around noon from San Diego to arrive at Disneyland later on because we didn't want to get tired before the fireworks, since that was the whole point of our trip. Well the night before my friend got really sick. We kinda just left it up in the air whether or not we were going to drive up. We woke up and she was still feeling yucky. Stuffy nose, headache, and stomach ache she decided she was going to see Holiday Disneyland for the first time even with the sickness. So we took off around 330 pm.

TRAFFIC!... Something I didn't consider. It took us 3 1/2 hours to get to Disneyland when usually I do this trip in under 1 1/2 hours. Then we were minutes away from parking and it dawned on us that Disneyland might be full and won't allow us to get in. We arrived at the Disneyland parking structure around 640 pm and of course there was a huge sign that read

Disneyland full, California Adventure Available! Just our luck we drove all this way in traffic and we weren't even going to see what we went up for. We decided to go for CA Adventure but when we got off the tram and were standing in between both parks we decided to try our luck and try to get into Disneyland even though it was "full."

So we got in line to get into Disneyland. I could see that the lady was checking hand stamps so my friend Jen decided to pray to who else but Roy E. Disney. Guess what? It worked. The lady didn't even check our hands she simply scanned our passes and in we went.

The park was beautiful as it always is. We had one main goal get food and mark our spots in front of Sleeping Beauty's castle for the fireworks show. We grabbed clam chowder and sat our butts down for about 1 1/2 before the show started. I like seeing the pretty lights in the sky and then the "SNOW" started to fall. Yea it fell, it fell right into a tree, nowhere near us and then stopped. I blame it on the budget crisis.

After it had finished we cinched our way towards It's A Small World, typically I stay far away from all the dolls that look like they are going to come at you but during Christmas time this place is pretty amazing. All lit up with lights and all decked out with special Christmas decorations inside, you are just naturally attracted to it. It's pretty!

This is where I get to introduce my traveling companion. He will be sharing my experience every step of the way. Taking the craziest photos and sharing them with all of you. I introduce you to Mister Hobo.

Do you see him he's all the way at the bottom, you see the little turtle. He's a wanderer just like I am. You will see many pictures of what I hope will be a semester full of adventure and traveling in Europe and Mister Hobo will be along for the ride.

Mister Hobo has a couple of friends who will also be doing some traveling very soon. Wallace, the starfish, will be traveling to India. Together they both ventured into their first outing.

In the end, despite the sickness and the traffic, the trip was well worth it.

Have a beautiful day/night!