SAVED BY DIZZYLAND & A STRANGER

Of course Rite Aid forgot to enclose a disk with our trip pictures so I'll have to post some later.

So, we arrived at the hotel on Thanksgiving Eve and munched on Outback food while watching The Simpson's Movie which I thought was beyond what it had to be in crudeness. We got a very late start Thanksgiving morning to Disneyland. Not that we minded because we were set to stay until after the fireworks and I feel there truly is such thing as too long a day in the magical (and really expensive) kingdom. The first thing we did was buy me a little Nightmare Before Christmas jacket (a tradition) and Lu a shirt because for some reason, I didn't really pack any and the one she brought was a bit too small. Once we were dressed, we realized that too many other people had the same idea and that it was quite a bit more crowded than was anticipated. I despise crowds! We did manage to go on the Haunted House and Winnie the Pooh as well as that Jungle boat ride. That's when our blood sugars fell through the bottom of the chart and we decided to leave for a while to find food. I didn't want to eat too unhealthy and every place in Disneyland was a ridiculously long wait anyway. Plus, thanks to the loudest stinking air conditioner ever, I hardly slept the night before. I was not the happiest me!

Boo Hoo....every decent restaurant (that served Salmon which is what I was craving) was closed and so we ended up at Denny's. Denny's had a "special" Thanksgiving meal which we all ordered because it seemed only right. It wasn't bad and the waitress was really sweet. However, at this point, we were a little depressed. This is when I noticed a young man at the table next to us eating alone and I started to think that at least we had one another. Then a tiny little voice in my head said, "Invite him to eat with you." Now, I am the most cautious person ever, especially since becoming a mom and so this is not something I would do. I am a ridiculously nice person and I'll give to anyone anything they need at anytime, but I am far from naive concerning the world and its dangers. The "voice" would not stop, even when I argued and even when my nerves were getting the better of me. Finally, I mustered up my courage and jumped to my feet and yes, I plopped myself down across from him and asked if he was all alone. He was down from Maryland doing a Swing dance competition that unfortunately falls on Thanksgiving week every year. And so, we enjoyed the rest of our lunch/dinner, quite a bit more cheered up with our new friend, Marcus. He'll be down doing Swing Diego in May so we'll have to go see him dance.

After, we went back to the hotel and almost completely crashed! Of course Lu hadn't gotten enough rides and really wanted to see the fireworks, (we'd seen a preview from the hotel room the night before) so I picked my lazy butt off the bed and we went. We hit up the rest of the rides and watched the most breathtaking and close up fireworks show I have ever seen. Cinderella's castle was all lit up for Christmas and it was gorgeous. Overall, it was pretty good. Maybe not the idea I had of Thanksgiving but a memorable and adventurous experience. Perhaps, if nothing else, Marcus just needed someone to spend the holiday with.