We are off,... again (Sat)

Stopping at Gpa and Gma H's was the best thing we could of done. Not just because of Gpa and Gma's amazing hopitality (thanks for the toothbrush and the use of the windbreaker), but also we felt so refreshed and ready for the long second leg. That stop was perfect. My wife took the first leg and she is a driving machine. I think she would have driven the whole way if she was given a chance. We were all pretty excited.

We waited until south of Ashland to get gas. Our first gas stop was to be a indicator on gas mileage. We gathered a lot of information, but exact gas mileage we hoped not. It took $60 to fill the tank! According to the rental guy the tank was full. If that is true we were getting 15mpg! I was hoping that the tank wasn't full. Gas prices so far have varied from $2.10 to 2.60. However, it seems that whenever we needed to fill up the price was about $2.50.

I know most of slept at first. I mean we left at 5:00am that morning. The whole drive seemed so short. We did stop for gas again and lunch at In and Out. We figure we are getting 20 mpg and the tank holds about 24 gallons.

Our drive ended with an hour in traffic getting out of LA. One hour for 20 miles. But we arrived at the Clarion, checked in, moved a ton of luggage into the room, and headed out to Disney Land.

I have to say, our expectations were maybe shop a little and try a ride or two. We were hugely surprised. I think it is because of the number of parades, fire works, and of course Fantasmic that keep everybody occupied that the lines stay moving a nice clip. We were able to ride Space Mountain, the Matterhorn, Astroblasters, Star Tours, and Autotopia. I have no memory of Space Mountain, but the renovations have yield a great ride. You are emersed in a field of stars as you carreen down the dome. It is great because you really can't find yourself during the ride. You are just lost in the moment. The new Buzz Lightyear Astroblasters is more shooting then a ride. It is kinda funny. Your whole goal is to shoot these Z targets and rack up points. Your can spin your cart if you wish. We found that you are so caught up in the shooting that your really don't take in much of the ride. There are also impossible levels to aspire for so you really don't soak up more the second time around. You just wear out your shooting arm pumping the trigger on your astroblaster. The real novelty is in the pictures they take of you. As you leave the ride you can email your picture to yourself. That was pretty cool because it always seems like they take pictures of you that are 'ok' but not great enough to warrent a spendy purchase, but an email makes even an iffy shot worth collecting (it shows off your score as well).

We were at the park from 6pm-12am. Quite a first day.