VFW

Last weekend I went down to LA for the VFW basketball tournament. It was pretty rough...Unfortunately, we ended up a little shorthanded because Val and Lucy couldn't make it so we pretty much got slaughtered. We lost all 3 games -- the first and third were winnable but the second game was really bad. The girls we were playing against were really young-looking, so I asked one of them after the game, "So are you guys straight out of high school?" and she perkily replied, "Oh, we're high school seniors!" Ridiculous.

Luckily for me, the tournament was really just an excuse to go to Disneyland - yay!!! That stupid tournament took up most of the day on Sunday, so by the time Kelli, Des, and I got to The Happiest Place On Earth, it was already 6:30, but we made the most of the time we had while we were there. Once we got in the gate, we jetted over to Indiana Jones -- there was this adorable Australian family in front of us and the mom kept asking us if it was scary. It was lots o' fun (or in mom's text-speak, "i jones fun!").

After i jones, we met up with Lisa and Flick and waited in line for the Haunted Mansion. That line was the longest, but it was still only about 40 minutes, so it wasn't too bad. Of course, given that long to just stand around and talk with Kelli, Des, Lisa, and Flick, the conversation turned a little bit X-rated. There were a few times when I had to yell, "Children present! Children present!" The Haunted Mansion, which normally is my favorite ride, was decorated with all the Tim Burton Nightmare Before Christmas stuff, so unfortunately it wasn't the classic version. It was still pretty cool, but considering I only get to go to Disneyland once in a great while, I would have rather seen the original version (mom: "h mansn same").

By the time we got out of the Haunted Mansion, it was time for Fantasmic! We got clam chowder bowls (yum!) and watched the show. I've never seen it before, so it was pretty exciting for me...The next time I go with Richie, I want him to watch it.

During Fantasmic, they close down Pirates of the Caribbean, so we booked it over to there and were practically first in line - we literally only waited a minute or so! They've updated it to add Jack Sparrow into a few scenes -- it almost feels like Where's Waldo a little bit because if you grew up on the original, it looks like they just threw him in a few random spots. But I'm just glad they didn't change too much!

After Pirates, we went over to Tomorrowland and I bought Richie a Mickey Mouse Jedi stuffed animal. :) Space Mountain was closed, so we rode It's a Small World and squeezed in Peter Pan before the park closed. After that, we shopped in the stores for a couple hours and then went back to the hotel.

On Monday, I hitched a ride back with Kelli and Des. We grabbed food at a couple of Kelli's favorite spots in LA -- Dumpling Master (it has the best potstickers ever!) and Chicken Cafe (a rotisserie chicken place near UCLA). Yum, yum, yum -- I'm getting hungry just thinking about it!

[I didn't take any pictures, but as soon as I get some from Kelli and Des, I'll post them!]