Day 368: Well.. =)

Let's just say that this was a chill day. Very little happened on my part, but it was a God given day, so it was blessed either way. Sometimes I feel like I can take these days for granted; like, I won't do much that's progressive, but I can disregard the fact that every day of our lives is a gift from God. Do you ever think about this? I tend to a lot when these days come up. If you've never seen it that way, try it out; you just might get a whole new outlook on life (see what I just did there? That's a Grinch reference!!)

God bless,
Steven

Day 367: Homeward Bound

Today was the big trip back home to San Francisco. We headed out around 6 a.m., since there are some big things coming up that we have to get ready for. We made it home around 1 p.m. (I think?), and the rest of the day was half rest and half prepping for my sister's wedding. I know I'm generalizing quite a bit with this entry, but.... I don't mind ;)

God bless,
Steven

Day 366: 2011: Hello.

The first day of 2011 for me was quite the day. To experience California Adventure one last time before the trip home was great; getting on the newfound classics like Toy Story Midway Mania, Screamin', and the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror was awesome! At one point we went into the Blue Sky Cellar to check out the new plans and updates; there was one specific thing that seriously caught my attention. It wasn't one of the upcoming attractions or a new layout/design; it was a quote from Walt Disney himself. He said "As long as there is imagination in the world, Disneyland will never be finished." To see a man with such a massive vision made me really draw back and think to myself. Disney started this park back in 1955; yet even back then he had incredible vision for the future of his parks, his company, and ultimately his legacy. I admire Walt for that; I've spent a lot of my life only thinking of what's around me in the present. There have been those small moments of thinking to the future, but I don't do much of that. I want to have some more vision this year; especially since I have some big responsibilities waiting for my return down under, I want to make sure I'm more than ready for it. Ultimately, I can put my future in God's hands and be available for His work now. 2011 is gonna be a good one; much better than any other year. I'm believing it; won't you?

God bless,
Steven

Day 365: The Eve of A New Era

New Year's Eve; probably one of the most crowded days I've ever experienced in Disneyland. Seriously, there was a lot of people; even the smallest of shops had lines going outside the building! But nonetheless, it was still a fantastic day; the family had an awesome time. Today one of the top priorities was to get on Indiana Jones; two days ago, the fastpasses were all gone by the time we got there. This time, we were determined, only to find the fastpass line going from the entrance all the way to the Enchanted Tiki Room and a little bit past that. That was... a shocker to be honest, yet I wasn't surprised since it's an awesome ride. Throughout the day, the only obstacle was the hundreds (maybe even thousands) of people everywhere; thanks to this, I didn't go on Space Mountain, Matterhorn, and Alice In Wonderland. It's not catastrophic news, but I still would have liked to get a full experience of the park this year. The fireworks was cool; even though it was the same holiday show as last year, it's always a highlight. I personally would have liked some more personal space, but hey who am I to complain? As 2010 was coming to a close, the Gomez family ended the year in prayer; as the clock counted to 2011 and everyone around us was shouting and cheering, we huddled up and said a prayer for this year. I couldn't have wanted it to be any other way; this is the halfway point of my journey. Second year, here I come.

God bless,
Steven

Day 364: Back In Cali Adventure

It's amazing how much a theme park can change when you haven't been there in a while. California Adventure is shaping up to be a potentially epic park, considering what they're working on. Last time I went, I got excited thanks to the Blue Sky Cellar, which is where they actually show you updates on new attractions for the forsee-able future; this time, I got to see a couple of those attractions as the real deal. The coolest parts of this day was experiencing World of Color for the first time, and man do these imagineers know how to put on a show. It's like nothing I've ever seen/experienced, and it was well worth the super long wait. The other highlight was entering The Grid, thanks to ElecTRONica. ElecTRONica is the result of the Hollywood Backlot section of the park getting zapped by Kevin Flynn's laser, and it transports the visitors to the world of Tron (anyone else think Bruce Boxleitner should have had way more screen time in Tron: Legacy? I mean, the guy's program carries the name of the movie, you think they could give him some more credit). It included spotlight, lasers, a giant Recognizer checking people, the End of Line club (minus the two French DJs rocking epic suits), and even a recreation of Flynn's arcade; this place was just awesome. The only thing is if you wanted to stay there for the duration of the evening, you'd have to deal with some serious stereo bass for four hours straight; I can't even handle that. Hard to believe that after this evening, I was already halfway through vacation; Disneyland can make time seem like it slows down, but once you leave the park, it's a whole different story.

God bless,
Steven

Day 363: Christmas Fantasy, After Christmas!

Wednesday, December 29th, I went to Disneyland, and it was awesome as always. What I like most about this place is that no matter how many times you go on a ride, it still finds a way to be enjoyable. I will probably never get tired of rides like Pirates of the Carribean, It's A Small World, Peter Pan, and ESPECIALLY Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye. It was one of those days where you go to as many rides as possible and see all the shows that matter (like Fantasmic; why wouldn't you watch that?). And yes, even the Christmas parade (which hasn't changed in ANY way) was cool to see as well.. although they did manage to cut out the cool snowflake ladies on skates.. but anyways. This was all part of the general plan: one day in Disneyland, one day in California Adventure, and the next two days exactly the same. To quote Liam Neeson circa A-Team 2010, "I love it when a plan comes together."

God bless,
Steven

Day 362: A Drive Like No Other

So the next several posts will be reflective ones from the past week, since I was on vacation and in no place to update the blog. Here we go:

On Tuesday, our plan was to head out to Disneyland after my mom was off work. The morning and afternoon didn't involve much since we had just about everything packed the night before (on these kinds of trips, I can leave everything last minute and still get it all together). Getting on our way was a bit tricky, since we had to drop off keys to one of the cars and then go pick up my mom from work. Once we had everyone in the car, we headed to Anaheim. My mom's boss told her heading towards Gilroy could shorten the trip, so we tried it out; it actually ended up taking an hour out of the trip compared to our usual route, so it was a cool suggestion. The sun was pretty much gone before 6, so the majority of the trip was in the dark of night. By 11, we arrived at the hotel and by midnight, we were all asleep (with the exception of Sausage occasionally barking at whatever noise he heard outside the door). I was more than ready to get this vacation started.

God bless,
Steven