Even though I had gotten the least amount of sleep from the night before, I was the first one to wake up. I knew there was a donut place just down the street. I lightly tapped Knod on the shoulder and asked if she wanted donuts for breakfast. Still kind of sleeping, she said, "No... Bagels." Okay. I was going to have to go out and get bagels.
Chud was supposed to go in to work at Disney that morning. His wife Elad would be able to get us in for free at Disneyland. However, he was concerned about her being able to get us all in and felt like he was going to be the only one who would not encounter any problems at the gate. So, he blew off work. It turned out that was supposed to be the day he was set to meet the CEO regarding a project he was working. I told him he should go in, but he insisted there were other people who could handle it and he wasn't really needed. He would never get an opportunity to meet that CEO again.
We drove down to Anaheim and didn't experience much in the way of traffic. Chud had left ahead of us and was going to go in through the employee entrance and meet us at the front gate. We got there, parked the car and rode the trolley to the entrance. We found Chud and were able to get in. Chud showed us around a little bit and allowed us to use his 10% discount on souvenirs before he left. (I didn't want to lug my camera around all day, so I didn't bring it. It was a smart decision.)
I told Knod and Cald that they were completely in charge of where to go and what to do. Knod enjoyed that because when she last came to Disneyland with her family, the adults called all the shots and she didn't have as good a time.
The whole day was pretty much a blur as we went on all the cool rides. The only thing I have a solid memory of was when we went onto Splash Mountain. Waiting in the line, I could see that our pictures were going to get taken on this long slide. This was a period in my life in which I didn't want ANY photos taken of me, and I sure didn't want my photo taken now. During the ride, Knod and Cald brought drink cups with them and would throw water in the back of the plume. The people in back got really upset. Knod would go, "Well, we get to do that at Elitch Gardens all the time!" Then came the big drop. I was able to put my hand in front of my face when we were going down. I have to say, it came out perfectly! My entire face was covered. I wish I had bought that photo.
I also remember the Main Street Electrical Parade and how we tried to watch it. However, people who ran the stores on Main Street shooed us out of the way. Really? Where were we supposed to stand when every square inch was occupied? So we didn't stick around for the parade.
We stayed at the park until they closed. We were there at least 13 hours. I was ready to drop from exhaustion and wanted to drive home. However, Knod and Cald wanted to go to Denny's to get something to eat. This took another hour. On the way back to Chud and Elad's apartment, I had to again force myself to stay awake by singing songs while Knod and Cald slept.
Knod and Cald laid down in the guest room and I was on the couch in the living room. We slept very late the next morning. I woke up when Chud was going to work. I thanked him for everything and told him goodbye. Later, Elad woke up. I visited with Elad after she woke up. Knod and Elad got out of bed. We ate breakfast and got ready to go to San Jose.
On the way down, we got our first view of the ocean when we drove through San Onofre. This would be the first time Cald had seen that.
The plan was that we would go to my apartment, rest a bit and then get ready to go see the La Jolla Playhouse production of "The Who's Tommy." (This would be several months before it would debut on Broadway.) I had already purchased the tickets. The only problem was that I could only get my hands on three singles, but Knod and Cald didn't seem to care.
When we got to the apartment, my roommate Ped and his Canine Companion were there. I had to run to the Hillcrest Cinemas to pick up my paycheck. During the time I was away, Cald had contacted family members who lived in the LA area. When I came back, Knod and Cald were getting ready. I knew it was going to take about a half hour to get to La Jolla, so I was getting a little agitated at how long it was taking them to get ready. At one point, Knod yelled at me, "FAYD! WHY DO WE ALWAYS HAVE TO BE ON SOME F*****G SCHEDULE!" These past few days had really worn us down.
We still made it to the theatre on time. The show got underway. During intermission, I went back to sit with Knod and Cald. All of a sudden, Knod snapped, "YOU DON'T ALWAYS TO SIT NEXT TO ME!" I just decided to leave her be and went to sit in my seat.
I had seen the musical a month before before at a preview just a couple of days before it officially opened. I was so amazed by what I saw that I knew that the producers were going to have to extend the run (which they did) and that it would be headed to Broadway (which it did). What I saw that night was pretty much the same as the preview performance, except that the individuals took bows during the curtain calls instead of the whole company at once.
Originally, we had planned to hang out the entire week in San Diego. We were going to do things during the day and then they would do their own thing at night while I was working. However, Cald's relatives wanted her to come up the next day to see them, so Knod asked if it was okay for them to go ahead and hang out there. Since she had been getting angry at me, I knew there would be no point in forcing her and Cald to stay, so I agreed to take them to the bus station the next day.
We woke up the next morning and Knod made some toast by bending a wire hanger and putting it on the stovetop, holding the piece of bread. I wanted to show off the Hillcrest Cinemas to them, so I brought them by the theatre. There was a press screening going on and they med Anz, Ved and Baz. They also met one of the projectionists.
Afterward, Knod and Cald wanted to do some sightseeing in San Diego and Ped had told them about Seaport Village. I had been to Seaport Village back in December when my Mom and Loyd came out to visit. (That's a story I've opted not to tell, but only because nothing really dramatic happened.) It was a tourist trap and I didn't much care for it. I said as much to Knod, but she still wanted to see it. After we'd been there awhile, she said, "Yeah, I see what you mean."
I then took them to the bus station and helped carry their bags inside. I bought their bus tickets to LA. I hugged Knod goodbye and had to go straight to work. This was the official end of the vacation.
When I arrived at work, Baz asked me who those adorable girls were. I told her they were friends from Denver and they were on their way to LA.
I never knew what happened to them once they left. I do know that they stayed in the LA area for about three weeks before going back home on the Greyhound. I would call Knod's mother up every couple of days to see if they were okay, but she didn't really hear much from them, either.
It was just as well that they left. It would have ended the friendship I had with Knod and I'd no longer be able to consider her my little sister.
As for Cald, she got married a couple of years after I met her. Knod's niece (the one she injured her back with) was the flower girl at the wedding. She now lives in Thornton, CO and is still good friends with Knod. She has a daughter. Not too long ago, she posted one of the photos I had taken of her with the statues in Las Vegas.
The whole road trip experience appears to have been just as memorable to her.
No comments:
Post a Comment