Pixar Visit

After the trip to Disneyland, my roommate and I took a trek up to Emeryville to attend a fundraiser at Pixar. PIXAR!!! It was soooo cool! The creative energy that was in that place was overwhelming. They haven't made a movie yet that I haven't liked. I have to say, it was pretty damn cool. Did I say that it was cool????????

The entrance.

Pixar icons outside the front doors.

Toys on the reception desk.

The roof over their cool atrium.

I think I'd fit in quite well there!

Disneyland

A couple of weeks ago a small group of us went down to Disneyland for a day. This was only my second time in the park and I don't think it will be my last. It was fairly empty (or so I was told, as I really don't have much to compare it to). We went down for two reasons:

Club 33

Club 33 is a member's only restaurant in the park. I'm lucky enough to have a connection to get me in. So the group of us had a relaxing lunch up above New Orleans Square. Since all of us had been to Disneyland before, we could actually just take our time and treat it as a true vacation day. It didn't matter if we didn't get on all the rides or see all of the things we wanted to. It was nice to actually have some good food inside an amusement park!!

The Haunted Mansion

The Haunted Mansion was decorated in Nightmare Before Christmas garb for the holidays. I love that movie and can probably quote about 75% of it. So to see it be incarnated into The Haunted Mansion was pretty freakin' awesome. My mouth opened into the widest smile as the ride started and I don't think it left until we were well outside. It was just the coolest thing ever. The soundtrack and script were completely redone to be from the movie, the new decorations were amazing, and I felt like I was actually in Halloween Town. What a great treat.

Of course, we were all very tired from walking all over the place. Some people even needed to take a nap! It was like we did have children of our own in the park. But it was a great day and, contrary to the picture, I look forward to going again.

In the beginning...

there was a little boy named Tim. That little boy lived in a very small town in the Midwest and didn't get to see a lot of different things. As that little boy grew in to a tall man, he realized there was much to see and do and longed to experience it. It started as small trips in college, visiting other campuses as a member of his university's forensics team. That only whetted his appetite and he began to take bigger excursions to more interesting places. He realized there was so much more than the Bible Belt had to offer. So he and Bert (his trusty travel Beaver) packed up his Baretta, drove west, and landed in California. Suddenly, something came alive in that once little boy. Life seemed to have a purpose, experiences were abundant, and he started gathering them with gusto.

This blog is started so he can relay those experiences to others. Photos, stories, and lessons learned hope to come alive. And perhaps he'll learn more about himself along the way.