An Epic Thanksgiving Journey

Enjoying two nights at home before taking off again, my parents and I set off on a Thanksgiving Epic Journey that encompassed Yosemite, Universal Studios, and Disneyland. The first night in Yosemite, we went over to the camp of my Spencer relatives--Grandma, Grandpa, Mark and Shirley--to enjoy a roaring fire. Mark and Shirley gave me some wonderful dishes, as they are replacing them with new china in celebration of their 25th anniversary, and I am very grateful to them. We gave my grandparents the customary recyclable cans and bottles they use to fund their travels, which they took gladly as well. We laughed, talked, and played a game of Hand and Foot before returning to Curry Village.

In the morning, I walked over to their camp again, where they gave me breakfast. Mark and Shirley took me out with them for the day, talking as we walked, stopping here and there for Mark to climb a boulder or two. Apparently, "bouldering" is a new climbing fashion in Yosemite that he's trying out, but not really liking. We marched through a meadow with an excellent view of Half Dome to the cover of trees with blazing yellow leaves. Emerging from this grove, we arrived at a smooth section of river where we could see Half Dome reflected picturesquely in the water. All the while, we had a wonderful conversation, which turned to caving. So, Shirley took me into one near Yosemite Falls. She had done it so many times, she knew it by heart, and it was a decent little cave. We stopped fo hot chocolate in Yosemite village, then returned to camp for Thanksgiving dinner.

With some preparation, the dinner was ready, and we ate it outside next to the fire. There were all kinds of wonderful foods--my Grandma is a wonderful cook, to be able to create such masterpieces from a trailer kitchen--rounded off with some of Shirley's wonderful pie. We agreed to meet each other at the Ahwahnee the next morning for breakfast, which we did. The eggs Benedict and hot chocolate were superb, and the dining room was already festively decorated for Bracebridge, a medieval dinner held there once a year. The conversation was pleasant, and we celebrated Grandma's birthday there.

We took a family photo in front of the Christmas tree, said goodbye to everyone, then took off for Modesto, were we picked up Grandma and Grandpa O'Neill. It was a long trip to Anaheim, but at last we got there. Lisa, Jeremy, Sean and Sam were already waiting for us there, and were kind enough to let me stay in their hotel room. It was exciting to see them again, and to share the fun of the next few days.

When we arrived at Universal Studios, the music in the background alone made me smile. Sean and Sam had never been to Universal Studios, and I enjoyed seeing their reactions as we did the Studio Tour (Grandma got really excited to see Wisteria Lane), the Terminator show, then stopped for lunch at the Jurassic Park Cafe before riding the ride. Drenched and shivering from this water ride, we enjoyed the effects demonstrations where my Dad got to voice over some film, very amusing. We warmed up a bit in the Backdraft soundstage; all the pyrotechnic effects scared me when I was little, but now they just make me happy. We nearly killed ourselves running up the three tall flights of stairs to get to a show on time, which drenched us even more. After enjoying a few more attractions before the park closed, we decided to have dinner at a nice, warm restaurant, Miceli's. The food was excellent, but all the better as it was enhanced by the flickering candlelight and singing waiters, whose melodious voiced enchanted me. Definitely one of the coolest restaurants I've ever enjoyed.

On Thanksgiving Day, we went to Disneyland. We enjoyed many wonderful rides and shows, the sort that only Disney can offer, and had Mexican food for Thanksgiving dinner. In the evening, I waited with Mom and Grandpa for the Holiday Parade to begin. This one, I loved--even the promo for the new film Enchanted, which featured the most gorgeous horse my eyes have ever seen, large as a Clydesdale, white with silver flecks. The castle was lit with brilliant silver icicles, so breathtakingly beautiful I almost cried. Afterwards, we we on the train to New Orleans square when for some security reason, it was stopped at Main Street. Because Grandpa was in a wheelchair, we couldn't get out at this station, for it had no ramps. So, we got to sit in the train for a half hour or so until they let just us ride to New Orleans square--very cool. From there, we were able to fully enjoy the fireworks, and my parents and I finished off the evening shooting aliens in the Buzz Lightyear ride.

It was hard for all of us to wake up the next morning, and we had to say goodbye to Lisa, Jeremy, Sean and Sam. My parents, Grandma and I returned to the parks and spent most of the day in California Adventure. There, we ran into some old friends of ours, the Andersons, and it was very nice to see them. I dragged my family into the Art of Animation building, where there was a special exhibit on Snow White--they had original artwork, reproductions of the cels, and all kinds of fascinating stuff that was very hard for my parents to rip me away from; I could have spent all day there. In the afternoon, Grandma took me shopping on Main Street while my parents rode the train. She bought me a lovely shirt and treated me to ice cream as the parade was going on outside.

Then, it was time to pick up Grandpa from the hotel and take him to see The Glory of Christmas at the Crystal Cathedral. The moon shone full through the glass ceiling as the singers, dancers, and creatures on stage and in the aisles told the story of Christ's birth. Grandpa loved the camel that sat next to us while waiting to go onstage, and I breathed in the scent of incense with pleasure. The airborne angels were as awesome as ever on their 30 mph flying rigs, and the music, especially "Let Us Adore Him!" sent shivers down my spine. The reading of "One Solitary Life" always gets me, and it was as powerful as ever.

The same bright moon shone over Disneyland and my parents and I returned to the park for one last time. Sipping mint juleps and eating fritters, Dad and I watched Fantasmic! It moved me almost as deeply as Glory of Christmas had, oddly enough. Looking beyond the Disney masks, it really is an awesome tale of the triumph of good over evil, of light over darkness. Just before the park closed, we rode the new Finding Nemo submarines. They were incredible, and it was very soothing to be underwater.

We made our way home on Sabbath, stopping at the San Fernando Mission along the way. The place fascinated me, with all of its artwork and historically furnished rooms. They had everything from plain chant in early musical notation to papal vestments, which were very cool. One room was devoted entirely to sculptures and artwork of the Madonna. This room fascinated me, for it showed sculpture and all over the world, portraying Mary and the Christ Child in many different ways. Then, of course, was the beauty of the buildings themselves. What I felt was a little overkill, though, was the Bob Hope memorial garden; such an ornate tomb, probably cost millions to build. But still lovely.

Arriving back at Modesto, Grandpa was in a generous mood and gave me some wonderful knives and pieces of jewelry that I look forward to using and wearing. He also gave us some persimmons, which my room mate fell in love with and forbade me to share with my Honors class--obviously, it must be a testament to his good gardening. Returning to PUC, things have been busy, but fun. I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving as well; I am thankful for you and wish you the best.