60. More pics of Disneyland

Yes, here are a few more pics of Disneyland. I took lots of pics when we were there but I'm posting only some of them. We really had a great time there with the perfect weather and being able to see all the sights.

Standing on Main Street

Westward Ho!!!

Watching the parade on Main Street

A beautiful float with Mickey
and Pinnochio

Another float on Main Street

Part of the huge crowd.

Watching the Dwarfs

Pinnochio waving to the crowd










The parade is held in the evening and everyone looks forward to watching it.  In Anaheim, there is another great place to visit and that is Knotts Berry Farm. We couldn't make it in our itenary as we had spent the whole day at Disneyland and tomorrow will be another exciting day as we will be visiting Universal Studios. Look out for more pics.

59. Disneyland, Anaheim

Yes, we are in Disneyland, Anaheim after the long drive from Phoenix AZ. It was a very enjoyable drive and still fresh and ready to take in the excitement of Disneyland.  It was early in the morning and the crowd was there already. The weather was perfect and the COFFEE was good.
We started along Main Street which had a carnival atmosphere and being Christmas day made it even better.
As it was the X'mas holidays, Disneyland was exceptionally crowded and there were long queues everywhere so in order to beat the queue, it is advisable to get the 'Fast Pass'. That way you will spend less time at the queue and be able to move on to other places. My sons went on to the Indiana Jones Ride and Tomorrowland while my wife and I went on to see other attractions.

At the Magic Kingdom

At the Magic Kingdom

Visiting Chip & Dale

At Toontown

On the Riverboat Cruise in Frontierland
'The Mark Twain Steamboat'

A mock Native American camp

Taking the gondola into the Whale's mouth
at 'Small World'

Inside the Whale and with the music 'Its a
Small World After All'

Along Main Street before taking the tram ride

Toontown.

Its Mickey!!!

Everybody's having a great time

Still inside the Whale












Exiting the Whale. It was a really fun ride.

58. Heading west to Anaheim

It was 24th December Christmas Eve and a day after we arrived in Phoenix. We had an early dinner and headed for bed to catch some sleep before starting our journey to LA with Disneyland, Anaheim on our mind. We woke up refreshed after a few hours of sleep and eagerly started our long drive. It was a beautiful night as we left Phoenix and with a clear desert sky. I have never seen so many stars in the sky and really enjoyed taking in the view while my son took the wheel first.  We took turns to drive and it was really exciting for me to see real tumbleweeds rolling across the desert. Wow! It was just as what we used to see in western movies. We took Highway 10 which was a long highway right up to LA. Driving cross country is relatively easy as these major highways take you from point to point which is city to city.
The desert here is unlike the Sahara or such as there are hills and shrubs everywhere. I have posted some pics of the early morning desert scenery as we were heading nearer to LA. We made a few stops to break journey and the morning air was really cold. I'm glad that we wore jackets to keep us warm and some warm coffee during our pit stops. Along the highway, we passed by places like Joshua Tree National Park, Palm Springs and and we could see the city lights of San Bernardino (there's also a song by this name).

 

Early morning scenery during our pit stop

Somewhere along the desert highway. Note the
shrubs beside the highway.

Dawn along the highway.

Highway desert scenery

The rising sun with a trucker on the highway

Finally at Disneyland!!!









I have lots of pics of Disneyland which will be in my next blog and I hope to post them soon.

57. By The Time I Get To Phoenix.....

By the time I get to Phoenix, ...... Yes this is a beautiful song by Glen Campbell and thats where I'm heading.
My son Don was relocated to Phoenix, Arizona after spending a few years in Boston.  He arranged to have us visit him there. We arrived LAX in Los Angeles on 23rd December and that was considered peak period for travel.  Upon arrival, we made our way to the immigration hall which was already packed to the brim. By the time we got through, we had already missed our connecting flight to Phoenix. Anyway, we were checked in for a later flight and finally landed in  Sky Harbour International airport, Phoenix AZ about 9pm and was met by my son Don. He brought us for supper before heading back to his apartment.

Sitting next to a wagon

A suburb in Phoenix

A foggy day. A view from my son's balcony

One of the suburbs of Phoenix.









Don planned a weekend trip which was the next day  to L.A. with Disneyland and Universal Studios in our itenary. We spent the next day chilling out before travelling. We love to drive and this was another overnight drive which I was looking forward to. I will be writing more of our trip to LA in my next post.