Mary Poppins is NOT practically perfect in every way...

...in fact, she was a bit of a disappointment.  But Disneyland, overall, was not.

Last week, one of C's friends asked him why I loved Disneyland so much, and his half joking response was "the magic."  I say half joking because, although it sounds cliche and funny, it is actually true.

There are, I think, three types of people in this world: those who love Disney and allow it's magic to take over while they're there, those who can appreciate it for the most part but are also acutely aware of reality, and then those who vehemently keep a strong distance from getting wrapped up in it.  I am of the first type, and have been asked why I would want to keep going back to do the same thing often.  The best way I can answer that is by saying that each time is a different experience, and that is what I love most about visiting the Disney parks.

This time around was no exception to that rule.  We compromised on an arrival time of 9 am - C normally likes to arrive around 10ish, and I really wanted to get there at 8 (I now worry that the park will hit capacity before we get there - hasn't happened yet but I still freak out about it) so 9 am was a fair compromise.  Since we got up earlier than expected, made it through breakfast quickly, and hit zero traffic on the way there, we actually got to the park around 8:15.  C really didn't understand the appeal to arriving so early, and as we walked to Main Street, I tried pointing out how quiet it was.  We began walking towards the restroom around the same time that the Mad Hatter and Alice were heading backstage, and the Mad Hatter asked where we were going.  I quietly mentioned the restroom, and he grabbed my hand and began to rush me down the path, telling me I wasn't moving fast enough.  It was nothing I could have planned and therefore that much more of a "moment," and something we laughed about throughout the day.

My other favorite moment was our trip on the Mark Twain Riverboat.  In all the times I've been, and the times we've been together, we've never had an interest in taking a ride on the riverboat, but the lack of crowds on Saturday (seriously, the park was pretty quiet for a Saturday in June!) got us in the mindset of trying things we hadn't done before.  We walked right on to the boat, and I really wanted to grab a seat and relax, but C wanted to sit on the top deck, so up we went.  As we approached the top deck, I passed two cast members, both in captains gear, and one pointed at me and said "maybe she'll want to help you."  Knowing from experience that a cast member asking you to do something always leads to something awesome, I volunteered, even though I hadn't a clue what I was volunteering for.  The captain then asked if we wanted to help him "drive" the boat.  Uh, yes!

Even though you aren't actually driving the boat (its on a track under water and is propelled by a cast member who controls its speed in a totally different room) you do get to blow the whistle and ring the bell.  We also got to sign the guest book (awesome!) and learn about old attractions and some park history from the captain, Ryan.  Ryan mentioned he'd been working for Disney for 7 years - say what you will about the House of Mouse being an "evil empire" but its employees truly do love what they do.  Seeing the park from this vantage point was very cool, and although we found out that you can always ask to ride in the wheelhouse, we decided to keep this a "once in a lifetime" sort of thing.

Just to make sure I get in a little fitness mention, C wore his FitBit the whole day to see just how many miles we walked.  Want to guess how many?  We were there for 14 hours and we walked... 12.5 miles.  Almost a half marathon!  I'm also of the mindset that calories you consume at a theme park don't actually count, and the FitBit actually proved us right - C entered in everything he had eaten that day (popcorn, ice cream, meatloaf, ice cream, etc.) and because of the mileage we walked, he had burned 3,000+ calories, so even after entering in all that food, he had tons of calories to spare.

I'm sad that the day is over (and it goes by so quickly) but am glad that we had another great experience.  I think I'm finally turning C into a fan. :)

(To briefly reference my post title, the only disappointing thing during our day was Mary Poppins' lack of personality.  She was too consumed with trying to find Bert (I'm not making this up) and by the time I got to take my picture with her, she only asked where I was from.  Yawn.)

3 worst traits for a 3 day weekend.

IT IS FINALLY FRIDAY!  This hasn't been a tough week - its actually been quiet, work wise - but for whatever reason, my brain is struggling to keep up.  I mean, I almost left the house without shoes on yesterday.  I think that says enough.

Day 24 of this challenge calls for me to list my top three worst traits.  I think there are way more than three, but I singled out the three that I'm trying my hardest to improve on and/or having the hardest time with.

via

I struggle with finding myself valuable.  Whether its work, or relationships, I have trouble confidently saying "I am valuable."  Work, especially, is the hardest.  I will find all sorts of excuses as to why I'm "just doing my job" and not necessarily recognize when I am going the extra mile, or am a positive asset to a company.

I can not take compliments.  I really can't.  Never have been able to, whether its a compliment about my outfit, or a job I did, or how I am as a person.  I mean, when we first started dating, I spent three whole days texting with C about whether or not I was beautiful.  (I'm also stubborn, but I don't necessarily consider that a bad trait. :) )  I will say thank you when getting a compliment, but then brush it off like its NBD.  This goes a little hand in hand with trait number one.

I'm easily excitable.  This comes in handy when I'm ramping up for a full day of excitement at Disneyland - it does not when I'm treading on the edge of an argument.  I've been working on trying to take deep breaths before instantly going into crazy-defense mode, which is made worse by my voice getting louder, and its been a challenge.  I have learned that sometimes I do need to close my eyes, take a deep breath, or even, briefly, walk away, just so I can gather my thoughts and try to continue the conversation in a mature fashion.

It's been challenging on working on all three, especially when they come hand-in-hand quite often, but it is nice to feel like I'm making some growth, you know?

--

This weekend is getting kicked off by taking in a Dodger game tonight, where we're treated with fireworks afterwards.  Although I enjoy baseball, I will wholeheartedly admit that the major reason why I go is for the food.  Big Kid Dog, anyone?

(I realize that this comes on the heels of reports that hot dogs cause disease, but I've eaten so many hot dogs in my life, I'm already playing that hand anyway.  Plus, MAC AND CHEESE.  Helloooo.)

Tomorrow we're celebrating C's birthday at a new BBQ joint with friends.  Good BBQ is hard to come by in Los Angeles, so I'm hoping this one will win me over.  I judge my BBQ joints by their cornbread and coleslaw.

Sunday we're taking round 3 on our new hike at Griffith, and bringing some friends along.  I just found my Camelbak (buried deep in my trunk for goodness knows how long) and between that, my new fitness belt (that's right, I said it, FITNESS BELT), a bottle of water and a bottle of Vitamin Water, I'm hoping this will be the one-two-three punch to keep the headaches at bay.  The hike will be a nice challenge, but we all know I'm just in it for the post-hike meal of burgers or tacos.  I'm already itching for some solid pico de gallo.

Monday is a clean slate for now, although, after everything else, it'll probably be a day hanging by the pool, and possibly followed by a bike ride.  I'm sorry to my loved ones in New England who'll be dealing with rainrainrain, but its supposed to be in the mid-70s all weekend.

But for now, there is a Law & Order: SVU marathon that is calling my name.  Happy Friday!

Hike: Griffith Park, Old Zoo

I'm a big theme park fan.  Aside from Disneyland/Disney World (which I consider in a category entirely separate from the rest of the theme parks of the world) I pretty much love all theme parks, from the small park on the lake near my hometown where I rode my first rollercoaster, to Six Flags Magic Mountain (Tatsu, anyone?) right down to your run of the mill zoos and aquariums.  As much as I love theme parks, though, the idea of being in one when its closed, or worse, with the lights shut off, totally creeps me out.  It really gives me the wiggins.  I also love theme park history (especially anything Disney related) and really enjoy reading about old rides that don't exist or have changed over the years.  So, as you can imagine, I find abandoned theme parks to be fascinating and yet totally eerie and frightening all at the same time.  And yet, I have a morbid curiosity for them.  I spent a good 2 hours watching Adam the Woo explore abandoned theme parks around the country, including Disney's very own River Country (which I highly recommend watching, if you're into that kind of thing) which can almost be considered abandoned by Disney (even though the lights are still on!)

Anyway.

Because of this weird fascination I have with these sorts of things, I've always wanted to hike through Griffith Park to find the Old LA Zoo.  For those of you who have never been to Los Angeles, Griffith Park is a crowning glory in this city, which includes a whopping 53 miles of trails to hike and explore.  It's massive - it has an outdoor ampitheater, the famous observatory (where "Rebel Without a Cause" was filmed) and the Los Angeles Zoo (amongst many other attractions) and it would probably be a challenge to see and do all of the things it offers in the span of a day.  So, that being said, when you choose to "hike Griffith Park" you sort of need to choose where you're hiking, and that is usually flanked by some sort of landmark, like "oh, I'm going to hike to the Hollywood sign today!"  When we decided this weekend we wanted to hike around Griffith Park, I leapt at the chance to finally check out the Old LA Zoo.

The Old LA Zoo was built in the early 1900's and pretty much abandoned in the 60's when the new zoo (still standing) was built and all the animals were relocated.  I actually didn't do a lot of research on this before we went, but basically, the story goes like this: the zoo had a rocky start, and never quite got its footing.  There were issues with the zoo sewage draining into the local water supply (gross, right?) and during WWI, there was a meat shortage, and the animals suffered and some died.  It sounds like Los Angelenos were pretty much ready to give up on it.  Then, in the 30s, the Workers Progress Administration breathed new life into the zoo, but by the 50s, the city was talking about relocating.  So they did, and left the old zoo behind.  And its still there.  (Well, sort of.)

It's a little hard to find, but its not entirely difficult.  The Old Zoo is located near where the Merry-Go-Round (which is not abandoned and actually quite popular) stands, just above some shaded picnic areas.  You begin by walking up a paved pathway to a large grassy field, and off to your left, you see caves.  They are far too uniform to be real, so you know you've stumbled upon the beginning (or middle? or end?) of the zoo, where they probably housed the big cats or elephants or something large.

The caution tape is marking off a crime scene.  JUST KIDDING - there was a youth group camping out in the area.

The first set of caves has a set of picnic tables set in it, in case you want to eat your lunch and pretend you're a cooped up, caged in creature just waiting to be freed.  If that's your thing.

You continue around the path and you'll come across a long line of cages raised above the ground, and then further on, you'll come across a long line of larger cages.  Here is the part where I got totally creeped out.  There is a sign on the top of one of the cages describing the history of the zoo, and how amazing it is that these cages have managed to withstand the test of time, and oh, what advancements we've made when it comes to designing a zoo.  I agree that our society has made some serious advancements - these cages are SMALL - but that doesn't not eliminate the creepy feeling you get walking by them.  Some of the gates are open and you can waltz right in (again, if that's your thing) and some are chained and padlocked shut (which makes you wonder if someone forgot an animal or two?) and all of them are stacked tightly together, side by side.  They also still smell like... animal.

 Something tried to get in... or out.

You don't fool me, City of Los Angeles.

 As my wise friend Dave pointed out, the only thing acceptable in cages like this would be Sawyer and Kate from LOST.

After you pass the row of cages, the paved portion of the path continues winding towards the right, or a beaten, dirt path heads off in the other direction, past what looked like a man made dam and set of waterfalls, no longer running.  We followed the paved path, as I was determined to find the rest of this zoo, and came across a foundation for something large (that no longer exists) but nothing else.  In re-reading the hike synopsis I had found, I now realize we should have kept going on the paved path, and most likely would have seen other abandoned buildings and/or cages, but at this point, we wanted to get a real hike in, and I was starting to get the heebie-jeebies.  So, instead of sticking to the path, we climbed another, narrower, probably-not-a-real-trail pathway, until we hit a dead end close to the top of the hill.  Had we not taken this path, however, we would have missed this:

 (p.s. - see that trail to the left? That's the trail we SHOULD have taken.  Next time.)

Despite the fact that we didn't see all of the Old Zoo, it was still a great hike, and one we will definitely explore again.  If you're feeling like I totally gipped you, you can read this brief LAist article which includes far more pictures with lots of filters to ramp up the creepy factor.  If you're in LA, I highly recommend you check it out yourself.  I can't find the original hike description I used, but this one in Modern Hiker is much easier to understand and is the hike we were trying to do.

Happy trails!