Beneath the Wraps

               In 2019 I made a goal to write at least one dash a week and fulfilled that challenge.  I was quite pleased with how much got recorded – or at least what I thought I had posted.  Recently I looked at all the questions and realized I probably have not answered even half of them.  So I decided that maybe I would continue with that starting with Dash LF#6 How does your significant other let you know that you are loved?        There are several things that Richard does to express his love.   He always tells me.   But he also provides for me.   He doesn ’ t make excuses about the weather, or his health or what have you.   If something needs to be done, he does it.   He will do it regardless of the weather, or if he is not feeling well – he ’ ll paint the house or the shed, move heavy items, plant and weed.   He always makes sure there is gas in the car.   T...

  I still do not know Ally particularly well.  I see she shares her mismatched sock wearing with Jaime.  They also both love to dress up and think of Halloween as the greatest holiday ever.  And they both love stuffed animals and collect more than they know what to do with. Neither of them desire red sauce - they act as though it is poison. I was surprised to learn that Ally and I actually have something in common.   We both Love the song “Happier” by Marshmallow .

             It appears that I did not post last week on the 23 rd.  I did have 8 drafts to post.  I was distracted with other things.  Richard and I had left the house on Saturday morning.    It had been raining off and on.    Mostly on. Jaime had wanted us to take a walk with her downtown Ashland, but it was too wet and cold and Richard wasn ’ t willing to leave the car.          We brought  Jaime home for weekend and I became more interested in meeting her needs than posting to my blog.  She spent the night at a friend's house and we got up early Sunday to retrieve her. Spending time with her and the family was pretty nice.  We played several games while she was here.  It was so great having her here – short as it was.    We were able to park downtown before dropping her off at the dorms on Sunday evening.   Jaime excitedly took us on a tour pointing ou...

         Disneyland was not as decked out as I had expected.  I had asked Jaime if she had seen any Villains.  She had but was disappointed that there hadn ’ t been more.  But then again it was hot.  Cast members dressed up and photographers available to take pictures.  Lines formed for that.  Oh, no way.  Too hot.  Just wait until I get home and photoshop myself in.        So from the train I took the back of the entrance that we personally did not use. We saw Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy in their Halloween attire.   I don ’ t know how long they had to be out there for.   Wearing those costumes would be its own challenge in cool weather.   I can ’ t imagine how much more hot they felt in 107 degree weather.        Here are some photos taken from both my camera and Richard ’ s phone.   this one found on Google images

            Disneyland did not offer the cooling stations that Universal had.   But I think Disneyland park was less crowded than Universal had been. We took the tram from downtown Disneyland to the park.            It seems like the very first ride we went on was Jungle Cruise.   Jai had pulled up phrazel so that we could play while we were in line.   There was no line.   Jaime and Sam rode ten rides in less than two hours.   How awesome is that?           Richard and I took it easy and rode tame rides such as the Mark Twain and the train.   I didn ’ t want to be in Fantasy Land or Tomorrow Land.   I think Toon Town was closed as it wasn ’ t highlighted on the map.   Toon Town is cute, but I have already seen it.   Thankfully it wasn ’ t a destination.          I hadn ’ t cared about New Orleans either.   I can ...

At the time we checked in the staff had asked if it was a special occasion.  We told about late grad/college hoorah and they asked Jaime if she would like a pin.  She had declined but as she thought about it wished to change her answer.  But later when another staff member asked, I said that Richard and I had an anniversary coming up and they gave us anniversary pins which we had given to Jaime and Sam. I had always wanted to do an anniversary in Disneyland – perhaps with my sister and her husband as they were married in September also. I had planned on buying the white Minnie Mouse band with ears and a veil.  But omigosh – it was weigh too hot for me to want a veil weighing at the back on my neck. We really did pack enough clothes to change each day – not two or three times a day.   But our clothes were so drenched with perspiration that they had to be washed.   Shortly after we checked in Jai and I went in search for the laundry room which was in anothe...

           So here is a family history find.   Jack Day Prather was born in Nicaragua to a single mother who had mentioned Jack’s father to him.   The name of his father is Ralph Prather – the same Ralph Prather that had married my Grandma Mary when my mom was sixteen.   At age eighteen Jack decided he wanted to go to the states and needed proof of his birth.   His birth certificate had him listed as Jack Day Garcia – no mention of a father or even his last name.   Thus when Jack arrived in the states he dropped the Prather/Garcia and passed himself off as Jack Day and has gone by that name ever since. Eventually Jack did have the desire to know his father – or the man he was told was his father and has been on a mission for many decades.   It’s too bad facebook and Google didn’t exist in the 70’s for both he and Ralph were living in California – though different parts.   He missed finding him. He did find Richard th...

               The heat had contributed to not only drinking more water than normal in order to stay hydrated but also made me somewhat disoriented.  A worker at the Jurassic ride had allowed me to cut through the line in order to get out – I saw two different exit signs and had gone towards the first as that is where I was being sent.  Maybe not.  I saw people sitting like they were tired of standing in an endless non-moving line.  Thus I decided I would go in the direction of the “ other exit ” .         I don ’ t remember having gone through a door.   Oh, maybe I did to exit.   The doors were marked “ employees only ” all of except for the last one.   It said “ door alarm will sound ” I could see it was attached to some electronic device.   I chose the first one before it.   As soon as the door shut I realized that I was no longer in the park and had no way of ...

            Louisa has a nephew who works at Universal and was able to get us for passes at no cost to us.   That was amazing!   We parked in a VIP area and were able to walk passed the lines of those waiting to get into the park.   I felt like we were getting a royal treatment – something I had never experienced before.   That was pretty awesome.          Southern California – perhaps the entire state – was experiencing a heat wave.   It was 115 degrees out!   Holy cow!   Universal had set up tons of cooling stations with fans blowing mist over the many patrons in attendance. We had entered the park via Simpsons and so had gone on the Simpson ride to start.   I really did not care about the rides at all.   I was so grateful that Sam had joined us and willingly went on anything or anywhere Jaime would take them to.           ...

            As it has been over 50 days since our journey begin I don’t recall all the details.   Jaime took these pictures on the way to Modesto – or at our lodging.   We past lots of olive groves.

I was searching through various posts in search for specific memories of Universal Studios.   I was floored when I came across one labeled L abor Day Weekend  in which the first line reads Roland said he wanted to take Jenna to Universal this weekend The date read September 1 – that is when we left the house this year – when did I write that?   Apparently it was a thought that had existed in 2019 which became a reality this year – only it wasn’t on a Sunday that we left.   It was on a Thursday.   We drove to Modesto, California – which I had believed was a halfway point to Monterey Park.   It wasn’t.   It was so out of the way that it proved my point about why I don’t like making reservations.   We should have just looked for something in Sacramento.   Modesto was such a waste of driving and the pool was closed.   VERY contaminated pool We continued our drive to LA – another gamble in industrial area that didn’t appear to be a safe part ...