I’m Back From Vacation in Disneyland and Hawaii (but not in that order)
Man, did I need a vacation (and did I get one!!!). Two full weeks off, starting at Disney’s new Aulani resort on the Hawaiian Island of Oahu, and it was supposed to end there, but we got “Disney fever” after seeing a TV ad for new Carsland area of Disney’s California Adventure theme park, so we changed our flight home to stop in LA so we could take the kids of Disneyland for a few days.
The photo above was taken in “Carsland” —- that’s the life-sized Flo’s V8 Cafe from the movie Cars. Disney recreated Radiator Springs, full size, right down to the street lights, and they did an absolutely brilliant job — it was like walking into the movie. It was way better than I even thought it would be, and of course, the kid’s absolutely loved it! (and we rode all the rides everywhere!).
So, where are the Hawaii photos? Where’s the photo book?
Well….here’s the thing. There aren’t any. I never went out shooting the entire time. I really needed to take a break, and I wanted to spend some uninterrupted time with my family so I basically hung out around the pool, swam with the kids, and just did a whole lotta nuthin’ for days on end. It was awesome!!!!
I did have my camera gear with me to take a few shots at the Battleship Missouri and the USS Bowfin WWII sub, but nothing worth sharing. So, I mostly took shots at Disneyland (which was awesome all the way around, though I’m still amazed at how small their castle is compared to Cinderella’s castle at Disney World in Florida), and hung out with the wifey and kids, and it really recharged my batteries (besides which, I’m heading to Ireland soon and I’m hoping to take PLENTY of shots on that trip).
One note: if you’re wondering how to get shots where there’s virtually no tourists in the scene, here’s one trick: wait until late, and be really, really, really patient. If you wait long enough, you’ll get a short gap in in the non-stop sea of people where you can grab about two frames. I did it in the middle of the afternoon at the castle and got the bridge in front completely tourist free! Keep the camera up to your eye, and your other eye open so you can see when a gap is about to appear.
Back to reality
Today I’m back in the office and back to reality (sob, sob), but I did miss all my friends here at work so part of me is really glad to be back in the saddle (though the other part is already missing those cool tropical breezes and that frozen pina colada beside the winding lazy river pool).
Have a great Monday everyday (sniff, sniff). ;-)