R had to go to Southern California for a quick work trip. Things worked out for me to be able to tag along so, Sept. 16th - 20th I met up with R in California. Most of my time was spent hanging out at rehearsals and performances (I got to do a lot of recreational reading).
We did sneak in some sight seeing and fun too. The first hotel we stayed in was just minutes from Old Town San Diego so we were able to spend a couple of hours there one morning. We visited the Mormon Battalion Visitor Center and ate some delicious Mexican Food for lunch.
I even enlisted in the Battalion Army while I was there.
We got to spend one day at Disneyland since the group was performing there that afternoon.
Of course, that was tons of fun. (It was actually what "sealed the deal" when R presented me with the idea of meeting up with him out there. At first I wasn't too excited about just tagging along to all of their events but when he told me that I would have a day in Disneyland I got excited.)
It was fun to see the park decorated for Halloween.
We rode tons of rides (some of them multiple times). I was excited to ride the Log Ride (Brer Rabbit and Brer Bear) and see the characters in that ride since I have such great memories of those stories being read by my Dad. It was my first time on that ride and it did not disappoint. I was also excited to find out that the Indian Jones ride was opening, the day we would be there, after being closed for renovations. We rode it more than once. We rode Space Mountain, the Matterhorn, Big Thunder Mountain, visited the Haunted House (fun at Halloween time), and Pirates of the Caribbean. I also had a few hours in the park to myself, before and after R's performance, so I rode some rides again and took a trip to Fantasyland to ride Peter Pan. I have loved that ride ever since I went to Disneyland for the first time when I was a teenager. Every time I am back at Disneyland, I have to ride it again and I still love it. I also went to Toon Town to ride the Go Coaster in honor of P. That was the ride that got her excited when we took the kids to Disneyland a few years ago.
The Brass Group started with a short performance in Town Square and then marched up the parade route, stopping every couple of blocks to give a quick performance in advance of the 6:30 parade.
After the performance R and I were able to ride a couple of more rides before ending our day with a walk over to California Adventure so that we could ride the new Cars ride, Radiator Springs Racers. We had to wait in line for over an hour but it was worth it. That was a fun ride. By the time we got off of the ride it was 9:45pm. We were exhausted and hadn't had dinner yet because we were trying to squeeze in as much fun as we could. We went back to Disneyland to try the Fried Chicken Dinner at the Plaza Inn. That is definitely the best food deal in the park. It was delicious.
Disneyland was definitely a highlight of my trip but right up there and equal to it, was the morning we spent in the
Redlands National Cemetery. What made it such a wonderful day was what the group was there to do. They were there to render Honors for a ceremony and a couple of private services. Every month the cemetery holds a ceremony to honor veteran's who's remains the cemetery buried that month but who did not have family to attend a ceremony for them and honor them. These are Veterans who died in VA hospitals or nursing homes with no one to claim their bodies. Because every veteran is entitled to burial in a national cemetery, this cemetery receives the remains of these veterans from their area, buries them, and then holds this ceremony in their honor. Usually it would be a National Guard band, or retired service members who volunteer their time at the cemetery, who render the Honors. This time, it was R and the group from West Point. The mayor of Redlands, a former West Point Grad, was there to accept the flag. It was hard not to get emotional, thinking of these men (there were about 8 of them) who served our country and then died with no family to remember them. It was an honor to be there, listen to their names read, and honor them one last time.
The cemetery hold multiple funeral ceremonies every day. That requires a lot of support from volunteers and the National Guard, to provide Honors for all of those services. Consequently, there are many retired service members who serve. R and the group from West Point, helped out by playing for one of the private services as well.
The gun salute was rendered by these wonderful retired gentlemen.
We were given a tour of some of the memorials at the cemetery, to include the Medal of Honor Memorial
and the Prisoner of War/Missing in Action memorial.
The whole cemetery is just beautiful with ponds and trees and flowering bushes everywhere. I'm so glad I got to see it and be a part.
After we left the cemetery, we all went to lunch together. Everyone on the trip was huge sushi eaters and since R and I have never tried it, we all went out together for the experience. It was really quite good. I meant to take pictures of what we ate but forgot. Here is R enjoying a bite.
And here he is afterwards, stretching a little and relaxing for a few minutes.
It was a wonderful trip, nice and relaxing, yummy food that I didn't have to cook, and time away from the responsibilities of home.
