Relaxation

Still no word from my parents and aunt and uncle, so I give them a call.

My dad answers his cell phone. They’re still at the Nixon Library, and my dad’s surprised we’re already at the hotel. “I looked at your itinerary just this morning, and you weren’t supposed to be there until 2:30!”

Me: “Um, check your watch. It is 2:30!”

The Nixon Library’s not too far away, so hopefully they’ll be here soon. In the meantime, we relax, unpack a bit, and sit enjoying the weather and the view. This is so different from our usual Walt Disney World / Disney Cruise packages. For one thing, we’ll be staying at this one hotel for the entire 8 nights, so we can completely settle in. Secondly, at WDW, once we check into our resort we head out to the parks right away. Having time to sit and relax is a new experience.

Of course, having a Disney park, or rather two parks, within our view is a nice bonus.

Brandon notes that the balcony locks from the inside, with both a lever on the handle and a latch mounted higher. “Why should it be locked from the inside? Is someone going to climb up to our balcony to get in?”

Rather than go into the ways that could happen, I take the whimsical approach: “Hey, remember, Disneyland is right next door, and both Tinkerbell and Dumbo can fly. And you do NOT want them getting into your room unsupervised.” As "proof," I point to the fact that the Sheraton "S" logo on the balcony doors faces out.

Benjamin chimes in, “Peter Pan, too!” (They're old enough to not really buy into the stories, but they still love to play along.)

It’s about a quarter till 4:00 when Brandon spots my parents’ minivan pulling into the parking lot below us. We all gather on the balcony and wait for them to exit before yelling a greeting – from ten stories up – and waving to them. They, in turn, wave to us to come down and help them unload. Oh, yeah, they’ve been traveling in this one van for a week – it’s not like they have easily transported two-bags-and-a-carry-on as if they’d flown.

We take the elevator down and, after reunion hugs all around, help haul the various items up. Among their possessions is a cooler and bags of cookies! That’s promising. And it turns out they’ve been assigned rooms right across the hall from us!

Bob & Linda still haven’t heard back on their room, so Bob calls the front desk to check. Still not ready, they’re told. That’s really odd.

We give my parents and aunt and uncle a short time to settle into their rooms, but by 4:20 we’re ready to head next door to the Hilton Anaheim and check in with the convention.