another day at the park

so i managed to survive my day at universal studios. i even managed to have some fun! yay! i can tell you that it was WAY more entertaining than the endless hours i spent wandering around ghetto ass knott's berry farm. *eyeroll*

yes, it was hotter than hell. yes, it was full of people who were exposing far too much flesh...and not in a good way. although i have to give them credit - there were fans with built-in misters stationed all over the park, and the regular misters on almost all of the buildings and throughout the lines for rides and shows. and while it was still a hell of a lot more crowded than i expected for a wednesday, the longest wait i ever saw for anything was about half an hour.

when we got there, i let the kid and her buddy off the hook by handing her some cash and sending 'em on their merry way. i knew they'd have a lot more fun without her very pregnant, old hag mom waddling behind them everywhere they went. besides, i found that getting in to see shows and things was REALLY easy when you're running solo. i could grab a seat at the end of just about any given row - which gave me easy access to getting the hell outta dodge as soon as the show was over.

and then i realized too late that i'd left the camera in the kid's backpack. bummer for me, because there were TONS of fabulous photo ops that i'd have loved to take advantage of. heh. actually, for you, it's probably a blessing!

i have to say that, although i certainly wasn't expecting any differently, people just disappoint me everywhere i go. there IS no such thing as common courtesy anymore - just like there's no such thing as customer service, either (except at nordstrom). nobody says "excuse me", or "please", or "thank you". folks were trampling on my toes, running into me with their strollers (this is something i plan on keeping a very close eye on in the next year or so), bumping into my belly, letting doors close behind them as i (or others) were walking right behind them...you get the picture. i find it very sad.

*ahem* anyway, i did take a picture of the window at at sparky's on citywalk, just for my friend lilcee. actually, nanette would have dug it too, i'm thinking.

and then i thought of my friend R, who's never been to bubba gump, and so i took these:















all in all, it wasn't as horrific as i'd expected. i managed to keep cool for the most part (with a little help from the waterworld show, during which i sat in the "wet zone"), drank a hell of a lot of water (i visited EVERY restroom in the joint), and managed to keep my snacking at a fairly decent level. i DID have a cinnabon (so delicious), a slice of pizza and salad, cotton candy, and a bag of cheetos. not exactly the healthiest of food choices, but hey, i didn't go balls-out, either. and i did a lot of walking! well, waddling. but it was activity nonetheless.