Disneyland and Bumps in the Road-

No travel adventure is without mishap. Little problems, bumps in the road. Our Disneyland adventure of last week is no exception. For me it was shaving and acid reflux.

These did not occur together, or as the result of the same particular event. I will begin with the shaving event. To save space I opted for an inexpensive battery driven electric razor. I had used it before, and it worked fine. Not an outstanding shave, but adequate. Cheap to operate, and I already owned it. So, rather than my larger plug-in razor I took the cheapo.

The first morning we are there, getting ready, I showered and then tried to shave. It began fine, but after completing the right side of my face and working the area below my lower lip and beginning to work on the left side of my face I noticed a problem. Two fine lines of blood just below my lip, about a half inch long.

I pulled the razor away, looked at it, and could see no problem. However, on examining my little wounds I also saw a red line down the left side of my face from temple to jaw. I looked more closely at the razor head, and finally found the problem. The screen had shifted and exposed a bit of the edge. A fine, sharp edge.

So, cleaning up the blood and stanching the flow, I finished my ablutions and we made our way into the park. The rend on the cheek remained clear and visible for our entire visit. On a more suitable face it may have appeared dashing. Somehow, I suspect I missed that by a significant degree.

That first night I had a bit of acid reflux as a consequence of sleeping flat. I generally use a wedge pillow, along with another pillow, to elevate my head and avoid acid problems. I am using prescription medications to minimize the issue, and these generally work for me. However, I lacked a wedge pillow for my journey. They just don't pack well.

The second night was really bad. I slept poorly, and kept trying to stack up things to sleep on. I finally pulled some wedge shaped cushions from the couch in the room. I tried several configurations, and finally stuffed them under the mattress. Ahhh! That worked! It was like turning off an acid faucet.

The next two nights were much better, using this configuration.

Of course, there were some issues with feet. I broke my left foot about nine months ago, and still have some stiffness and discomfort. The right foot was badly damage many years ago, but over the years has been surprisingly serviceable. Lately a bone spur on the left heal has contributed to increasing levels of discomfort.

I had been using postal workers shoes in my work as a correctional officer for a number of years. These are the shoes I took on our journey. Not pretty, but then neither am I. They really made a difference. That, and taking frequent breaks just to sit and enjoy the parks. Rest the feet. Contemplate those rental scooters.

I figure I could condition my feet and drop some of the weight that makes them work harder by more frequent walks in the Disneyland Resort Parks. Unfortunately, four days was all we could schedule, and about all we could afford. Which brings us to the biggest bump in the road.

Having to go home.

My Grandpa's Book-

Many years ago I was a boy and my Grandpa Laatz was alive. From my perspective at that time we were both going to live forever. My Grandpa proved me wrong on that point, and I miss him very much. However, much of my Grandpa lives still in me.

Now I am the Grandpa, though my title happens to be Papa. My little ones are growing up and much a part of my life. I hope that I can add to their lives like my grandfathers added to mine. I mostly have memories, and those are wonderful.

I also have my Grandpa Laatz's book. I remember when he received it, a book in the mail. Complete Book of Outdoor Lore, by Clyde Ormond. He did not have it long. I found it fascinating, and one day he gave it to me. I could tell he really didn't want to part with it, yet it became mine. I have had it since.

The copyright date is 1964, and it was hot off the press when he got it. It must have been shortly after that when it came into my possession. Though I looked at it often, I never read it through. Now it is dated, and more of a treasure than a source of contemporary information regarding hiking and camping and the like.

The dust cover is torn and frayed. It has old book smell, which is not a bad smell to a lover of books. It has dated information, much of which is timeless if survival is the issue. It also has a bit of my Grandpa Laatz infused in between the lines of print.

I remember walking in the woods quite a bit with my Grandpa. Not so much when I was particularly little. We lived in the sprawl of Los Angeles in those days, and the outings I remember were to a park in Irvine and occasionally to Knotts Berry Farm. No, the woods came later, starting when I was ten years old and for a precious hand full of years to follow.

I recall finding old cabins and gold mines in the woods with my Grandpa Laatz. I remember one time being with him in a dry creek bed when we heard a crashing from down the hill. Crash, crash, crash! A doe burst from the covering scrub and jumped right over the depression in which we stood!

We fished rivers and streams together. We climbed a tall mountain so high that I could see the curvature of the Earth, or at least so it seemed to me. We found leaves pierced by porcupine quills with two quills still in them. We saw grouse and pheasant and squirrels in great numbers. We shot dead tree stumps with pistols. We hunted memories and made them our own.

Now I am reading through my Grandpa's book. Between the lines he walks again with me.

Soquel Drive, Santa Cruz, California-

I have posted my photos on Picasa, and wanted to make them available for virtual travelers. The place where I fell and broke my foot is in the mix, with a notation regarding the accident.

For those who have not read about virtual travel, I am encouraging those whom I contact on the Internet to post photos of where they live on shared photos sites, such as Google's Picasa. That way we can all travel to these places at least through shared pictures.

The idea came to me when I was doing my first virtual travel project. I was exploring some of the perimeter highways around the continental United States. I noticed that it was hard to find photos of the smaller towns around the country. I knew people lived in these places, but there were just very few photos available.

So, I thought that it would be a good project to collect photos of the area around where I live and post them. The Soquel Drive collection is the first such project. Other than falling and breaking my foot, it went rather well.

Unfortunately, people often don't find the place they live to be interesting. It is too common. However, it might prove quite interesting to other people. I know that I enjoy passing through towns as I travel. I miss the old highway systems that actually passed through towns. I go out of my way, when I can, to travel such roads.

Anyway, my little walk along Soquel Drive is presented for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!