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Wednesday, April 15, 2015

nothing beats the perfect pair of shoes

to reward our daisies for an awesome first cookie season, we decided to go out on a really fun all-day excursion.  it was quite the expedition, too - the plan was to take the metrolink train from the nearby covina station to union station, transfer onto the red line to hollywood & highland, watch "cinderella" at the gorgeous el capitan theater, grab some ice cream at the ghirardelli next door, and then head back home.  ambitious, yes?  maybe so, especially since our troop is 13 girls strong.  yikes.

we did lots of planning ahead of time, checking and double-checking the limited saturday train schedules.  luckily, we had a lot of parents volunteer to come along, giving us almost one adult for each girl.  we collected permission forms, obtained tickets from the group sales box office, gave out instructions to the parents, and then the day came at last.

the girls were super excited as we began to gather in the station's parking lot.



one of the girls was coming up from a vacation in san diego, and we saw the car pull in like a bat outta hell at the very last second.  my co-leader ran over to grab her, and they scurried onto the train just in time.  first obstacle - check!


yup - the teen and her special friend acted as chaperones that day too.  it was fun to have them come and help out.

it was an easy ride to downtown l.a., and the first thing we did when we got off that train was find a restroom for a potty break.


then it was time to catch our next train:


when we emerged from the underground station, we found ourselves in the heart of hollywood and literally in front of our destination.


while the others took the group to join the growing line of general admission ticketholders, i headed to the box office to grab the last ticket that we'd ordered last minute.


the others had found a spot in line and got started on eating the sack lunches we'd asked them to bring.  we didn't want the girls living on popcorn, soda and ice cream all day long without something more substantial in their tummies.


did i show you my fabulous shoes that i wore that day?  i've been saving these run disney kicks in the closet, and this was the most perfect occasion to bust them out for.  you can't see too well from the picture, i suppose, but these are my cinderella-themed running shoes - complete with blue satin ribbon laces.


of course, they're nothing compared to the lovely glass slipper that was displayed inside the theater, or cinderella's gorgeous royal ball gown.


we were able to find seats for everyone in the same section up in the balcony.


the el capitan always has a pre-show at their movie screenings.  we were treated to live organ music before olaf came out to introduce the new "frozen" short that everyone was excited to see.



the movie itself was glorious.  it was beautifully done, and such a great way to tell the story.  if you haven't seen it yet, you must.  and afterwards, we got a few more group shots.


and then it was time for some ice cream.  with no room to sit inside, we got the girls their cones and had them sit outside, right on the walk of fame.



with nothing left to do but head home, we headed back across the street to catch the red line back to union station.



because of the limited train schedule, we had a full hour to kill before the metrolink train to covina left.  although having been kept on a tight rein all day long, the girls were happy to let loose in the side courtyard and play a bit.


awwww.  aren't they cute?


home at last!  we were so relieved to be back, and without anyone getting lost or hurt or upset.


i'd call that a pretty successful outing, yes?

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