rainy disney days are the best

super bowl sunday dawned chilly and rainy - a perfect day to head down to disneyland.  and with one of our local football teams playing in the game, we figured it would probably be a good day to sleep in a little and skip rope drop.  we arrived around 12:30 and sure enough, it was easy breezy to park, get through security and board the tram to the main gates.

with their lunar new year celebration in full swing, we went to california adventure first.

our first stop was at the merchandise kiosk to pick up a sip & savor pass.  these are always such a great deal, and with fewer food stations for this festival there were only 6 tickets to use.

the kids picked up these at the first booth - a pork belly bao and a mickey chinese hot dog bun.

as we walked along, checking everything out, i stopped at this one for the garlic shrimp fried rice.  it was really delicious, and i want some right now.

i knew there was an AP corner somewhere, because there always is, and so we walked through this area looking for it.

it ended up being in a totally different location from previous years - around the base of the silly symphony swings.  the old lady and her special friend picked up some micheladas at the stand next to it and then we hung out here while the bean did some coloring.

photo shoot time!

we went into the candy store to say hello to bing bong, who we hadn't actually seen in person yet.  you can't look at him and not smile.  you just can't.

and there's fun merchandise in there too, along with lots of sweets and treats.

over on the disneyland side, i finally remembered to stop on main street near the lockers to look at walt disney's "test wall."  when they were building the park, he asked the construction workers to show him samples of how various types of brick would look.  after they were done they ended up leaving the wall right here:

the castle is all boarded up right now, while the disney folks get it all spruced up and pretty for the upcoming busy season.

the entrance to tomorrowland looked a little different too, as the astro orbitors ride had been dismantled for some refurbishment of its own.  not gonna lie, i'd be okay if they didn't put it back here and instead placed it back atop the galactic grill building further into tomorrowland, where it used to be.

we had a lunch reservation here:

and it was just as good as it always is.  the bean and i split the ribeye steak, while the old lady opted for vegetable pasta and her special friend went for the catch of the day - sea bass.

we had fast passes for star tours and then space mountain, which ended up being the only rides we did that day.

we'd skipped dessert at blue bayou so that we could have other stuff in the park, and i was pretty happy with my s'mores parfait - chocolate pudding, marshmallow cream, graham cracker crumbs and a toasted marshmallow on top:

the girls shared a chocolate chip sundae:

and while the bean and i found chairs on a porch on main street, the old lady and her special friend hung out across the street, giggling and people watching.

the super cute valentine's day themed photo op was hard to pass up.

and i was pretty excited to finally pick up the lightsaber umbrella i've been eyeing for years, using my AP discount and a gift card i've been hoarding.

we still have three tabs left on our sip & savor pass, so you know we have to get ourselves back to the 'land before february 17th.  mmm...garlic shrimp fried rice.  i'm gonna eat you.

everybody loves a parade

you know, i don't think we've ever really celebrated chinese new year before.  well, the girls have been the lucky recipients of red envelopes from our friend lilcee in years past.  so when she suggested that we all head out to chinatown together to watch the annual CNY parade, i thought it was a fabulous idea.  and as always, the bean was super excited to hang out with her BFF and do something fun.

lilcee's aunt owns a shop just off the parade route, so we stopped in to say hello and scoop up some little trinkets.  it was a particularly warm day - in the 80s - and the sun was blaring, so i gladly shelled out a few bucks for some cute parasols and fans.

of course, her attention was focused on the tiny turtles that were also for sale.  i had to do some serious tap-dancing to wiggle out of buying one.

lilcee found a sweet spot on the curb that was big enough for all of us to sit down.  these silly faux $100 bills, with a message printed on the back from a nearby church, made for a perfect mat to keep our fannies nice and clean.

i don't care what you people think of toms shoes, i love them.  they're comfy and you'll have to pry 'em off my cold dead feet.

methinks our souvenirs will come in quite handy when summer rolls around.

the bean and mini cee were perfectly happy waiting for the festivities to begin, munching on delicious pocky.

all the party people up and down the street were firing these things off, showering the streets with colorful confetti.

despite her dislike of loud noises, the bean loved that confetti.

the parade was fun to watch, with dragons lions galore.

 they were even embedded in the street.

more parade attractions.

and political types.

and a local news anchor.

dragon lion butt.

after an hour or so of this stuff, the girls were pretty much over it (as were we).  so we maneuvered our way through the packed sidewalks and got the hell outta dodge.  back in the pasadena area, we decided to grab a late lunch at tender greens, a lilcee family favorite that i'd been wanting to try.  because, um, hello fried chicken salad.

both girls were equally satisfied with the deliciously gooey mac & cheese.

a day with lilcee & co. never disappoints.