Bye Bye Bug's Land (2018 DLR Trip) – Day 4

DAY 4, Final day, Saturday, May 26, 2018/ Sunday Morning, May 27, 2018
The three of us all woke up spontaneously around 8:00 PST. Our Aunt and cousin were going to pick us up for some lunch before the airplane ride home, so we packed up our room and said farewell to Disney. After waiting around a bit in the Fantasy Tower, the two finally picked us up and drove us straight to In-N-Out. I got two burgers again, one with three patties, the other with one. I cannot praise In-N-Out enough!
We did some planning, and decided to buy some sandwich material from a nearby Target rather than finding a Stephen-friendly place after landing in Phoenix. So we began to walk throughout the shopping center near the In-N-Out and stumbled upon a place called Mendocino Farms. Our Aunt informed us about the place, so we decided we’d get my dinner from there later. We stopped at Target so Emelia and my Mom could get some dinner, and my cousin and I had a lot of fun running around the place like civilized children. I know that sounds irresponsible, but we were at least trying to be on our best behavior.
We grabbed a seat in Mendocino Farms waiting for my Uncle to show up. We sat around and talked, and oh my goodness, my cousin would not stop talking about school! I just got out of it and want a break, you don’t have to keep telling me about how awesome your Algebra class was! Anyhow, my Uncle got there and he immediately ordered us all lemonades. Then, I discovered something about this counter service place. It was all organic and fresh made stuff! And all the sodas were homemade with cane sugar, rather than corn syrup! It’s like a Stephen-friendly buffet! The staff was really friendly and we informed them how we wanted one in Florida, and then the conversation suddenly changed from “Why are you in Florida” to “I love Disney and I want to work there.” All the people there wanted to work at Disneyland! I really need one of these in Florida! Emelia, my cousin, and I played some bean bag toss, or as it’s called in the South, corn hole. We got a sandwich for me to go and our relatives dropped us off at John Wayne airport. It was so empty and nice compared to Orlando. No line for bags, no line for TSA, quick and easy.
We sat down at our gate, and while there, they began asking for volunteers for a game! My mom wanted me to volunteer, but I was a little tired, so I stayed out. I really should’ve because they played a round of Musical Chairs. The grand prize? $100 off your next flight! Big mistake! After their fun little game, they opened up a cart of SouthWest goodies! There was mints, earbuds, pens, flags, plant seeds, and I think magnets, and all sorts of things! Mom had gone to the restroom and Emelia left for the cart while all the good stuff was there. I wanted to go up, but no one would’ve been sitting with the luggage, so I stayed put. I’m a little bitter I didn’t get anything good when I went up, but it’s all okay because I was at least in California.
They boarded us on the plane and we were set for Phoenix! Except, we apparently weren’t. We were just about to takeoff when we pulled back into the gate. That seemed strange….we got to the gate and someone was kicked off the plane. The air host said it was obvious to those in the back, but we were in the front since there wasn’t much time in Phoenix after we landed. I did some eavesdropping and got mixed results. Some say he was smoking weed, others claim a dog (which made no sense because we ended up hearing a dog later), some say he was fighting, other say loud noises. Whatever it was, he got kicked off and tried calling everyone racist to “guilt us.” It just made everyone mad because now we were delayed. We ended up having to wait for our takeoff spot in line again, which delayed us by almost an hour! We were beginning to get uneasy, as that gave us very little time in Phoenix to reach our layover! Once airborne, a flight hostess came around asking for layover destinations. We told her we needed the flight to Orlando, and she began calling the airport. She began to announce the gates and said Orlando was at gate C4. Great, we knew where we had to run.
The plane landed and we had 5 MINUTES to catch our plane. I checked one of the gate signs for Orlando, and it said C17, but we decided to try C4 first. WE RAN as fast as our Mom could. Not only that, but suddenly, both Emelia and I had to use the bathroom badly! AAAAAAAAAaAAAAAAAAH! We got to C4, and it was boarding for Oklahoma City! The airport told the hostess the wrong location! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! So we run to further down the airport and got to the gate just in time. We were supposed to be the 50th-53rd people, but the delay ended up making us the very last! We knew there was no way for us to sit together, which was a shame because it was a five hour flight home. We slowly boarded the plane, was greeted by an air host, who asked us how we were doing. We told him our terrible situation and I made a “joke” about how our bladders weren’t gonna make it. He was kind enough to let me use the bathroom at the front of the plane while Emelia and my Mom set my stuff down on an empty seat. Thank God I didn’t pee my pants! If I recall correctly, Emelia also got to use the bathroom before takeoff, so we were all fine. I got out of the bathroom, found my new seat in the middle of two guys, and prepared for takeoff. We had made it, no more need to stress. We took off, and as soon as we could have those tray tables down, I pulled out my sandwich. It was AMAZING! I don’t remember what exactly was on it, but it had romaine lettuce, pickled red onions, turkey, and some other scrumptious foods I can’t remember, all on house-made bread. Oh my gosh I need a Mendocino Farms near me!
The rest of the flight was pretty boring. I tried to get some rest, but I don’t know how to sleep outside of my bed and only if it’s night. The guy on my left was watching some anime about volleyball players, so I would occasionally turn my head his way. I don’t think he noticed! The guy on my right was a parent watching his daughters in the row next to us. Very quiet flight, very boring, and eventually, we landed in Florida. It was about 1:00 AM EST. We got on the Automated People Mover, found our dad, grabbed our luggage, and drove home.
Overall, a pretty fun trip. My camera behaved most of the time, only glitching out maybe once or twice where it just shot off mid-shot. Nothing major and thankfully it only happened three times. It was lovely seeing my brother and his wife, my Aunt, cousin, uncle, as well as Micah and his mom. Staying in the Disneyland Hotel was also cool, a check-off the bucket list (Grand Californian, you’re next!). The days at the park were packed, but it was still fun, and I still can’t believe I got to say goodbye to Heimlich’s one last time. Looking forward to my next visit.
Thanks for reading along!