Sunday, December 9, 2007

M-I-C-K-E-Y, M-O-h my god you didn't just...




It was a beautiful day. The sun was out, it was a moderate temperature for early December, and we live less than an hour drive from Tokyo Disney Resort. Guess where I took the family.

I bet you guessed right, but I love tangents, and this story needs a little more set-up.

Now all grown up and with a family of my own, I sometimes regret watching the National Lampoon's Vacation movies over and over as a kid- looking back, I think something rubbed off... My top 5 "vacation happenings" are:

5. This story. (yeah, I know you're probably feeling let down already, "Only number five?", but please humor me as I stroll down memory lane...)

4. Going home for winter break from college and having my car break down on the Mass turnpike. (Yes this car-natsukashii deshou- only mine was missing the front grill and the side-view mirrors were usually duct-taped to the side)



3. Walking from Amherst to Boston on my "Musha shugyou" during Spring break (1st week of March that year) only to be confronted with a blizzard and having to "camp" in the woods along route 9 with a blue tarp and bungee cords to make a tent. (Stupid-but-Manly points for this one though)

2. Braking my collar-bone during a family vacation in high school, and toughing it out for 2days before going to the hospital towards the end of the vacation. (Stupid-but-Manly points for that one too)

1. Getting pulled over in a car whose registration had expired causing that car to be towed away and leaving me and my thoughtful friends trying to throw me a bachelor party stranded in front of a closed Stop-n-Shop for a few hours until some other thoughtful friends could come to pick us all up (grant it, not a 'vacation happening' per se, but a big enough mis-adventure to override any selection criteria). And even without the big bash that was planned, I still slept through my 8am final the next morning!

So in true Bob style, something has to go awry or it wouldn't be a true family outing. Now back to the other day.

So it's 9am, the kid's up, dressed in new clothes we bought a couple of weeks back to enter the GAP kid's model contest: (yes 100% GAP, and that in itself is funny if you know where I work!)

Jeans: 70 bucks, sweater jacket, 60 bucks, printed T-shirt 30 bucks. Needless to say, we don't go shopping there very often.

We all pile into the car and are off. To set the tone, I've got the stereo pump'n with all the classic Disney tunes-both the English and Japanese lyrics. Hi-ho, Hi-ho, Shigoto tanoshii.

We're about 10minutes from the exit for Tokyo Disney...
That's when I heard "the sound"...
The one that every parent learns within the first few days of being a parent...
I hadn't heard it for a while, but none the less I could recognize it just as the little mermaid was belting out something about how she wishes she could be 'part of my world'
If only Ariel knew... the kid just got car-sick and puked everywhere!
Byebye 70 dollar jeans, byebye 60 dollar sweater jacket and 30 dollar T-shirt.
Hello stains on automobile upholstery, and that wonderful scent of what daughters are made of: sugar, spice, and everything she ate for breakfast coming from the back seat!
So I did what I've always tried to do in a "vacation happening" moment:
1. Continue right along to the Disney parking lot while me and the wife try to calm the daughter down (while the wife is cleaning everything up- thanks again honey!).
2. Buy a new outfit at an exorbitant price at Disney.
3. Have a great time anyway!!

(At the gate)

(First roller-coaster)


(Mission accomplished)

And then drove home with the windows down the whole way home...followed by lots of fabreeze...

I KNOW I get Manly points for this one!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ah... I remember that car. And most of my memories are fond ones...

I still can't believe you have a kid. Heh...

Nesting Guest said...

Oh man, natsukashii is right! I remember that very very cold night. I'm so glad to be part of your number 1 mishap.

I have missed a good Bob narrative. Sure, it's not the same when you're not talking about the dreams you get while high off nicotine patches, but it sure will do.

Anonymous said...

RYC: The plan is to go from mid-April to mid-June. We figure that visiting with people will be best after the trek, so we'll be up in Tokyo in early to mid-June, probably. I hope to spend a few days there at least. We can have a mini-UMass reunion!