Hey folks, it has been an eventful day.  We got up bright and early and had breakfast at the hotel.  The we headed over to WalMart to get a replacement for the car charger for our brand new GPS.  We got it and hooked it up and then made way to the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History.

This was a very interesting place.  It basically tells the story of the Atomic Age, from early research of nuclear development through the atomic bombs in World War II, to the Cold War and finally to today’s peaceful uses of nuclear technology.  I had a blast there (please pardon the pun) and really enjoyed all of the exhibits.

A B-29 at the Museum . . .

. . . As well as a B-52

We left the museum and went to the Route 66 Diner.  Man what a cool place.  It's loaded with memorabilia from various places along old Route 66, as well as general stuff from the 1950's and 1960's.  Speaking of loaded, boy do they load you down with the food.  As you can tell from the pictures they sure do give you a plate full and then some.

At the Roue 66 Diner in Albuquerque

She is preparing my Malt and Toni's shake

My lunch Yummy

Toni's lunch

We got back on the road to head to our next destination, Flagstaff when . . . well you remember that brand new GPS I mentioned earlier?  Well now instead of the cord going bad, the entire unit stopped working.  So we went to a WalMart along the way and bought another brand new GPS (different brand this time) and we got back on the road and finally rolled into Flagstaff about 10:00 local time.  I had a somewhat more Spartan meal this time, then sat down to write this entry in the diary.

Posing with some friends

My dinner is not quite as large as lunch.  Banana bread, cherry tomatoes, a peach and some apple beer (completely non-alcoholic)

Now I need so send a couple of shout-outs to some friends who have written to me regarding the Session Diary.  The first goes Kathy Rodemacher, PBG #1 and a member of Bethel #12's Council.  Kathy writes:

Thanks Kathy.  We have had mostly good weather with a few bouts of intense raid along the way.  It was also be fairly cool as well.  I have had to wear a jacket a few times on the trip.

Our next shout-out goes to Jan Harms, PGG-PA and a member of the JDI Board of Trustees.  Jan writes:

Hey everyone, it was a very long day but in the end a very fun one. We left Flagstaff bright and early, filled up with gas (I mean the kind for the car, not the kind you get from eating way too much at the 66 Diner, lol), and got on the road for Anaheim. It was a long trip but it went fairly quickly as for the vast majority we didn't hit a lot of traffic. Along the way we drove throuh the Mojave Desert. We generally think of deserts as being dry, barren places, but that is not true. While it may be hot and dry, it is teeming with various types of plants and wildlife that have carved out a niche in the harsh environment. There is a stark beauty to the Mojave that made the trip through it a very interesting experience.

Remember how I said we didn't hit much traffic form most of the trip? Well, that was true until we got into the Los Angeles vicinity. From there on in it was wack-o time, lol. I managed not to get run off the road and we finally made it to our destination of Anaheim, California.

Now why did we come to Anaheim you may ask. Go ahead, ask, I'll wait (tap tap tap). Oh, you asked why we came to Anaheim, what a surprise, lol. We came to go to Disneyland. I know, I know, that is perhaps the worst kept secret, but nevertheless, we are here.

Here we are

Walt Disney and Mickey in front of Sleeping Beauty's Castle

We got checked into the Paradise Pier Hotel and hit Disneyland as soon as we got our stuff into the room. It was a great time, and while we didn't get a chance to see everything obviously, this was just our initial excursion. We had dinner there, and saw Fantasmic and the Fireworks display. Later we went on the Nemo Undersea adventure, the Jungle Cruise and Star Tours. It was a lot of fun. By the time we got back to the hotel, it was all I could do to make it to the bed and it was lights out.

That's about it for now. I'll be talking you you later. Ta Ta :)

Good morning folks. This morning we headed down to the hotel restaurant for breakfast and there we ran into a bunch of our Disney friends. Mickey Mouse was there as was Minnie Mouse, Daisy Duck, Pluto and Stitch from Lilo and Stitch. We had a great time meeting all of them, and in addition the food was wonderful as well. It was a very cool way to start the day.

After breakfast we made our way over to Disney's California Adventure. This is the newer addition to the California Disney Parks, and it is a lot of fun. While we were there we went to the Disney Princesses Dance Party. There all of the female characters from various Disney movies led the entire place through their dance moves. It was a lot of fun, and man I was bouncing on my scooter, lol.

From there we went to the Taxi Ride through Monstropolis. This is a cool ride featuring characters from Monsters, Inc. You are in a runaway taxi bouncing around Monstropolis while viewing scenes from the movie. Pretty neat.

Clarabell the Cow shows off her moves

Sully and Mike Wazowski save Boo

We came out of that ride just in time to view the Pixar Parade. Characters from the various Pixar movies were featured and the parade was a lot of fun.

The Incredibles save the day at the Pixar Parade

Characters from Toy Story cool down the crowd with blasts of water

Then we made our way to Soarin'. This is a ride that features a virtual flight across California. They warn you that if you have a fear of heights, you may not want to go on this one. Now I have a tremendous fear of heights, to he point where it is almost silly, but someone, I won't mention Toni's name and embarrass her, said come on, it will be fun, the Star Tours ride was a lot worse. And just like the lie that she and Lynne Stratmanne told me 30 years ago (Come on and be the Associate Bethel Guardian for Bethel #12. It's only two nights a month), this lie turned out to be a whopper. The minute we took off I was petrified. I kept my eyes shut through most of the ride, but could still feel the wind and the many dips and turns as we soared above California. I peeked everynow and then just enought to see what was going on and to bring my fear factor back to maximum. After what seemed like 30 or 40 minutes on this ride, we finally got our feet back on the ground and I wobbled back to the real world. I can't wait to go back, lol.

Then we mosied on over to Cars Land, the newest addition to California Adventure. This is a complete re-creation of the town of Radiator Springs from the movie Cars. It was wild, just like stepping into the movie. All of the different cars characters were there and all of the kids, young and old, really enjoyed the experience.

Tow Mater makes his entrance . . .

. . . Into Radiator Springs

The big Mickey Ferris Wheel at Paradise Pier

Statue of Walt Disney and Mickey as they appeared in the 1930's

We then moved on to the Aladdin stage show. This was a Broadway style show and the wow factor was sky high. Great singing, acrobatics, acting, high flying adventure and a Genie who rivaled Robin Williams in the movie version made this a most enjoyable show.

Replica of the Carthay Circle Theater, where the premier of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was held

Aladdin bounces his way through a great show

It was now close to dinner time so we headed out of the park and over to Downtown Disney were we had a wonderful meal at the House of Blues. I had grilled shrimp and grits. It just doesn't get much better than that for an old southern boy like me.

Then it was back to Disneyland where we went on several rides, the first of which was the Pirates of the Carribean. I have been on this ride many times in DisneyWorld in Florida, but the one here at Disneyland is much longer and more detailed. They have even updated it with characters from the recent Pirates of the Carribean movies. It's a wonderful classic ride with a few modern twists thrown in for good measure.

Some of the spooky scenes . . .

. . . From the Pirates of the Caribbean

Speaking of twists, we then went on the Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye ride. Again, there was a warning on this ride, but I figured if I survived that blasted Soarin', I could make it through this one. Wow, wow, wow, what a ride. This was a wild jeep ride through an ancient, forbidden temple and you are twisted, turned, crashed through the various nooks and crannies, dips and dives of the ancient building. Whew, it was fantastic. If you make it to Disneyland, this one has to go on your list of things to do.

Then is was over to Fantasy Land where we made it onto several of the original rides here at DisneyLand. Mr. Toads Wild Ride was first, and then the Peter Pan ride. These are two of my favorites, and even though they are among the oldest rides in the park, they still draw some of the biggest crowds.

Then we went to the Dumbo ride. While I have been going to DisneyWorld since they opened, I have never gone on the Dumbo ride. Well, since I was now here at the original, I fugured it was time. Toni when first and spun around and around, up and down. Then when she came off she was surprised to see me in line to get on board. I climbed in my Dumbo and off I went, spinning around and around the ride, guiding Dumbo up and down as the flying elephant gave me a nice, gentle thrill looking out over the park.

Mom Toni on the Dumbo Ride

Uh oh, here we go

The Sleeping Beauty Castle at the close of the day

So long Mickey, we'll see you again tomorrow

That just about made our day other than a short, 17 hour shopping excursion at the World of Disney store in Downtown Disney. Well, maybe it wasn't quite that long, but it sure seemed like it at the end of this very eventful day.

Following all of the purchases, we made it back to he room and I flopped into my bed. Back at it tomorrow. Thanks for reading, I'll be talking to you later.

We started the day by heading over to Downtown Disney where I got a pepperoni pizza pretzel.  It was very good and quite filling.  As you can see from the picture it was very large.  After that it was on to Disneyland where we started out our adventure at the Haunted Mansion.  As with the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, this is somewhat different than the one at DisneyWorld in Florida.  It was a fun experience and very spooky in a not so scary way.

After that we went on the Walk in Walt's Footsteps tour.  This tour took us to many of the original 1955 rides and exhibits in Disneyland, and told the story of the days when Walt Disney himself was at the park on a regular basis.  It also included a great deal of information about development of the park from 1955 though 1966 when Walt Disney passed away.  The highlight of the tour was getting to visit the private apartment what Walt had at Disneyland.  From here he could get away from the hustle and bustle of the park and recharge his batteries.  It was a really cool place to be.  One funny thing about visiting the apartment, since it was built in the 1950's it is hardly handicapped accessible, so I had to take a construction lift to the level of the apartment, and then across a rickety walkramp to the back porch of the building.  This was great fun for someone like me with a tremendous fear of heights.  I guess that truly marks me as a Disney Geek that I was willing to do this to visit this special Disney place.

Dad Ashley and Mom Toni's name badges for the Tour

Tour guide Mychal did a wonderful job

A look at a Petrified Tree given by Walt Disney to his wife Lillian

Mom Toni and Dad Ashley in Walt Disney's private apartment

After the tour we watched the Character parade on Main Street, then we went over to California Adventure for the World of Color Water and Light show.  Wow, what a great show.  It is similar to Fantasmic in that it combines sprays of water, lights and live action, but the technology has come a long way since he development of Fantasmic and it was just an overpowering experience.

Goofy and Chip in the Character Parade

Fun at the parade

Disney Princesses in the parade

Mary Poppins is practically perfect

The World of Color Show . . .

. . . Was simply fantastic

The Grand Finale . . .

. . . Was Explosive

Then it was back over to Disneyland to close out the evening at Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, Pinocchio's Daring Journey and a visit to Sleeping Beauty's Castle.  Mom Toni went on Space Mountain while I went on the Indiana Jones ride one more time.  They we made our way back to the hotel, tired but happy.

One of the exhibits from Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln

Mom Toni in Space Mountain

Pinocchio's Daring Journey

Getting ready to head back to the hotel

One last look at Sleeping Beauty's Castle

In the old days, the light on in the window of Walt's Disney's apartment meant that he was in the park.  Now the light is left on 24 hours a day to show that his spirit is always present

That's about it for the night folks.  I'll be talking to you later.

We got up early on Saturday, packed and then made our way for one last morning at Disneyland.  We met up with Job's Daughters people from Queensland, Oklahoma, Indiana and California.  We posed for a group picture in from of Sleeping Beauty's Castle.  Everyone was excited about both being at Disneyland and the upcoming Supreme Session.  After that we got on the Monorail and made our way back to the hotel to get in the car and head to Oakland.

Meeting with . . .

. . . Jobie friends . . .

. . . From all . . .

. . . Around the . . .

. . . Jobie World

A fine group shot

Posing for a pic

Showing off their . . .

. . . Jobie mouse ears

One more group shot

Man, you sure have a lot of stuff . . .

. . . Are you sure everything fits in here?

One the long road to Oakland

We arrive at Supreme Session and he first folks we see are from Missouri

It was a long trip but we finally rolled into Oakland about 8:15, just in time for my 8:30 meeting.  After that I made my way back to the room and in no time I was sawing logs.

I now have a lot of shout-outs to send.  The first one goes out to my good friend from Down Under, Margaret Thompson.  She writes:

Thanks Margaret, I appreciate it.  For those who don't suffer from a fear of heights, consider yourself very lucky.  On an intellectual basis, yes, I know that I was really not very far up in the air, but my senses were telling me something different.  The experience is so realistic, and the manner in which you are seated, with your legs dangling in the air, really adds to that realism.  While I am glad I can say I did it Margaret, I think you will always be able to say you have gone Soaring over California more times than I have, lol

The next shout-out goes to Caronly Block, PGG-Kansas.  Carolyn writes:

Thanks Carolyn.  For those wondering about her being called Park Bench, man that is a funny story that I have been trying to tell for many years here on my Supreme Diaries, but something always seems to come up to prevent me finishing the story.  You know that is funny how things like that keep happening year after year after year.  Well, the actual story about her getting that name has to do with . . . wait, did I finish with my shout-outs?  Hmm, I don't think I did.  Well, I guess I will have to tell the Park Bench story a little later ;)

The next shout-out goes to Judy Gordon, Grand Guide of Illinois.  Judy writes:

Thanks Judy, I appreciate it.  I really enjoy doing these and hope that everyone gets some entertainment and information out of them.

The next shout-out goes to Bill Walker, PASG-Washington.  Bill writes:

Thanks Bill.  We have had a very fun trip out here, and the fun has only just begun here at Session.  As for people having no clue who you are, don't sell yourself short.  I know lots of people who come up to me and ask me to say hello to old what's his name ;)

Well, that's about it for the day.  I'll be talking to you later.

Well hello everyone.  I hope you are having a great day wherever you are.  The day started off with the Session Church Service.  After that it was time to begin the Board of Trustees meeting.  The subjects covered in these meetings covers a wide range of issues in the Jobie World, including YPP, Trademark, Website, Membership, Finances, Insurance and many other items.  I know that there are many times that the Board gets a bad rap, but please know that each and every member has the best interests of the Order in their hearts.  We may not always agree on the best way to get from one place to another, but in the end we all want the same thing, and that is for our Order to grow and prosper so that young women far in the future will be able to bloom, lead and soar.

Sitting around the hotel . . .

. . . Chatting up old friends

Some of the Missouri Crew poses for a picture

Some of the best times at Session are those when you just get to sit and talk

After the meeting I was some left over Chinese food thanks to Mom Toni, then spent the remainder of the evening talking with friends from around the world.  Supreme Session is a wonderful place to catch up with old friends and make new ones.  I hope that all of you will have the opportunity to attend at least one.  They truly are a wonderful experience and more that worth what it may cost to attend.

I have a couple more shout-outs to send.  This one goes to Mom Lynne Stratmann, PGG-Missouri.  Lynne writes:

Thanks Lynne.  You know as I think about it, for someone with a really bad fear of heights, somehow I have managed to find myself in some very high places.  The Gateway Arch in St. Louis, the Sears Tower and the John Hancock building in Chicago, the Hemisfair Tower in San Antonio are among those place I have chosen to go in order to scare myself silly.  Go figure, lol.  As for that little fib, I never said I didn't appreciate it, I simply said that perhaps you and Toni were somewhat less than 100% truthful ;)  Actually it is that fib that just about every Associate Bethel Guardian has chosen to believe, knowing full well that the job might require a bit more time.

The next shout-out goes to Mom Linda Sinley, PGG-Missouri.  Linda writes:

Thanks Linda.  We had really hoped to be able to get to Phoenix but there simply weren't enough hours in the day.  Hope to see you guys soon.

Well folks, that's about it for tonight.  It's after midnight now and we kick it off again at 8:30 tomorrow morning so I'm gonna hit the sack.  Take care everyone and I'll be talking to you later :)

Hey everybody, Supreme Session has started gearing up and things are starting to pop.  The girls had their Performing Arts competition today.  Lilly Flanery, Alexis Hudson, and Brittany Hall from Missouri all competed, and I believe all of them won 2nd Place in their categories. Later that evening Lily performed her Sign Language solo during the Talent Show.

I spent most of the day in our Board Meeting.  Once again we worked through the issues that have come before us and are doing our very best for the Order.  However in the true spirit of Job's Daughters, we do like to have a bit of fun from time to time as evidenced by a picture of Gary Semenuik, RoseMarie Short and Jeannie Johnson that I will be posting in just a bit.

Dad Gary Semaniuk posing with Brianna and Brittany Hall

SG RoseMarie Short having lunch

AGG Dad Gary Dryer wonders where everybody went

Remember that pic of the Board I told you about?  Well here it is ;)

Later in the evening I attended the above mentioned Talent Show.  We really have a lot of very talented young ladies in our organization, and this was the perfect opportunity for them to put that talent on display.  Congratulations to all who participated and to all of those who took part in the Performing Arts Competition.

Lilly does her Sign Language Solo during the Talent Show

The Nebraska Sign Choir during the Talent Show

Mom Short and Mom Toni talk following the Talen Show

Watching the Missouri Supreme Messenger Team practice

I spent the rest of the evening talking with friends that I haven't seen in some time.  It is always great to catch up with everybody at Session.  It is one of my favorite parts of the week.

Well, it's getting late and once again I have an early call for our Board meeting, so I'm gonna hit the sack.  I'll be talking to everybody later.