OMFG DISNEYLAAAAAAAAAAAAND and also some other things

So I know it's been a full 5 days since we went, but it seriously has taken me this long to fully recover from this epic day-trip.

KAY SO! Last Tuesday we went to TOKYO DISNEYSEA and it was AWESOME and I rode Tower of Terror and the Indiana Jones ride and I had sea salt ice cream (as seen in the Kingdom Hearts series of video games) and it was so expensive but SO WORTH IT YOU GUYS. SO WORTH IT. IT WAS AWESOME. SO AWESOME. We left at 8:00 AM and got home around 6:00 or 7:00 PM, but it felt like 10:00 PM. And I'm still shocked that, despite my overwhelming enthusiasm regarding this trip, I ultimately lasted only roughly 7 hours at the park before I was ready to peace out. It just seems WRONG to me somehow.

I feel like there's not much more written explanation I can give for Tokyo DisneySea; it's pretty standard for a Disney park, but it's also DIFFERENT, so I will let the (numerous) pictures do the explaining. :D

The entrance! The Christmas decorations are up AND it's the 10th anniversary celebration!

This giant volcano actually shoots fire; there's also a ride inside of it.

This band was performing when we arrived!

So this is one of the resort hotels; it is actually contained completely within DisneySea!

DisneySea is designed like several different kinds of port towns; this is the Italian Port area!!!

More of the Italian Port!

Our group standing in line to help Leonardo da Vinci stop a VOLCANIC ERUPTION!

VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS. SERIOUS BUSINESS!

More Italian Port scenery!

We found a clue! One step closer to SAVING DISNEYLAND!

Eric and I found a flying machine! Too bad it was bolted to the ground. :(

In the distance is the Tower of Terror -- part of the 1800s New York port section.

This is the area housing the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ride -- apparently it's steampunk-themed?

The Indiana Jones ride!!!!!

They went all-out with the Christmas decorations. It made me happy.

The 90 minute wait was totally worth it. TOTALLY WORTH IT.

There is a section modeled after the movie Aladdin! It's neaaaat!

The Little Mermaid section!

REINDEER DOLPHINS ARE THE BEST DOLPHINS.

We journeyed under the sea!!!

Aaaand we journeyed to the Aladdin section after visiting our friends under the sea!

Hey there, camel. How's it going?

We were so lucky to have gone on such a gorgeous day!

This lighthouse marks the entrance to the Cape Cod area!

This part of the park really reminded me of being in the Boston area.

TOWER OF TERROR in "New York" :3

The lights came on around 4:30, just as the sun was going down. The picture doesn't really do it justice.

The fountain at the entrance on the way home. Just gorgeous.

The rest of my week has been pretty relaxed; I spent this weekend in bed due to not feeling that well, but I got lots done on Friday night, like reorganizing my bookshelf and cleaning my fridge and all sorts of great things. Tonight I'm working on a scarf to include in a Christmas present donation drive for children living in temporary housing in areas ravaged by the March 11 tsunami and watching some documentaries. I was also really glad to see the Huskies win the Apple Cup today; it was the first game I've been able to watch all season (it's been difficult finding a good stream until now), so I'm really glad I got to see a win!

I've also recently started cooking for myself; I had been sharing food costs with a friend, but now I'm cooking for myself. Tonight I made ginger-fried pork and spinach and rice from a recipe in Japanese (my first time reading a recipe in Japanese), and it turned out great! I'm glad I made enough to last a few meals, so I don't have to cook every night on top of homework and choir practice! Here's a picture; the yellow chunks would be ginger; the recipe called for grating the ginger, but our kitchen doesn't have a grater so I tried to chop it as small as possible... Obviously I missed a few pieces. It's okay though because it still tasted really awesome!

Sooooo good!

Anyway, I got this post done early tonight so I'd have lots of time to keep working on that scarf -- my shoebox is due December 8, so I need to get cracking -- and also do some pre-class reading. No plans yet for next week, but we shall see! There's a plan brewing to get to the fish market at Tsukiji in order to enjoy some breakfast sushi at some point or another; perhaps that'll come together for Saturday!