With no job prospects and nothing to do, I decided to spend a few days in Los Angeles this week. Wednesday turned out to be a highlight of my life. I finally spent a day at Disneyland.

Within moments of entering California Adventure, a High School Musical parade began. Soon after, Victoria and I were hugging Minnie and Mickey. I was proudly wearing my first-timer pin, and an employee enthusiastically wished me a magical day. The adventure was getting off to a marvelous start.

There were barely any lines, so we made it onto most of the rides and attractions. My favorites were the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, the Indiana Jones ride, and Pirates of the Caribbean. Honorable mention to the Buzz Lightyear ride, where you have to shoot at Zorg and they keep track of points. I think the scores speak for themselves.

I was laughing the entire day. It really was the most fun I have had in a long time. After about 10 hours at the park, we were glad to sit down for some dinner to relax.

On Thursday, Adam gave me a tour of Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive. We visited lots of stores, Adam flirted with lots of girls, and we enjoyed a delicious lunch. Then I went to Victoria’s film class where we watched Jennifer’s Body and had a Q&A with the writer, director, and producer. The movie was awesome, and it was cool to talk with the creators, especially Diablo Cody who also wrote Juno.

That night, I went out for a night on Fraternity Row at USC. That was an experience. In St. Louis, anyone is welcome at any fraternity, but apparently only girls are welcome at the USC fraternities. I went to the USC chapter of my fraternity and barely made it in after a thorough security screening.

Friday I explored Hollywood Boulevard. We saw lots of tours and fake celebrities. The costumes were comically bad. Darth Vader was shorter than me and wore tights. Marilyn Monroe was really old, but proudly stood over a vent in the sidewalk to show off her legs. Three Spidermen bounced around various newspaper stands and trash cans, vying for position.

After lunch, we grabbed some coffee and as we were walking down the sidewalk, some police cars raced up and a police helicopter appeared overhead. A pair of officers ran out of the cars carrying shotguns. They stood up against a bank and peeked around the corner into the window. The strange thing was that, as this was happening, everyone went about their business completely normally. The police made no announcements, and barely drew any attention to themselves.

As people began to notice the shotgun-wielding police, they turned to watch. No one knew what to do. What does a bystander do during a bank robbery? A lady behind me asked if we should duck in case they started shooting. We all just watched curiously. Suddenly a woman on her cell phone exited the bank carrying a baby. Everyone gasped. But then that was it. Nothing really happened. She gave the police a confused look and kept walking completely nonchalantly.

The police looked at each other. They cautiously approached the door and entered. After about a minute, the helicopter left, and everyone resumed what they were doing. It was one of the most exciting times that nothing has happened. What really struck me was just how mildly everyone reacted. As if it was a completely normal activity.

So to recap: Go to Disneyland. Take a USC film class. Don’t bother with Fraternity Row. Always carry a shotgun.

My high school has a great outings department, and this weekend I got a call asking if I would be available to help lead a trip to the Hoover Wilderness near Yosemite. Without hesitation, I postponed my road trip to Los Angeles and started packing. There were six students, one teacher, and a dog on the trip, and it was a great group.

Once we distributed the group gear and ate lunch, we started the hike. The ascent was not long, but we enjoyed the views of the surrounding mountains and the sound of the creek running alongside the trail. We arrived at Green Lake within a couple hours and set up camp, where we would stay for the next two nights.

With mountains all around us, we didn’t quite experience a sunrise. Instead, our morning began with the sunlight slowly engulfing the rocky peaks around the lake, which was so calm in the morning it was like a mirror. Ken explored the shore for a good spot to go fishing with Ouzel. I choked down some oatmeal so that I would survive the day hike.

We walked up to a higher lake on Day 2 to spend the afternoon. Just as we were settling in, we began to hear thunder. Dark clouds slowly started to creep over the ridge. Little pellets of ice began to fall on the trees. A cold rain interrupted our lunch. We stuck it out under trees until the rain had passed, and started back towards camp.

Surrounded by granite mountains, the thunder echoed endlessly. It was amazing, the whole group would admire a lightning bolt across the sky, and then the thunder would hit and bounce around for minutes. It was like the whole wilderness was hungry and we were hiking through its growling stomach.

After escaping the cold rain, we were all tired, so we took naps in our tents. When we woke up, Ken and I went fishing with Ouzel while the students investigated an “island” in the lake. After dinner and a few mugs of hot chocolate, we watched the stars through the trees and headed to bed.

We were all so tired after our adventurous weekend, even Ouzel was sleeping in the van on the ride home. Nothing beats a bath when your legs are covered in dirt, so that’s where I am headed after I unpack.