Last week, my family and I were in beautiful Central California. We started our trip in Santa Barbara, then traveled up the Pacific Coast Highway to San Luis Obispo (where my Grandma and Grandpa Mimick were married at the Mission in the 40s!), Monterey, Napa Valley, and ended in San Francisco.
The weather was beautiful; we traded in the heat and humidity of Omaha for the crisp high 60s to mid 70s of coastal California. We had a marvelous time sipping wine, catching up with California friends and family, getting to know my sister’s fiancé (and his chocolate addiction) even better, and gazing out into the Pacific.
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- The Mission at San Luis Obispo
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- The Mimick Fam (plus Kelly and Soli!)
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- Pismo Beach
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- Hearst Castle (San Simeon)
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- Pebble Beach
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- Wine Barrels at Sterling Vineyard
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- Castello di Amorosa
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- Lombard Street in San Francisco
However.
As often happens when you’re in a new place (or at least when I am), there are a few things that make you stop and think. Why, oh why, do they do that? What would possess someone to organize something like this? And, being the avid (AKA obsessive) Disney World fan that I am, while waiting in line for a public restroom that had 6 stalls for a very large portion of Fisherman’s Wharf in San Fran, I started thinking: What if Disney ran the world?
(Cue foggy edges…)
1.) The world would be clean. Even the restrooms. Especially the restrooms. Not a dirty napkin, discarded Starbucks cup, or empty pop can would be seen. When a pizza crust or scrap of paper fell to the ground, a festively dressed man or woman would swoop in to whisk it out of the way.
2.) The world would be organized. You would be able to grab a colorful map that could not only direct you how to get from place to place, but a times guide that would tell you when events were happening that couldn’t be missed. When the need arose to wait in line for something, you would have fun activities to complete while you waited and themed decorations to keep you busy.
3.) The world would be colorful. Decorated with poinsettias around Christmas, hoards of blooming colors in the spring, bright pinks and yellows in the summer, and deep reds and oranges in the fall. And it wouldn’t only be decorated with flowers, but with buildings, street signs, and benches that are vivid. Not a flake of paint or faded hue would exist.
4.) The world would be welcoming. Every face you’d see would be smiling, every attitude positive. Hands would always wave in welcome and the childlike grins present on each face would be contagious. Every person would belong and you would be able to sense that feeling of belonging all around you.
5.) The world would remember the importance of family. Disney World is all about family togetherness. A world run by Disney would see families having meals together, playing games, talking to one another, and planning what they would do next as a family.
6.) The world would be respectful. Everyone would be treated like a prince or princess. Each person, especially children, would know he or she is a one-of-a-kind, very important person.
7.) The world would be responsible. And full of cast members. We would not be only considered citizens, we would be active participants in the world! We would be the ones responsible for keeping our world running in a Disney-esque fashion. All of us would work together to make our world the place it should be. No one would sit and expect to be catered to and wait on by the cast members; everyone would have a role to play and be a cast member themselves.
8.) The world would be magical. With fireworks every night for good measure.
The Write Timing 