It has been a very long time since my friend Asim "McDuff" Mughal and I hung out. We used to hang out every weekend back in College; he was the first real friend I had upon coming to California; I met him in a chatroom long before the Internet was hip -- we, in fact, met on BITNET. He wasn't a metalhead, but he was always my partner in crime at the local metal shows. He now admits that going to those metal shows has given him character! And who says metal is bad for you! McDuff left Southern California and settled in the Bay Area with his wife, the lovely Lady Mcduff, and his prince and princess. However, in April of 2001, the Lady decided to take the young heirs to Pakistan to visit the family, leaving the lord Mcduff with a little time on his hands. What better time to reunite and go to Disneyland!!

The Disneyland California Adventure park was surprisingly empty on that mild, cloudy winter day. The emptiness gave us access to the entire park during our stay, including a cast of Disney characters -- we tried posing with every one we could find. Here we are with Mickey and Minnie.

... and Chip & Dale...

... and Flick ...

... and Cruella DeVille!

Lookit that... despite the loop-dah-loop, Mcduff's hair remains perfectly intact! We actually rode the California Screaming rollercoaster 3 times to get the on-the-ride snapshot looking good, and even then, it didn't look anywhere near as nifty as this pose by a painting.

Here you can see how bleak the day appeared. We had a great time on Paradise Pier, listening to carnival-ized versions of the Beach Boys, the Mamas and the Papas, and anyone else who ever recorded a song with the word "California" in it. It was just like being there, in California! Whoddathunk! After our trip to Disneyland California Adventure, we both decided that we no longer needed to visit California, because we had already seen it all!

If you decide to go see California the Disney way, you may find California Adventure a little wanting compared to its sister park across the way. There's still fun to be had; Mcduff and I spent HOURS in the Animation Pavillion, creating our own animations, putting our voices to Disney films, and browsing through the museum of art from Disney films. And I highly recommend the Soarin' Over California ride, which features some breathtaking cinematography -- it's truly an experience!