First visit to Disneyland! Day One, Post No. 5

Recognize this place? Haunted Mansion! Look at the short line. Hooray! It turned out to be a lot of fun! And afterwards, we happened by the nearby souvenir stand where the lady working turned out to be the scariest "human" we came across. When she turned around to answer a question from me, I don't know how I managed to get my mouth to shut 'cause her harridan-like countenance shocked me! All I could think of was: She's perfect to be selling the Haunted Mansion souvenirs! Surely this is her real face, wrinkles and all, and not something Disney did! I mean, we'd already seen a whole lot of senior citizens working at various jobs and we'd only been at Disneyland for about four hours, so it made since to me that a senior citizen would be working the stand. Sharon thought the same thing, too. I didn't sneak a photo, although I was tempted to try to get one. No real reason to invade her privacy. Love the wrought iron and the moss-like cedars growing on the grounds. I know the Haunted Mansion ride had to be scary and had to manage to move gobs of people quickly, but I surely would have enjoyed a few moments on the upper level of this mansion's porch. Inside the first part of the Haunted Mansion. Scary sounds and darkness and motion, then more standing in line until time to get into the ride compartment and travel here, there and everywhere, going forward, going backward, being frightened. A whole lotta fun! I read in more than one place online that the stretching room is actually an elevator which goes down and that we in line had to be moved from this building, under the railroad tracks which are raised up from the street level of the park on a berm that rings the entire park, and into a large show building nearby where the ride takes place. Then at the exit, once we've stepped off our doom-buggies, we make our way back out of the mansion in the photo and back out into the real world.  I believe that to be true, because I've looked at the Google Map image of Disneyland and can see the large show building just behind the Haunted Mansion and on the opposite side of the tracks. Neat-o! Also, I read that at Disney World since there is so much acreage, there is no need to transport ride-goers to another building, so the stretching room actually has a ceiling that rises instead of an elevator that does down!  One last view of the Haunted Mansion, and then we were off! I hope seeing my photos will help me remember what we did next, ha, ha!

The rest of our Byways Cafe visit last Saturday

I believe this is a well-designed sign. The You Are Here dot is a fun idea.

We sat at a table beside the front window, next to the end of the counter. Mama enjoyed a cup of Stumptown Coffee while we looked at the menu. Since we had arrived less than two hours before their 2 p.m. Saturday closing time, Byways had already sold out of biscuits and blue corn pancakes. We ordered buttermilk pancakes, bacon and scrambled eggs.

Mama's breakfast

My breakfast--I forgot to take the photo before I had eaten some of it. Both of us were totally pleased with our food, every bit of it.

Memorabilia from most all of the states hangs from the ceiling and on the walls, as well as fills display cases and shelves. It wasn't hard for me to find these two special items.



At some point, we plan to ride the bus to Byways Cafe and get there early enough to try the biscuits. I hope it will be warm enough so that we can sit at the picnic table on the sidewalk. We'll have to wait, but we know it will be worth it. Until then, we'll enjoy our last look at the cafe as we walked to the Buick.

On the wall at Byways Cafe

How about this great souvenir? It's one of a whole lot of stuff on display at Byways Cafe on NW Glisan, in Portland's Pearl District. Mama and I stopped there for brunch Saturday--outta sight good home-cooked buttermilk pancakes, bacon and scrambled eggs. More photos later in the week. Here's a bit I found about the swell little cafe at City Search:

Editorial Review for Byways Cafe – by Rachel Bellacera

The Scene
Kitschy and fun, Byways feels like a blast from the past with its vinyl banquettes, 3-D viewfinders, friendly servers and soda fountain. The crowd is mixed: 20-somethings nursing weekend hangovers, young families and Pearlites converge for hearty, satisfying breakfasts and lunches.

The Food
The Pearl's own greasy spoon transcends diner fare by improving on the classics. At breakfast, try the Mt. Rushmore Hash, a mix-mash of potatoes, spicy corned beef, melted cheese and hot peppers. Amaretto-infused French toast is pure indulgence; creamy, aromatic brioche topped with honey butter is well worth the 15-minute wait. For lunch, attempt the juicy, 1/3-pound hamburger with tasty homemade potato salad, or the Crater Lake Cobb salad, which is done with spinach instead of lettuce and doused in crumbly blue cheese. Don't miss the sweet treats: Chewy brownies, piping-hot scones and cookies have a loyal following.