thoughts of "the vault"

shared by Marlo R. Beall, her sister

Earlier this month, our family spent a few days in Southern California. While there, we visited Disney's California Adventure. We'd been to DCA many times before, but on this trip we made it a point to spend some time at the Lamplight Lounge, a Pixar themed restaurant at the park.

Andrew had heard that there was a spot in the restaurant that had caricatures of Pixar employees, including one of himself. We weren't sure where exactly to find this location, since we didn't see any such drawings by simply looking at the artwork on the walls around the restaurant. So we were willing to accept that the drawings might not be there after all.

However, we decided to ask one of the hostesses if she knew anything about what we were looking for, that hostesses's name just happened to be Cindy. We immediately took that as a sign that we were going to be successful in finding the drawings.

Cindy said she would speak to another employee (a manager, I think) about our request, and asked us to come back in about a half hour. We were more than happy to do so. When we returned, the manager we spoke with was named Veronica.

Both Cindy and Veronica were so kind and accommodating. Veronica knew exactly what we were talking about, and took us to a private dining room dubbed "the vault". It was given this name because the door was similar to that of a bank vault. Inside was a dining table for one party, and on the walls were small frames with the caricatures we had been seeking.

So we spent a few minutes in "the vault", just soaking it in, and spent some time chatting with Veronica about the room, and Pixar in general. It was a lot of fun, and we had quite a sense of accomplishment for successfully finding the drawings. I have no doubt that Cindy had a hand in our success, guiding us along from above.

thoughts of mystery movies

shared by Marlo R. Beall, her sister

Last weekend, our family watched the Netflix film, Murder Mystery, starring Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston. It was a fun, somewhat goofy movie, that we all enjoyed. I believe it was inspired by the classic film, Murder on the Orient Express, which is actually one of Cyn Cyn's favorite movies (the recent remake version).

After the movie, we told the girls about how the movie had typical elements of Adam Sandler movies, specifically hints of silliness. And since Cindy enjoyed Adam Sandler movies (and also his music, as described in a previous post), watching the movie reminded me of her.

It's always heartwarming when a movie or song makes me think of Cindy, and especially when I'm reminded of her silly side. I always appreciate any and all of the little things that spark fond, fun memories of her.

thoughts of family dogs

shared by Marlo R. Beall, her sister

This weekend, our family spent some time in Santa Cruz. As we were walking up toward the main entrance to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, there was a family taking photos with their dog.

The dog was an adorable, little Siberian Husky puppy, who looked exactly like Cindy's dog, Nanook. It felt like another instance of Cindy sending us a quick "Hello" from above.