Katherine's 10th Birthday Trip for Dapper Day and Club 33!!

Wow, your pictures are amazing! We were there the end of that same November for several days with our whole crew. I looked through most of your report with my 9-year-old daughter (who is #2 of 5), and she was starry eyed (and a little jealous, haha). She didn't even know about Club 33 yet, or Dapper Day. I told her in a few years we're hoping to be able to afford annual passes for the parents and take each kid on their own little trip sometime during the year. It sounds so much more fun than trying to keep a bunch of them happy all at once!
 
Wow, your pictures are amazing!

Thanks! I try. They aren't always the best, but I do the best I can.

We were there the end of that same November for several days with our whole crew.
Three girls and two boys... you are brave!!

I looked through most of your report with my 9-year-old daughter (who is #2 of 5), and she was starry eyed (and a little jealous, haha).
So glad she got to read it too. Katherine loves going back and re-reading all of our Disney adventures.

She didn't even know about Club 33 yet, or Dapper Day. I told her in a few years we're hoping to be able to afford annual passes for the parents and take each kid on their own little trip sometime during the year. It sounds so much more fun than trying to keep a bunch of them happy all at once!
It is definitely a better way to vacation. Katherine is already excited that she MAY get a father-daughter dinner at the Club just the two of us on our upcoming trip. I've put my request in for the last seating on the night of her 11th birthday, so fingers crossed that the pixie dust happens....
 


Thanks! I try. They aren't always the best, but I do the best I can.

Three girls and two boys... you are brave!!


So glad she got to read it too. Katherine loves going back and re-reading all of our Disney adventures.


It is definitely a better way to vacation. Katherine is already excited that she MAY get a father-daughter dinner at the Club just the two of us on our upcoming trip. I've put my request in for the last seating on the night of her 11th birthday, so fingers crossed that the pixie dust happens....

Haha, more crazy and optimistic than brave. It was intense! Most the small baby/toddler combo. I hope you get your request; that sounds super fun!
 
And we are BACK!!!

The tour done, we had a few minutes to kill before our meet-up with the rest of group. Seven minutes past two found us on the fifth floor outdoor patio checking things out.

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Love this view of the pools:

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There's suites over there.. how can I get into them?

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Don't trip!!

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There's the now-ruined skyline with Majestic Grizzly Peak and soon-to-be completed as of this pic, monstrosity GOTG!

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On the way down, I checked out the lobby some more... There are those branches and berries..

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Our exploring done, we arrived for our 2:30 rendezvous with our group in the lobby..

Oh Penelope

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Katherine flashing her gang signs.

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Sean sure does clean up well..

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Joe and little Alli... NOT so little these days..

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Katherine was totally enamored with her.

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Didn't catch this gentleman's name. I think he was friends of Cassie and Jeremy

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Group shot..

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Loved these candid shots.. I almost forgot... we added Jeremy and Cassie to the roster..

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Joe, Theresa, Alli, and Ian

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And lastly my party

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Once our final set of Dapper Day pictures was completed, it was time to change into some comfy clothes and grab a quick bite to eat before got on with the rest of our day.

3:24 found us having hot dogs at Award Weiners. I tried out The Tower Drop Dog which appears as if it had been struck by lightning. It was an all-beef frank dipped in red-pepper ketchup, topped with grilled onions, peppers, jalapeno, and an onion crunch on a black noir potato bun. Billed as one bite causing you to think you’ve just crossed over into … The Twilight Zone. I must say, it's the best dog I've had from there before or since. Shame they no longer offer it. Much like the vastly superior Tower of Terror, Disney doesn't understand what it has until it's gone.

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Katherine likes herself a plain hot dog with nothing on it. Amy made sure to help with the film strip potatoes... they are sooo... good. Love how they are cut vs. normal fries.

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An evaluation of the wait times led us to deciding Animation Academy was the only viable option. Alas, when it was out turn to go through, they said only ONE open seat remained... Katherine was sent in by herself. She later told us that there were indeed FIVE open seats in the auditorium, but they had simply stopped letting people in arbitrarily. Katherine got to draw Zero from A Nightmare Before Christmas!

Her art concluded, we decided to head back and see if Napa was taking lounge reservations yet. We arrived to a line, and were told it would be a while once they opened at 5:00. We put in our name and number and wandered off to wait for the text that we could be seated.

5:06 found us still waiting for our seating text by the fireplace outside of the lobby killing time and just taking everything in.

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Victoria REALLY loves this sconce and wants one for the house.

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I really love how even the fireplace cleaning tools have the California Poppy on them.

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Even the fireplace grate had the sequoia!

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Katherine reviewing her shots and taking some more on the P&S.

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Finally at 5:30 we got the text.. .time for some dinner. What shall we have??

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Katherine was treated to a coke which she never gets. She would also have the Petite Filet with fries instead of the mashed potatoes and some broccoli (which Amy and I would eat).

Amy and I decided to split the Truffled Mac & Cheese and the Grilled Diver Scallop and Braised Wagyu Beef Cheek with Chanterelle and Squash Truffle Puree... (THEY WERE SOOOOOO GOOD!)

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The rose inlay in the table was pretty neat.

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Loved the rose-themed touches of the lounge as well..

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Apparently didn't bother with dinner pictures of the food... I'm sure you've seen it all before.
 
Our meal done, we departed at 6:23. We noticed that Racers didn't have much of a wait, so we headed that way and found ourselves standing next to the fountain in the queue 25 minutes later.

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Katherine was being a goof ball

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The face I always get... I'm pretty sure she's giving it to me right now..

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I just have to say riding Racers at night is GREAT!! No massive shifts from glaring sun to darkness. Your eyes are adjusted so you can see all the details in the show building perfectly.

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I never noticed that Mack closed his eyes right as you are about to collide.

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I REALLY wish they'd get the tractors working again... and the smoke rings to boot... C'mon Disney, up your game!!

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Calm down Frank!!

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Love radiator springs..

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We got new tires for our race this time..

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Hidden Mickey on Doc's tool box.

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Our fan club!!

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And we won!!!

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Love the caverns..

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And we ran into DJ as we made our way back towards the pier..

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Having another win under our belt, Katherine was driving tonight so whatever she wanted she got being the birthday girl. She wanted the fun wheel of death for some reason. We haven't done this at night that I recall, so it was a new experience.

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Once we had made two rotations, it was time to meet up with Joe and Kelly again. Their respective spouses had the children tonight so they were out and about. Katherine wanted to do Grizzly for whatever reason so we all jumped in line, but not before I supplemented the two ponchos out of my backpack (I always carry ponchos, now a total of four to be exact) with one more from the shop. I neglected to ask if Kelly or Joe needed one... oops.

I'm going to preface this with acknowledging that all the following shots are by Joe. While I own a Speedlight (Nikon SB600), due to the bulk of it, I haven't used it in years, preferring higher ISO bodies and super-fast glass to make up the difference. That can only take you so far as you'll see from Joe's phenomenal pics. Sometimes there is SIMPLY no replacement for a fill flash. Thanks for the great shots Joe, I hope you don't mind me "borrowing" them. I have to say his group shots from the lobby as well are vastly superior to what I shot as he was using proper fill lighting. Maybe I do need to dust off (or purchase a newer) the Speedlight after all.

Where am I? I'm just a floating head...

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Katherine soo... excited..

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Hi Kelly..sorry you got wet.

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Nobody was riding tonight (as is usually the case in the colder months late at night) so we did a SECOND time around having never got out of our raft.

I think Joe got the worst of it by our THIRD time on it. They had the geyser going too, and I SWEAR, they were just DRENCHING our raft every time we would go through that area... erupting the geyser in our path as soon as we'd near that spot of the flume..

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The aftermath:

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So much fun! I love GRR, but I'm always in fear of getting absolutely soaked and having to walk around like that, and the discomfort that comes from it. Water rides were more fun when I was young! I am not a huge fan of Mickey's Wheel of Death, (only time I've ever gotten motion sickness at Disney) but the non-swinging cars are nice, and night would be a fun time to ride it!
 
Freshly moistened, we had one more stop to make in DCA before hopping over to Disneyland. Earlier in the day, a gentleman had given Joe a ride readmission slip good for any ride with up to six people. As Joe tried to extract it from his pocket, all that thorough soaking he had received had done a number on the pass. It came out in bits..would it still work? Only one way to find out. Being that we ALL love TOT, we made our way over there. It would have to work, because we were NOT going to wait 95 minutes in the standby queue. The cast member eyed us incredulously as Joe started to gingerly recover bits of the pass from his pocket. The cast member was satisfied as she held the soaked bits barely containing laughter. We jumped in the FP queue and were quickly whisked into library for our trip to The Twilight Zone!

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I just have to say I'm SOOO sad TOT has gone away... it was such a great and well-themed attraction. GOTG just DOES NOT FIT. I'm sure it's fun, but quite frankly, both Star Wars Land and Marvel Land belonged as a third gate. Preferably where Paradise Pier Hotel is....

Alas...

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Our last of California Adventure done for the night as the park was now closed, we headed off to Disneyland! Katherine was again given the choice of attractions and what do you think she picked? Splash Mountain... seriously... this kid loves the rides which soak you, but at least she knows what will crank out a high ridership in a low amount of time.. Off we went for Critter Country. The gals had to use the restrooms so I waited while Joe and Kelly did a quick round of Pooh.

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We made a total of four passes down the mountain... with a different pose every time... first there was ANGRY

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Then there was scared!

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Followed up with some frightened! (except that guy in the back being Gaston).

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And lastly, we rounded it out with some bunny ears.

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Just getting back into reading TRs and I am loving yours! We have three little girls and I love the idea of taking them all on their own trip, how special! As a photography hobbyist, I especially love your pics. You do such a good job capturing the details and I definitely got some inspiration for shots I want to get during our trip next month. Looking forward to reading more and seeing more pics :)
 
Just getting back into reading TRs and I am loving yours! We have three little girls and I love the idea of taking them all on their own trip, how special!

I kind of feel bad for Victoria, we haven't gone on her Birthday since 2015. Charlotte/Katherine always get birthday trips. Our upcoming trip, Katherine may even get a repeat of Club 33, with just her and I doing dinner (fingers crossed) on her 11th Birthday. She's definitely the most spoiled of the bunch, but the other two are pretty close behind.

As a photography hobbyist, I especially love your pics. You do such a good job capturing the details and I definitely got some inspiration for shots I want to get during our trip next month. Looking forward to reading more and seeing more pics :)

Always interested in what other's think. I'm always looking for some feedback/better ideas. Which ones did you like? I feel like I had a few good ones this trip, but not necessarily my best work. I'm going with a new camera body on my upcoming trip so hoping that helps with the technical aspect and my eyes work better for the composition.
 
Adding my $0.02 on photos...

I really enjoy you people photos - well composed, clearly about the person but with interesting backgrounds that don't distract from the person. The ones by Splash Mountain were great as were the ones on the ride. There is a killer photo of Amy I think when you were at Hearthstone, where it is all about her.

I do chuckle at the ones where she is giving you The Look...
 
Adding my $0.02 on photos...

I really enjoy you people photos - well composed, clearly about the person but with interesting backgrounds that don't distract from the person. The ones by Splash Mountain were great as were the ones on the ride. There is a killer photo of Amy I think when you were at Hearthstone, where it is all about her.

I do chuckle at the ones where she is giving you The Look...

I feel like I bullseye my shots too much vs. implementing the rule of thirds in my compositions. I also shoot wide open 99% of the time. I should really stop down here/there to increase background clarity, but I'm bokeh-biased (I wonder if that's a condition). I also white balance a bit more vividly/warmly than most probably prefer, but what suits my eye. All things I'm aware of, yet continue to not remedy.
 
I kind of feel bad for Victoria, we haven't gone on her Birthday since 2015. Charlotte/Katherine always get birthday trips. Our upcoming trip, Katherine may even get a repeat of Club 33, with just her and I doing dinner (fingers crossed) on her 11th Birthday. She's definitely the most spoiled of the bunch, but the other two are pretty close behind.



Always interested in what other's think. I'm always looking for some feedback/better ideas. Which ones did you like? I feel like I had a few good ones this trip, but not necessarily my best work. I'm going with a new camera body on my upcoming trip so hoping that helps with the technical aspect and my eyes work better for the composition.

My oldest and youngest share a birthday, 3 years apart, and our first trip in May 2015 was to celebrate their birthdays. Our trip next month is to celebrate the middle daughter's birthday. Of course, when we went to celebrate oldest and youngest - middle was sad she didn't get Birthday attention and now that we are going to celebrate for her - the other two are whining about not getting their own birthday trips. Can we ever win? Lol!!

I love all your detail shots and the BTMRR ride pics made me so bummed it will be closed on our visit for refurb :( Otherwise I'd be all over taking pics like that. They turn out so well and that coloring of the scenery in that area is so great. I've been browsing your trip reports and I'm happy to find another person who enjoys taking pics of fountains and water spray too - especially paired with golden hour light? So good. Lol. I'm still working on composition too, I tend to shoot now and crop later and 99% of the time things end up dead center. Hopefully something I can work on this next trip.

New camera bodies are fun! What do you shoot with? I've had my Canon 5D Mark II for 5 years now - upgrading it keeps getting bumped for new glass, but it's still trucking along.
 
My oldest and youngest share a birthday, 3 years apart, and our first trip in May 2015 was to celebrate their birthdays. Our trip next month is to celebrate the middle daughter's birthday. Of course, when we went to celebrate oldest and youngest - middle was sad she didn't get Birthday attention and now that we are going to celebrate for her - the other two are whining about not getting their own birthday trips. Can we ever win? Lol!!

Isn't that always the case. I swear... parents can NEVER win.

I love all your detail shots and the BTMRR ride pics made me so bummed it will be closed on our visit for refurb :( Otherwise I'd be all over taking pics like that. They turn out so well and that coloring of the scenery in that area is so great.

Appreciate the kind words.

I've been browsing your trip reports and I'm happy to find another person who enjoys taking pics of fountains and water spray too - especially paired with golden hour light? So good.

I'm always torn between a Looooong shutter or an ultra fast shutter with water. I nearly always shoot ultra fast... let's freeze time. I can probably count my loooong water shutters on one hand (only one which immediately comes to mind is the waterfall outside Tarzan's Tree House).

Lol. I'm still working on composition too, I tend to shoot now and crop later and 99% of the time things end up dead center. Hopefully something I can work on this next trip.

With a group, I don't have a lot of time to be framing shots. Most of my shooting is on the go, literally, so it's snapping shutters as I'm walking.

New camera bodies are fun! What do you shoot with? I've had my Canon 5D Mark II for 5 years now - upgrading it keeps getting bumped for new glass, but it's still trucking along.

I've got all the best Nikkor glass I could possibly want (well... the new and improved 24-70/f2.8 to replace my battle-scarred one would be nice). I only shoot f/2.8 or f/1.4, nothing slower. My D600 served me well from 2012 I think till now. It's only got around 57k shutters on it too. I would have kept shooting it, but the next-gen bodies are really remarkable. The D750 is just some next-gen stuff worse than the next-gen racers in Cars 3. The old bodies try as they may just can't keep up. It can AF without illumination in practical pitch blackness, the ISO range without grain is astounding too. I'm hoping for some really improved performance when I take it out and put it through it's paces in November.
 
Newly hydrated... externally, we squished off Splash at 10:25 and headed South.. next stop, a quaint Antebellum manor

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Zero is going to lose a tooth chewing on all those bones.

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The occupant of the coffin doesn't appreciate all the pounding.

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Madame Leota has some swanky new digs.

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Stitch stitch stitch..

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These two seem to be having a grand ole time.

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Amy Sue keeps getting to live... It's crazy that this is the only name with both names and its Amy's.

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Hatbox was looking good tonight.

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Love this view... ominous..

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Scary Teddy was chewing on the lights... that's a good way to get electrocuted

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Jack was happier than normal..

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Zero was on cloud nine after all those bones.

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This is hands down one of my best shots ever of the haunted band..that pirate is rocking that harp.

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I want someone to gaze longingly the way Sally does at every passing doom buggy.

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Champagne anybody?

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Or is tea more your style?

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Sing it!!

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Should I tell Oogie Boogie he's got a worm in his beard?

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Our escape from Sandy Claws complete, we determined we had time for one last attraction before the park closed...what should we do I wonder? Pirates perhaps? Let's head that way..

Magnolia Park is beautiful after dark.

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The Twain is sitting idle, but looking majestic.

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The Golden Horseshoe has one of the best facades out there

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Random lantern... I love Disneyland lighting.

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We landed on Big Thunder as our last attraction of the night! The standby queue said 20 minutes and the park closed in 15... PERFECT.

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Surviving several OSHA nightmares, bats, wolves, possums, snakes, tortoises, goats, and a T-Rex, we were back to the relatively safe pathways of Disneyland...

We took it slow, taking in all it had to offer being past closing time.

Matterhorn was looking good

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The famous bulb at the Coke Corner (I wonder if this is replicated in any of the other parks)

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LOVE the signage down Main Street

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Don't like what they've turned Market House into. That sugar-laden garbage people call "coffee"... ick.

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A jeweler huh?

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Hey... Steamboat Willie is playing!

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As we left the park, we were able to find someone willing to take our group picture. So great to have both of the group's photogs in the same picture!!

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